Travel

Spring break is already upon us, and if you’re looking to plan an upcoming summer vacation, the best travel rewards credit cards can help you come up with some extra savings on airfare, hotels, and general travel. All of these top travel cards offer lucrative points bonuses and superb options to earn and use points for maximum value.

Last year, I decided that the best travel rewards credit card for me is Chase Sapphire Preferred®

It has one of the largest signup bonuses in the industry as well as great long-term rewards for travel and dining. The number of ways you can redeem points, including transferring at equal value to many partners is simply unmatched by any card. This card remains my go to travel credit card again this year.

My colleague, Holly, pointed out in a recent post that the average vacation for a family of four rang in at a staggering $4,580 in 2015. The study that she sites was done by American Express. If you you’re like me and that number hit you right in the gut, pay attention because we’ve got some great ways for you get some free travel by earning points on your everyday spending. We also have some strategies to combine cards and earn even more points.

There is one major shakeup to the list this year compared to last year I’ve gone with the Gold Delta Skymiles® Credit Card from American Express as the best airline credit card. Delta, as a company has really hit its stride, and I find myself flying that airline more and more.

The big difference you will see with most travel credit cards is the adoption of EMV technology in the U.S. This is a microchip within the card that will eventually replace the magnetic strip for better security. Europe has had this technology for years, but its finally making its way to the U.S. this year.

Here are the 6 best travel credit cards of 2015:

If you travel anywhere, especially abroad, you might want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred®. There’s plenty of value packed into this smooth, thick, blue card. On top of great rewards like 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases, cardholders can also earn 40,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card.

So, if you were looking at purchasing a $500 flight, you could immediately use the 40,000 bonus points to put $400 toward the flight. But wait, the real beauty of this card is that your points are worth 25% more when you book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards?. So that same flight could be free.

The flexible points transfer to Chase airline and hotel partners is another perk that can net you big savings. Points are transferable on a 1:1 basis for partner airlines and hotels such as United and Ritz-Carlton.

International travelers will really like that there are the no foreign transaction fees and chip-enabled technology on the card. Chase Sapphire Preferred® has had this technology for a while and is ready for the major U.S. changeover to EMV in October. Many international merchants have adopted this technology, and it’s more prevalent overseas.