The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express offers one Starpoint for every dollar spent on the card, as well as 4–5 Starpoints for money spent at Starwood Properties. The Starwood credit card can also be used to accrue frequent flyer points, with cardholders receiving 10,000 bonus points after the first purchase, which can be used towards hotel stays or airline travel. Put more simply, this is a credit card that is great for people who want to use American Express to save money on travel.

The Starwood Rewards Program
The Starwood Preferred Guest program really does reward you for staying at the Starwood properties – places like Le Meridien hotels, the Sheraton, W Hotels, and St. Regis.  Every night you stay you earn rewards points, called Starpoints.  The number of points you earn depends on how often you stay with them.

Reward Tiers

Starwood has different tiers in their rewards program – Preferred Guest, Gold Preferred, and Platinum Preferred.  You enter the program as a Preferred Guest and after you’ve stayed 10 times (or 25 nights) you move up to the Gold Preferred tier.  Then, if you stay with Starwood 15 more times (or 50 nights) in that same year you’re moved up to Platinum Preferred.

Each higher tier has increasing benefits, one of those is that you earn more points for each Starwood stay.  At the base level you earn 2 Starpoints for every night stay and at the Gold and Platinum Preferred level you earn 3 points per night.

Extra Points & Hotel Credits

The cool thing about the Starwood card is that on top of the Starpoints you earn from staying at the hotel, you earn an extra 2 points if you put your stay on your card. In addition, if you are a Starwood cardholder you get a credit every year for 5 nights and 2 stays towards your next Preferred Guest level.

Frequent Travelers

Our old neighbor was in sales and covered an 8 state area so somtimes he’d be on the road for 2–3 weeks at a time.  He used to stay at mainly Marriott properties and used their rewards program but switched over to Starwood about 2 years ago.  In addition to the consumer card, there’s also a Starwood business card, which is what he was using.

He’d use all the Starpoints he earned in his travels to take his wife and little girl on trips around the country.  They’re also big shoppers – since you earn one point for each dollar you spend on the card it was a good card for them.

Starwood Hotel Deals

The best Starwood deals going on right now are the free nights you can get when you signup for the Starwood Preferred Guest card. 

You earn 10K Starpoints when you first use the card and 15K more when you use it for at least $5K of purchases in the first 6 months.  Depending on which category of hotel you redeem them with those points can be good for 3–4 free nights.

In addition to the credit card offer, Starwood’s pretty good about running promotions on their website for discounted hotel stays. Usually it requires you staying for at least one night and then getting discounted or free nights depending on how long you stay.

Some of these hotel promotions are more short-term and require a Starwood coupon code to take advantage of it.  There are some that are more long standing that don’t require a promotion code, for example

Better Tomorrow Promo – For every night you stay at a Starwood hotel and pay the full rate, you save 40% off the next night you stay.

3^rd Night Free Promo – If you book two nights in a row, ie Saturday/Sunday, then the third night is free.

No Blackout Dates
Unlike other hotel rewards programs, there are no blackout dates so you can redeem your Starpoints whenever fits into your travel schedule. Obviously, one of the big drawbacks to some hotel rewards programs is that they have blackout during times when you travel most: the summertime or during holidays. The ability to claim your free hotel room whenever you travel definitely helps set this program apart from others.

You do need to be familiar with how Starwood classifies their hotels, by Category levels – the higher the Category the nicer the hotel.  You don’t earn more rewards by staying at nicer hotels but when it comes to redeeming your Starpoints they go farther at the lower category hotels.  For example, you might use the same number of points to stay one night in a Category 6 hotel that you could use to stay for 3 nights in a Category 3 hotel.

So you can choose whether you want to use all your points in one or two nights at a really fancy place or stretch your free stay out for longer at a different hotel.  One thing to keep in mind, the Category 3 and 4 properties are nice hotels, it’s just the 5 and 6 category are far more luxurious.

Redeeming Your Free Room

The free rooms you can reserve with your Starpoints are standard rooms, be aware that a few destinations don’t have regular rooms so you won’t be able to use your StarPoints for free stays at those hotels or resorts.

Something else to keep in mind is that it often takes fewer points to get your free night over the weekend instead of during the week.  As you can see in the chart below, your points can go farther over the weekend.

Starwood Preferred Guest Airline Miles
Starwood has relationships with about 30 airline companies that allow you to transfer StarPoints into airline miles, most of them transfer one mile for each StarPoint.

They also have an airline bonus, if you transfer 20,000 points into airline miles, you’ll get back an extra 5,000 points. So let’s take a look at how many airline miles you could get in the first year of your card.

As mentioned above you’ll get 10,000 for signing up and an additional 15,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 in the first six months. If you transfer those 25,000 points into airline miles to get the additional 5,000 bonus points, that’s 30,000 airline miles.  Of course, this assumes that you can exchange 1 point for 1 mile, but many of the major carriers, like United, Delta, Continental, and American Airlines, do give you 1 for 1.

