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Why we like it: No matter how you like to travel or how often, you can find great savings with a Capital One Venture Rewards Card. Simple 2x miles rewards on every purchase means you can maximize everything you buy — from monthly subscriptions to gas station fill-ups to household essentials — toward a future trip.

Redemptions are just as far-reaching: You can use miles to book future trips through Capital One Travel, reimburse yourself for travel purchases you make with your card, or transfer miles to Capital One’s 15+ travel partners.

Read our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Why we like it: Like most cards on our list, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great travel option for earning rewards on both travel and everyday spending, like dining out, streaming services, and online grocery orders. Plus, you’ll get an annual credit toward eligible hotel stays you book through Chase Travel℠ and a points bonus every year on your account anniversary worth 10% of your overall spending from the year prior.

On top of rewards and benefits, you may find most value from this card when it’s time to redeem. With a Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can use Points Boost when you use points to book travel through Chase Travel. Points Boost can increase the value of your points by 1.5x with select hotels and airlines by 1.75x when you book premium cabin tickets with select airlines.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review and learn more about pairing today’s top Chase credit cards.

Why we like it: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium rewards card, but it has a relatively lower annual fee than other luxury card options and no shortage of great perks and rewards. The $300 annual Capital One Travel credit can go a long way toward making up the annual fee cost on its own, as well as 10,000 bonus miles each year after your first anniversary, access to Capital One Lounges and partner lounge networks, and more.

To make the most of earning rewards, you will need to book travel through Capital One Travel. Hotels and rental car bookings earn 10x miles while flights and vacation rentals earn 5x. Both are much higher than the standard 2x on every purchase — though that can also help you maximize regular spending for a future trip.

Read our full Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review

Why we like it: The American Express Gold Card is a travel card that offers some of the best rewards today on regular spending. You’ll earn rewards when you dine out and when you shop at the supermarket to cook at home (up to limits). You can maximize food spending when you travel, since the dining category applies to restaurants worldwide.

The Gold Card also comes with a wide range of annual credits you can use at home or when you travel. Always read the details of each credit so you know when to enroll and when the credit resets. These perks combined with ongoing travel rewards and flexible redemption options make the Amex Gold a solid choice for frequent travelers and those who only travel a few times per year.

Read our full American Express Gold Card review

General travel cards like the ones above can be great for scoring points and miles toward any type of travel. But if you always prefer flying with a certain airline or booking with a specific hotel chain, a co-branded travel card might be more rewarding.

We included hotel and airline cards in our overall travel card ratings, and the cards below are the top-scoring options.

Just remember: a co-branded travel card only makes sense if you fly often enough with that airline or stay frequently enough at the hotel to justify its value. Make sure you look at your recent travel and any upcoming plans before deciding.

Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature®

Why we like it: The Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature card has a great welcome offer, multiple rewards categories, and an affordable way to score Alaska’s Companion Fare every year. You’ll earn a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees) each account anniversary when you spend at least $6,000 in the year prior, or about $500 per month. Combined with multiple other annual benefits, this card is a solid choice for Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines regulars.

Read our full review of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

Why we like it: If you’re a frequent Delta Air Lines flyer, you can gain plenty of annual value with a Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex card. Rewards span travel and everyday spending and benefits include a faster path to elite Medallion status, 15% savings on award flights, and more. Most notably, this card comes with an annual companion certificate which you can use on any round-trip, main cabin flight within the U.S. or to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America (plus taxes and fees).

Read our full review of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Why we like it: We like each of the Southwest credit cards, but the Rapid Rewards Premier card is our top pick because it combines a manageable annual fee with boosted Southwest rewards and solid benefits when you fly Southwest. That includes 6,000 points and a 15% flight discount every anniversary year, a faster path to A-List, the option to choose a Standard or Preferred seat (when available) within 48 hours of departure, and more.

Read our full review of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

United Quest℠ Card

Why we like it: The United Quest Card annual fee is higher than some other United Airlines credit card options, but you’ll get ample benefits that can help make up the cost if you fly United at least a few times per year. Some of those perks include a $200 annual United travel credit, a 10,000-mile discount toward an award flight each anniversary year, a jumpstart toward Premier status, and more.

