5 credit cards to make your travel dreams come true
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Once upon a time, we took 1 trip each year.
We used to save all year for our that summer trip, and spent a lot of time at the local grocery store in order to stretch our dollar. We have carried our tent to from Maine to Oregon and to the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland to save money. And while I love camping and a nice Scottish grocery store, we also needed to find a way to travel on a budget once our daughter came along. (Because, kids are expensive). Since 2021, we have opened 20 credit cards to help fund our adventures. By systematically using cards, and opening a few each year, we have been able to subsidize our family trips and travel 3 or more times each year.
In the past 5 years, we have traveled (or will travel) to the following places using points:
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lucerne, Switzerland
Dublin, Ireland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Helsinki, Finland
Stockholm, Sweden
Rome, Italy
Moab, Utah
Here are our favorite credit cards that are making our travel dreams affordable.
Card #1: Capital One Venture or Capital One Venture X
Current sign-up bonus (December 2025)
Capital One Venture: 75,000
Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
Capital One Venture X : 100,000
Earn 100,000 bonus miles once you spend $10,000 on purchases within the first 6 months from account opening
We have both of these cards. The minimum spend and sign-up bonus can change, so make sure this will work for your needs.
Capital One makes paying for your travel purchases easy. Anything the “codes” as travel can be “erased” after you pay for it. If you are a beginner, this is a great card to use.
We love our Capital One cards because we can transfer points to a range of airlines and hotels.
Airlines:
We’ve transferred Capital One miles to Flying Blue (KLM/Air France) nearly every year since 2023 in order to get us to or from Europe. If you have never been to Amsterdam or Paris, you can also use the stopover program and take a few days in one of those cities.
We can use Capital One to travel to and from Helsinki on Finnair.
We were able to fly home from Ireland on British Airways using these miles.
Hotels:
Choice Privileges- these hotels are all over Scandinavia and we even found a last minute stay in Rome using this program.
Accor: These beautiful hotels are all over the US and Canada.
If you’re just getting in to the points and miles world, and you will travel a little each year, we think the Capital One card is a great card to start with.
Card #2: Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire is one of the credit cards that EVERYONE in the points and miles world keeps in their wallet, and for good reason. It has a low annual fee ($95) and allows you to transfer to valuable partners. You can also connect business cards to this personal card in order to move points from one account to another.
Current sign-up bonus (December 2025)
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 75,000 after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months of opening the card
How we use these points:
Hotels: Transfer to Hyatt:
We use our Chase points primarily for Hyatt hotels. Hyatt gives you the best bang for your buck with points and you can book beautiful, family-friendly hotels (or adult-friendly) hotels with these points.
We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas with our first Chase sign-up bonus and since then we’ve been able to book a trip in the South
Airlines:
Southwest: If you mostly travel in the United States and live near a Southwest Airlines hub, then Chase points can come in handy. We also have two Southwest credit cards to help us with travel in the US.
United: We also have held two two United credit cards in the past which has helped with travel abroad and in North America.
Card #3: American Express Gold or Platinum
Most of the premium American Express cards come with a higher annual fee; so, if you are going to get one, then you want to make sure you understand what you are signing up for. We have very slowly opened AMEX cards, usually only 1 each year. For AMEX, you want to start with the lowest card and work your way up. We skipped the lowest card and went straight for the gold.
Why we keep AMEX cards in our wallets: The American Express Gold card earns 4x points on groceries and restaurants. That means if you spend $1200/ month on food, you can earn close to 50,000 points per year without even trying. That 50,000 points will turn into 2-3 free flights or a couple of nights at a hotel.
American Express Gold: 100,000
Earn as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on your new card in the first 6 months.If you do not see an offer over 90,000, skip it! Do not apply!
Annual fee: $325
American Express Platinum 175,000
Earn as high as 175,000 points. Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months. If you do not see an offer over 150,000, skip it! Do not apply!
Annual fee: $895
Please note- ONLY get this card if you will really use every single benefit. We applied before the fee increase.
How we use AMEX membership rewards:
Flying Blue (KLM/Air France): We have flown to and from Europe many times thanks to our abundance of AMEX points.
Hilton: AMEX Membership Rewards transfers to Hilton at a 1:2 ration (and sometimes more). While Hilton hotels can be costly (in terms of points), we have found great deals. Some of the best breakfasts we’ve had at hotels have been at Hilton brand hotels. Hilton points have helped us in Dublin, Belfast, Stockholm, and Rome.
Card #4: IHG (Chase)
Current sign-up bonus (December 2025)
IHG Premier Card 140,000
Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual fee: $99
The IHG chain seems to go unnoticed by a lot of new travelers. However, they have a great footprint across the US, UK, and Europe. We love our IHG card for a few reasons:
With the card, you can stay 3 nights and get the 4th night free.
IHG includes Kimpton hotels, which are quite lovely and unique.
We’ve enjoyed our stays in Amsterdam, Washington, D.C, and Edinburgh with our IHG points.
Card #5: Hilton (American Express)
Current sign-up bonus (December 2025)
Earn 155,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 6 months from account opening
Annual fee: $150
Why we love this card (even though Hilton hotels has high points redemptions)
This card comes with $50 per quarter at Hilton hotels. We use this for breakfast and/ or dinner when we stay at hotels without free meals.
You can stay 4 nights and get the 5th night free with Hilton points.
Hilton has a huge footprint and has acquired SLH (Small Luxury Hotels of the World) which means you can stay at boutique hotels for less.
AMEX transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio (and sometimes higher), so we used our Hilton points to stay in cities all over.
In 2024, we stayed at Hiltons in:
