Best card for other travel, honestly
No invented "average spender": where the best card for other travel actually changes as your spending grows — caps, annual fees, and earning rates measured against a flat 2% cash-back baseline, counting only cards you can get today.
What counts as other travel: The rest of travel: car rentals, cruises, travel agencies and booking sites, vacation rentals, tours, intercity trains. Local transit and rideshare are their own bucket.
Who wins, by annual other travel spend
Every card that beats a flat 2% card on other travel
- U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card — 4x points (≈3.20¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, no annual fee; wins over $0/yr
- AAA Travel Advantage Visa Signature — 3% cash back, uncapped, no annual fee
- Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards — 3% cash back, capped at $10,000/yr, no annual fee
- Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi — 3% cash back, uncapped, no annual fee
- Venmo Credit Card — 3% cash back, uncapped, no annual fee
- Wells Fargo Autograph Card — 3x points (≈3.00¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, no annual fee
- Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card — 3x points (≈3.00¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $95/yr fee; beats 2% above $9,500/yr of other travel
- Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card — 4x points (≈2.80¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $95/yr fee; beats 2% above $11,875/yr of other travel
- PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature Card — 3x points (≈2.55¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $95/yr fee; beats 2% above $17,273/yr of other travel
- Bilt Obsidian Card — 2x points (≈2.50¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $95/yr fee; beats 2% above $19,000/yr of other travel
- Chase Sapphire Preferred — 2x points (≈2.50¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $95/yr fee; beats 2% above $19,000/yr of other travel
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card — 5x points (≈2.50¢/$ at the card's default value), uncapped, $99/yr fee; beats 2% above $19,800/yr of other travel
Rates only — statement credits and perks are deliberately not counted here. They depend on how you'd actually use them, and each card's page asks those questions before adding a cent.
Best card for: Dining · Groceries · Flights · Hotels · Everything else · Gas & EV charging · Streaming · Internet, phone & cable · Transit & rideshare · Drugstores · Online retail
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