Updated on February 19, 2016

GIVEAWAY!  – HAS ENDED!

ENTER HERE TO WIN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING

• Grand Prize: $200 American Airlines Virtual Gift Card [1 winner]
• Runner Up Prize: $150 Cathay Pacific Vouchers [1 winner]
• Thanks for entering! The 2 winners are Justyna & Kyle – Congrats!

TOP 5 CREDIT CARDS FOR TRAVEL REWARDS

Don't see what you are looking for?  Check out the credit card offer directory.

1. Amex 100k, 75k, 50k
2. Lufthansa Miles & More 50k
3. Citi Prestige 50k
4. Citi Premier 50k
5. Marriott 80k

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1)  American Express Platinum 100,000 Bonus/$3k spend, Business Gold 75,000 Bonus/$5k spend [Targeted], Gold 50,000 Bonus/$1k spend in 3 months . 

a) See my detailed post about the Platinum 100k bonus / $3k spend targeted offer – amazing deal if you are targeted. b) Check if you are targeted for the Gold 75k bonus / $5k spend (if not, you will have a $10k spend instead – NOT a good offer!). c) Gold 50,000 bonus/$1k spend. The Annual fee is $450 (Platinum, not waived) or $175 (Biz Gold card, waived the first yr), or $195 (Gold, waived first yr). The Biz Gold card offer expires 9/29/15 the other two do not list the dates. My favorite use of Amex points is to transfer to Avios when there is a big 40%+ transfer bonus then use those points for short flights…hoping for another transfer bonus soon. Try this tool to see where you can go and how many Avios it costs. Example one way flights: NYC to Montreal is only 4,500 while NYC to Florida is only 7,500 Avios.

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2) Lufthansa Miles & More 50,000 Bonus Miles  – 3 Free First Class One-Way Flights — after $5k spend in 90 days [EXPIRED]

See my post for the juicy details or application page [EXPIRED]. These 50,000 points are enough to buy 3 First Class One-Way domestic tickets. Perhaps the most expensive first class domestic tickets are NYC to San Francisco or Los Angeles (with lay flat seats), making this worth up to ~ $4,200. Also, one way tickets to Central America or the Caribbean cost only 17k miles — I just booked flights to Cuba for only 17,000 miles each way. I do not have any affiliate links for this offer.

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3) Citi Prestige – 50,000 Bonus Points after $3k spend in 3 months

Links: Citi Prestige 50,000 (affiliate link, click link then click “View Points credit cards”, scroll down and click “show more results” to find the card  – thank you if you use this!) or Citi Prestige 50,000 (direct link). The annual fee is a big $450 – my detailed post explains how you can get $1350 American Airlines Credit and all the juicy details…if you can use many of the benefits, this is an fantastic card to get! If not, the Premier (below) is probably the card for you.

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4)  Citi Premier – 50,000 Bonus Points after $3k spend in 3 months

Links: Citi Premier 50,000 (affiliate link, click link then click “View Points credit cards”, scroll down and click “show more results” to find the card  – thank you if you use this!) or Citi Premier 50,000 (direct link). The annual fee of $95 is waived the first year. Double dip by getting both the Prestige & Premier and you'll get $848 AA / US Air Credits (instead of $662) – see my post for the details.

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5) Marriott Visa – 80,000 Points after $3k spend in 3 months

Links: Marriott 80,000 Bonus Visa Offer (affiliate link, click link then click “View Hotel credit cards”, scroll down and click “show more results” to find the card  – thank you if you use this!) or the Marriott 80,000 Bonus Offer (direct link). Expires August 31, 2015. The annual fee is $85 (not waived). This is as high as it gets for Marriott offers! Get another 80,000 with the business card ($99 annual fee).  80,000 is enough for 8+ free nights at category 1-2 hotels… but realistically 2 nights at the better hotels. HT to ViewFromTheWing.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

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6) Chase Ink Plus – 50,000 Bonus Points after $5k spend in 3 months

Links: Chase Ink Plus 50,000 Bonus Offer (affiliate link, click link then click “View Business Hotel credit cards”, scroll down and click “show more results” to find the card  – thank you if you use this!) or the direct link. The annual fee of $95 is waived the first year. Chase's Ultimate Reward Points transfer to United 1:1, so you can have 50,000 United Miles.  You will have enough for 2 domestic round trip tickets.

Note: Don't apply if you have had 5 new Chase cards in the past 2 years as the new rules say you will get rejected.

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7) Hilton Visa – 75,000 Bonus Points after $2k spend in 3 months

Links: Hilton Visa 75,000 Bonus Offer (affiliate link, click link then click “View Hotel credit cards”, scroll down and click “show more results” to find the card  – thank you if you use this!) or the direct link.  75k points is not enough for even 1 night at their top tier hotels but is enough for 3 nights in your average Hilton Garden Inn. This is an improved offer vs what they usually have, though still not amazing.

*Note: Bonus not available if you had this card (opened or closed) in the past 18 months.

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8) Starwood American Express – 25,000 Bonus Points after $3k spend (usually $5k) in 3 months

The usual offer requires a $5k spend but with this new offer it is only $3k.  To get this offer, you will need a friend to refer you. See all the details in my recent post.

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HOW CAN ANYONE KEEP TRACK OF ALL THESE MILES?

Easy. I use AwardWallet.com, a FREE tool to keep track of all my miles and reward points.  I'd be lost without it.

Did I miss anything?  Please leave your comments below.