Many premium credit cards offer travel credits to offset their annual fees.
However, these credits aren’t all the same. Some are simple and easy to use, while others are highly restrictive and come with complicated requirements.
Here’s our list of the travel credits that are easiest to maximize.
Limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see rates and fees).
General travel credits
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Arguably the easiest travel credit on the market is the $300 annual travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees).
This credit is simple because it automatically kicks in on the first $300 you spend on travel each account anniversary year. You don’t have to book through a travel portal or meet any minimum spending requirement to earn the credit. (Note that you won’t earn bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points on purchases before you hit the $300 credit.)
Chase broadly defines what qualifies as a travel purchase. So, flights, hotel stays, parking garages, Uber rides and tolls are all included.
I used half of the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 flexible travel credit on a recent trip to London, offsetting every public transport expense and Uber ride.
Capital One Venture X and Venture X Business
The premium Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and its business sibling, the Capital One Venture X Business, both offer a $300 annual travel credit.
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You can book flights, hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars through the Capital One Travel portal and the Capital One Business Travel portal.
I hold the personal Venture X and used this year’s credit to take $300 off the $611 cash rate of a Virgin Atlantic economy seat from London to New York.
Related: 6 things to do when you get the Capital One Venture X
Hotel credits
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card comes with a $100 statement credit each account anniversary year for prepaid hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠.
This benefit more than offsets the card’s $95 annual fee and can be used for any hotel stay made through the Chase Travel portal.
I recently redeemed this for one night at the Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta. Thanks to my statement credit, the stay effectively cost $35.
Delta cards
Six of the seven Delta American Express cards offer annual statement credits when you book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals. These range from $100 to $250 in value and are applied when you book through Delta Stays, the airline’s hotel portal.
These credits reset each calendar year, which means some cardmembers may be able to effectively double-dip by combining credits across the same stay, depending on when you apply and redeem them.
United cards
Similar to the statement credits on select Delta Amex cards, two of United’s cards offer credits each anniversary year for hotel stays booked directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts, the airline’s luxury hotel portal.
These credits can be used on a single booking. They’re not split into quarterly or biannual credits. Plus, you’ll receive perks such as complimentary breakfast and a property credit when you book an eligible stay with Renowned Hotels and Resorts.
Hilton cards and Business Platinum
Three American Express cards offer a quarterly statement credit for eligible Hilton purchases:
This credit can be used for more than just stays. Data points show that, even if you aren’t staying at the property, purchases at Hilton restaurants, bars and gift stores can often trigger the credit.
Related: My 7 favorite travel statement credits — and how I use them
Airline credits
Amex Platinum and Business Platinum
Both American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offer up to $200 in statement credits for airline incidental fees each calendar year (enrollment required).
You must select one qualifying U.S. airline each calendar year, and the incidental fee credit applies only to the airline you select.
You can use this credit on anything from baggage and seat selection fees to inflight Wi-Fi and drinks. This $200 credit helps offset the $895 annual fee on both of these cards (see rates and fees for the Amex Platinum and the Business Platinum).
Hilton Aspire
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers up to $50 in quarterly statement credits on flights booked directly with an airline, through amextravel.com or the Amex Travel App™.
Data points show that you can also use the credit on seat upgrades, award taxes and fees, and United TravelBank cash purchases.
This card charges $550 each year (see rates and fees), so this credit effectively brings down the annual fee to a more manageable $350.
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see rates and fees) offers a $50 annual statement credit when you make an airline purchase of at least $50. Note that you must use the credit in a single transaction.
Related: The best credit cards with airline fee credits
Ride-hailing credits
The following cards offer easy-to-use credits for ride-hailing services:
These benefits provide discounts when you take a ride or make an order through Uber Eats.
To receive this benefit, your Amex Gold or Amex Platinum must be added to your Uber account first. Then, you can redeem your Uber Cash with any Amex Card.
Related: Frequent Uber or Lyft user? These are the best credit cards for you
Clear+ credits
The following cards offer statement credits each calendar year toward Clear+, a popular expedited security membership program (enrollment required; subject to auto-renewal):
If you already have Clear+ on one eligible card, you can use another eligible card’s credit to pay for someone else’s membership.
The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Clear+ is getting more expensive: Here’s how you can still get it for free or discounted
Bottom line
This list is helpful for anyone looking to maximize the value of a travel rewards credit card.
Remember to enroll in the benefits when required and to use your monthly, quarterly and biannual credits to maximize the value you get from your card’s annual fee.
Limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
For rates and fees for the Amex Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Aspire, click here.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thepointsguy.com