Read more: 6 things to know about the United Quest Card

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Why we like it: The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is our pick for travelers who prefer to stay in IHG Hotels (which include brands like InterContinental, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and more). Annual perks include automatic Platinum Elite status; an anniversary free night worth up to 40,000 points; and both a $100 statement credit and 10,000 points when you spend $20,000 in a calendar year. If you’re also a United Airlines frequent flyer, you can also get up to $50 United TravelBank Cash each calendar year when you connect your card to your United MileagePlus account.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

Why we like it: The Hilton Honors American Express Card is a prime example of how much value you can get from a travel card without paying an annual fee (see rates & fees). This card is light on benefits, but it offers big bonus rewards on spending — including a minimum 3x points on purchases that aren’t in bonus categories. You can also earn a huge welcome bonus and get complimentary Silver status with Hilton Honors.

Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®

Why we like it: Frequent travelers to locations with Choice Hotel brands, which include Radisson, Comfort, Cambria Hotels, Quality Inn, EconoLodge, and more can gain plenty of rewards value with a Choice Privileges Select Mastercard. You’ll earn a whopping 22x points on stays and get automatic Platinum Elite status within the Choice Privileges program. Plus, get 30,000 bonus points each account anniversary, which you can redeem for up to three award nights.

You can redeem the points or miles you earn with a travel credit card toward trip costs, such as flights and hotel stays. In general, there are two primary ways to earn rewards with a travel credit card:

Earn a generous welcome offer as a new cardholder

Earn rewards on everyday purchases

A sign-up bonus can significantly boost your earning potential as a new cardholder, but you’ll have to meet some requirements to qualify. Many welcome bonuses require you to spend a certain amount of money on your card within the first few months of card membership. If that’s not within your regular budget, consider timing your card application when you know you have large upcoming purchases.

To earn the most rewards possible on everyday purchases, consider travel credit cards with categories that align with your typical spending habits. For instance, if you eat out a lot, a card that rewards you with bonus points or miles on dining at restaurants may make sense.

Various travel card perks and benefits can help lower your overall trip costs and make life easier as you travel. These could include airport lounge access, travel credits, free checked bags, and more.

The most useful perks for you depend on your travel habits and preferences. If you fly frequently throughout the year, for example, a free checked bag on every flight could save you hundreds of dollars annually.

Part of the benefit of many travel cards is having built-in purchase protection and travel insurance coverage. This could come in handy if your phone or another item is lost or stolen while traveling, if your luggage is delayed or lost, if your trip is canceled or interrupted, and other potential situations.

You typically must use your card to pay for applicable trip expenses, such as flights, to take advantage of these benefits.

Related: Get the most from your cards: How credit card protections work

Travel credit cards offer points and miles rewards on your spending, which you can use toward travel-related redemptions, such as flights, hotel stays, and car rentals. You’ll often earn the highest rewards rate on travel purchases with a travel credit card. However, many also offer boosted rewards on everyday purchases like groceries, gas, and more.

Many travel cards also provide travel benefits and perks, which could include airport lounge access, annual travel or airline credits, companion airfare, or elite status with an airline or hotel loyalty program.

Learn more about how travel credit cards work.

When you’re comparing travel credit cards, it’s useful to separate them into two distinct types: general travel rewards cards and co-branded airline and hotel credit cards.

With a general travel credit card, you’ll have a number of flexible redemption options when you’re ready to redeem your points and miles. Some of the best general travel credit cards today include:

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

American Express Gold Card

Travel card issuers generally have their own travel portals, like Chase Travel or American Express Travel, where you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. These programs also have a number of travel transfer partners to which you can directly transfer points or miles. For example, American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to Delta SkyMiles at a rate of 1:1.

Related: Amex points vs. Chase points — Who has the better rewards program?

The flexibility of general travel cards means you can use your rewards to travel with different airlines or hotel brands. Each time you’re ready to book, simply shop around between the portal or partners and compare the best options for your specific travel plans.

