Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Travel Rewards Credit Cards

About the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards

The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards aim to recognize and celebrate the best products and services in the personal finance arena. We asked you, our Kiplinger community, to help us name the products and services you think have delivered excellent value in the past year.

The survey results, which we’re sharing here in our second annual Readers’ Choice Awards, offer valuable insight into which providers shine when it comes to your everyday interactions and experiences with them. Our Awards recognize excellence in everything from credit cards, banks and brokers to insurers, tax software and financial apps.  For each category, we’ve listed an overall winner that earned the highest score. We’ve also highlighted other products and services that earned above-average scores for various criteria we asked readers to assess.

By voting, our community has helped us form our guide to the very best financial products. These are the products and companies that you think stand out from the crowd.

Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards: Travel Rewards Credit Cards

These cards provide the greatest value to frequent travelers, who can redeem points or miles for flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and more. Some come with perks such as rental car insurance and access to airport lounges. Readers judged travel rewards credit cards on the strength of customer service, how likely they would be to recommend the card to others and how satisfied they are overall with the card.

OVERALL WINNER: Capital One Venture X

Outstanding for:

• Customer service
• Most recommended
• Overall satisfaction

This card handily beats the competition for delivering many of the benefits you would expect from a premium travel card but with a relatively low annual fee of $395. “The annual fee pays for itself if you do almost any travel,” wrote one reader.

Earn 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, five miles per dollar for flights reserved through Capital One Travel, and two miles per dollar on all other spending. Cardholders also get a $300 annual credit toward travel bookings through Capital One, a bonus of 10,000 miles on each yearly account anniversary, reimbursement of the application fee for expedited airport security screening with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and free access to three lounge networks: Capital One’s airport lounges, Priority Pass and Plaza Premium.

To learn more or apply for this card, read our extended review.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Outstanding for:

• Customer service
• Most recommended
• Overall satisfaction

This travel card wins honors for each aspect readers judged. One respondent wrote that it offers the “best benefits, like primary car rental insurance and travel insurance.”

Chase Sapphire Preferred, which has a $95 annual fee, offers five Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel that you purchase through Chase Travel (two points per dollar on other travel spending); three points per dollar on restaurants, online grocery purchases and select streaming services; and one point per dollar on other spending. You can transfer points to the card’s travel transfer partners, including Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Or redeem points for travel bookings through Chase, among other options.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Outstanding for:

• Most recommended
• Overall satisfaction

Chase’s premium credit card, which charges a $550 annual fee, provides benefits including a $300 yearly statement credit for travel purchases, membership with Priority Pass Select for airport lounge access, credit of up to $100 every four years for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS application fee, and perks such as room upgrades at certain luxury hotels. “This card pays for itself,” one reader says.

Cardholders also get 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal and five points per dollar for flights booked through Chase Travel. These rewards kick in after you’ve spent $300 on travel. You also earn three points per dollar at restaurants and on other travel worldwide. As with Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer points to travel partners or redeem them for travel bookings.

American Express Gold

Outstanding for:

• Customer service

Earn four points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 spent per year; one point per dollar thereafter). Cardholders also earn four points per dollar on dining or food delivery, three points on air travel, and one point on other spending. The most lucrative way to redeem points is for airfare booked through Amex Travel or as transfers to hotel or airline partner programs. The annual fee is $250.

Capital One Venture Rewards

Outstanding for:

• Customer service

Cardholders, who pay a $95 annual fee, get five miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and two miles per dollar on all other spending. Redeem miles for statement credits on travel purchases or travel bookings through Capital One, or transfer miles to partner airline and hotel loyalty programs. 

“The website makes it easy to use rewards benefits to cover travel purchases,” one reader says. An additional perk: Reimbursement of the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Outstanding for:

• Customer service

Readers especially appreciate this card for its excellent customer service. “You can always talk to a human who can help,” says one respondent. “In 30+ years, I have found that American Express always has my back!” says another.

Frequent travelers can offset the card’s $695 annual fee by taking advantage of its bountiful perks and valuable points structure. Travelers enjoy access to a range of airport lounges, including Amex’s Centurion lounges as well as those in the Airspace, Delta Sky Club, Escape, Plaza Premium and Priority Pass Select networks. “The lounge access is hard to beat,” says one survey respondent. 

You get up to $100 in application-fee reimbursement for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, too. Plus, get yearly credits of up to $200 for incidental fees with one airline you choose, $200 for select hotel bookings through Amex, and $189 for membership with the CLEAR airport security screening program.

Cardholders earn extra points on various purchases, including five Membership Rewards points per dollar for flights booked with airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 spent per year) and on prepaid hotel bookings through Amex. Exchanging points for flights booked through Amex or for certain gift cards are among the most favorable redemption options.

Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Categories

• Wealth Managers
• Donor-Advised Funds
• Cash Back Credit Cards
• Airline Rewards Credit Card Programs
• Hotel Rewards Credit Card Programs
• National Banks
• Internet Banks
• Full-Service Brokers
• Tax Software
• Auto Insurance Companies
• Peer-to-Peer Payment Services
• Homeowners Insurance Companies