Looking to travel for free (or cheap)? Read about our favorite travel credit cards that have saved us thousands on flights and other travel expenses!
We often get asked how we can afford to travel and while there are many things we do to save money to travel and while traveling, one of the biggest things that have helped us travel more while on a budget are travel credit cards.
We know credit cards are a controversial topic, but we believe that if you treat them like a debit card, only spend what you have, and pay them off every single month, they are one of the best travel tools out there!
Ever since we got our first travel credit card, we have been able to travel for significantly less. By taking advantage of the large sign up bonuses and earning lots of points through our normal purchases, weโve essentially earned free money and have taken many flights for free or for much less out of pocket.
For example, in 2019, we flew to Mexico City, to Arizona, back and forth to Austin for 5 months to build our van (18 one way flights total), to Italy, and to Chicago for a total of around 32 one way flights for around $2,000 total (an average of $63/one way). The majority of the flights were 100% free with credit card points, minus the taxes and fees, while for some we used a combination of credit card points, frequent flyer miles, and money out of our pocket. Pretty crazy!
In this blog weโll share the different types of travel credit cards, our favorite travel credit cards, how to decide which travel credit card is for you, and helpful resources to check out.
Before we get started, here are some important disclosures:
1. Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links and we will receive commission if you choose to sign up for the card, at no additional cost to you.
2. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Looking for more travel planning tips? Check out these posts:
- How We Afford to Travel: Our Top Travel Budgeting Tips (+ Budget template!)
- How to Plan a Trip: A Detailed Travel Planning Guide (+ Itinerary Template)
- Fly for Less: Tips for Finding Cheap Flights
Types of travel credit cards
Before we dive into specific credit cards, there are two main types of travel credit cards to choose from, as well as different price points to choose from. Each has its own benefits and downsides to consider when deciding which travel credit card is for you.
Co-branded travel cards (airline or hotel specific)
Co-branded travel credit cards are tied to a certain airline or hotel, like United or Hyatt. These cards earn points that can only be used at the specific airline or hotel.
These cards can be great if youโre looking for rewards specific to those brands, such as free nights or upgrades, but they can also limit your options if a certain reward isnโt available when you need to use it, such as award seat availability.
We only recommended getting these if you only (or mostly) stay at these specific chains or fly the same airline.
General-purpose travel cards
General-purpose travel cards give rewards that can be used like cash on any airline or hotel brand, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Capital One Venture Card.
These travel cards are best for those who donโt stick to specific airlines or hotels and want the most flexibility for flights and accommodations. While you get more flexibility, the downside is that you typically do not get brand specific perks.
While we have had both co-branded travel cards and general-purpose travel cards, we personally like to keep our flight and accommodation options open by using general-purpose travel cards that arenโt tied to specific airlines or hotels.
Premium vs. Budget Credit Cards
Another big differentiator between travel credit cards are Premium vs. Budget cards.
Premium credit cards come with a high annual fee, but earn miles much faster and come with many more perks. Budget credit cards on the other hand, have a much cheaper (or free!) annual fee, but typically earn points at a slower rate and do not come with as many perks.
When deciding between the two, it is important to weigh the perks for each and decide which one youโre going to get the most value out of. It is a balance between how much of a fee you are willing to pay, how fast you want to earn points, and what perks come with it.
We have a mixture of Premium and Budget travel credit cards, but we use our Premium cards much more regularly. For us, the high annual fee has paid for itself many times over with how many points we have accumulated, with the free food and drinks we can get in the lounge, and the additional money we get off Ubers or on travel expenses. However, that annual fee charge does sting every time though!
How to get the most value from a travel credit card
Here are a few tips to help make sure you get the most value from your travel credit card!
Make sure you hit the minimum spend
To get the most value from a travel credit card, you need to make sure you hit the minimum spend to get the sign up bonus. These requirements differ between cards, but the sign up bonus typically can cover a round trip flight, so missing out on that would be heartbreaking!
We recommend applying for a travel credit card around a big purchase you have to make in order to help earn the sign on bonus. For instance, if you are needing a new laptop, get the credit card then use that card to buy the laptop.
Dinnerโs on me!
