Quick look at best Visa travel credit cards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best Visa card for the frequent traveler
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best Visa card for the ultimate traveler
- The World of Hyatt Credit Card: Best Visa hotel card
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Compare Visa travel credit cards
Get worldwide acceptance and earn rewards on your purchases.
Market-leading rewards and the freedom to swipe anywhere in the world make Visa credit cards some of the best for travel. But to get the full benefits when making purchases abroad, choose a card with no foreign transaction fees.
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Best Visa travel credit cards
When making our picks for best Visa travel credit cards, we compared several features among available travel cards, including reward points per dollar spent, value of points upon redemption, welcome offer values, annual travel credits, point transfer options, flexibility of reward categories and other perks or benefits a frequent traveler might look for in a travel credit card. We chose cards with exemplary performance in one or more of these categories for our list below.
Best Visa card for the frequent traveler
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Finder rating 4.6 / 5 ★★★★★
Frequent travelers could get solid benefits with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. With it, you can take advantage of a generous signup bonus and earn double points on travel and dining purchases.
Pros
- Signup bonus. 60,000 bonus points. Spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening to earn these points. They are worth $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- Rewards. Up to 2x points. Earn 2x points on travel and dining. Earn 1x points on all other purchases. These points are worth 25% more when redeemed through the Chase travel portal.
- Point transfers to select airline and hotel partners. You can transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to airline and hotel programs like Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
Cons
- Annual fee. The card costs $95 annually.
- No intro APR period. You won't get to save money on interest with a 0% intro APR period on purchases or balance transfers.
| Welcome Offer | 60,000 points |
|---|---|
| Rewards | 5x points |
| Annual Fee | $95 |
| Minimum Credit Score | 670 |
Best Visa card for the ultimate traveler
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Finder rating 4.6 / 5 ★★★★★
If you travel often and you want to get a credit card with high reward value and premium benefits, consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit card.
Pros
- Annual travel credit. Get $300 in statement credit as reimbursement for your travel purchases every year on your card account anniversary.
- Signup bonus. Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months when you open your account. This is worth $900 if you redeem through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
- Rewards points. Earn 5x points on flights booked through Chase, 10x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase, 3x points on Chase Dining, 3x points on all other travel and dining and 1x points on all other purchases. These points are worth 50% more when redeemed through the Chase travel portal.
Cons
- Annual fee. You'll pay $550 annual fee for the card.
- No intro APR period. Like many other travel cards, you won't get a 0% intro APR period on purchases, balance transfers or both.
- Excellent credit score required. Being a premium card, your chances of approval greatly increase with a credit score of 740 or higher.
| Welcome Offer | 60,000 points |
|---|---|
| Rewards | 10x points |
| Annual Fee | $550 |
| Minimum Credit Score | 740 |
Best Visa hotel card
The World of Hyatt Credit Card
Finder rating 3.8 / 5 ★★★★★
The World of Hyatt Credit Card is a one of the most rewarding Visa cards you can find. That's because you get a free night each year, a massive rewards rate on World of Hyatt stays, and the chance to earn a generous signup bonus worth up to 10 hotel stays.
Pros
- Reward points. Earn 9x points on World of Hyatt purchases, 2x points on fitness club and gym memberships, local transit and commuting purchases, at restaurants and on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline. Earn 1x points on everything else you buy.
- Signup bonus. Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in your first 3 months of card membership. You'll also earn 2x instead of 1x points on up to $15,000 (for a total of up to 30,000 additional points) in the first 6 months.
- Reward night. Get one reward night each year on your card anniversary. This is enough to offset the annual fee. Also, if you spend $15,000 with your card in each year, you get an additional free night.
Cons
- Signup bonus eligibility. You’re not eligible to get the signup bonus if you already own a World of Hyatt, or if you owned a World of Hyatt and received a signup bonus in the last two years.
- No intro APR period. Travel rewards credit cards usually have high APR and have no intro APR period. You may want to look for a 0% intro APR card if you want to consolidate your debt.
| Welcome Offer | 30,000 points |
|---|---|
| Rewards | 9x points |
| Annual Fee | $95 |
| Minimum Credit Score | 670 |
How to choose the best Visa travel credit card
- Are you a frequent customer of a particular hotel or airline? Look into cobranded hotel or airline credit cards, as you may be able to earn significant rewards. You’ll also find unique perks that normal credit cards won’t offer.
- Where do you spend the most money? Rewards rates vary between cards, so lean toward the products that offer bonus rewards for the categories in which you spend the most.
- How do you want to redeem rewards? If you enjoy transferring points and trying to get the most value from your rewards, look into cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
- What kind of welcome offer do you want? Annual-fee cards tend to have superior welcome offers compared to those with no-annual-fee cards. But among annual-fee cards, a higher price doesn’t always mean a better bonus. For example, the Chase Sapphire cards sometimes have bonuses of equal value.
Compare Visa travel credit cards
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Visa travel rewards benefits
Depending on your credit score, most banks will either give you a Visa Platinum or a Visa Signature card. The difference between the two is the higher credit line you get with the Visa Signature, starting from $5,000. You also get additional perks and higher coverage amounts. But all Visa cards come with:
- Car rental coverage. When you pay the full rental amount with your Visa card, you get coverage against collision damage and theft up to the value of the car. Some cars aren’t covered, including minivans, expensive or antique cars. The coverage extends to 15 consecutive days within the US or 31 days abroad.
- Roadside dispatch. Visa uses a pay-per-use dispatch program, which sends help when your car breaks down. The service is available 24/7 and a single service call costs $59.95.
- Zero Fraud Liability. You’re protected against unauthorized fraudulent charges made with your card, but you have to report them to your bank.
- Lost or stolen card reporting. In case you lose your card or it’s stolen, call Visa at 800-847-2911 and customer service will help you.
- Emergency card replacement and cash disbursement. If you lose your card, Visa can block it for you and arrange an emergency card replacement with your bank. They will also work with your issuer to arrange sending cash near you.
Visa Signature benefits
- Travel and emergency assistance. When you’re traveling anywhere in the world, you have access to emergency service assistance 24/7. Services include, emergency message service, medical, legal, emergency transportation assistance, lost luggage locator service, translation service and more. Know, that you are responsible for any third-party service charges.
- Lost luggage reimbursement. Use your card to buy a common carrier ticket and get reimbursement for your checked or carry-on bags and their contents in case of theft or loss.
- Trip delay and cancelation reimbursement. Get up to $300 when you’re stuck for more than 12 hours due to a covered event. You can also get reimbursement for the non-refundable purchases you made, like flight tickets or cruises in the case of trip cancelation.
- Travel accident insurance. Use your Visa Signature card to buy your common carrier ticket and get travel accident insurance.
What is Visa Signature Concierge?
Back to topAlternatives to Visa travel credit cards
Visa isn’t the only network that has great travel credit cards. Consider its biggest competitors as well, including:
- Mastercard. This network offers alternatives such as the Citi Premier® Card and cobranded American Airlines credit cards.
- American Express. There are powerful Amex travel credit cards, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
Bottom line
If you’re looking for the best travel credit card, make sure you consider Visa credit cards. You won’t have any problems paying anywhere in the world, plus you get to earn rewards and — depending on what kind of Visa card you get — you can enjoy Visa travel benefits and protection.
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