I’m a frequent traveler and these 5 credit cards never leave my wallet

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I have been consistently traveling the world since 2014 after I opened my first travel rewards credit card in college. That quickly turned my love for travel into a two-fold obsession for exploring the world and leveraging travel rewards programs to do it on the cheap.
As a result, I have opened numerous travel rewards credit card over the years for different sign up bonuses, bonus earning categories and other travel benefits. Some have stayed in my wallet longer than others, and a select few have made it into my regular rotation.
In this article, I’ll show you the five credit cards that have earned a permanent spot in my wallet and how I justify their annual fees, if applicable. This isn’t a list of all of the credit cards I have open. Rather, these cards are the ones I have kept in my wallet long-term, actively spend on and have no plans of closing or downgrading.
Most are names you may have heard of before, but I want to discuss how they fit in to the credit card rewards stack. So without further ado, these are my top five credit cards as a frequent traveler.
My top 5 credit cards as a frequent traveler
I use credit card rewards to fund my flights and hotel stays around the world. James D. Morgan/Getty Images for Tourism Australia
These are the credit cards I use the most both at home and on the road, for everything from travel expenses to everyday shopping. Each is used for a different purchase or for a different benefit, like lounge access and elite status.
Related: These are the best credit cards for good credit.
Bilt Mastercard: Earning points on rent
The Bilt Mastercard can make fee-free rent payments to any landlord. Getty Images
I added the Bilt Mastercard to my wallet at the end of 2021. It’s a unique card in that it lets renters earn flexible travel rewards on their rent payments to any landlord. It earns 1 point per dollar on all rent payments, up to 100,000 points per year. Bilt Rewards will send your rent payment to your landlord via an ACH transfer or by simply cutting a check and mailing it to your landlord.
Even better, the card earns points on other purchases too:
Up to 5 points per dollar: Lyft rides.
3 points per dollar: Dining.
2 points per dollar: Travel (booked directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company).
1 point per dollar: All other purchases.
These are solid earn rates for a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee (see rates and fees). They’re not industry-leading per se, but there’s a lot of value to be had for someone that just wants one credit card and pays rent every month. Just note that you’ll have to make at least five transactions a month on your Bilt Mastercard in order to earn points.
When traveling overseas, I also use this card for dining purchases. I generally use the American Express Gold Card (more on that later) at restaurants in the U.S., but the Bilt card comes in handy abroad as Mastercard is more broadly accepted than American Express. Plus, the card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. I also pay for coffee with the Bilt Mastercard to fulfill the 5 transaction requirement. Of course, I also use it to pay my New York City rent.
But what really matters here is how flexible Bilt Rewards are. The program has built a portfolio of airline and hotel transfer partners, including American Airlines AAdvantage, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt. This means that you can maximize your points for first and business class award tickets, great hotel rooms or just about anything else in the travel world.
You can keep it simple too. Bilt Rewards has a travel portal powered by Expedia that lets you redeem your points for 1.25 cents per point. In other words, this means 10,000 Bilt Rewards points are worth $125 toward flights, hotels, rental cars and even Disney World tickets. This flexibility also means you don’t have to worry about finding award space and can book just about any flight or hotel you’d like.
Welcome offer: None.
Annual fee: $0.
Learn more and apply for the Bilt Mastercard.
Read CNN Underscored’s full review of the Bilt Mastercard.
The Platinum Card from American Express: Travel perks and airfare
The Amex Platinum has a slew of excellent travel perks, like airport lounge access. Emily McNutt
The Platinum Card from American Express is an iconic travel card. It’s known for giving card holders industry-leading travel perks, from complimentary hotel elite status to airport lounge access. The card has an expensive $695 annual fee (see rates and fees), but it also has a plethora of credits that help offset it.
On the earning side, however, things aren’t as exciting:
5 points per dollar: Airfare booked directly with the airline or through amextravel.com.
5 points per dollar: Prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com.
1 point per dollar: All other purchases.