These credit cards also have other redemption options, such as statement credits, gift cards, and cash back. But you’ll get the best value by redeeming rewards for travel.

Co-branded travel cards are best suited for travelers who prefer to fly with a specific airline or stay at a certain hotel chain. Maybe you live near a hub airport, frequent a destination where a specific airline offers the most direct flight options, or you enjoy the perks of a specific hotel’s loyalty program. These are a few of the top co-branded travel cards today:

Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature®

United Quest℠ Card

Hilton Honors Card

Instead of flexible rewards points or miles, you’ll earn points or miles within the airline or hotel’s loyalty program, like Marriott Bonvoy points or American Airlines AAdvantage miles — and get a boosted rewards rate when you spend directly with the airline or hotel. These cards often offer a faster path to elite status tiers within these programs as well.

You’ll typically get the best redemptions when you use rewards for flights with the airline or stays at a hotel, but many programs offer other redemptions, too. Some airline and hotel rewards programs may even allow you to transfer your points and miles to their partners.

These cards have added benefits that are designed for frequent travelers with the airline or hotel. For example, an airline card may get you priority boarding, upgrades, free checked bags, and in-flight discounts. A hotel card may offer early check-in or late checkout, annual free night awards, and on-site credits. Co-branded travel cards aren’t for everyone, but they can add a lot to your travel experience if you have a strong airline or hotel preference.

Here are a few key details to look for in any new travel credit card:

No matter your budget, there’s a travel credit card with an annual fee that fits. You can find solid no annual fee cards with travel rewards on spending and few added benefits. Premium travel cards with high annual fees, on the other hand, often come with an abundance of valuable benefits and perks that can potentially give you even more value back each year.

To make an annual fee worth it for you, make sure you can get enough out of the rewards and benefits each year to outweigh the cost — without spending more than you otherwise would or can afford.

For new cardholders, a sign-up bonus can offer major first-year value. These bonuses range from 10,000 to over 100,000 bonus points or miles — which can translate to hundreds of dollars in future travel.

Compare the terms of the bonus to your own budget before you apply for a new card. For example, you may need to spend $4,000 within the first three months to earn a 60,000-point bonus. If that’s not within your typical spending, be careful not to overspend to meet the spending threshold. The high interest charges you’ll accrue will quickly outpace even the best bonus.

One smart strategy is to open a new travel credit card when you’re booking a trip you’ve been saving for. You’re already preparing to spend more than usual, which can help you reach the bonus requirement faster. Plus, you can earn rewards on those travel purchases to put toward future trips.

Also look out for limited-time offers from top travel credit cards. Occasionally, issuers will increase the welcome bonus for a period of time — if you see a promotional offer that fits within your budget, that could be a great time to apply for a new card.

Earning rewards with a travel card often works in one of two ways. You’ll either earn rewards on your everyday spending (groceries, gas stations, restaurants) to redeem toward future travel, or earn rewards on your travel spending to put toward future travel.

If your monthly budget is largely dedicated to everyday spending, you may get more value from the former. But if you travel frequently and spend a lot of money on flights, hotels, and rental cars, you can quickly rack up more points with travel-based rewards categories.

Many travel rewards credit cards — especially the most premium cards with high annual fees — really shine when it comes to added perks and benefits. These benefits can help you offset the annual fee and save money each time you travel.

Take the premium Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, for example. Each year, you’ll get a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) on your account anniversary. Already, that’s enough to wipe out the annual cost — before accounting for any rewards and other benefits (like up to $120 in fee credits toward TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership).

Just remember: Choose a card with benefits that help you save on purchases you would still have made otherwise. If you tend to arrive shortly before takeoff and don’t care about airport lounge access, for example, you won’t actually get the $200 potential value from that benefit.

One unique aspect of travel credit cards is the protections you can get as a cardholder when you travel. Common protections offered by travel credit cards include trip cancellation and interruption insurance, car rental insurance, trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, access to emergency assistance services, and more.

