With an abundance of credit cards on the market, it’s difficult to choose one that actually provides you benefits that you really need. But if you’re planning a wedding this year then jetting off to a
Note: These offers will change/expire periodically.
Airline Credit Cards
United MileagePlus Explorer Card:
Sign-up Bonus: 30,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 dollars in the first 3 months of account opening (plus an additional 5,000 miles if you add an authorized user during this time as well)
What does that get you? A roundtrip ticket from New York to Honolulu is 45,000 miles per person
Annual Fee: Free for the first year, then $95
Additional travel benefits:
- 2x miles on purchases from United
- First checked bag free for you and one companion
- Priority boarding
- Two United Club passes per year
- No foreign transaction fees
- Complimentary upgrades, daily breakfast, early check-in, late check-out at 900 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide
- Built-in travel insurance (see card information for details)
Delta Gold American Express SkyMiles Card:
Sign-up Bonus: 30,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening
What does that get you? A roundtrip ticket from New York to Honolulu is 35,000 miles per person
Annual Fee: Free for the first year, then $95
Additional travel benefits:
- 2x miles on Delta purchases (plus another 5 for being a SkyMiles member)
- First checked bag free
- Priority boarding
- Discounted Delta Sky Club Access for you and two companions
- 20% in-flight savings for food, beverages and entertainment (statement credit)
- No foreign transaction fees
American Airlines Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard
Sign-up Bonus: 30,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
What does that get you? A roundtrip ticket from New York to Honolulu is 40,000 miles per person
Annual Fee: No fee for the first year, then $95
Additional travel benefits:
- 2x miles on American Airlines purchases
- First checked bag free
- Priority Boarding
- 10% back on your redeemed miles
- 25% discount on in-flight purchases
- Reduced mileage award travel for 7,500 fewer miles
- No foreign transaction fees
- Built-in trip insurance (see card for details)
Hotel Cards
Marriott Bonvoy
This is consistently ranked one of the best credit cards by The Points Guy and other credit card websites. Not only do you get an amazing portfolio of hotels to choose from in the Marriott line (St. Regis are our fave for a splurge), but Starwood was recently acquired by Marriott, which means you can now use your points at Marriott and Ritz Carlton as well.
Sign-up Bonus: 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
What does that get you? A Junior Suite at the St. Regis Mauritius is around 17,000 points for dates in May, 2017.
Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, $95 after.
Additional travel benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Free in-room, premium internet access
- 5x points on Starwood purchases
- Unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices
- Upgrade to SPG® Gold status after you spend $30,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year
- Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance
- Transfer Starpoints® to over 30 airline frequent flyer programs
- Receive credit for 5 nights and 2 stays towards SPG® Elite status each year
Other Credit Cards We Recommend
There are so many other credit cards that offer travel perks. Our favorites? The Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum Cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Sign-up Bonus: 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening
What does that get you? 100,000 points are worth $1,500 in travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, that’s 50% more value by booking through Chase
Annual Fee: $450
Additional travel benefits:
- 3x points on travel and restaurant purchases
- $300 annual travel credit (in the form of a statement for travel purchases such as airfare and hotels)
- $100 credit for Global Entry and TSA Pre Check every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee
- Complimentary airport lounge access to VIP lounges
- Car rental privileges
- Complimentary upgrades and early check-in/late check-out at select luxury resorts through The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
- No foreign transaction fees
American Express Platinum Card
Sign-up Bonus: 75,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
What does that get you? We recommend transferring these points to an airline, like Delta, where the ratio is 1:1 and you’ll get 75,000 Delta SkyMiles. That means you can book two, round-trip economy tickets from New York to Honolulu.
Annual Fee: $450
Additional travel benefits:
- Complimentary access to select airport lounges
- $200 airline fee credit for costs incurred while traveling, like bag fees or in-flight dining
- $100 fee credit for Global Entry and TSA Pre Check
- 2x points for purchases at participating hotels and through the American Express Travel website
- Travel benefits through Fine Hotels and Resorts, such as complimentary upgrades, dining and spa credits, as well as competitive rates
- Car rental privileges
- Automatic gold status through both Starwood Preferred Guest and Hilton HHonors
Woman Getting Married Helpful Tips!
Free Balance Transfers to Non-Travel Cards
Cards like the Chase Slate Card offer free balance transfers for the first 60 days your account is open and 0$ APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers from account opening. What does this mean exactly? Well, you can go ahead and book your
Decide on a
If you’re thinking of applying for an airline credit card, we recommend choosing your destination first, and the credit card second. Your preferred airline may not necessarily fly to your destination. My husband and I realized we had saved up a ton of United miles (for business-class international travel), but that they didn’t fly to Tahiti. We were set on French Polynesia, so we ended up flying American and borrowing mileage from family. A little foresight would have done us some good.
Bonus Sign-up Incentives
Most credit cards will offer special offers from time to time, which are above and beyond their usual mileage bonus. Definitely be on the lookout for those offers. We recommend following The Points Guy, who updates these deals regularly on the Hot Deals section on the right-hand side of his homepage.
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