Because of this, I only use the Amex Platinum to purchase airfare. I almost always book direct with the airline, so I earn 5 points per dollar on all of the tickets I buy. Otherwise, I use other credit cards in my portfolio to make all of my other purchases since I can earn more than 1 point per dollar.
But benefits are where this card really shines. My favorite benefit is access a slew of different airport lounges with the Amex Platinum. As a Delta frequent flyer, lounge access is especially valuable since Delta Sky Club access is included so long as the card holder is traveling with Delta the same day.
The Amex Platinum provides access to these airport lounge networks:
American Express Centurion Lounges.
Delta Sky Club (with a same-day Delta boarding pass).
Escape Lounges.
Select Lufthansa lounges (when flying with Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian).
Plaza Premium.
Priority Pass Select.
Other interesting perks include complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold elite status and various statement credits. This includes an annual $200 airline fee credit, $200 in Uber Cash (given monthly), a $200 hotel credit for prepaid stays at The Hotel Collection or Fine Hotels + Resorts properties booked with Amex Travel and up to $100 per year in Saks Fifth Avenue credit, among others.
These credits help me justify the Amex Platinum’s $695 annual fee since I use the entirety of them every year. Plus, lounge access has saved me thousands of dollars over the years, as I can skip expensive airport restaurants and head to the lounge for a meal.
Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 in your first six months of card membership.
Annual fee: $695.
Learn more and apply for the Amex Platinum.
Read CNN Underscored’s full review of the Amex Platinum.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: All other travel spend
The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Ultimate Rewards points, which I frequently transfer to Hyatt. Hyatt
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is another iconic travel credit card that took the credit card world by storm when it launched in 2016. I use it to pay for all of my travel purchases that aren’t airfare, as the card earns 3 points per dollar on all travel purchases. This includes things like hotel stays, parking and public transportation. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to earn more points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards and on Lyft rides.
Here’s a look at the full earning structure:
10 points per dollar: Lyft rides (until March 2025) and rental cars and hotels booked through Ultimate Rewards.
5 points per dollar: Airfare booked through Ultimate Rewards.
3 points per dollar: Travel and dining.
1 point per dollar: All other purchases.
Like the Bilt card, I like to charge my travel purchases to the Sapphire Reserve because they earn more points than other cards and because it lets me diversify my points portfolio. I earn the majority of my travel rewards as Amex Membership Rewards, but like having a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points around because the program has different transfer partners. Namely, I like being able to transfer my Chase points to World of Hyatt to book hotel rooms.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can also be redeemed through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal that lets you book virtually any flight, hotel room or rental car at a fixed value per per point. However, the value you get from these points depends on the card you have. Most no-annual-fee Chase credit cards redeem at 1 cent per point while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card redeems at 1.25 cents per point. The Sapphire Reserve earns at 1.5 cents per point, meaning that 50,000 points is worth $750 through the portal.
The card has a suite of benefits, too. Like the Amex Platinum, it includes a Priority Pass membership. However, the membership included with the Sapphire Reserve is better than what’s included with the Amex Platinum by comparison. This is because it also gives you access to Priority Pass restaurants at airports like New York-JFK, Miami (MIA), London Gatwick (LGW) and others. These restaurants give you a dining credit when you present your Chase-issued Priority Pass card.
And while the card has a $550 annual fee, it includes a $300 travel credit that can be used on any travel purchase. This effectively drops the annual fee to $250 for me since I always use the entirety of the credit every year. I’m able to justify the rest of the fee with high earning rates on Lyft rides and travel.
Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening the account.
Annual fee: $550.
Learn more and apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Read CNN Underscored’s full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
American Express Gold Card: Groceries and dining out
The Amex Gold card earns 4 points per dollar at restaurants in the U.S. and abroad. Getty Images
The American Express Gold Card has long been one of my favorites as a food-lover living in New York City.