One thing I have loved doing with our travel cards is picking up the dinner bill for work dinners or out with friends. As long as you trust your employer or friends to pay you back, this is a great way to get extra miles!
Refer a friend
Some cards have offers where if you refer your friends and family to sign up for the card, you get loads of bonus miles for each person that signs up!
Multi-card strategy
If you decide to have more than one travel credit card, you can also be strategic and use specific ones for specific things. For example, if one card gives you 3x the points for dining and travel expenses, you would use that for those purchases.
But if another card has 2x the points for every purchase, you could use that one for any purchase that doesnโt get 3x points. The only downside of this is that then your points are spread out among a few different cards, so you may not have as high of a balance in one account.
Treat it like a debit card
We also highly advise only spending money you have and paying off the balance every month. If youโre carrying a large balance and have to pay the high interest rate, all the benefits you get from these cards is totally erased by the interest that adds up very quickly.
For more information on how a credit card can impact you financially, including your credit score, check out this article by Experian or speak to a financial professional.
Our Favorite Travel Credit Cards
Over the years we have had six travel credit cards, which we have signed up for because of the generous sign up bonuses, as well as how fast we can accumulate points and the perks. Below are our favorite travel credit cards and while we no longer use all of these, as some no longer fit our situation, we still highly recommend them all!
For each, weโre sharing important information, like the annual fee, as well as the perks that come along with them.
Chase Sapphire Reserveยฎ
The Chase Sapphire Reserveยฎ card offers some serious perks and is one of the ones we use the most, mostly for our travel and business expenses. Even after we deplete the points, we tend to gain enough back for a free flight pretty quickly. And the bonus value you get for your points is incredible!
If youโre a frequent traveler, who wants the flexibility of choosing any airline and the ability to get more money for your points, we couldnโt recommend this card more!
Annual Fee: $550/year + $75 for each additional authorized user
A few things to note about this:
- This fee was a lot less when we signed up, so keep in mind that these fees can change.
- You can avoid the authorized user fee by adding your card to your spouse/authorized userโs Apple Pay account.
- You get a $300 travel credit each year, which we will cover below, so technically the card only costs $250 a year.
Intro Bonus: As of May 2023, the intro bonus is 60,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of opening the card.
Airline: This card is not airline specific, which means you can use it for any airline!
Our Favorite Perks
While the high annual fee is a bit shocking, the perks make the fee worth it in our opinion!
- Your points have 50% more value. This is by far our favorite perk! For most travel credit cards, 100,000 points is worth about $1,000 in travel. However, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your 100,000 points would be equal to $1,500 in travel if you book through their portal.
- 3x points per dollar on travel and dining worldwide, after earning the $300 travel credit. What this means is if you spend $200 on a flight or eating out with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, youโll get 600 miles. Combine this 3x points with the 50% bonus and you can get a lot more points for your spending!
For example, this $200 flight would transfer into 600 points and with the 50% bonus, this would be redeem for about 900 points ($9), instead of 600 ($6). Compare this to the Capital One Venture card, which we will cover below, you’d only get 400 points for this purchase. - 10X points on hotel and car rental purchases and 5x points on flights booked through Chase Ultimate Rewardsยฎ. 1x points per dollar for most other expenses.
- $300 travel credit per year. Every year, youโll get $300 back for any travel expenses you pay with your card. This includes Ubers/Lyfts, hotels, Airbnb, flights, etc.
- Priority Pass membership. This is another one of our favorite perks! Priority Pass is a program that gives you free access to airport lounges around the world. Not every airport has a Priority Pass lounge and some lounges are better than others, but any lounge is better than none! In the lounge you can get free food, coffee, and alcohol, which can save you a lot of money in the airport.
- TSA Precheck or Global Entry. With your card you can get reimbursed for the application fee for TSA Precheck or Global Entry (up to $100).
- Trip and rental car insurance. Never pay for a rental carโs expensive insurance again! With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you get auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, travel and emergency assistance services, and more!
- 1:1 point transfer to many hotel and airline loyalty programs. This includes United, Southwest, JetBlue, KLM, Air France, Emirates, British Airways, and more!
