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Anyone who travels knows that having a premium travel rewards credit card can make a huge difference in your travel experience. These cards often include perks such as lounge access, rental car status, fee reimbursements, and more — all of which can save you money and frustration, and generally give you a more relaxed experience at the airport.
There are, however, a large number of these credit cards on the market. Each of them has varying benefits, annual fees, and other discrepancies, so it can be hard for you, the frequent traveler, to pick the card that’s right for you.
But don’t worry — at Upgraded Points, we stay on top of the premium credit card world, so we can inform you about these cards and their respective benefits. With that in mind, we’ll take a look at some of the best premium credit cards on the market in this article, helping you find out which is best for your wallet.
We’ll start the article with a quick comparison of all the cards on this list and will then review each of these cards’ benefits, detailing personal cards first and then business cards.
If that sounds good to you, let’s get started!
All of the major credit card issuers, like American Express, Chase, and Capital One, each offer their own premium credit cards with various benefits such as lounge access, elevated points earning, the credit card bonus offer, and additional benefits and protections.
These benefits aren’t airline-specific in most cases, so you won’t necessarily need to fly on a specific airline all the time to get maximum value from your card. In fact, out of the 10 credit card recommendations in this guide, only 3 of them are co-branded with an airline.
With that in mind, you should look at whether you value points earning or travel benefits more when picking a card from this list.
Those who want access to more lounges and travel perks like hotel status may value a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express, while those that value points-earning should compare the other cards and pick the card that has bonus categories that best match your everyday spend habits.
We’ll start with our favorite personal card picks; after that, we’ll check out the best options for business owners!
| Card | Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee | Premium and Luxury Benefits |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express |
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| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
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| Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
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| American Express® Gold Card |
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| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card |
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Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
The Amex Platinum card is one of the most well-known travel cards on the market. It’s long been seen as a staple of luxury in the travel space due to its huge list of benefits.
Earn 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare booked through Amex Travel or directly through the airline (up to $500,000 per calendar year), 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, and 1x points on all other purchases.
Most travelers get an Amex Platinum card to take advantage of the card’s huge network of lounges. This card offers access to American Express’ in-house Centurion Lounges (the U.S. and international locations), Priority Pass upon enrollment, Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner, Plaza Premium Lounges, select Virgin Clubhouses, select Lufthansa Lounges when flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, and Delta Sky Clubs when flying with Delta the same day.
Further, the card offers up to $200 in airline incidental fee credit that can be used to cover incidental fees — think baggage fees, priority boarding, and seat selection — incurred from 1 U.S. airline of your choice.
The card also has an assortment of other perks, too. Some of these include a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement, up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, up to $200 prepaid hotel credit, access to the International Airline Program, and complimentary Gold elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors upon enrollment.
What makes this card so special is its immense luxury travel and shopping perks, including:
As you can imagine, the Amex Platinum card comes with state-of-the-art travel insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, cell phone insurance, and, of course, no preset spending limit.
Hot Tip: Find out if you have the credit score required for an Amex Platinum card by reading our guide.
Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable transferrable currency available. We value these points at 2.2 cents each, making it possible to earn a return on spending of up to 11% with this card!
You can use Amex points for cash-back, statement credits, charitable donations, travel booked through Amex Travel, gift cards, online shopping, and more.
But our favorite way to use Amex points is for luxury travel when leveraging the Amex transfer partners.
We’re thrilled to see Capital One enter the premium travel rewards card space with the Capital One Venture X card. With its lower annual fee compared to other luxury travel rewards cards, a frequent traveler can easily find enough value to exceed this annual outlay.
We like that cardholders can earn big when using Capital One Travel as hotels and rental car purchases earn 10x Capital One miles and 5x miles on flights booked via the portal. The earnings continue with 2x miles on all other purchases.
Plus, for every card anniversary, you’ll earn an additional 10,000 miles. Add in an up to $300 Capital One Travel statement credit each year, airport lounge access (including a Priority Pass Select lounge membership and access to Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges), a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status and you could find plenty of bottom-line value as a cardholder.
The card also comes with a generous welcome bonus, Gravity Haus benefits, cell phone protection, car rental insurance and benefits, trip insurance benefits, up to 4 authorized users for no additional annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees.
Hot Tip: See how this card goes head-to-head with other premium credit cards in our articles comparing the Capital One Venture X card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Capital One Venture X card vs. Amex Platinum card.
At redemption time, you’ll have strong choices including redeeming miles for travel via Capital One Travel or transferring miles to airline/hotel partners for even greater potential value.
You can also use your miles for gift cards, online merchandise, and statement credits.
We value Capital One miles at 1.8 cents each, which translates to a maximum return on spending of 18% when earning 10x miles.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s answer to the Amex Platinum card. However, this card replaces some of the flashy benefits with elevated points earning, making it better for customers that need a card that offers both premium benefits and great points earning.
To start with, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card almost always comes with a sizable welcome bonus. But where this card shines is in the realm of rewards:
On the benefits side, some of the card’s most notable perks include Priority Pass lounge access, up to $300 annual travel credit that can be applied to any travel purchase, and a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS application fee reimbursement.
With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best Visa travel rewards cards available.
Uniquely, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers a 50% redemption bonus when booking travel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, as well as the ability to use Pay Yourself Back for up to 50% in bonus value on select rotating categories. This will get you a redemption value of 1.5 cents per point!
Plus, you can access the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, as well as top-shelf travel insurance, which includes primary rental car insurance using the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Lastly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has no foreign transaction fees, purchase protection, and extended warranty.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable points in the world. We value them at 2 cents per point, but you can actually get better value if you transfer points to one of the Chase transfer partners for award travel.