APR and Annual Fee
Compared to other travel rewards cards of its type, the American Express Starwood Preferred Card has a relatively low fee of $65. The APR is also low with a low introductory APR for the first six months of the card (the period where you can earn an extra 15,000 bonus points). All of this means that you’ll be able to reap rewards as soon as you get card without having to spend a lot of money to get it. See the chart at the bottom for specific details about current rates and offers.

Customer Feedback
I asked readers about their favorite credit cards and one guy named Jason had some good things to say about the Starwood card.  He covers the credit card industry for another website so he really digs through all the rewards and term and conditions when comparing and using credit cards.  I thought the fact that he pointed out this card was a good sign, here’s what he had to say:

Jason’s Comments
For travel rewards, I have found no better card than the Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express. The benefits at Starwood hotels are fantastic – I can book an award stay at any room within their brand, which includes Westins, Sheratons and others, with no blackouts or capacity controls. Awards start at 3,000 points with some Westins going for as little as 7,000.

Your fifth award night is also free, so you can easily save 20% off of those low rates. By comparison, Hilton and Intercontinental group also offer no blackouts and no capacity restrictions on their awards, but their award rates are much higher.

The benefits of the Starwood card goes well beyond hotels. The StarPoints are transferable to dozens of major airlines. They are the ultimate universal currency when you need to top off an airline account for a major award redemption. In fact, you can use the Starwood card to earn more airline miles than the airline’s cards themselves.

Starwood grants a 5,000 point bonus when you redeem 20,000 Starpoints for airline miles. This gives you 1.25 miles per dollar spent rather than the one to one ratio offered by most airline cards. The annual fee is $65, but this pays for itself when you are able to snag a pricey hotel for free or fly in business class after making a transfer of Starpoints to airline miles.

Conclusion
The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card has a tough to beat rewards program, which can then be used at over 30 different airlines or at most of the Starwood hotels around the world. This review didn’t talk much about international travel but Starwood recently announced it’s adding 50 new hotels across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Starwood Preferred Guest is obviously best for people who travel frequently, such as business travelers, but anyone who is interested in staying at Starwood properties can get quality hotel stays for big discounts or for free. The relatively low annual fee you pay for access to their rewards program makes this one of the best hotel credit cards available today.

The Marriott Rewards Credit Card card is a hotel rewards card from Chase that has a good rewards program and lets you earn you a free hotel stay as soon as you sign up for the card. Marriott points can be used at over 3,100 worldwide locations, so wherever you are traveling you can be earning hotel rewards with Marriott. I think this is a good card for the frequent traveler who enjoys Marriott hotels, which may surprise you a little.

I’ve talked multiple times before about the potential disadvantages of earning all your points with one airline or hotel chain and said some good things about cards that let you earn and use rewards independently, like the Blue Sky and Discover Miles cards.

While all the potential negatives I’ve covered in the past still exist, if the rewards program is good enough then it can makeup for those shortfalls.  I think that’s the case with this card, if you’re already a Marriott fan then the points you can earn through their rewards program make this a decent option.

Marriott Rewards Free Night Promotion
I suppose I could be a little bias because the Marriott Rewards card was my very first hotel rewards card –- and I signed up for it because it gave me one free nights stay at Marriott. Well times have changed… for the better!

Now the Marriott rewards free night offer has actually turned into four free nights, plus one. After you sign up for the card, you get an e-certificate for a free night stay, just like before. However, now after you make your first purchase on the card you earn 22,500 Marriott points, which is enough for another four free nights stay. That’s a nice little vacation break at a Marriott hotel that you can get as soon as you’ve made your first purchase on the card.

Marriott Rewards Program
Your Marriott Rewards card earns you 3 points for every $1 you spend staying at a Marriott and 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases. There’s a big list of the types of hotels where you can use your Marriott points, I’ve stayed in a few of them.

For example, we spent our honeymoon in a Renaissance hotel in the Virgin Islands and I stayed at another nice Renaissance in San Francisco when I was there for a conference.  We’ve stayed at a nice Marriott on vacation in Boston and St. Louis and I spent another week at a Residence in near Sacremento for a work trip.  We’ve also stayed at various Courtyard by Marriott and FairField Inn & Suites locations on family trips around the MidWest.

Some of the hotels where I haven’t stayed but you can earn and use points are JW Marriott Hotels, the SpringHill Suites, and the TownePlace Suites.  There are a few Ritz-Carlton hotels and Marriott Conference Centers where you can’t use your points so if you’re looking to stay at one of those call ahead and ask first.

Marriott Points
The points you earn on your Marriott Rewards card can be used for vacations, hotel stays, or airline miles but the majority of people I know with this card use them for free nights and vacations. A good friend of ours travels a lot for his sales job and he takes his family on two or three trips each year paid for with Marriott points. One cool thing about redeeming your points is that anytime you use them to book a stay of at least 7 nights, you earn another 15,000 Marriott points. I don’t know of any other hotel rewards program where you can earn points for redeeming points.