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
If you donโt travel a ton and still want to benefit from some of these benefits, we suggest checking out the Chase Sapphire Preferredยฎ Card, which has a lower annual fee ($95). It doesnโt have some of the big perks: like the $300 travel credit, lounge access, or 3x points on travel and dining, but itโs a great cheaper alternative!
The Capital Oneยฎ Ventureยฎ Rewards Credit Card, which we will cover later on, is another good, more affordable option.
Capital Oneยฎ Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital Oneยฎ Venture X Rewards Credit Card is one of our favorite travel credit cards! Despite having the regular Venture card, we went ahead and got this card because the original sign up bonus (when the card first came out), was the best we had ever seen. While the sign up bonus isn’t as good as back then, it’s still a great card and we use it daily, along with our Chase Sapphire Reserveยฎ!
The only downside is that it doesn’t get the 50% bonus like the Chase Sapphire Reserveยฎ does, but if you strategically use both cards depending on the points per dollar, you’ll be able to save the most amount of points!
Annual Fee: Itโs $395/year and you have to pay for the first year. Authorized users are free though and with the perks we outline below, the card pays for itself.
Sign Up Bonus: As of February 2023, the sign up bonus is 75,000 miles if you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of opening the card. This equates to $750 in travel.
Airline: This card is not airline specific, which means you can use it for any airline!
Our Favorite Perks:
- 2x miles on all purchases. No matter what youโre buying, youโll get 2x miles! This also means you’ll get 8,000 miles after hitting the sign up bonus since your $4,000 will be worth 8,000 miles.
- 10X miles on hotel and car rental purchases and 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel.
- $300 travel credit per year. You will receive $300 back as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 anniversary miles. This is unlike any of the other premium cards we have listed on this guide and is a huge perk! That equates to $100 of free travel and combine that with the $300 travel credit, you’re basically getting $400 of perks for only $395 a year.
- TSA Precheck or Global Entry. With your card you can get reimbursed for the application fee for TSA Precheck or Global Entry (up to $100)
- Lounge access.You get Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounge access (with guests!), as well as unlimited visits to Capital One airport lounges, which are smaller in number for now, but growing.
- Transfer miles to other airlines. While you can book any airline with this card, you can also transfer your miles to a specific airline, like Aeromexico, KLM, Air France, Emirates, Air Canada, Qatar, JetBlue, Qantas, and more!
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
- Trip and rental car insurance. Youโll be covered if you have an incident with your rental car and you also get some travel insurance for canceled flights, delays, etc.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visaยฎ or Mastercardยฎ and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
Capital Oneยฎ Ventureยฎ Rewards Credit Card
We both individually got the Capital Oneยฎ Ventureยฎ Rewards Credit Card before our Italy trip to help us get our flights to and from Italy for free. This card has some pretty nice point perks for everyday spending, like 2x points on every purchase, so we used this one more for groceries, fuel, and anything we can’t get 3x points on with our Chase Sapphire Reserveยฎ. That way, we are maximizing the amount of points we can get for any purchase.
If you want a low yearly fee, want to earn more on every purchase, and want the flexibility of choosing any airline, the Capital Oneยฎ Ventureยฎ Rewards Credit Card is a good pick!
Annual Fee: The first year is free and then itโs $95/year. Authorized users are free too!
Sign Up Bonus: As of February 2023, the sign up bonus is 75,000 miles if you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of opening the card.
Airline: This card is not airline specific, which means you can use it for any airline!
Our Favorite Perks:
- 2x miles on all purchases. No matter what youโre buying, youโll get 2x miles which is pretty sweet!
- TSA Precheck or Global Entry. With your card you can get reimbursed for the application fee for TSA Precheck or Global Entry (up to $100)
- Lounge access. This card does NOT come with a Priority Pass membership, but you do get 2 complimentary visits per year to a Capital One lounge or Plaza Premium lounge!
- Transfer miles to other airlines. While you can book any airline with this card, you can also transfer your miles to a specific airline, like Aeromexico, KLM, Air France, Emirates, Air Canada, Qatar, JetBlue, Qantas, and more!