Other ways to redeem your points include travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal at a 1.5 cents per point value, Pay Yourself Back, statement credits, gift cards, charitable donations, gift cards, and merchandise.
But to get the best value, we recommend sticking to Chase’s transfer partnerships for luxury flights and hotels!
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
One of our favorite cards, the Amex Gold card offers amazing rewards with an exceptional welcome bonus. Here’s how the earnings are broken down:
Earning 4x points translates to a return on spending of 8.8%, based on our valuations, which is huge!
The Amex Gold card comes with up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) for rides and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. and up to $120 in dining credits ($10 per month) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, select Shake Shack locations, and Wine.com.
With this card, you can book stays at The Hotel Collection, too.
There are also no foreign transaction fees, no additional annual fees for authorized users, purchase protection, extended warranty, and no preset spending limit (rates and fees).
The Delta Reserve card is one of the most valuable premium airline credit cards. As you’d expect, the card includes some amazing benefits for frequent Delta flyers.
To start with, the welcome bonus will definitely accelerate your points earning. Here is the accrual structure:
Although the earning structure isn’t fantastic, we love the fact that you’ll get a ton of Delta perks with this card:
Lastly, there are a few non-Delta perks, like the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, travel insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, cell phone insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and authorized users for no additional annual fee (rates and fees).
According to our valuation of Delta SkyMiles of 1.0 cents per mile, your return on spending maxes out at 3%.
Of course, it’s possible to achieve a higher redemption value if you book international premium cabin flights on Delta and its airline partners.
Bottom Line: You should only consider a premium airline credit card if you are loyal to a specific U.S. airline — otherwise, you’re better off with a general travel credit card that provides a wider range of benefits.
| Card | Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee | Premium and Luxury Benefits |
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express |
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| American Express® Business Gold Card |
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| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
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| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card |
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| United Club℠ Business Card |
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Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Our favorite premium and luxury business card is the Amex Business Platinum card, which is the business version of the Amex Platinum card. Notably, the 2 cards have different perks and rewards structures.
To start off, you’ll enjoy a huge welcome bonus, plus the ability to earn up to 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent:
You’ll also find that this card has some incredible statement credits for additional value:
Check out these extra luxury travel perks:
The Amex Business Platinum card boasts no preset spending limit, cell phone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, and no foreign transaction fees (rates and fees).
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 110,000 points with the Amex Business Gold card! The current public offer is 70,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
The Amex Business Gold card is a step down from the Amex Business Platinum card, but it can actually be the better choice for the right person.
If you’re looking to max out on rewards instead of benefits, the Amex Business Gold card could make more sense. In addition to the welcome bonus, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on the top 2 categories where your business spends the most every month from this list below:
You can earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in eligible purchases every calendar year. After that, as well as on all other purchases, you’ll earn 1x points.
That 4x points structure is approximately equal to an 8.8% return on spending, which is huge.
The Amex Business Gold card also offers the ability to make bookings at The Hotel Collection, no preset spending limit, travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and no annual fees for employee cards after the first employee card of $50 per year (rates and fees).
One of our favorite business credit cards is the Ink Business Preferred card, which is issued by Chase.
Despite having a mild annual fee, it offers some incredible rewards that are second to none. But let’s pivot to the rewards, which consist of a bonus earning structure of 3x Ultimate Rewards points on the first $150,000 in purchases every cardmember year in these business categories:
In addition, you can earn 5x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025. All other purchases will earn 1x points.
Other easy ways to maximize this card include the fantastic cell phone protection plan, purchase protection, extended warranty, fee-free employee cards, and no foreign transaction fees.
The Delta Reserve Business card could become your best friend if you’re a business owner that frequently flies on Delta.
In fact, it’s one of the few credit cards that can help business owners get closer to valuable Delta elite status.
Currently, you’ll earn up to 3x Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent, as well as a welcome bonus:
Much like the Delta Reserve card we discussed in the personal cards section above, the Delta Reserve Business card has a series of amazing Delta perks:
You’ll also enjoy a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit, travel insurance, cell phone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, employee cards for no additional annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees (rates and fees).
The last card we’ll discuss is the United Club Business card, which is Chase’s ultra-premium business credit card offered in partnership with United Airlines.
This credit card offers an impressive welcome bonus and the ability to earn up to 2x United MileagePlus miles per dollar spent:
Most cardholders love the benefits you get when flying on United:
Even better, this credit card has complimentary Avis President’s Club status, access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, travel insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, and no foreign transaction fees.
The United Club Business card earns United MileagePlus miles; according to our valuations of 1.3 cents per United mile, that’s equal to a maximum ROI of 2.6% when earning up to 2x miles.
That’s decent, but you can get a better redemption value by using those MileagePlus miles on international award travel in business or first class.
For the bulk of travelers, a general travel credit card like the Amex Platinum card, Capital One Venture X card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve card may be the best option. These cards provide both great returns on everyday spending and have excellent benefits like lounge access across multiple lounge networks, car rental status, and more.
However, those who regularly fly a specific airline for work may prefer a premium airline credit card, like those offered by Delta. These cards can help you achieve airline status faster and will give you access to domestic airline lounges when flying on your preferred airline. This is especially important when you consider that Priority Pass has limited options when traveling domestically.
We showed you the best premium travel credit cards on the market. Picking a card from this list depends on what you value the most in your travel experience — but a general premium travel credit card is best for most travelers. These cards provide the widest range of benefits and will reward you for spending in certain categories.
But now we want to hear from you. What premium travel credit cards do you carry daily? Let us know in the comments — we’re excited to hear your take.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
For the cell phone protection benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For the extended warranty benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, American Express Gold Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For the purchase protection benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express Gold Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, and eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
The information regarding the United Club℠ Business Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, click here.
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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
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