Cheap  And Free Travel With Rewards Card Points

Whether you need one hundred dollars for your award flight taxes and fees or a few hundreds of dollars for a hotel stay, there are credit card bonus offers that can make your award flights or hotel stays completely free. Although credit cards that earn airline miles and hotel points can be very valuable, they will not always cover the full cost of your trip and you will often need to pay a portion of the cost with “real money”. Points earned with cash back and certain travel credit cards can cover these expenses for you.

Most of these cards offer bonuses ranging between $150 and $500 which are awarded after meeting initial spending requirements. In addition to the bonus, you will also earn points/cash back for each dollar you spend with the card. Some cards have annual fees that are often waived for the first year or can be easily offset with the other benefits of the card. Below are listed some of the most popular cash back and travel credit cards with short descriptions and links to banks’ websites where you can find more info about each one of them. Note: credit card offers shown below were available at the time this article was written (i.e. in May 2018); the offers may change or expire at a later date.

Capital One Venture Credit Card – earn 50,000 bonus miles (worth $500) after spending $3,000 during the first 3 months of account opening. You can read my article on how to easily meet credit card bonus spending requirements here. You will also earn 2 miles for each dollar spent on purchases with this card (or 10 miles for each dollar spent on hotels.com for hotel reservations). You can redeem the points for recent travel purchases made with this card (you will be reimbursed for those travel purchases via statement credit). Annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year and there is no obligation to keep the card for more than a year if you don’t like it. The card has no foreign transactions fees.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card – earn 20,000 bonus miles (worth $200) after you spend $1000 on purchases with this card within the first 3 months of account opening. You will also earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent with this card (or 10 miles for each dollar spent on hotels.com for hotel reservations). You can redeem the points for recent travel purchases made with this card (you will be reimbursed for those travel purchases via statement credit). This card has no annual fee and no foreign transactions fees.

Capital One Quicksilver Rewards Credit Card – earn $150 bonus after spending $500 on purchases with this card within the first 3 months of account opening. You will also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made with this card. Rewards can be redeemed for a statement credit, a check or gift cards. This card has no annual fee and no foreign transactions fees.

Bank of America Premium Rewards – earn 50,000 bonus points (worth $500) after making $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. You will also earn unlimited 2 points for each dollar spent on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points for each dollar spent on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for a statement credit, deposit into your Bank of America or Merrill Lynch  accounts or to pay for travel purchases on Bank of America Travel Center. This card has $95 annual fee but it can be offset by an annual $100 Airline Incidental Statement Credit for purchases like seat upgrades, baggage fees, in-flight services, and airline lounge fees. The card has no foreign transactions fees.

Bank of America Travel Rewards – earn 20,000 bonus points (worth $200) after spending $1,000 on purchases with this card during the first 90 days of account opening. You will also earn 1.5 points for each dollar spent with this card. Points can be redeemed for a statement credit to pay for travel purchases made with the card (5,000 points = $50). This card has no annual fee and no foreign transactions fees.

Bank of America Cash Rewards – earn $150 bonus after spending $500 on purchases with this card during the first 90 days of account opening. You will also earn 3% cash back on gas purchases and 2% cash back on grocery stores and whole sale clubs purchases for the first $2,500 in combined gas/grocery/whole sale club purchases each quarter and 1% cash back on all other purchases. You can redeem your cash back for a statement credit, a check, or a deposit into your Bank of America account. This card has no annual fee but has a 3% foreign transactions fee.

Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card – earn $200 cash back after spending $1000 in the first 3 months of account opening. You will also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases (or 1.8% cash back on mobile wallet purchases such as Apple Pay or Android Pay during the first 12 months of card membership). Cash back can be redeemed by using Wells Fargo Debit or ATM card for cash at Wells Fargo ATMs in $20 increments, for a deposit into your Wells Fargo checking or savings account, applied as a credit to a qualified Wells Fargo mortgage principal balance. This card has no annual fee but has a 3% foreign transactions fee.

Chase Freedom Credit Card – earn $150 (or 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points) bonus after spending $500 with the card during the first 3 months of account opening. You will also earn 5% cash back (or 5 Ultimate Rewards points) on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter and unlimited 1% chase back (or 1 Ultimate Rewards point) per dollar spent on all other purchases. Quarterly bonus categories often include purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, department stores, amazon.com. You can redeem cash back for a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts, shop with points on Amazon.com or book travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards. Moreover, you can increase the value of your cash back/Ultimate Rewards points if you also have Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Ink Business Preferred card. Having one of those three cards will enable you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned with Freedom card into airline and hotel programs or, if you book travel with your points on Ultimate Rewards website, the value of each point will turn from 1 cent per point into 1.25 cent per point with Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred card and even into 1.5 cent per point with Sapphire Reserve card – that is 25% and 50% more value for your points earned with Freedom card! Chase Freedom credit card does not have annual fee but has a 3% foreign transactions fee.

Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card – earn $150 (or 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points) bonus after spending $500 with the card during the first 3 months of account opening. You will also earn unlimited 1.5% chase back (or 1.5 Ultimate Rewards point) per dollar spent on all other purchases. You can redeem cash back for a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts, shop with points on Amazon.com or book travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards. As with the Chase Freedom card, you can increase the value of your cash back/Ultimate Rewards points earned with this card if you also have Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Ink Business Preferred card. Having one of those three cards will enable you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned with Freedom Unlimited card into airline and hotel programs or, if you book travel with your points on Ultimate Rewards website, the value of each point will turn from 1 cent per point into 1.25 cent per point with Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred card and even into 1.5 cent per point with Sapphire Reserve card – that is 25% and 50% more value for your points earned with Freedom Unlimited card! Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card does not have annual fee but has a 3% foreign transactions fee.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card – earn $150 bonus after spending $500 on eligible purchases with this card within the first 90 days of account opening. You will also earn 5% cash back on first $2,000 purchases each quarter in two categories of your choice (categories change every quarter), 2% cashback on everyday category like gas or groceries (categories change every quarter), or 1% cashback on all other purchases. Cashback can be redeemed for statement credits or deposits into your U.S. Bank savings, checking, or money market accounts. This card has no annual fee but has a 2% foreign transactions fee for transactions made abroad in U.S. dollars and a 3% foreign transactions fee for transactions made in foreign currencies.

U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express Card – earn $150 bonus after spending $500 on eligible purchases with this card within the first 90 days of account opening. You will also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases made with this card. Cashback can be redeemed for statement credits or deposits into your U.S. Bank savings, checking, or money market accounts. This card has no annual fee but has a 2% foreign transactions fee for transactions made abroad in U.S. dollars and a 3% foreign transactions fee for transactions made in foreign currencies.

Citi Double Cash Card – earn $100 cash back bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months of account opening. Earn 1% back on all purchases made with the card and another 1% when you pay off the balance on your credit card for those purchases. So you get a total of 2% cash back with this card. You can redeem your cash back by requesting a check or a statement credit. This card has no annual fee but has a 3% foreign transactions fee.