Best Credit Cards for Online Travel-Booking Websites
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If you love the freedom of searching for travel deals on websites that don’t limit you to a single airline or hotel chain, you might consider a card that gives you extra points for doing just that.
Of course, booking your own deals through aggregator sites (such as Expedia or Travelocity) can come with downsides, including often precluding you from earning the points or loyalty status that you'd get when you book directly through the hotel or airline. And third-party travel sites don’t always include all the options; Southwest, for example, doesn’t list its fares on some online travel sites.
Still, these travel sites are popular for a reason: They make it easy to search for a wide array of deals, compare prices and build an itinerary that works for you.
If that's the way you like to plan your travel, take a look at these cards:
Top credit cards for online travel-booking websites
One Key™ Card and One Key+™ Card
Our pick for: Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo bookings
The One Key™ Card and One Key+™ Card, both issued by Wells Fargo, earn rewards in the form of OneKeyCash, which you can redeem for bookings on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. They also both feature sign-up bonuses, which can get you a head-start on your next vacation.
The One Key+™ Card has an annual fee, but it offers more benefits for the cost (note the plus sign in its name).
Here’s how the cards compare:
on Wells Fargo's website
on Wells Fargo's website
Earn $300 in OneKeyCash™ after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®.
Earn $400 in OneKeyCash™ after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®.
Earn 3% in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
Earn 3% in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores and on dining (including takeout, delivery and food trucks).
Earn 1.5% in OneKeyCash on all other purchases.
Earn 3% in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
Earn 3% in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores and on dining (including takeout, delivery and food trucks).
Earn 2% in OneKeyCash on all other purchases.
No foreign transaction fees.
Automatic Silver tier. Move to Gold tier if you spend $15,000 per year.
Cell phone protection.
Trip protections including coverage for rental cars, trip cancellation and interruption.
No foreign transaction fees.
Automatic Gold tier. Move to Platinum tier if you spend $30,000 per year.
$100 in OneKeyCash on each cardholder anniversary.
Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Cell phone protection.
Trip protections including coverage for rental cars, trip cancellation and interruption.
Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card
Our pick for: Priceline users
With Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card, cardholders earn:
5 points per dollar spent on eligible Priceline.com purchases.
2 points per dollar spent on gas and restaurant purchases.
1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
The card has a modest sign-up bonus and an annual fee of $0. It also offers automatic VIP Gold status, which offers discounts and various hotel and car rental bookings.
Apple Card
Our pick for: Booking.com
Use the Apple Card to book qualifying prepaid stays and car rentals through Booking.com, and use Apple Pay at checkout, and you'll earn 3% cash back in the form of Daily Cash. You'll also earn 2% back in the form of Booking.com Travel Credits, which you can redeem for eligible flights, stays, car rentals and more through Booking.com.
» MORE: Apple Card 3% merchants
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Our pick for: General travelers
When you redeem your points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card through Chase's travel portal, you'll have plenty of options for travel bookings at a redemption rate of 1.25 cents per point.
Cardholders also earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase, 3 points per dollar on dining at restaurants, streaming services and online grocery purchases, 2 points per dollar on all other travel spending (including online travel websites) and restaurant purchases, and one point per dollar spent on everything else. The card also comes with an introductory offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. It has an annual fee of $95.
If you’re still not sure which card to get, check out our best travel credit cards to find the best match for you.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Our pick for: Plentiful perks
With the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can redeem miles on Capital One Travel, a portal that partners with Hopper, a travel booking app. While the card earns 2 miles per $1 spent on most purchases, it earns 5 miles per $1 when you book flights, and 10 miles per $1 when you book hotels and rental cars, through Capital One Travel. Plus, you get an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel — not to mention various other perks, such as airport lounge access — which helps offset the card’s $395 annual fee. (See rates and fees.)
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card also offers this sign-up bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
If you’re still not sure which card to get, check out our best travel credit cards to find the best match for you.
Information related to the Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuers of these cards.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
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