Frequent Traveler Bonuses
Each time that you stay at a Marriott Hotel using this credit card you will earn credits towards Elite Membership. With 15 nights of stays you’ll get silver level elite status, 50 nights pushes you to gold level and 75 nights gets you up to platinum level. At each level you receive additional bonuses at no extra cost to you as a cardholder. These benefits include discounts, room up grades and even additional opportunities to earn even more bonus points on the card. Plus for every $3000 you spend on the card, you get an extra night towards your Elite status.

APR and Fees
This credit card does have an annual fee, it’s not outrageous, only $30. Additionally, that fee is waived for the first year. The APR is competitive for a rewards credit card; see the chart below for specifics. The card is designed for people with excellent credit.

Marriott Rewards vs Premier Rewards

You can actually choose between two different rewards cards from Marriott, the regular card or the Premier card.  The downside of the Premier version is that you’ll pay a higher annual fee, the question is are the features of the Premeir card worth it?

With the Marriott Premier card you earn 2 extra points per dollar spent at Marriott hotels than you would with the base version.  You also earn double the points for travel purchases of airline tickets, dining, or car rentals.  For all non travel related expenses you earn the same as the regular rewards card, 1 point per dollar.

You also earn more bonus points when you first sign up for the Premier card.  You get the bonus points after your first purchase and the Premier version gives you an extra 7500.  It can also help you get to bonuses that come with Elite status faster, after 10 nights instead of 15.

Probably the best feature of the Premeir Rewards version is that every year you get free night at a category 1–5 Marriott hotel if you’re a cardholder.  Once a year, about a 6 weeks after your anniversarry month you get a certificate in your rewards account that you can use to book a free night.  While the free night basically pays for the annual fee, you do have to make sure you use the certificate and not lose it because its not redeemable after 6 months.

From what I can tell if you stay at Marriott hotels frequently, or even just a few times a year, the benefits of the Premier card will outweigh the higher annual fee.

Conclusion
The Marriott Hotel rewards card by Chase gives you several different ways to earn a good amount of Marriott rewards. The more you use it, the more rewards you get. The annual fee is low so it’s an appealing credit card for the people with excellent credit who can qualify for it. Like I said, if you’re a fan of Marriott hotels then this could be the hotel rewards card for you.

The Miles by Discover® is a travel rewards card, as you can probably tell from the name. It allows you to earn double miles on purchases up to $3000 in travel-related purchases and one-point-per-dollar for general purchases. The miles you earn with Discover Miles don’t expire and there’s no cap on the number of miles that can be earned on the card.  The Miles card also has additional perks including the opportunity to amass numerous bonus rewards in the first year of card activation.

Flexible Travel Rewards

Similar to the Blue Sky card, Discover Miles lets you use your rewards across different airline carriers, hotel chains, and rental car companies.  Unless you always fly the same airline or stay in the same hotel, this is one of the top benefits of the card in my opinion.

There are other rewards programs that let you earn miles or points when booking travel but some of them require that you use a specific website to find and pay for your trip.  Of course the potential downside of being limited to a specific portal is that if you can find the ticket or hotel cheaper through some other site like Priceline or Kayak, then the rewards you earn don’t make up for the higher price of the ticket.

With the Discover Miles card you don’t have to worry about what airline you fly, which hotel you sleep in, or who you book your travel through – you still earn rewards regardless.

Discover Miles Rewards

You don’t get the most out of the Miles card by using it for everyday purchases.  You earn a mile for every dollar you put on the card, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary for a rewards card. The biggest benefits come from the double rewards categories and the card bonuses. 

The double rewards are in the travel and dining categories of purchases and earn you 2 miles for every dollar you spend in a year, up to $3000.  Although there is no limit on the amount of total annual rewards you can earn, after the first $3000 of purchases the double rewards categories go back to earning 1 mile per dollar.

There is one other way to earn double rewards on your spending, from purchases made through the ShopDiscover portal.  This may not mean a whole lot to you unless you regularly shop at one of the comapanies that’s part of their ShopDiscover program.  Members who login and shop online through this program earn 2 miles for each dollar put on the card.  Discover does have a big list of nationally know companies in their program, such as Sears, ACE Hardware, Apple, Gap, HP, Old Navy, Office Depot, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Home Depot, Kohls, JC Penney, and many others.

If you already shop at any of these stores then you could earn double miles on your purchases with the Miles card.

Card Bonus Offer

Unlike most other travel rewards cards, the Discover Miles Card offers 1,000 bonus miles a month if the card is used at least once a month, for the first year you have the card.  There are other Discover and Chase cards that will give you a cashback bonus just for using the card, but they usually require a minimum of $500–750 dollars of purchases in the first few months. 

With the Miles card you can get the bonus for a whole year, just by buying a pack of gum once a month. The only other card I know of with a bonus with such low requirements is the Discover Escape card, which actually makes a similar bonus offer but extends it for 2 years instead of 1.

Redeeming Discover Miles Rewards

For every 10,000 miles you earn Discover makes you eligible for a $100 travel credit on your Miles card.  So going back to the bonus I just mentioned, those 12,000 miles are worth $120 towards a flight or hotel.

