Best Credit Cards For Road Trips Of May 2024

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an overall great road trip credit card, thanks to its valuable flexible rewards and strong travel benefits. Add in a moderate annual fee, annual hotel credit and no foreign transaction fees to make this a winner no matter where you go.

Rewards: Earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Annual fee: $95

Other benefits and drawbacks: Earn rewards easily with the Sapphire Preferred. Their definition of “travel” for bonus points is widely defined, covering hotels, rental cars, toll roads, parking, campgrounds and more. With 1:1 point transfer to a number of travel loyalty reward program partners including United and Hyatt and the ability to book through Chase Travel at 1.25 cents per point, the points you earn with this card will help pay for this trip or the next one.

Primary coverage with the card’s auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation and interruption insurance and purchase protection can all be helpful to the rubber-burners out there going the distance. Travel and emergency assistance are also available with the card.

Among hotel credit cards, the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card* stands out for offering benefits and discounts at properties convenient to the interstate and popular road trip destinations along with strong rewards on gas.

Rewards: Earn 5 points per dollar spent on Hotels By Wyndham and gas purchases, 2 points per dollar spent on restaurants and grocery purchases (excluding Target and Walmart) and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: The most valuable use of the Wyndham Rewards you earn from this card are hotel redemptions. While Wyndham isn’t known for luxury, you will often find Wyndham-affiliated hotels on your road trips in the U.S. and redemptions are typically reasonable. The card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, offers 7,500 bonus points each year and a 10% points discount on free nights redemptions.

Sometimes, it’s best to fully focus on the road. That’s why the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is one of our favorites for road trips. It earns an unlimited 2% cash rewards on all purchases so you can enjoy the journey instead of worrying about purchase categories or earning caps.

Rewards: Earn 2% cash rewards on purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: Redemptions on this cash rewards card are made for life on the road. Apply your rewards as a statement credit so you can go home without a huge bill, redeem for gift cards to fund shopping and dining throughout the trip or make an ATM withdrawal from your rewards balance if you need physical cash along your road trip. And did we mention there’s an introductory APR to help finance your vacation? Pay 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers, then a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR applies. Balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a fee of up to 5%, with a minimum of $5 applies.

We include the Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card* specifically for its entertainment spending category bonus rewards—a category that often doesn’t see elevated earnings. For those who like to hit cruise control and enjoy the journey, this card can help earn the most rewards on food, hotels and tickets to entertainment events.

Rewards: Earn 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 4% cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®) and 1% on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

Annual fee: $95

Other benefits and drawbacks: The Savor Rewards card’s annual fee may put some off, but the card charges no foreign transaction fees, and offers extended warranty protection, 24-hour travel assistance service and access benefits toward sports, entertainment and culinary experiences. Another version of the card runs on lower-octane gas: Check out the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card if you want similar benefits without the annual fee (rates & fees).

With the Citi Custom Cash® Card, you get the benefit of earning up to 5% cash back without the hassle of keeping track of purchase categories or activations. Your elevated rewards are automatically applied—even when you’re busy vacationing instead of logging in to your account.

Rewards: Earn 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category up to the first $500 spent each billing cycle, 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025 and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Welcome offer: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. The bonus points come in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® Points that can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: Since your 5% rewards are automatically applied to your highest eligible purchase category each month, rest assured you’re earning the maximum while you’re traveling as well as when your spending patterns change back home. However, these extra rewards cap out on the low side: Once you hit $500 in spending, the rate plummets. Still, it’s a solid card, especially since those with fair credit will also be considered for approval.

Even though electric vehicles have been around for awhile, most credit cards haven’t caught up to offering rewards for charging costs. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi* is an exception, offering cash back for charging, gas and other road trip or everyday expenses.

Rewards: Earn 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 spent annually, 1% thereafter, 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases, 2% cash back on purchases from Costco and Costco.com and 1% cash back on all other purchases. A Costco membership is required to apply.

Welcome offer: This card does not offer a welcome bonus.

Annual fee: $0

Other benefits and drawbacks: You’ll need a Costco membership to apply for this card, but as the name implies, its handiness extends far beyond Costco itself. There’s one major downside, though. Rewards are only paid out once a year. If you’re willing to be patient, that annual payout could be generous, thanks to the earning rates. One last bright spot: there are no foreign transaction fees, making it a good option for international travels, too.