Top 4 Travel Credit Cards in August 2023
In this blog post, we're going to be talking about the top travel credit cards for August 2023.
Summary
We are going to be discussing the following premium travel credit cards:
Scoring
We'll be using a travel credit card criteria to evaluate and compare each credit card against each other.
Lounge Access - We rate how extensive and usability the lounge access is
Consumer Protection - We rate how well protected the consumer is from using the credit card, from purchase protection to trip protection benefits
Lifestyle Benefits - We rate how great the benefits are against the average consumer
Value - We rate how the annual fee weighs against the overall credit card benefits
Credit Card | Lounge Access | Consumer Protection | Lifestyle Benefits | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
American Express Platinum | 10/10 | 10/10 | 10/10 | 6/10 |
American Express Platinum Business | 10/10 | 10/10 | 8/10 | 5/10 |
Chase Sapphire Preferred | 6/10 | 7/10 | 7/10 | 9/10 |
Chase Sapphire Reserve | 6/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 |
Credit Cards
American Express Platinum
Annual Fee | $695 |
Reward Rates | - 5x on Flights - 5x on Prepaid Hotels booked on AmexTravel.com - 1x on Other Purchases |
Sign Up Bonus | 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points - After spending $6,000 in qualifying purchases in the first 6 months |
Application Link | https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/ |
The American Express Platinum is considered one of the best travel credit cards, with benefits such as:
The Global Lounge Collection®
1,400 airport lounges across 650 cities in 140 countries and more
Lounge access includes The Centurion® Network (The Centurion® Lounge and Escape Lounges - The Centurion® Studio Partner, Delta Sky Club®, and Lufthansa Lounge)
Priority Pass™ Select
Global Dinning Access by Resy
Monthly
$20 statement credits for digital entertainment (Total of $240 per year)
Eligible purchases include Audible, Disney+, Hulu, and more
$15 statement credits Uber Cash (Total of $200 per year)
$25 statement credits for Equinox (Total of $300 per year)
Per card year (starting after approval, and same month every year after)
$100 statement credits for Shop with Saks
$189 statement credits for Clear®
$200 statement credits on Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings
Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck®
Per calendar year (starting January 1st)
$200 Airline Fee Credit
Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status
Hilton Honors Gold Status
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Premium Car Rental Status
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
Secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage
Trip Delay
Trip Cancellation
Return Protection
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty
Why we love this card
Extraordinary Lounge Access - The American Express Platinum provides top tier lounge access. The Centurion® Network is by far the best lounges we've been, from 40+ locations worldwide. For airports without a Centurion lounge, Priority Pass comes in handy which grants access to 1300 across the world. If you're flying Delta, your boarding pass and this credit card grants you access to Delta Sky Club®. So, it's very likely if the airport has a lounge, you'll have access to it.
Excellent Consumer Protection - With return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty benefits, we've felt empowered to use the credit card for purchases. We have had incidents where our purchases failed to meet our expectations, and after verifying it met the criteria, we were able to use return protection to get a refund even when the merchant no longer accepted returns for the purchases.
Outstanding Lifestyle Benefits - If you are a regular user of Uber services, you'll find the $200 Uber credit to be quite handy. The digital entertainment credit is also very nice to offset monthly charges such as Audible, Hulu, and other streaming subscription services. The $100 statement credit for Shop with Saks allows you to offset purchases while shopping at the high end store. The $200 credit for Fine Hotels + Resorts® lets you experience luxury hotels at lower price point with better benefits such as late check out and experience credits during your stay.
American Express Platinum Business
Annual Fee | $695 |
Reward Rates | - 5x on Flights and Prepaid Hotels booked on AmexTravel.com - 1.5x on construction suppliers, electronic retailers, software providers and more - 1.5x on eligible purchases of $5K or more - 1x on Other Purchases |
Sign Up Bonus | 120,000 Membership Rewards® Points - After spending $15,000 in qualifying purchases in the first 3 months |
Application Link |
The American Express Platinum Business is the business-oriented version of the American Express Platinum. It offers many of the same benefits, such as lounge access but with with benefits geared towards business owners:
The Global Lounge Collection®
1,400 airport lounges across 650 cities in 140 countries and more
Lounge access includes The Centurion® Network (The Centurion® Lounge and Escape Lounges - The Centurion® Studio Partner, Delta Sky Club®, and Lufthansa Lounge)
Priority Pass™ Select
Global Dinning Access by Resy
35% Airline Bonus
Using Pay with Points feature for flights booked with American Express Travel for First class, Business class, or selected qualifying airline, up to 1 million points per calendar year
Monthly
$10 statement credit for wireless telephone services ($120 per year)
Per card year (starting after approval, and same month every year after)
$189 statement credits for Clear®
Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck®
Per calendar year (starting January 1st)
$400 statement credits for Dell, $200 in January to June, $200 July to December
$360 statement credits for Indeed
$150 statement credit for Adobe Creative Solutions
$200 Airline Fee Credit
Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status
Hilton Honors Gold Status
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Premium Car Rental Status
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
Secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage
Trip Delay
Trip Cancellation
Return Protection
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty
Why we love this card
Extraordinary Lounge Access - The American Express Platinum provides top tier lounge access. The Centurion® Network is by far the best lounges we've been, from 40+ locations worldwide. For airports without a Centurion lounge, Priority Pass comes in handy which grants access to 1300 across the world. If you're flying Delta, your boarding pass and this credit card grants you access to Delta Sky Club®. So, it's very likely if the airport has a lounge, you'll have access to it.