As long as you pay for your travel expenses with the card (booking flights, hotels, tours, etc.) you can qualify for these travel protection benefits. Like any coverage, though, make sure to read the fine print of what your individual card offers. These benefits can vary greatly between different travel cards, so make sure to look for details in your card agreement.

More travel credit card tips

How to get TSA PreCheck for free with a credit card

How to save on travel with a Costco credit card

Best credit cards for Disney vacations: Save money and maximize your rewards

Traveling for the holidays? 5 reasons to open a new travel card now

Travel rewards credit cards can make a great addition to your wallet, even if you only travel a few times per year. Be sure to compare different travel card options to find the combination of annual fee, rewards, benefits, and sign-up bonus that works best for your travel plans and spending.

There may be a few reasons why a travel credit card isn’t right for you, though:

You’re already in credit card debt. Avoid adding another card — especially one with a potentially high annual fee — to your wallet if you already have high-interest debt. Eliminating those balances will help you save a lot more in interest than any value travel rewards could offer.

You don’t want to keep up with a rewards strategy. Travel credit cards can be most lucrative if you maximize how you earn and redeem rewards. If you don’t want to spend the time strategizing bonus categories and the best redemption options, a credit card with a simpler rewards structure may be better for you.

You don’t have great credit. Travel credit cards generally require a good-to-excellent credit score to qualify for approval. If your credit isn’t in a great place right now, focus on improving your score before you apply for a new card.

Also think about the best time to apply for a new travel card. The spending thresholds to earn your welcome bonus can be high, so you may want to plan your application around your next trip. The money you’ve already saved can help you score the bonus when you book your travel, and you’ll also earn bonus points or miles for your next trip.

These are some of our top picks for best travel credit cards right now:

American Express® Gold Card

Bank Of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Before you apply for any new travel card though, look at your frequent spending and travel to find the best one for your individual goals.

Travel credit cards are worth it if you get more value from the card’s benefits and rewards than you pay in potential costs, such as an annual fee. Unlike some other rewards cards, like cash-back credit cards, travel cards are more likely to carry annual fees in exchange for their high rewards rates and annual benefits. They might not be worth it if you don’t travel enough to take advantage of perks like travel credits, lounge access, or upgrades.

However, a travel card may still be worth it if you’re not a very frequent traveler. Even if you travel only once or twice per year, you can accumulate points throughout the year to offset your airfare and hotel costs when you do go on a trip.

When traveling abroad, look for credit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees. All of the cards on the list above waive foreign transaction fees, so you won’t have to worry about extra charges when you use them to travel internationally.

One thing to keep in mind while traveling abroad is worldwide acceptance of your card. It can be useful to travel with more than one credit card on different card networks (these include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover).

For premium travel rewards, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is our top pick.

However, there are other premium travel cards with valuable benefits for travelers — including annual credits, elite status, bonus rewards, and more — for higher annual fees.

Read our full reviews to compare two other popular premium travel credit cards: The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

To begin our search for the best travel cards, we compile a list of over 70 credit cards from major issuers that offer travel rewards and benefits. This includes general travel credit cards as well as co-branded hotel and airline credit cards.

From there, we create a comprehensive weighted rubric focused on card details specific to travelers. These cover both long-term and first-year card value. The highest-weighted metrics include rewards, annual benefits, redemption options, and a comparison of the welcome bonus value to the card’s annual fee. Other factors we consider are the welcome bonus spending requirement, annual fee, foreign transaction fees, and our expert editorial opinions.

The final picks on our list are the highest rated cards within this weighted rubric. We separate general travel cards first, which are the most flexible options for the broadest range of cardholders. But we also include top-rated airline and hotel cards for frequent travelers who may gain more value with their preferred loyalty program.

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to the Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Travel rewards can help make your dream vacation a reality — but they may not be the best option for everyone. Here’s how to decide and what to look for in a travel credit card.

Before leaving on vacation, use this guide to secure the right card for saving on travel expenses.

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Use these rewards credit cards to start saving money today. As you make purchases, you’ll earn points, miles, or cash back to use toward future spending.

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