4 Best Travel Credit Cards and Debit Cards for Nomads
Table of Contents
REPEAT AFTER ME: NEVER PAY CASH FOR AIRPLANE TICKETS OR HOTELS
If travel is a part of your life now OR you want to go on the best trips for solo travelers next year – you need to apply for the best travel credit cards ASAP. If you’re not cashing in on travel points when buying flights, staying at hotels, and eating at restaurants…you crazy.
This isn’t clickbait. This is my true, honest, urgent advice for any person that wants to travel more and spend less.
Don’t spend $500-$1600 on a plane ticket and get nothing in return! For example; if you buy a $500 plane ticket with American Express, you’ve now got 25,000 travel miles – which equals a free one-way ticket to Thailand or free hotels while on your trip.
Get it? Your travel spending directly converts to travel points.
Besides travel points, however, these travel cards also come with powerful travel benefits like this…
♢ Airport Lounge Access around the World – plus bring up to two friends free depending on the lounge/card.
♢ TSA Pre-Check
♢ Miles and Points Used for Free Flights
♢ Free Hotel Upgrades
♢ Business Class Upgrades on Flights
♢ Insurance (Purchase Protection) on Gadgets
♢ Coverage on Lost Baggage & Delayed Flights
♢ $200 of Free Uber Credits
Okay so which travel credit cards are best for you? Let’s get to the list…
BEST TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS
Here are the credit cards I use every day AND for all of my solo female travel trips…
01 – CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED
Best for Overall Travel, both Domestic and International, and for Everyday Spending
Benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
♢ 2x points when used on flights, hotels, Uber, AirBnb, and restaurants
♢ Trip Cancelation Coverage (weather, sickness and other causes)
♢ Baggage delay insurance
♢ Purchase Protection Insurance on items purchased with your Chase card
♢ Primary Rental Car built-in insurance
♢ 50,000 point sign-up bonus (that’s enough for a 1-way ticket to Asia) after spending $3k in the first 3 months.
How Much: No sign-up fee and free for the first year.
I use this card for everything in America, online, and abroad.
AND when I was in Indonesia, my phone was stolen at a bar. But because I bought my phone with my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, the full amount was totally covered and back in my bank account within a week.
Travel girls, take note from my situation: Solo trips for women require a safety net when things go wrong
– and Chase Sapphire travel credit card acts as your safety net.
This is my referral link. When you use it, I get 15k points. Let me know if you do, so I can thank you!
02 – AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM
The Most Powerful Travel Credit Card Ever – Best for Entrepreneurs and Digital Nomads
The benefits of American Express Platinum for travelers
♢ 5x points on flights and hotels
♢ $200 in Uber Credits per year
♢ $200 Airline Fee Credit per year (aka money back)
♢ Baggage delay insurance
♢ TSA Pre-Check / Global Entry
♢ Airport Lounge Global Access with Priority Pass
♢ Elite Status with Hilton and Marriott
♢ Purchase Protection Insurance on gadgets purchased with this card
♢ Trip Cancelation Coverage (weather, sickness and other causes)
♢ 60,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $5k in the first 3 months
How Much: $695 per year…BUT BEFORE YOU PASS realize that your $200 Uber Credit + $200 travel reimbursement takes that down to $295 per year…which is more than made up for with free alcohol & food in airport lounges and those 60,000 travel points plus massive discounts and cash back on daily purchases like Starbucks.
This is my referral link for American Express. When you use it, I get 15k points. Let me know if you do, so I can thank you, again!
Note: AMEX is best used for flights, hotels, and all online tour bookings/shopping – but isn’t accepted in stores in Asia.
BEST TRAVEL DEBIT CARDS
Did you know that foreign ATM fees can charge as much as $8 per transaction? You’re literally paying to withdraw your own money from your own account. And when dinner is $3…that shit don’t make no sense.
On top of that foreign ATM fee, your bank will likely charge you a fee for using an ATM other than your own.
That’s two fees and if you ask me….that is some bullshit.
But ya know what bank doesn’t charge you ATM fees? Charles Schwab…
03 – CHARLES SCHWAB DEBIT CARD
My every day Debit Card and travel debit card which also comes with a built-in Brokerage Account for trading stocks. I opened a Charles Schwab Checking Account in 2014 and I’ll never change. I LOVE them because they don’t charge ATM fees AND they reimburse you every month for the ATM fees that foreign ATMs charge when you travel.
The benefits of the Charles Schwab Debit Card
♢ No ATM penalty fees abroad or at home
♢ Reimbursement on foreign ATM fees
♢ Official Visa-exchange rates when you withdraw cash abroad
♢ Amazing coverage in case of fraud
♢ Also, a built-in brokerage account for trading stocks and investing in EFTs (I’ll save this topic for another time)
Ps. When you open an account with this link, you get $100 deposited (free money) into your new account.
Update: My credit card information was hacked while I was in Bali.
Charles Schwab came to my rescue with just one phone call.
♢ They put the money back into my account within days (even before the investigation was complete)
♢ They sent me a new card TO BALI via FedEx Priority.
Wells Fargo won’t do that.
04 – REVOLUT
The emergency debit card that every traveler should have in case of…well, emergencies
Benefits of the Revolut Travel Debit Card
♢ FREE withdrawals at ATM up to $600/month (for Revolut Premium Cards)
♢ Ships anywhere in the world in 3-5 days (on average) Instantly load cash like a gift card
♢ Manage your card easily with Revolut app
♢ Available to dozens of nationalities (not just Americans)
I made a Revolut Card review video which you can watch below.
HOW TO CORRECTLY USE TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS TO GET POINTS AND PERKS
01. SPEND WITH YOUR TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS EVERY DAY
Use these cards as a full replacement for the credit cards you’re using right now.
♢ Book your flight with these cards
♢ Book your hotels with these cards
♢ Pay at restaurants with these cards
♢ Go shopping with these cards
Why?
♢ Travel Credit Cards collect travel points when you spend on flights, hotels, Uber, restaurants, and more. These points add up for major travel benefits.
♢ Travel Credit Cards come with purchase protection (example: I bought a phone with my travel card, it was stolen in Indonesia, and my travel credit card reimbursed me)
♢ You don’t have to exchange/carry huge amounts of cash when you travel
♢ And much, much more
02. MILK THOSE TRAVEL BENEFITS!
The moment you get your card, go into your online travel portal and activate all your perks!
AMEX and Chase Sapphire partner with different programs to give you discounts on spending like,
♢ Free Global Entry and TSA Pre-check.
♢ $200 Uber Credit
♢ 5% back at Starbucks
♢ Crazy hotel deals
CONCLUSION TO THE BEST TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS AND DEBIT CARDS
Save money. Fly fancy. Insure your purchases. And travel like an expert.
if you plan to get on an airplane sometime in the next 5 years…start collecting those travel points on day-to-day purchases for some amazing travel opportunities.
Ps. Traveling with a lounge-access Priority Pass literally changes the entire trip from headache to play-time!
Thank you American Express Platinum for free Business Lounge Access.
That’s it!
If you use my referral links, don’t forget to tell me so I can say thank you!
Safe Travels! And don’t forget to tag me in your travel photos on Instagram @SoloGirlsTravelGuide
***Disclaimer*** Every time you book through a link in this post, The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide gets a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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In 2011, I left Seattle with just $200 in my pocket to travel the world solo. Today, I'm the founder and creator of The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide, the #1 travel guide book series for women - and the author of The One-Way Ticket Plan.
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