Excellent Consumer Protection - With return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty benefits, we've felt empowered to use the credit card for purchases. We have had incidents where our purchases failed to meet our expectations, and after verifying it met the criteria, we were able to use return protection to get a refund even when the merchant no longer accepted returns for the purchases.
Moderate Lifestyle Benefits - Compared to the American Express Platinum, this business version of it includes more business-oriented benefits such as statement credits for Dell.com, Indeed, and Adobe.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual Fee | $95 |
Reward Rates | - 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® - 5x on Lyft rides through March 2025 - 2x on other travel purchases - 3x on dinning, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out - 3x on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) - 3x on on select streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, and more - 1x on Other Purchases |
Sign Up Bonus | 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points - After spending $4,000 in qualifying purchases in the first 3 months |
Application Link | https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/preferred |
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is an amazing entry-level travel card with great travel benefits at a low annual fee.
25% more value when redeeming points on Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Complimentary DashPass from DoorDash (when activated before 12/31/2024)
Instacart benefits
6 months of complimentary Instacart
$15 in statement credits each quarter through July 2024
Per calendar year (starting January 1st)
$50 Annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit when booking hotel accommodations on Chase Ultimate Rewards®
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Primary coverage and does not include liability coverage
Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Travel Accident Insurance
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Baggage Delay Insurance
Why we love this card
Excellent Travel Protection - This card shines with providing excellent travel protection such as trip cancellation, delay, and lost luggage reimbursement. The primary coverage with the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is excellent and has saved myself hundreds of dollars in Oahu, Hawaii when someone broken into my rental car. While the claim process did take a few weeks to reimbursement, it was straight forward and just needed to provide proper documentation around the incident.
Moderate Lifestyle Benefits - The complimentary DoorDash membership along with the Instacart membership is amazing for those who use those services. It is lacking compared to the other premium travel credit cards but is totally understandable given the annual fee. The 25% more value on point redemption is nice perk but not as nice as the Chase Sapphire Reserve if you are looking to redeem a lot of points.
How it comes to other cards
Lacking in Lounge Access - Compared to the American Express Platinum, this card does not offer any lounge access
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Annual Fee | $550 |
Reward Rates | - 5x on flights purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® - 10x on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® - 10x on dining at restaurants through Chase Ultimate Rewards® - 3x on other travel purchases - 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out - 1x on Other Purchases |
Sign Up Bonus | 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points - After spending $4,000 in qualifying purchases in the first 3 months |
Application Link |
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is an amazing premium travel card with great travel benefits at a high annual fee.
50% more value when redeeming points on Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Complimentary DashPass from DoorDash (when activated before 12/31/2024)
Complimentary Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Application Fee every 4 years
Priority Pass™ Select Membership
Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
Per month
$5 monthly DoorDash Credits through 12/31/2024
Per calendar year (starting January 1st)
$50 Annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit when booking hotel accommodations on Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Per card year (starting after approval, and same month every year after)
$300 Annual Travel Credit
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Primary coverage and does not include liability coverage
Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Travel Accident Insurance
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Baggage Delay Insurance
Why we love this card
Moderate Lounge Access - The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with Priority Pass™ Select Membership which allows you to access 1300 lounges across the world.
Excellent Travel Protection - This card shines with providing excellent travel protection such as trip cancellation, delay, and lost luggage reimbursement. The primary coverage with the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is excellent and has saved myself hundreds of dollars in Oahu, Hawaii when someone broken into my rental car. While the claim process did take a few weeks to reimbursement, it was straight forward and just needed to provide proper documentation around the incident.
Amazing Lifestyle Benefits - The $300 travel credit is really easy to use, compared to the $200 incidental credit of the American Express Platinum which only covers incidentals and not airfare. The 50% more value when redeeming for points is excellent and makes this card of the best cards to redeem travel with points.