Since you choose how to travel and how to buy your ticket, you don’t have to worry about blackout dates or other restrictions when you go to redeem your rewards.  If your purcase is travel related then it’s eligible to recieve the travel credit.  After you pay for the rental car, airline ticket, or hotel room you can call up Discover or go through their websiteto submit the purchase and have your travel credit applied to it. Make sure you redeem your miles within 3 months of making the purchase otherwise you’ll have to wait and use your rewards on the next travel you buy.

Discover does offer several other ways to redeem your rewards:

• Gift cards at over 90 merchants (minimum 1000) points
• $25 Discover Gift Card for every 5000 points earned
• Cash back starting at 5000 points
• Charitable donation starting at 5000 points

Although those options are avaibable to you, the best rewards for your money comes from using them on travel with this card.  If you’d like to get the cashback or gift cards instead then you’d probably be better off with a cash back card.

Discover Miles Benefits

In addition to rewards points, the Discover Miles Card offers $500,000 in travel accident insurance. This card also offers enhanced fraud protection with a $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee that promises you won’t be responsible for any unauthorized usage of your card. The fraud protection feature is on most cards these days but still something you should check for this era of frequent identity theft.

No Annual Fee

There is no annual fee on this credit card. The lack of an annual fee is significant, as most travel rewards cards do charge an annual fee – some of which can be very steep, offsetting the gains from a better rewards program. 

Discover Miles does offer an upgraded version of the card that charges an annual fee. What you get from the upgraded version is insurance coverage against:

• Rental car damage (no deductible)
• Lost or damaged luggage (Up to $2,500)
• Travel Delays ($150 daily lodging)
• Trip cancellation (Up to $2,500)

You’d have to compare the annual fee against the cost of buying travel insurance in a year to see if that version made sense for you.

Discover Miles APR

Like other Discover cards, the Miles Card typically has a lower APR than comparable cards and sometimes features a 0% introductory APR on purchases; see the chart below for details about current APR offers. Like many other credit cards the best rates will be available to the people with the best credit.

Conclusion

The Discover Miles Card is a good rewards credit card. The 1,000 a month bonus is only good for the first year of the card but it can kick into effect for very small purchases, which is definitely appealing.

You don’t need to spend $1000 to earn 1000 miles, so it is a good bet for frugal flyers. The card does have some unique travel rewards possibilities that frequent travelers will find attractive.

Finally, the fact that this card has no annual fee and is flexible about how you earn and redeem rewards adds to the appeal of the card. 

Blue Sky from American Express is one of the top travel rewards credit cards because of the freedom its membership rewards program offers cardholders to choose how you can redeem your points.

Top Travel Rewards Card – One of the problems that can come with using a rewards card with a certain airline or hotel chain is that you might spend years building up rewards and then have them suddenly change the program on you.

For example there were some major changes made to the Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward program not long ago when they overhauled how customers could earn and redeem flight rewards. Many customers and industry experts thought the changes were an improvement but not everyone felt that way.  The customers who had been flying Southwest for years and felt they were being mis-treated had little they could do about it other than leave complaints on the customer blog.

Regardless of whether you thought the Southwest Airlines rewards program improved or got worse, the point is that using a specific airline credit card does expose you to that risk.  That’s one of the reasons that Blue Sky from American Express is one of the best travel rewards credit cards you can apply for today.  With no blackout dates or travel restrictions plus rewards points that can be used for any airline, hotel, cruise, or car rental – the card doesn’t limit you to a specific airline, or even method of travel.

Earn Reward Points Easily – Another nice benefit of American Express Blue Sky over some of the other cards from airlines like Delta, United, and Continental is that the card has no annual fee. The fee for most airlines cards isn’t that high, but no fee is certainly better than even a low fee.  With no charge to use the Blue Sky card, you start earning rewards right away without having to worry about making up the annual fee.

The Blue Sky also has no purchase limitations on where you can earn travel points.  As a card member, you earn one point for every single dollar that you spend and there is no earning limit on your rewards.  Expiring points are not an issue either, the points you earn will be available as long as your account is active and in good standing.

Not to complain about the airlines again but I’ve had so many frequent flyer miles expire over the years, it’s nice to know that the rewards you earn when traveling will be there for you to use them.  If you’re not a frequent traveler and are trying to save up rewards for a big vacation a few years off, then this is a great feature for you.

I don’t know how many offers I saw come in the mail to use my frequent flyer miles to buy magazine subscriptions. It was a prett inefficient way to redeem the miles, I wasn’t getting a very good conversion rate when it came to mone spent on flights vs rewards, but once or twice my miles were expiring so I opted for the magazine. I’m glad I don’t have to mess around with that anymore because of cards like Blue Sky.

Blue Sky Travel Savings – The Blue Savings program is a good way to earn discounts on travel.  You can find deals from 5–20% off hotels (like Marriott), rental cars (like Hertz), and restaurants when you pay with your Blue Sky card.  It’s a nice perk – the Blue savings program was setup for the Amex Blue and Blue Cash cards but since Blue Sky is in the same card family, you can take advantage of the savings as well.