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
- Trip and rental car insurance. Youโll be covered if you have an incident with your rental car or your trip will be covered if you used your card to buy your flights.
The Platinum Cardยฎ from American Express
The Platinum Cardยฎ from American Express is a great card with loads of benefits, like the Centurion Lounge, but you might find that some merchants donโt accept American Express outside the US (or even in the US), making this card possibly not as ideal for every purchase situation.
If youโre a frequent traveler, whose home airport has a Centurion Lounge (or other Global Lounge Collection lounge), and you want the flexibility to choose any airline, this is a great card to consider! However, it is a bit expensive, so we’d really only suggest it if you’re truly able to utilize its benefits.
Annual Fee: $695/year (Rates & Fees) + $175 for a total of three additional authorized users. For this card, Adam just has the card in his Apple Pay in case he needs to use it, but itโs under my name.
Welcome Bonus: As of February 2023, the welcome bonus is 80,000 Membership Rewardsยฎ Points if you spend $6,000 in purchases in the first three months of opening the card.
Airline: This card is not airline specific, which means you can use it for any airline!
Our Favorite Perks (terms apply):
- 5x Membership Rewardsยฎ Points on airfare and hotels, up to $500,000 per year. The only caveat with this is that the flights must be booked directly with airlines or through amextravel.com and the hotels must be prepaid and booked on amextravel.com. For any other expenses, you get 1x Membership Rewardsยฎ Points per dollar.
- Priority Pass + Global Lounge Collection Access. Similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you get access to Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), but the extra perk (and one of the main reasons we got this card) is to get access to Centurion Lounges and other Global Lounge Collection lounges, including the Delta Lounge when flying Delta. These lounges tend to be nicer, have better food options, and more space to spread out and work.
- TSA Precheck or Global Entry. With your card you can get reimbursed for the application fee for TSA Precheck every 4.5 years (up to $85) or Global Entry every 4 years (up to $100), as long as you pay your membership fee. You can also get a $189 CLEARยฎ Credit.
- Up to $15 in Uber savings per month, which includes both rides and Uber Eats orders, plus a $20 bonus in December. You also get Uber VIP status! The catch with this is that you have to put your Platinum Cardยฎ from American Express in your Uber account and select โUber Cashโ to pay.
- Up to $200 airline fee credit per year. This means that you can get up to $200 back in airline fees, like baggage, incidental fees, in-flight drinks. You do have to choose one airline to get this benefit from though.
- Up to $200 in statement credits each year when booking a minimum two-night stay at Fine Hotels + Resortsยฎ or The Hotel Collection hotels. This benefit requires you to prepay for the hotel.
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite + Hilton Honors Gold status. Not only do you get Gold status at one major hotel chain, but you get it at both! This will get you perks like room upgrades, free breakfast, early check in and late check out, and more!
- Transfer Membership Rewardsยฎ Points to other airlines and hotels. While you can book any airline with this card, you can also transfer your Membership Rewardsยฎ Points to a specific airline, like Aeromexico, KLM, Air France, Emirates, Air Canada, ANA, Delta, Hawaiian, and more. You can also transfer to Hilton, Marriott, or Choice Privileges.
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
- Trip and rental car insurance. Youโll be covered if you have an incident with your rental car, if your luggage gets lost, or if you miss a connection.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit. Get up to $20 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Cardยฎ at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
Alaska Airlinesยฎ Credit Card
We got the Alaska Airlinesยฎ Credit Card when we lived in Seattle, which is Alaska Airlinesโ headquarters. It was a super convenient card for us to use when we lived there, as we mostly flew Alaska and I also had status because of work travel.
They also have nonstop flights to Hawaii, which was a huge perk for us. When we signed up, they had a special buy one, get one ticket offer, which got us to Hawaii for super cheap! We used this, combined with some points, to get both of us to Oahu during Thanksgiving for $550! The tickets wouldโve been $1,800 had we paid all in cash.
We no longer have this card since our home airport is Austin and Alaska Airlines isn’t as big down here, but if you live in a city with tons of Alaska Airlines flights, this card is a no brainer!
Annual Fee: $95/year + a free authorized user
Sign Up Bonus: 70,000 bonus miles
Airline: This card works the best for Alaska Airlines, but you can also redeem miles with their partner airlines.
