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Offers for the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card, The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
$200 hotel credit offered with The Platinum Card® from American Express applies to prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings made via American Express Travel®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
Benjamin Franklin famously noted that nothing is certain except death and taxes. But, recently, we feel like another that can be added to the list: a continued rise in airline fees and charges. In 2023 alone, U.S. airlines took in over $8 billion in just baggage and reservation change fees, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Credit cards that offer airline and travel credits can help you counteract these insidious fees on everything from carry-on bags to choosing to sit with family members. While Amex premium cards were the first to offer these credits, numerous banks now offer airline incidental fee credits. Since these credits don't work the same across these travel rewards cards, it can be confusing for consumers.
The art of award travel is to reduce costs as much as possible. However, the rise in taxes, fees, and incidental charges means frequent flyers need to adapt their redemption strategies.
So, how can we keep award redemption costs to a minimum and pay the lowest possible price on cash fares when all these extras aren't included in your booking? The answer is using credit cards that offer travel credits and airline incidental credits for expenses like seat selection, checked bags, upgrades, and more.
Restrictions on Credit Card Travel Credits
It’s worth noting that not all credit card travel credits are created equal. Most travel credits have restrictions on what cardholders can claim. Some require cardholders to manually request to use the credit, while others cover almost any travel-related expense and will credit automatically.
To complicate things further, some card issuer credits apply only to a selected airline or only to bookings made within the bank's own travel portal.
While we cover the basics for each card, reading your card's guide to benefits will give you a much greater understanding and possibly save you hundreds of dollars over your card's lifetime.
Credit Cards That Offer an Airline Fee or Travel Credit
Here are the best credit cards with travel credits and airline incidental credits:
| Credit Card | Annual Credit | Eligible Purchases | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (Rates & Fees) | $50 airline credit | Airline purchases of $50 or more | $95 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees) | $75 Southwest Airlines Annual Travel Credit | All Southwest purchases (excluding Upgraded Boardings and inflight purchases) | $149 |
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card | $200 airline credit, available as $50 per quarter for purchases directly from airlines or via American Express Travel® $250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. | Airfare purchased through Amex Travel. Does not include most ancillary fees, and specifically does not include change or cancellation fees. Eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts, including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property if charged to your room and paid for with your card | $550 |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | $200 airline incidentals credit on one airline - chosen annually $200 hotel credit on select prepaid hotels with Amex Travel (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay) Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. | Baggage fees, change and cancellation fees, in-flight food and beverages, and lounge admission. Fees must be charged separately from ticket purchase to qualify. Applies only to Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings | $695 - Rates & Fees |
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express | $200 airline incidentals credit on one airline - chosen annually Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. | Baggage fees, change and cancellation fees, in-flight food and beverages, and lounge admission. Fees must be charged separately from ticket purchase to qualify. | $695 - Rates & Fees |
| Citi Prestige® Card (not open to new applicants) | $250 travel credit | Airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, travel agencies/travel aggregators/tour operators, commuter transportation, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, cruise lines, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, and bus lines | $495 |
| The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card (available only by product change) | $300 airline incidentals credit (not applied automatically; you must call or send a secure message to request credit) | Non-ticket airline purchases including baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight entertainment, in-flight meals or beverages, lounge passes or memberships. | $450 |
| Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card | $300 airline incidentals credit on qualifying U.S. domestic airlines only | Preferred seating upgrades, ticket change/cancellation fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, and airport lounge fees affiliated with eligible airline carriers. | $550 |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees) | $300 travel credit | Almost any travel purchases | $550 |
| Capital One Venture X Business | $300 travel credit that applies to bookings with Capital One Travel only | Flights, hotels, and car rentals | $395 |
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | $300 travel credit that applies to bookings with Capital One Travel only | Flights, hotels, and car rentals | $395 |
| U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card (not open to new applicants) | $325 travel credit | Any merchant classified as travel as well as dining, restaurant takeout, or food delivery. | $400 |
| Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card | $350 airline incidentals credit on U.S. domestic airlines only | Ticket change/cancellation fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, airport lounge membership fees and day passes, onboard wireless charges, and TSA PreCheck membership application fee transactions. | $400 |
| Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card | Up to $100 airline incidentals credit on U.S. domestic airlines only | Preferred seating upgrades, ticket change/cancellation fees, checked baggage fees, in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, and airport lounge fees affiliated with eligible airline carriers. | $95 |
| PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® | Up to $100 airline incidentals credit on U.S. domestic airlines only | Baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight food and beverage purchases, in-flight WiFi and entertainment, airport lounge fees. Unclear if change and cancellation fees qualify. | $95 (waived for PenFed Honors Advantage members) |
For good measure, we'll also group an additional three cards together. While they don’t offer travel or airline credits, their earnings can be used for statement credits toward travel expenses made in the past 90 days. Because it works as a statement credit, any payment that codes as travel from the merchant qualifies on these cards:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
So, no, these aren't airline fee or travel credits. Still, the rewards you earn can offset the sting of fees or travel purchases nonetheless.
