My Favorite Beginner Travel Credit Card

Want to start earning points for travel? This is by far my top choice for travel credit cards to start with. On social media, I call it “my favorite beginner card.” Basically, I’m not allowed to mention the name of the bank or the card on social platforms, so if you follow my accounts, you know the secret code! Let’s get you all the information you need to know about the favorite travel credit card for beginners to help you feel confident when you decide to apply and take the plunge into the world of travel on points and miles!

If you do decide to grab this card for your travel point journey, would you please consider using my links? This is a free way for you to support my account by using my links, as some are affiliate links, while others are referral links. I want to make this a win-win for both of us. While you learn how to save money on travel, I can continue to put out more content. Thank you for your support! If you don’t find a card link you are looking for, please reach out to katie@travelmomma.co.

It is NO mystery here! My Favorite Beginner Card is actually the Chase Sapphire Preferred. There are lots of reasons why this is a card you want to start with, and many travel point enthusiasts would agree.

At this point, you are hesitant and wondering if this is actually going to work and help you earn free hotel nights and nearly free flights.

I was there too, I get where you are coming from! This card is a low-annual-fee, low-risk card. You will get all your money back from the annual fee just from the bonus and the card perks.

Let’s break down this card for you.

Flexible Points

• A variety of ways you can use them
• Airlines include Southwest, United, Delta, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France
• Hotels include World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG
• It should always take priority over just a hotel card or an airline card (cobranded)

Now this is the biggest mistake most beginners make: they want to apply for an airline credit card like Southwest or United. Those are great cards, but getting cards that have flexible points is always going to hold priority over cobranded cards. Unless you have a specific goal like earning the Southwest Companion Pass, I would stick to first earning flexible points and then sprinkle in a cobranded card here or there.

A flexible point card means you can use those points for hotels or flights. Each bank has partners that you can use these points on. Chase has amazing travel partners, which puts this card high on the list! You can transfer your points to Southwest Airlines, United, Delta, Air France, just to name a few. By applying for the favorite travel credit card for beginners, you have access to more ways to use your points, and you aren’t boxed in with one specific hotel or airline, giving you options.

My favorite hotel brand to transfer points to is World of Hyatt, and only Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to that hotel! They have nights as low as 3,500 points a night in certain cities! I personally use a lot of my Ultimate Rewards for World of Hyatt hotels, and I even earned globalist status in 2024-2025, earning my family lots of perks and extra awards. If you are interested in earning globalist status, I have a roadmap here to guide you through it!

Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus does vary on the card, so click on the link here to see the most current offer! I have seen offers range from 50k-100k, and sometimes they have even thrown in an additional travel credit! If you see this hard in the upper range, then I would highly encourage you to jump on the offer!

This welcome bonus is given to you when you meet the minimum spend requirement in the allotted time frame. You can track your progress easily in the Chase app.

To meet the spending requirement on the credit card, we use our normal everyday spending costs like gas, groceries, etc. If you need help organizing yourself to see exactly how much you spend on your everyday bills and what your monthly budget is, grab my FREE introduction guide. This guide has some helpful tools and tips to help you not overspend to earn these points, but just by using your normal daily costs.

Chase Travel Portal

This card has access to the Chase Travel Portal! This card is my staple in my wallet. I have other Chase cards that are advertised as cash back, like the Chase Freedom Flex or the Chase Ink Business Cash. Both of these cards are cash back, but instead, I will transfer those points to my Chase Sapphire Card so I can use the points for travel, getting more value. Not all Chase cards have access to the travel portal.

In the Chase Travel Portal, You Can…

• Redeem your points for travel in the Chase Portal (I don’t usually recommend this method, but there are certain circumstances where I will)
• Transfer Points to any of the Chase Travel Partners (YES! I always do this!)
• Turn your points into cash
• Redeem for Gift Cards (not great value for your points)

The Favorite Travel Credit Card for Beginners

The Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to be the card that is the favorite travel credit card for beginners. When you are ready to take the plunge into earning points for travel, this is definitely the card you want to start with!

Need help with where to start? Grab my FREEBIE! I have an introduction guide all about how you can earn nearly free travel using points! This will teach you how to use this strategy using your normal everyday costs of life! Earn your next vacation with every gas tank and grocery bill!

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