Our Favorite Perks:
- $122 companion fare each year. By far the best perk of this card! Not only do you get the companion fare when you sign up, but you also get one companion fare per year. This means you could buy one full price ticket to Hawaii and get the second for $99 (plus $23 in taxes and fees)!
- Free checked bag on every flight. If your bag is too large to carry on or you just want to wander around the airport without lugging it around, this is a great perk! You can also use this perk for up to 6 people in your party.
- 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. You also get 1 mile per $1 on any other purchase.
- No blackout dates. This means you can redeem your miles anyday!
- Alaska Airlines perks. Youโll get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership and 20% back on inflight purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
Note: this card does not come with lounge access ๐
Southwest Rapid Rewardsยฎ Priority Credit Card
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewardsยฎ Priority Credit Card was the first travel card we applied for, back when we lived in Texas! Southwest is based out of Dallas so there are tons of flights out of Austin to most cities in the US, as well as to the Caribbean.
Southwest is awesome because the fares are usually affordable and checked bags are always free. They also donโt have assigned seating, which some people hate, but we tend to get a better seat this way!
We do not have this card anymore, as we can drive anywhere in the US and our travel priorities have shifted to international, but itโs still a great card. They now have three levels of the card: Plus, Premier, and Priority. We will focus on the Priority card, as it has the most perks!
If you want to travel mostly in the US and live in a city with many Southwest flights, we highly recommend this card!
Annual Fee: The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewardsยฎ Priority Credit Card is $149 per year. Authorized users are free too!
Sign Up Bonus: As of May 2023, earn 60,000 bonus points plus a 30% off promo code after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Airline: This card only has benefits if you want to fly Southwest Airlines.
Our Favorite Perks (for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewardsยฎ Priority Credit Card specifically):
- 3x points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases.
- 2x points per dollar on select streaming services, ride shares, internet and cable, local transit, and phone services.
- For any other purchases you get 1x points per dollar spent.
- 7,500 Anniversary point bonus. For the Priority card, you get 7,500 points every year on your card anniversary, which can get you a one way flight for some destinations!
- $75 Southwest annual travel credit. This alone makes this card worth it and makes the annual fee more like $74.
- 4 upgraded boardings per year when available. This is a big benefit since Southwest has a more unique boarding process.
- 25% back on inflight drinks and WiFi. And Southwest WiFi is some of the cheapest in the airline industry!
- No foreign transaction fees. Whenever you use your card internationally, you will not have to pay any foreign transaction fees.
How to choose the right card for you
And now the hard partโฆwhich travel credit card do you choose? If you canโt tell, we struggled with this decision, which is why we now have 4 total. But you donโt need to have multiple credit cards to reap the benefits! Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before making the decision.
How often do you travel?
If you donโt travel very often (1-2 times a year) or only travel in the US, you may want to stick to one of the lower annual fee cards. That way youโre not spending much out of pocket per year and while you may gain miles a bit slower, you wonโt need to redeem them as often.
If you like to take international trips or travel 3+ times a year, weโd highly consider checking out our top three cards: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and Amex Platinum. The benefits will pay for the hefty annual fee!
Are you loyal to a specific airline or hotel?
Are you loyal to a specific airline or hotel? Live near a major airport hub? Then weโd suggest looking into a co-branded airline or hotel travel credit card. If you live in Atlanta for example, there is a good chance youโll be flying Delta, which would make the Delta credit card (which we didnโt cover) a good option to look at.
As you may have noticed, there are no hotel travel cards on our list, as we are Airbnb lovers. So for us, a hotel card wouldnโt make as much sense. But for someone who loves hotels, a hotel card would be a good one to have in your wallet!
Do you pick the cheapest flight regardless of airline?
Do you prefer to be flexible and pick whatever airline is cheapest? Go with one of the general-purpose cards, like the Chase, Capital One, or Amex. These will give you the most options when it comes time to book a flight.
PS: Check out our tips for finding cheap flights!
Do you want to visit lounges?