Blue Sky Protection – Another thing people like about the Blue Sky card is that it offers travelers protection against unexpected problems while on a trip.  Card holders can call the American Express Global Assist Hotline for help with coordination of emergency assistance for medical, financial, and legal matters.  They also offer a lost wallet service, which does cost extra, that will rush you a new card and will help expedite getting a new passport or ID if you’re overseas and lose your wallet.

Blue Sky from American Express also provides the Purchase Protection Plan, which can cover items you buy while traveling.  It protects eligible purchases made with the Card against accidental damage and theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. The Blue Sky card also offers auto insurance for rental cars but make sure you understand the rules of the credit card rental insurance and what it does and doesn’t cover before you start driving.

You can review the features and benefits of the card listed below and see if the Blue Sky travel rewards credit card will save you money on your next trip.

We all want to see new places, visit old favorites ,and just generally get a chance to vacation more. Although your chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim, it’s definitely possible for you to do more traveling if you can pay for part of it with a rewards card.

The best travel rewards credit cards cards not only allow you to earn points that you can apply towards the cost of travel – they also let you earn bonus points on travel purchases.  Which often means that the more you travel, the more free travel you can earn.

Types of Travel Rewards Credit Cards

There are many different types of travel rewards credit cards. Within each category there are some that will be better for you than others based on your specific needs from a travel rewards credit card. Before you can determine which credit card makes the most sense for you, you’ll need to gain a better understanding of the different types of travel rewards cards that are available to you.

Here is a look at the most common types of travel rewards credit cards:

Airline Rewards Cards. Some of the most popular rewards credit cards tend to be airline cards, such as Blue Sky from American Express that earn points for each plane ticket you buy, based on the number of miles that you fly.

Hotel Rewards Cards. The benefits of hotel branded credit cards, like the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit card, have long been known by travelers that prefer certain hotel chains. These cards are often used along with member programs that can get you discounts on the price of a hotel room.

Gas Rewards Cards. Gas rewards cards, such as the Discover Open Road card, are becoming more popular as the price of gas continues to rise. Any rebates or cash back a traveler can earn by using a gas credit card are helpful during times of high fuel costs.

General Travel Rewards Cards. Whether you’re going on vacation or traveling for business, using a rewards card to pay for your trip has the eventual benefit of saving you some money on travel simply by booking your flight, paying for gas, or reserving your hotel room with your credit card. 

Different card issuers have rewards programs that allow you to mix and match travel rewards.  For example Citibank has the ThankYou program with cards like Citi ThankYou Premier and Chase has the Ultimate Rewards program with cards like Chase Sapphire.  American Express is also known for their Membership rewards program that lets you earn points across their family of charge cards, that can be used used for rental cars, hotel, or flights.

There are also some cards, such as the Starwood Preferred I already mentioned, that let you earn points for one type of travel like hotels, but also have a decent program for letting you transfer your points to partner companies in other travel industries, like airlines.

Comparing Travel Cards

Once you have figured out which type of rewards credit cards is best for you, you’ll still need to determine which card in that category is the best one. For example, you may know that you want an airline rewards card that will provide you with free flight miles for your shopping but you still need to decide which specific airline rewards card will be benefit you most. This means that you need to do some research into each card.

Some of the factors to consider when deciding on a travel rewards credit card include:

1) The way that points are earned. For example, do you earn one mile per dollar spent on the card or can you earn more than that? Some cards, such as the Discover Open Road card, offer higher rewards rates after a certain amount is spent annually on the card.

2) If there are bonus points available. For example, Escape by Discover allows you to earn up to 25,000 bonus points in the first two years of membership if you spend $1000 per month on the card.

3) Terms of redeeming rewards, especially if there are blackout dates or expiration dates on your rewards.

4) Whether the card is branded (to a specific hotel like the Marriott Rewards card or airline like the Continental OnePass Plus), which may affect how frequently you use it.

5) Whether your rewards can be redeemed only for travel purchases or for other items (like cash back and gift cards) as well.

6) What type of travel insurance is available on the card.

7) Additional travel perks card membership, such as access to airport lounges.

Rates and Fees

You’ll also want to make sure that you consider the costs of the card that could eat into the rewards you earn, such as:

• The APR
• Annual fee
• Late fees
• Balance transfer fees

Hopefully, this gives you a little help when reviewing and comparing the benefits and features of the top travel credit cards.  Check out the cards listed below to see if any of them can save you some money or earn you some points on your next trip.

Are you looking for a travel rewards credit card that allows you to rapidly earn a large number of miles? That’s exactly what the Escape by Discover credit card is designed for. With the ability to earn 25,000 free miles in the first two years, this card provides ample opportunity to indulge your travel bug.

Escape by Discover® Fees

Let’s get this out of the way first; Escape by Discover does have an annual fee. However, the fee is only $60, which is pretty much par for the course in the market among travel rewards credit cards that charge an annual fee.   If a card with no annual fee is an important criteria for you then you might consider the Discover Miles card.   Discover Miles doesn’t have as much to offer in terms of rewards and perks but it doesn’t have an annual fee.

