THE BEST NO-FEE TRAVEL REWARDS CARDS
Consumers are once again traveling now that many pandemic-related restrictions have been loosened. If you’re soon joining the throng of travelers, stretch your dollars by booking your transportation and lodging with a rewards credit card. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine recently conducted its annual survey of the best rewards cards. Here are the top gold and silver medal winners for no-fee travel rewards cards.
Besides looking at the most generous rewards, Kiplinger’s survey also considered factors such as ease and flexibility of earning and redeeming rewards.
GOLD: CHASE FREEDOM UNLIMITED VISA
Annual fee: None
Sign-up bonus: $200 back if you spend $500 in the first three months; 5% back on gas station purchases for the first $6,000 spent in the first year
Typical annual rebate: 45,277 points, worth $453
Freedom Unlimited is a compelling no-fee option for domestic travelers who are willing to book trips through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program. It provides five points per dollar spent on travel purchases through Chase; three points on dining and drugstore purchases; and 1.5 points per dollar on other spending — a higher rate than the one point per dollar or 1% that most cards offer on purchases outside their maximum-rebate categories. Redeem points at a rate of a penny each for cash back, gift cards or travel. The card charges a 3% fee on foreign transactions, so for trips abroad, look for a card that doesn’t charge such a fee.
SILVER: BANK OF AMERICA TRAVEL REWARDS VISA
Annual fee: None
Sign-up bonus: 25,000 points if you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days
Typical annual rebate: 39,000 points, worth $390 in statement credits for travel or dining purchases.
Get three points per dollar for each purchase you make through Bank of America’s Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar on all other spending. You can use points at a rate of a penny apiece for statement credits to offset travel and dining purchases.
If you redeem points for a check or deposit into an eligible Bank of America or Merrill account, they are worth 0.6 cent each. All of those redemptions require a 2,500-point minimum; gift card redemptions, for which point values vary, require 3,125 points.