One of the smartest ways to save money while traveling is through travel hacking. Using credit cards responsibly to earn points and miles can turn your daily expenses into free flights, complimentary hotel stays, and other valuable travel perks.
Not only does this help stretch your travel budget further, it also enhances your overall journey with benefits like complimentary upgrades, lounge access, and more.
Whether your goal is to travel longer, take more trips, or simply save money on your next holiday, points and miles can help you get there. However, most of the best travel credit cards do come with annual fees—sometimes quite significant.
While annual fees are often worth it for frequent travelers (since the card’s rewards typically outweigh the fee), if you’re new to travel hacking or don’t travel often, you might prefer to start with a no-fee card.
Fortunately, there are plenty of free cards to choose from. Which is best for you? Here’s a list of the top free travel credit cards to help you start earning points towards your next free adventure:
1. Bilt Rewards Mastercard
The Bilt Mastercard allows you to earn points when you pay your rent (as well as on everyday purchases). It’s particularly geared towards travelers and foodies, offering 2x points on travel and 3x points on dining.
You can transfer points 1:1 to travel partners, including American Airlines, United, Emirates, Hawaiian, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Hyatt, and IHG. The ability to transfer Bilt points to American Airlines is unique—no other card allows this, so Bilt points are your only way to earn AA points without holding an AA-branded card.
Bilt also integrates with point.me, a flight search and booking tool for award travel.
With the Bilt card, you get:
- 1x points on rent payments
- 2x points on travel
- 3x points on dining
- American Airlines as a transfer partner (exclusive to Bilt)
- Rent Day perks: monthly giveaways and challenges, plus 6x points on dining, 4x on travel, and 2x on all other purchases on the 1st of each month
- Travel protection, including trip cancellation and delay coverage
- No foreign transaction fees
The Bilt card is a no-brainer for renters who love to travel.
2. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture lineup is excellent across the board. While Venture and Venture X cards are more popular, they carry annual fees. For a free option, VentureOne stands out—you earn 1.25 miles on every purchase, and 5 miles on travel booked through the Capital One travel portal. As with other Venture cards, miles can be transferred to over 15 airline and hotel partners for maximum flexibility.
With this card, you’ll enjoy:
- Earn 20,000 miles after spending $500 within the first 3 months
- 1.25x miles on all purchases
- 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Travel accident and rental car insurance
- No foreign transaction fees
3. Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase Freedom Unlimited is a great free card, offering 1.5% cash back on all purchases, 3% back at restaurants and drugstores, and 5% back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. It also includes helpful travel protections like rental car insurance and trip cancellation/interruption coverage. Note, however, it charges foreign transaction fees, so use it for booking in advance rather than spending abroad.
Upon signup, you’ll receive:
- Earn an extra 1.5% on all purchases in the first year (up to $20,000)
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- 5% cash back on travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3% cash back at restaurants and drugstores
Low-Fee Cards
If the above cards seem too basic for your travel hacking needs and you want something more robust, here’s a quick look at travel credit cards with competitive annual fees:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ($95 annual fee): 3x points on dining, online grocery, and select streaming, 2x on travel (5x when booked via Chase travel), travel protections, and a $50 annual hotel credit when booking prepaid via Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ($95 annual fee): 2x miles on every purchase, 5x miles on hotels/rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, $100 Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit, and 2 complimentary airport lounge visits annually.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card ($95 annual fee): For business owners, earn 3x points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent yearly on shipping, internet, phone, travel, and online ads. Includes free employee cards.
While paid cards typically offer better rewards and enhanced travel benefits, if you’re new to points and miles, the idea of an annual fee might be discouraging. But if travel is a priority for you, not collecting points and miles is truly the biggest mistake you can make.
No-fee cards are a great way to start earning toward free flights and hotel nights—without needing to worry if you’re getting enough value to justify an annual fee.
