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The world of credit cards can seem overwhelming when you’re just getting started. With so much information and so many options, how do you know which card to choose? Do you want transferable points? Airline miles? Free nights at a hotel chain? Or maybe even miles you can turn into statement credits?
The key to picking the right card is to set your travel goals first. Is your dream trip an international destination like Rome or a ski trip to Vail? Are you comfortable traveling in economy or do you want to spend the extra time and effort to be able to fly in a premium cabin? Is the hotel important to you or are you planning to spend most of your time outside of the room?
There’s no right or wrong answer to these questions — it’s all about what’s important to you. But once you’ve made your decisions, it’s important to match the right points to the right card.
With that in mind, we’ve put together this list of the best starter credit cards to help lead you in the right direction, so you don’t waste time and end up with loyalty points that don’t match your travel goals. We also kept simplicity in mind when compiling this list — none of these cards are tied to complicated, difficult-to-understand programs, nor do they have intimidating annual fees, and all of them are worth getting and potentially keeping in your credit card inventory for the long term.
In This Post
Best starter travel rewards credit cards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
- Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
- American Express® Green Card
- Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
- Citi Premier℠ Card
Compare the best starter travel rewards credit cards
Let’s start by taking a look at the key details of the best starter travel rewards credit cards, including the welcome bonuses and the key earning features.
| Card | Bonus | Minimum Spend | Bonus Categories |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | 60,000 points | $4,000 on purchases in the first three months | 2x points on travel and dining |
| Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card | 50,000 miles | $3,000 on purchases in the first three months | 2x miles on all purchases |
| American Express® Green Card | 30,000 points | $2,000 on purchases in the first three months | 3x on travel, dining and transit |
| Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card | 30,000 points | $3,000 on purchases in the first three months | 3x on travel, dining, gas stations and select streaming services |
| Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express | 30,000 points and a $50 statement credit | $1,000 on purchases in the first three months | 2x on Delta purchases |
| Citi Premier℠ Card | 60,000 points | $4,000 on purchases in the first three months | 3x points on travel, 2x on dining and entertainment |
The information for the Citi Premier card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Now let’s take a deeper dive into these cards and explore the points, miles and benefits of each one.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Annual fee: $95
Welcome bonus: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: There’s a good reason the Chase Sapphire Preferred tops our list of starter cards — it comes with a great sign-up bonus, earns 2x points on travel and dining at restaurants, and the Ultimate Rewards points it earns are easy to use at top airline and hotel programs such as United and Hyatt. Your points can also be redeemed for 1.25 cents apiece to book flights or rooms at any airline or hotel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
The card also comes with terrific travel benefits, including primary insurance when you rent a car and no foreign transaction fees. Couple it all with an annual fee that’s only $95, and you’ve got a card that offers great value, especially if you’re just starting out in the world of travel rewards.
Read our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card here.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee: $95, waived the first year
Welcome bonus: 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: The Capital One Venture Rewards earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases. You can redeem your miles for a fixed value on travel purchases, or you can move the miles you earn with this card to airline programs such as Avianca LifeMiles and Etihad Guest. Most of the partners have a 2:1.5 transfer ratio, so 50,000 miles would equate to 37,500 miles, but two partners (Emirates and Singapore Airlines) have a 2:1 transfer ratio, which would mean your 50,000 miles become 25,000. These transfer rates aren’t the most user-friendly, but it does give the beginners the option to dip your toe into the airline partners’ programs when you’re ready.
There are no foreign transactions fees on this card, there’s no annual fee for the first year and you’ll only pay $95 a year after that to hang onto the Venture.
Read our review of the Capital One Venture Rewards card here.
American Express Green Card
Annual fee: $150 (see rates and fees)
Welcome bonus: 30,000 points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: The recently revamped Amex Green may come with the highest annual fee on this list, but it also packs the most punch. In addition to earning an amazing 3x across travel, dining and transit purchases, you’ll also get a $100 statement credit for your CLEAR® membership and a $100 statement credit for LoungeBuddy purchases. The Amex Green earns valuable Membership Rewards that give you access to a wide range of hotel and airline partners. While the welcome bonus isn’t anything to write home about, you can still get a lot of value from 30,000 points.
Plus, if you apply before Jan. 15, 2020, you’ll get a $100 statement credit to use on any eligible purchase made with Away luggage in your first three months. This card has emerged as a must-have credit card for anyone who wants to rack up Membership Rewards while taking advantage of some great beginner-friendly travel perks.
Read our review of the American Express Green card here.
Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
Annual fee: $0
Welcome bonus: 30,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: The Wells Fargo Propel earns straightforward rewards on a variety of expenses. You’ll get 3x on dining (both eating out and ordering in), travel (including airfare, hotels, homestays and car rentals), gas stations, transit (including rideshares) and popular streaming services, all redeemable through Wells Fargo’s Go Far Rewards portal. Quite a list for no annual fee, am I right? While Propel points aren’t quite as valuable as Chase or Amex points, they do offer simplicity. Beginners don’t have to worry about maximizing redemption strategies or digging into transfer partner programs (both of which can be a bit intimidating if you’re just starting out).
Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Annual fee: $95, waived the first year (see rates and fees)
Welcome bonus: 30,000 miles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months, plus a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: If you are looking to get started with a cobranded airline card, the Gold Delta is a great option. It comes with a low $95 annual fee that’s waived the first year, 2x on Delta purchases and benefits such as a free checked bag on Delta flights and Priority Boarding. Delta frequently offers great deals that makes it easier to redeem your miles for a great trip. For example, we’ve recently seen domestic flights as low as 5,000 SkyMiles roundtrip and flights to Europe as low as 22,000 SkyMiles roundtrip.
After Jan. 20, 2020, this card is getting a bit of a makeover. It’s losing a few benefits (the Medallion Qualification Dollars waiver and the Discounted Sky Club access) and raising the annual fee to $99, but it’s also enhancing the rewards rate by adding 2x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets and adding a $100 Delta flight credit when you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Read our review of the Delta Gold Amex card here.
Citi Premier Card
Annual fee: $95
Welcome bonus: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.
Why it’s a great starter card: The beauty of the Citi Premier Card is its plentiful bonus categories. With 3 points per dollar spent on travel — a broadly defined category on this card that includes transit and gas purchases — and 2 points per dollar on dining and entertainment, you’ll be able to rack up lots of ThankYou points in no time. When it comes to spending those points, you can transfer them to any of 15 airline partners or redeem them for 1.25 cents per point at the Citi ThankYou travel portal. The card comes with no foreign transaction fees and a $95 annual fee.
Read our review of the Citi Premier Card here.
How to choose the right starter travel card for you
There is no one-size-fits-all travel card. With so many great options available, it can be hard to narrow down which card (or cards) to get to begin building your credit card portfolio. Make sure you’re choosing a card that fits your spending habits, travel goals and budget. Start by taking inventory of what categories you spend the most money on each month.
Do you live in a large city where transit and dining make up the majority of your monthly spending? Then consider cards like the Citi Premier, Wells Fargo Propel and Amex Green Card that offer rewards across those categories. From there, narrow down your options based on your travel goals. Are you wanting the option to transfer points to partners? Then the Premier and Green are the better two options from this list. Are you wanting to travel internationally more than a couple of times a year? In that case, the Green’s annual statement credits paired with its more valuable transfer partner list makes the most sense. Lastly, consider your budget. If you don’t think you’ll get more than $150 in value from the Amex Green every year, then maybe the Premier’s lower $95 annual fee is a nice compromise between your travel goals and budget.
At the end of the day, it’s all about considering which cards will give you the most value each year, either through earned rewards, perks or a mix of both.
What credit score do you need for a travel credit card?
Most travel credit cards require good-to-excellent credit, meaning you’ll want a score over 650 at the lowest end of the spectrum. However, a 700+ score is ideal. That’s not to say that you won’t be approved if your score isn’t that high, but it is a good rule of thumb to go by when considering applying for a credit card.
The cards on this list are a bit easier to be approved for than luxury cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but you’ll still need to have established credit and a good score to have the best chance of getting approved.
If you don’t currently have a credit score, you’ll want to build credit with a beginner card or by becoming an authorized user on someone else’s card. If your credit score is less-than-stellar, it’s a good idea to take the necessary steps to improve your score before applying for a travel rewards credit card.
Bottom line
With so many travel rewards cards out there, choosing a new one to apply for might seem overwhelming. But you can’t go wrong with any of the choices on this list. So make your travel goals for the year, then use these options as a guide to pick the right card to get you there!
Are you just getting started in the points and miles game? Check out our beginner’s guide to everything you need to know about earning, burning and maximizing travel benefits.
Featured photo by Artur Debat/Getty Images.
Additional reporting by Nick Ewen.
For rates and fees of the Amex Green, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Gold Delta Amex, please click here.
This is The Points Guy’s permanent page for best starter credit cards, so you can bookmark it and check back regularly for updates. Keep in mind you may see some reader comments referring to older offers below.
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