Are Travel Credit Cards Actually Worth it?

They can be. I travel a lot and I now have my third travel credit card in the last three years. But I also cancelled the first two.

Premium Travel Credit cards often have welcome points which can range from a few hundred dollars to a thousand plus in value, and they offer cool perks, like airport lounge access. But they often have an annual fee, require you to have a minimum spend in the first few months, and can make it tricky to actually get the most out of your points.

For my last two credit cards, Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum, the intro offer was worth it, but the annual fee was so high that I ended up closing them after the first year. Note that closing an account early can hurt your credit for a bit, so it's best to sign up for a new card or do anything credit-related before cancelling a card.

The Capital One Venture X is widely considered the best deal in 2024. It has a $395 annual fee, but the intro offer is 75,000 points, which is the equivalent of $750 when spent on travel through their portal. They also give you $300 in travel credit from the start and every year thereafter, and they give you another 10,000 in points every anniversary. Essentially meaning you get your annual fee back in travel credit. However, you do need to spend $4k in the first 3 months. But if you put all your expenses on the card and maybe ask family to put some of their expenses on it, it can be manageable.

For this card, as someone who travels regularly, that $400 in value from the annual points and travel credit easily makes it zero cost, or actually $5 in value just from that. So I don't actually plan on closing it, mainly because it'll be getting me and my guests unlimited airport lounge access. For a frequent flyer like myself, airport lounges really make flying a lot more enjoyable and affordable, since lounges often have access to unlimited food and can be a lot more enjoyable for a nap. If you get the card, make sure to enable Priority Pass as soon as you can.

I also really like Capital One's travel portal, which is widely considered one of the simplest to use. Often prices can be significantly higher through credit card travel portals, but in this case there was no difference and they even have a price match guarantee if you find a lower public price. They also have this cool feature where you can erase previous purchases made through the travel portal.

In general, I would say that a lot of the premium travel cards can be absolutely worth it for their first year because of the value in their intro offers. But it's only a good idea if you're somebody who is organized and has the resources to put the minimum spend on the card and pay it off in time. Also, a lot of these cards won't be worth it after the first year due to their high annual fees. So it is very important to be prepared to cancel the renewal. However, if you are a frequent flyer, the lounge access alone makes the Capital One Venture X totally worth keeping. Although these cards do have a tendency to adjust benefits and annual fees, so that is something to keep an eye on.

If you found this post helpful, share it with a friend. If you’re new to Capital One, using my referral link will get me (or you in the future) 25000 points ($250 in value) for each referral, and up to 100000 points per year. So thanks in advance if you use the link!

Thanks for reading,

Naser