Best Travel Credit Card for 2015

Earn credit card points toward for your favorite ways to travel

If you re getting your holiday travel plans together, don’t forget that the best travel rewards credit cards can help you save money 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.

The best travel rewards credit card for me is Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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. Additionally, my preferred strategy is to add the Chase Freedom® to maximize 5% back in bonus categories throughout the year. These points are transferrable via the Ultimate Rewards network.

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 2014. The study 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.

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The Simple Dollar’s Top Picks

There is one big change we made this year compared to last year I’ve decided to name the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card as the best airline card out of the bunch. With flexible rewards and constant fare sales, I’m finding that Southwest Rapid Rewards points provide more value to the average family than comparable airline miles.

Another big difference you’ll 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 it’s finally making its way to the U.S. this year. As such, we wanted to include as many cards with this innovative technology as possible.

Here are the 6 best travel credit cards of 2015:

Best Travel Credit Card

If you travel anywhere, especially abroad, you might want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. 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 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

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® Card 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.