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Best cards → Travel

✈️ Best travel credit cards — July 2026

Generated July 31, 2026 from 250 researched cards · 10 shown

No card issuer pays us today. UseThis has no affiliate links and no advertisers, so this ranking is pure math over published card terms — nothing on this page earns us a cent. How we're paid · Editorial policy

Flights, hotels, rental cars — booked direct or through an issuer portal.

🍽️ Dining🛒 Groceries⛽ Gas✈️ Travel📺 Streaming💊 Drugstores🛍️ Online shopping🏬 Wholesale clubs💡 Utilities🧾 Everything else
1
Strata Elite
Citi · $595/yr
12× on travel.
points valued at 1¢ each (our researched redemption value) · only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · redemption: 1:1 transfers incl. American Airlines; TPG 7/2026 values TYP at 1.9cpp. Enables 1:1 for pooled Double Cash/Custom Cash…
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
12×≈ 12% at 1¢
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
2
Platinum Card
Robinhood (Coastal Community Bank) · $695/yr
10% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · Rental cars booked through the Robinhood app · requires a paid subscription on top of the annual fee
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
10%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
3
Sapphire Reserve
Chase · $795/yr
8× on travel.
points valued at 1¢ each (our researched redemption value) · only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · redemption: Flat 1.5cpp portal redemption ELIMINATED 10/26/2025. Points Boost up to 2cpp on rotating flagged inventory only; cash-o…
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
8×≈ 8% at 1¢
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
4
Quicksilver Cash Rewards
Capital One · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · hotels & rental cars via Capital One Travel
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
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5
Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards
Capital One · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · hotels & rental cars via Capital One Travel
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
6
Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards
Capital One · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · hotels & rental cars via Capital One Travel
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
7
Savor Cash Rewards
Capital One · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · hotels, vacation rentals & rental cars via Capital One Travel
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
8
Savor Student Cash Rewards
Capital One · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · hotels & rental cars via Capital One Travel
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
9
Instacart Mastercard
Chase · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · Chase Travel bookings
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →
10
Prime Visa
Chase · no annual fee
5% on travel.
only when you book through the issuer's travel portal · Chase Travel bookings
Terms verified Jul 30, 2026 · issuer page
5%
Have it? Add it to your wallet →

How to read this

"Must choose" cards do not pay this rate by default. A 5% pick-your-category card earns 5% here only if you park it on this category (and on nothing else that month or quarter), and a rotating-calendar card earns it only while the issuer's published quarter includes this category — usually only after you activate. If you won't do that reliably, a flat-rate card lower down is worth more to you than the bigger number above it. "Conditions apply" means the rate needs something extra: a deposit balance, a wallet, a membership.

Rates are the published earn rate times the redemption value we researched for that card's currency — cash back at face value, points at the value recorded in our data. Caps, portal-only bookings and activation deadlines are printed on the row because they routinely halve the real return. We exclude discontinued cards, store-only cards, cards whose terms we haven't verified, and points cards whose currency we haven't valued (see below).

This ranks card terms. It is not a recommendation to apply for anything. If you already hold something on this list, the win is using it in the right place — that's what the app is for.

Not ranked — and why

These cards advertise a high earn rate for this category, but they pay hotel, airline or transferable points and we have not verified what that currency is actually worth. Ranking them at a made-up value would put them above cash-back cards on arithmetic we invented, so they sit here until the valuation is researched.