Escape by Discover® Rewards

No one likes paying an annual fee on a card but this one could be worth it if you cash in on the variety of rewards that the card offers. This is a travel rewards card that allows you to earn miles towards flights.

One of the first things you’ll notice about the rewards program is is that you can easily earn 25,000 bonus miles in the first two years of opening your account. That’s because you receive 1,000 bonus miles every single month for the first 25 months as long as you make at least one purchase on the card.

If you setup one of your automatic monthly bills to pay from this account, you’ll easily be earning those bonus miles. In addition to your bonus miles, you’ll be able to regularly earn miles on this card because you get 2 miles for every $1 that you spend. Many travel rewards cards only offer 1 mile per $1 so the Escape card gives you double the standard rewards offer.

Another good feature of the card is that there are virtually no restrictions on redeeming your miles. You can use them to fly on any airline with no blackout dates. There are no limits or expiration dates on the miles that you earn. And you can also choose to redeem the miles for hotels, rental cars, cruises, gift cards or merchandise instead of just for flights. In other words, it’s easy to earn rewards on this card and easy to redeem them as well.

This is something we’ve talked about before with the Blue Sky and Discover Miles card, having a card independent of a specific airline can insulate you a little from blackout dates.

Benefits of Escape by Discover

The travel rewards are probably the main reason that you’d look at this credit card – however, the card does have some other perks.

Balance Transfers

Escape offers a 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases after opening an account. The ongoing APR is competitive with better rates for customers with good credit (see the chart below for current rates and terms).  Because it does offer good intro rates for balance transfers it could be used as a short-term balance transfer credit card in addition to its function as a travel rewards credit card.  Just don’t forget that you pay a balance transfer fee and that it can take a few weeks to get your money.

Travel Perks

Since Escape by Discover is a travel rewards card, it makes sense that it also offers a number of ongoing travel perks. These perks include insurance coverage for a variety of troubles that you may encounter during travel such as lost luggage and travel delay costs. The card offers rental car insurance so you may not need additional insurance when you rent a car. Plus this card offers travel cancellation coverage in case something comes up and you need to be reimbursed for a trip that you can’t take after all. Basically you probably won’t worry as much during your travels when you use this card to book your trip.

Conclusion

Although Escape by Discover® does have an annual fee, it’s not outrageously high. Unlike many credit cards, that fee is unfortunately not waived during the first year of having the card. However, the card has a lot of potential to make that fee worth your while with easy-to-earn bonus miles and double earning points. If you use your card regularly, travel regularly and want to take advantage of restriction-free travel rewards then this card could be right for you.  

The Continental Airlines OnePass is a travel rewards credit card issues by Chase that is designed to offer travel miles as well as hotel and auto rental rewards – a good fit if you travel frequently. The OnePass Plus card has a variety of perks as well as many opportunities to earn additional bonus miles for using the card. Although this credit card does have an annual fee, the fee is waived for the first year as is commonly seen with travel rewards credit cards in the market today. This gives you ample opportunity to test out the card to see if it’s right for you before you commit to that fee.

Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card Rewards
This is a rewards credit card that offers you one mile for every $1 purchased on the card, a standard rate for rewards cards. However, it also offers numerous opportunities to earn additional rewards points including:

• 25,000 bonus miles earned after your first purchased made on the card
• 10,000 bonus miles annually for spending $25,000+ on the card each year
• 5,000 bonus miles for adding an authorized user
• Double miles for every $1 spent on Continental Airlines tickets
• Double miles for all ShopOnePass purchases made on the card

The especially appealing part on this card is that ability to earn annual bonus miles if you spend more than $25,000 annually on the card. That’s a nice reward for spending that you’re already doing.

Redeeming Rewards
These miles can be redeemed for flights on Continental Airlines as well as the two dozen or more member airlines that are part of the Star Alliance Network.

The US based airlines in this alliance are US Airways, Continental, and United. If you fly internationally it gives you access to flights with major airlines like Air Canada, BMI, and Lufthansa.  The alliance also includes airlines from the following countries (Croatia, Egypt, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, China, New Zealand, Japan, Slovenia, Brussels, Greece, and Brazil).

You can also redeem rewards you earn with the OnePass for car rental and hotel stays. That is a nice perk since some other airline rewards cards only offer the option to redeem for miles. Unfortunately you can’t redeem for non-travel rewards such as gift cards or cash back.

Other Perks of the Continental Airlines OnePass® Plus Card
This credit card offers travel perks in addition to the rewards miles that are earned for using the card.

Travel Perks

For example, checked baggage fees may be waived on many flights, saving you as much as $50 per round trip. On each anniversary of your card membership, you will receive two Presidents Club passes and two travel discount certificates.

If you have a OnePass card you can also take advantage of concierge service to help you with a variety of services while traveling.  All of these perks can add up to a convenient travel experience when using this card to book your trips. 

