Best Travel Reward Credit Cards 2012

by Emily Co 0

If you've caught the travel bug, perhaps signing up for a credit card that will give you great travel rewards would be worth considering. Before doing so, keep in mind that you should only charge what you can realistically pay off soon.

That said, if you know you can pay off what you owe, travel reward credit cards will be a neat way of earning free flights and hotel stays. Here are some good options:

American Express® Starwood Preferred Guest Card

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase and an additional 20,000 if you spend up to $5,000 in six months.
• Earning points: Get one Starpoint for every dollar spent on most purchases and five Starpoints on every dollar spent on SPG hotels.
• Transferring points: Transfer Starpoints to over 30 airlines. The conversion rate for most airlines is one to one, so you'll be getting one mile for one Starpoint. You get a 5,000 Starpoint bonus when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a frequent flier program.
• Annual fee: No annual fee for the first year, then a $65 annual fee for the subsequent years.
• APR:The APR rate is 15.24 percent, 17.24 percent, or 19.24 percent.
• Bonus: Stay four nights and get your fifth night free at participating resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia. You can also earn up to $100 in resort credit.
• Cons: There is a foreign transaction fee of 2.7 percent if you use it outside of the US. American Express isn't accepted everywhere. There is also a pretty high annual fee and APR rate.

Read on for more.

Capital One® VentureOne℠ Rewards Credit Card

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus miles if you spend at least $1,000 within three months of signing up .
• Earning points: Get two miles for every dollar spent on net purchases.
• Transferring points: You can transfer rewards to any other US miles or point accounts.
• Annual fee: No annual fee for the first year, then a $59 annual fee for the subsequent years.
• APR:The APR rate is 13.9 percent, 16.9 percent, or 20.9 percent.
• Bonus: No foreign transaction fees.
• Cons: People with weak credit scores may not qualify. There is also a pretty high annual fee and APR rate.

Chase Sapphire Preferred℠ Card

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 40,000 bonus points if you spend at least $3,000 within three months of signing up. That equates to $500 towards a flight.
• Earning points: Get two points for every dollar you spend on travel and restaurants. Get an extra point for travel expenditures when you book a hotel or flight through its Ultimate Rewards program. You get one point for all other purchases.
• Transferring points: Transfer points to participating mileage and hotel reward programs like like United MileagePlus®, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, Marriott Rewards®, and Hyatt Gold Passport®. The rate is a one to one transference with no transfer fees. So one Ultimate Rewards point equals one hotel reward point or one mile when you transfer it.
• Annual Fee: No annual fee for the first year, then a $95 annual fee for the subsequent years.
• APR:The APR rate is 15.24 percent, but may vary with different people.
• Bonus: No foreign transaction fees. You get 20 percent off your flight, hotels, car rentals, and cruises if you redeem your points through Ultimate Rewards. You'll also get 24/7 access to a expert service advisor.
• Cons: Very high annual fee and APR rate. There is also a limited selection participating mileage and hotel reward program partners if you compare it to other cards like American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card, which provides you with about double the amount of options.

PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express® Card

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points if you spend at least $650 within three months of signing up. That equates to $200 towards a flight.
• Earning points: Get five points for every dollar you spend on flights. You get one point for all other purchases.
• Transferring points: Transfer points to participating mileage and hotel reward programs like like United MileagePlus®, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, Marriott Rewards®, and Hyatt Gold Passport®. The rate is a one-to-one transference with no transfer fees. So one Ultimate Rewards point equals one hotel reward point or one mile when you transfer it.
• Annual fee: No annual fee.
• APR: The APR rate is capped at 10 percent until June 30, 2014.
• Bonus: No foreign transaction fees. You can access a 24/7 concierge and you'll VIP lounge access to over 600 airport lounges worldwide if you spend $15,000 annually.
• Cons: You have to be a Pentagon Federal Credit Union member, but it's quite easy to join it even if you don't belong to one of the qualifying organizations. You can also opt to pay a one-time $15 donation fee to a qualifying organization instead. American Express isn't accepted everywhere.

Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 40,000 HHonors bonus points if you spend at least $1,000 within four months of signing up. That equates to a free night at a Hilton property.
• Earning points: Get six points for every dollar you spend on a hotel under the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Earn three points for supermarket, drugstore, and gas station purchases. You get two points for all other purchases.
• Annual fee: No annual fee.
• APR:The APR rate is 14.24 percent.
• Bonus: No foreign transaction fees. You can redeem your points for hotel stays, car rentals, partner airlines, and more.
• Cons: The APR rate is pretty high, and you'll need to be a regular Hilton customer to best reap the benefits.

Blue Sky from American Express®

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 7,500 bonus points if you spend $1,000 in the first three months. That equates to a $100 credit toward travel expenses like flights or hotel stays.
• Earning points: Get one points for every dollar you spend.
• Annual fee: No annual fee.
• APR:The APR rate is 17.24 percent, 20.24 percent, or 22.24 percent. But you'll get a 0 percent APR rate for the first 12 months.
• Bonus: Discounts on partner retailers like Hertz (25-percent-off offer going on now), Alamo, and 1-800-flowers.com. Access to a 24/7 emergency assistance if you're more than 100 miles from home. You'll be covered for car rental loss and damage insurance. You can redeem the points for any airline, hotel, cruise, or car rental.
• Cons: Foreign transaction fee is 2.7 percent. The rewards aren't as good as the other credit cards. Also American Express isn't accepted everywhere.
• Note: The Blue Sky Preferred Card from American Express® is also worth looking at because you'll get better rewards, although you have to pay an annual fee. However, the annual fee will be balanced out by the free $100 airline allowance credit you'll earn that can cover baggage fees and in-flight purchases.

If you're loyal to an airline, you might want to check out what rewards you can reap with the airline's credit card. For example, if you're planning on traveling locally, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Card offers two free round-trip flights after you spend $1,000 within the first three months.

As always, be careful when you're using credit cards, and if you don't have the means to pay it back in full before the end of the month, you should consider spending less.