Related: How To Use The Platinum Card® from American Express Airline Fee Credit
Final Thoughts
Airline and travel credits are a great way of reducing your out-of-pocket expense for traveling. Yes, most cards charge a hefty fee for the privilege. But they also offer a huge range of benefits for the annual fee, such as lounge access, elite status with hotel chains, and trip insurance. These benefits will drop your travel expenses over the long term.
Which travel credit is best? All things considered, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees) has the most valuable travel credit. It's worth up to $300, as opposed to $250 for the Prestige Card and up to $400 on the Amex Platinum (which has many more restrictions), it also has the widest definition of claimable expenses, covering anything from train tickets to highway tolls, online travel agencies to subway rides.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Bank of America Premium Rewards card: If my spouse gets this card, how could I use the $100 airline incidental statement credit? (He would not be traveling with me.)
Once upon a time, the Virgin America Visa was an amazing deal. If you bought your tickets on VA using it, you could make changes without penalties.
It looks like we are tracking to lose our frequent flyer status that gives us that privilege. Is there any credit card that does the same? It looks like Chase Sapphire Reserve gives you travel insurance (covering if you get sick). But, you can’t make changes without penalties freely.
Thanks!
Hey Gary, there are few programs that no longer charge a fee for changes on Awards, but the amount does vary. The best strategy would be to book with a FF program that has low cancel/change fees. https://awardwallet.com/blog/airline-award-ticket-change-and-cancellation-policies/
I wish AA would offer discounts to seniors!!!!
Sadly (or maybe happily), we’ve already claimed most of our 2019 credits!
Any recommendations on how I can use up the balance of my Amex Platinum credit (on united) without actually flying in the next couple of days. Have never been able to use up this credit as we are plat with united so most excess fees are already free to us. Any advice as I only have a couple days left to try!!
It’ll actually be very difficult as the charge needs to post by December 31st and it could take 2-3 days for the charge to post. You might look at FlyerTalk https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1812742-airline-fee-200-100-reimbursement-reports-ua-only.html, but again, you need to have charges post in 2016 for it to count.
PNC Bank Premier Rewards card can also be used. I got 300 $ to spend on getting the card
Citi prestige,this is the best.
Thanks for the info. I enjoyed using my Amex Platinum before, but now Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best deal IMO due to the ease of using the travel credit
Good to distinguish more between incidental and travel credit!
I would love it if the Amex Platinum’s incidental credit became a travel credit like the one on the CSR..
It definitely isn’t as easily redeemable as the one through the CSR, but you can still work through a few holes 🙂
details…details please??
I would check here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1812742-airline-fee-200-100-reimbursement-reports-ua-only.html
Just got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card in October and trying to figure out how to take advantage of the global entry benefit. I have Global Entry through Jan 2020 (thanks to the AMEX Plat). Would I still get reimbursed by Chase if I wait till Jan 2020 to renew or does it have to be within a fixed time of card opening?
You’ll want to wait until Jan 2019 to renew as you can renew 1 year prior to expiration (which is exactly what I did) … and yes, you’ll still receive the benefit. It isn’t tied to a certain time from when you open the card account.
So is it a one time credit, or does the benefit renew periodically. If its something that renews, I might consider getting my wife Global Entry in the mean time?
This is a recurring benefit that you can leverage every 4 years. 🙂
MileagePlusX app from United charges are eligible for the airline fee credit from AMEX.
There have been recent reports of this NOT working. Make sure it works before you commit to it.
Did not work for me 🙁
No longer works, but some DP the United gift registry is working. Also, airline GC should work.
Some co-branded credit cards will give you a credit in the form of a free checked bag for you and each of your companions. I also appreciate the group-1 boarding.
You might consider this if you are a not-that-frequent-flyer, but use one airline.
big fan of Chase Reserve. The $300 travel credit makes the effective annual fee $150 which is pretty good given that it includes 3 points per dollar on dining and travel and access to the ultimate rewards shopping portal. 4.5% back on travel and dining is great. I don’t fly that much, but the priority pass membership is nice too.
Agreed. Also, the credit for Pre-Check/Global Entry makes the effective cost even lower.
Does the business version of the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express offer the $100 airline incidental credit as well?
It does not.
Thank you. Still offering 50K sign up bonus is intriguing since I’ve used my life time exemption on the personal version 🙁
i like the cards that let you cailm twice in the first year of card membership,