Travel Protection

The Continental Airlines OnePass also offers numerous protections as a perk of being a cardholder. Travel protection features include a car rental collision damage waiver, reimbursement for lost luggage, trip cancellation reimbursement and expanded emergency roadside assistance. Additional protections include price protection, purchase protection and return protection on all purchases, zero liability fraud protection and extended warranty coverage.

APR and Fees
This credit card has an annual membership fee of $95. However, the company is currently offering to waive the first year’s membership for new card applications. The APR on the OnePass Plus card for purchases and balance transfers is based on the market Prime Rate and is slightly below average in the current market. The chart below can provide you with more specific details about current rates.

Conclusion
Continental Airlines OnePass is a good option for people who travel regularly especially those who are fond of traveling on Continental Airlines. It is particularly ideal for people who spend at least $25,000 annually on their credit cards thanks to the large sum of bonus points that are awarded each year for doing so.

In order to qualify for this credit card, you do have to have good credit. However, if you apply for the Continental Airlines OnePass card and your credit score doesn’t qualify you then you can also be considered for a Platinum MasterCard.

The American Express Platinum Card is a rewards card with a larger than normal annual fee but also many opportunities to earn bonus points and redeem them for exclusive rewards not typically offered to customers of other American Express rewards cards. This card also has numerous other perks in addition to its rewards points that we’ll cover below.

Platinum Card Rewards
The Membership Rewards First Program is pretty flexible with how you can earn points and also the ways to use the points you earn.  If you’re looking for a strictly cash back card then the Platinum Card really gives you more than you need. It’s definitely a card for people who are most interested in earning points on their purchases and using them for a variety of different rewards.

Earning Points

The base earnings are one point for every dollar that you spend on this credit card. You can earn double points by booking your trips through American Express Travel and quadruple points when shopping at BonusPointsMall.com.  You can also earn 10 points for each dollar spent on certain merchants that are part of the Membership Rewards program.

Redeeming Points

The Membership Rewards First program has a cool perk where they feature sales on items in their rewards catalog, where you pay 20% less points during the sale. 

If you use the Pay With Points option to redeem your rewards for travel then you automatically get an additional 20% travel bonus credited to your account.  Since you go through the AmEx site and aren’t limited by airline, you don’t have to worry about blackout dates or other restrictions .

There are no limits on the number of points that you can earn and the points do not expire. Finally, you can earn 50,000 bonus points if you spend $1000 on the card in the first three months after you receive it.

Platinum Card Perks
The Platinum card is all about the perks and is great for people who travel frequently.   I don’t know if the card is worth the fee based on just the rewards alone but when you take a look at the perks that come with the card they can add a lot of value for people that travel regularly.

Here are some of the additional perks of the American Express Platinum Card:

Airline Perks

• Access to airport lounges around the world – great for travelers who want to relax in and comfort while waiting for their flights
• Up to $200 in credit each year to cover various airline fees – especially nice now that airlines seem to charge for every little thing
• One annual companion ticket when the card is used to purchase certain airline tickets – your friends will adore you because you’ll be able to take them on trips.

Travel Perks

• Up to $400 in annual benefits when booking a cruise vacation – could be an excuse to take that cruise you’ve always wanted.
• Upgrades, amenities and perks at 700+ hotels around the world

Other Perks

• Concierge assistance to help with various tasks including gift purchases and travel planning – just like having your own personal assistant for travel
• Exclusive access to various event tickets
• Ticket reimbursement for events that must be canceled
• Enhanced fraud protection and extended warranty protection on products purchased using the card

APR and Fees
In order to obtain all of the perks of the Platinum Card from American Express, you do have to invest some money. This card has a $450 annual fee. However, because you pay the balance off in full each month, there are no interest charges when using this credit card.

Conclusion
The Platinum Card from American Express has the potential to allow you to earn a significant amount of rewards points as well as to take advantage of a variety of other perks. Since most of these perks are related to travel, the card is ideal as a rewards card for someone who travels frequently.

Because of the high annual fee, this card is best for someone who is going to use it regularly to really reap those rewards throughout the year. The bonus points available after the first $1000 in purchases definitely help to make it worth it to at least try the card for a year in order to decide if it is the right rewards credit card for you.

The Click Here card is an airline rewards card similar to the Blue Sky from American Express but with a few important differences. Both of these cards were designed for people with good credit who plan on taking advantage of the rewards program with frequent travel. The main difference between the Blue Sky and the Blue Sky Preferred card is that the Preferred card allows you to earn more points faster. This makes it a great choice for people who do a lot of spending on their cards and want to cash in on that.

Blue Sky Preferred Rewards

The rewards that you can earn on the two cards are similar, earning a basic one point per dollar on most purchases. These travel rewards can be cashed in for flights, hotels, cruises and car rental. Some of the key things that you should know about these rewards include:

• No limit on how many rewards points you can earn
• No seat restrictions or blackout dates
• No expiration date for rewards
• Ability to redeem rewards on any airline

Blue Sky vs Blue Sky Preferred Rewards

Although you pay an annual fee for the Preferred card, it does allow you to earn rewards more quickly than the basic Blue Sky card.  Accumulating points more rapidly than the base card is the main difference between the two, most other features are the same.