Next to rent, food is one of my largest monthly expenses. I dine out and shop for groceries for my partner and I at least once a week. Living in one of the world’s most expensive cities, these purchases add up over the course of the year. And with the Amex Gold in my wallet, these expenses at least bring me closer to my next trip around the world.
Here’s how the card earns American Express Membership Rewards points:
4 points per dollar: At restaurants worldwide.
4 points per dollar: At U.S. supermarkets.
3 points per dollar: For flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
1 point per dollar: All other purchases.
Because of this, I use the Amex Gold for the majority of my dining and grocery expenses. This has helped me earn tens-of-thousands of points over the years and earned the card a permanent place in my wallet. This is despite the $250 annual fee (see rates and fees) which — while high — is largely offset by two monthly credits that the card gives to card holders.
The card includes a $10 monthly dining credit and $10 in monthly Uber Cash. On the dining credit side, the Amex Gold gives you a $10 statement credit on purchases at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. On the other hand, the $10 Uber Cash is added to your Uber account every month and can be used either for Uber rides in the US or food delivery orders made with Uber Eats. I would spend $10 per month with Grubhub and Uber with or without the card, effectively giving me a $240 annual rebate on my Amex Gold’s annual fee.
Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in your first six months of card membership.
Annual fee: $250.
Learn more and apply for the Amex Gold.
Read CNN Underscored’s full review of the Amex Gold.
American Express Blue Business Plus: All other purchases
The Blue Business Plus lets me earn 2 points per dollar on just about anything (up to $50,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar). Getty Images
Finally, we have what I believe to be one of the best no annual fee (see rates and fees) business credit cards on the market, the American Express Blue Business Plus card. This card also earns American Express Membership Rewards points. But unlike other cards on this list, it awards 2 points per dollar on all purchases on up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1 point per dollar.
The Amex Blue Business Plus acts as a catch-all for all of my purchases that do not fall into a bonus category offered by one of the other credit cards on this list. So if I’m buying a new gadget, chances are I’m charging it to this card. The card ensures that I’m earning bonus points on every single purchase I make, getting me closer to my next big redemption.
That said, this is a business credit card. As such, you should check if you’re eligible to open a business credit card of your own before applying. If you have a business — or even have a side-hustle — there’s a good chance you’re eligible to apply.
Welcome offer: Earn 15,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in your first three months of card membership.
Annual fee: None.
Learn more and apply for the Amex Blue Business Plus.
Read CNN Underscored’s full review of the Amex Blue Business Plus.
Other travel credit cards I keep open
I keep a handful of hotel cards open for the annual free night certificate. Hyatt
I also keep a handful of credit cards on retainer that I don’t often spend with. These live in my desk drawer at home and are still open because they offer a benefit that I feel out weighs the card’s annual fee, if it has one.
These are a handful of the other cards I keep open (and why I keep them):
As you can see, many of these cards are hotel credit cards, which offer a free night every year I keep the card open. In most cases, the value I get from these free nights far outweighs the annual fee as long as I redeem it before it expires.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Flex makes its way back in to my wallet when I can use its rotating 5% cash back categories, and the Delta Reserve makes an appearance if I am running short on MQD or MQM to requalify for Delta elite status.
Related: These are our favorite credit cards for Delta flyers.
Bottom line
I have used travel rewards to travel the world for the better part of the past decade. These rewards have been largely earned with the credit cards outlined in this article. And while I may take travel rewards to the extreme with 10+ credit cards, I travel enough to make use of the benefits and credits offered by each card to justify their annual fees, if applicable.
That said, you can create your own credit card portfolio that earns bonus rewards on all of your purchases without paying high annual fees. Read my article to why you should have more than one credit card for more information on creating a credit card stack that works for your needs.
Click here for rates and fees of the American Express Platinum card.
Click here for rates and fees of the American Express Gold card.
Click here for rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus card.
Click here for rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card.
Click here for rates and fees of the Marriott Business card.
Looking for the best overall credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored chose as its best credit cards available right now.
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