Lounges are one of our favorite perks! We are able to save $20+ at the airport on food and coffee by visiting the lounges instead, so if you travel 3 times a year, with 2 one way flights each time, thatโs about $120 saved at airports! They are also a comfortable place to relax before your flight and have many outlets (sometimes a rarity in the terminal!). Some lounges have showers, massages, nap pods, and other benefits too!
Even if your airport does not have a lounge, they may have other perks for Priority Pass holders, like free food! We recently got $30 (each) for free at a restaurant in the Miami Airport as Priority Pass members.
Helpful Travel Credit Card Resources
While we have a good amount of experience with travel credit cards and are very loyal to the ones we own, there are many more cards out there to consider and tons of credit card knowledge to soak up. To see even more options, check out this list of cards on MileValue!
Weโd also highly recommend reading Nerd Wallet, The Points Guy, and MileValue to learn about more strategies to maximize your travel credit cards, plus other tips!
We hope you found this guide helpful and feel better prepared to choose the right travel card for you. Travel credit cards have improved our travels in so many ways, from free or cheap flights, to free food and coffee, to free checked bags. Without them, we definitely wouldnโt be able to travel as much.
Want to make your credit card points last longer? Learn our tips for finding cheap flights so you can take more free flights with those points you earn!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the authorโs alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
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Greetings from H-town (really Tomball, if you know where that’s at)! Under the Chase Sapphire card, you said that the 900 points is worth $90 and 600 points would be worth $60. I think it should be $9 and $6 respectfully. Otherwise getting $90 back when you spend $200 would be a great deal!! ๐
Ahhh thanks for catching my bad math, Brent! Just updated it ๐ And we are familiar with Tomball. Have you been to Tejas Chocolate+Barbecue? We’ve always wanted to try it!
I haven’t been there, but I’m familiar with it. I have a smoker and smoke BBQ myself so we don’t eat BBQ out a ton. A little over a year ago they opened up a burger place called Tejas Burger Joint. It’s on main street in Tomball. They have smoked burgers and are pretty good. If you’re ever in the area you should check them out. I just discovered you guys in the last week. Your One Day in Houston video popped up on my youtube and I watched and fell into the youtube hole of watching your Italy videos. My wife and I were supposed to go back for her 40th birthday this year, but it may have to wait until next year. Only time will tell but in the meantime youtube videos like yours and the memories of going before will have to do.
Ah sweet! Adam’s dream is to have a smoker and smoke his own BBQ (one day when we have a house vs. a van!). And thanks for the tip, a smoked burger sounds awesome! Italy will be incredible when y’all can make it there…it’s such a gorgeous, delicious, and fun country!
Hi guys, I actually just moved to Tomball and have been to Tejas Chocolate & BBQ. Food there is really good. Highly recommend. I started following you guys when I was living in Wyoming. My wife and I enjoyed seeing your travels through the West. Weโre excited to see what yโall encounter in the east.
Hi Onasis! We want to go there next time we are in Houston! We hope you enjoy living in TX!
This may be a silly question, but for the Alaska Airlines card, is the companion pass a one time use or unlimited for the year?
Hi Noelle! Not silly at all and I will update the post to be more clear. It’s one time per year! SW Airlines does offer an unlimited companion for an entire year if you reach a specific number of flights or miles though!
As always this is such super helpful info! Did you have any issues with not being able to pick seats when you booked flights through the different card platforms? Iโm trying to decide between Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capitol One Venture card. The later doesnโt seem work with the main airlines in the US for transferring points so any points earned would have to be redeemed through their travel booking platform (but from what Iโve found on the internetโฆwhich isnโt always accurate, there seems to be mixed reviews on booking through the card travel platforms – flying as a couple having the option to pick seats together is high on the list). Would love any insights you have on this.
Hi Heather! Great question! We used Capital One to book a few flights recently and were able to pick seats. Sometimes we have to pick them directly with the airlines, using the airline reservation # that Capital One will send in the confirmation email. While other times we have booked seats directly through the credit card platform. The only time I can recall not being able to choose seats is when we have booked fares that don’t allow this or require us to pay extra (through the airline) to choose seats. Hopefully that helps! Both are great cards!
Super helpful, thank you so much!