Since you earn double the points on dining, hotel and car rental purchases, if you travel frequently you may find that these extra rewards make up for the cost of the card. Additionally you get to enjoy a $100 annual airline allowance with this card. This is money that you can spend on any incidental airline charges such as in-flight meals or checked baggage fees.

Additional Travel Perks

Blue Sky Preferred credit card holders have access to numerous travel perks and protections. These include:

• Travel accident insurance up to $100,000
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Access to the helpful information at the Global Assist Hotline
• Guarantee that your hotel room will be held even if you arrive late
• Complimentary breakfast at some hotels

In addition to these travel perks, this credit card comes with purchase protection including extended product warranties, refund protection and assistance with replacing or repairing items bought on the card that get broken. This card also comes with fraud protection.

Annual Fee and APR

Because of it’s Preferred status, the card does come with a $75 annual fee. This credit card does sometimes come with a 0% introductory APR based on creditworthiness; see details in the chart below.

Blue Sky Preferred Bonus Points

One nice thing about the Blue Sky Preferred credit card is that you earn 7500 bonus points after spending the first $500 on the card. This is equivalent to $100 that you can put towards flights or hotel charges. This may make the annual fee worth it at least for the first year to test out whether or not this card is the right card for you. After all, you still get $25 just for getting the card and spending that first $500 on it.

Blue Savings Discounts

Both the Blue Sky and the Blue Sky Preferred credit cards provide you with access to special savings called the “blue savings program”. This program offers special discounts to cardholders at various hotels, restaurants and retail stores. For example you can save up to 20% at Hertz rental car through this program. This is in addition to the points that are earned when doing the shopping at these merchants.

Blue Sky Preferred May Be Right For You

This card may be right for you if you’re willing to pay an annual fee in order to have the opportunity to rapidly earn travel rewards. Because you get double points for hotel and car rental purchases and get additional travel perks on this card, it is best for you if you travel frequently.

The Gold Delta SkyMiles card wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see in your wallet if you’re a frequent Delta flyer and an American Express card member. But what if you’re not a Delta customer; is the Gold Delta SkyMiles useful enough to switch to a different airline? The answer for many people is probably yes, which is why the airline credit card has become so popular.  If you use this card correctly and choose to fly with Delta then you can accrue free flights fairly quickly.

Gold Delta Rewards Plan

What makes this card effective is that it stacks with Delta’s own reward policy. With the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, you’ll earn a point for every dollar spent, plus you can extra miles if you purchase a Delta-affiliated product – not only airline tickets, but Skymiles catalog items that also qualify for frequent flyer bonuses.

Bonus Rewards Points

It is easy to rapidly begin earning free flights on this credit card. You earn bonus miles after you’ve spent a minimum amount in the first 3 months, sometimes these bonus miles are enough for a free flight on Delta. Additionally, you can get another and 5000 bonus miles if you add two members to an account. Plus of course the spending that those people do on the account will mean that you accrue standard points more quickly.

Rewards Points Limitations

The main drawback of this airline rewards card is that you can only accrue 100,000 miles in a year. For someone who travels frequently and spends a lot of money on their card, this can be limitation. These miles, however, do not expire. If you’re a big spender then you can take advantage of this fact to combine this card with another travel rewards card to get all of the rewards you want each year.

Gold Delta SkyMiles Perks

What also makes this card especially useful for travelers, aside from the bonus miles, is that the cardholders can have access to AmEx’s Global Assist hotline – a 24-hour service which provides assistance regarding medical, legal, passport, money and luggage issues. If you lose the card while traveling, American Express can make emergency payments. Finally, with the card you can check your first bag free.

APR

The APR on the Gold Delta SkyMiles card is good but not great. The good news is that most cardholders can expect a decent APR, not the lowest of frequent flyer cards, but still competitive. The APR for balance transfers is better than average but the APR can be pretty high for delinquencies – though this is standard, depending on the severity of the delinquency. Check out the chart at the bottom of this article for up-to-date information about the current APR on this card.

Fees

Like other rewards cards of its kind, the Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card does have an annual fee. It is $95, which is slightly higher than average for airline rewards cards. However, new cardholders will have the fee waived for the first year. It may be worth it, then, to try the card for a year to see if the rewards are worth it to you before that annual fee kicks in. Be sure to watch out for the over the limit fees on this card because they can hit $40. You do need to be a responsible card holder for this credit card to work out well for you.

Conclusion

Given that Delta has millions of flights domestically and internationally, you won’t be stuck with a frequent flyer card that you use only occasionally. As with other frequent flyer cards, it’s the best fit for someone in search of a good travel credit card. You’ll need to be responsible with payments and will benefit most if your earnings aren’t likely to exceed 100,000 miles annually. If this describes you, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card has many features that are attractive and useful for the frequent traveler.