There is rarely a single best travel card. There are a few honest answers depending on what you value. These 6 cards earn a bonus on travel, ranked by the cashback-equivalent rate each one pays. Every rate is quoted from the issuer's own terms, with the clause and the date we checked it.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card earns the top rate on travel here, at 3.0%, only at Marriott, Marriott Hotels and 27 more. Away from those merchants, it earns its 1.2% base.
Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is the best card for travel with no annual fee, at 2.0%, if you choose it as a bonus category.
Every card here earns in a different currency: cash back, points, or travel rewards. We turn each one into a single honest number, what a dollar spent on travel is really worth back, valued conservatively. That is the rate we rank by, and nothing gets rounded up in a card's favour.
We never quietly subtract the annual fee from the rate. A $250 card and a $0 card can both earn 2.0%, and you decide whether the fee is worth it.
Aeroplan, Scene+, PC Optimum and the rest are valued conservatively in real dollars, so a points card and a cash back card compare fairly.
A card with a condition can still finish first, on purpose. The catch is right there on the row so you can tell if it fits your life.
By the cashback-equivalent rate each card can earn in this category, converting every rewards currency to its conservative dollar value. The annual fee is shown beside the rate, never subtracted from it.
A rate can be higher because it comes with a condition: a specific station or store, a category you have to choose, or an annual cap. We rank by the highest rate a card can earn here and show the condition right on the row, so you can see whether it fits how you actually spend. A conditional rate can finish above an unconditional one, on purpose.
No. Each rate is quoted from the issuer's current terms on the date we checked it, shown on every row. Terms change, so verify with your issuer before you apply.
No. Verdict is independent, is not a bank, and takes nothing today to place any card above another.
Spot something that doesn’t match the issuer’s terms?
This page ranks the whole market. The app ranks the cards in your pocket. Add the ones you actually carry and Verdict names the best card for anything you buy, the moment you buy it. No account, nothing leaves your phone.
