By Jozsef Huszar • Updated: October 24, 2026
Travel rewards credit cards promise free flights and hotel nights, but the annual fee decides whether you actually come out ahead. We checked seven cards from Chase, American Express, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and Bank of America on October 24, 2026. Fees, rewards rates and credits come from the issuers’ own terms, linked in the first column of each table; where a term was missing, we say so. Annual fees run from $0 to $325, and on a $24,000-a-year spending profile the net value after the fee lands between $263 and $529 a year. New to points? Start with our guide to how travel rewards points work first.
Quick comparison
The table below shows each card’s annual fee, rewards rates and travel credits as collected on October 24, 2026. Look at the annual fee and the Travel Credits column first, because a credit only saves money if you would have spent that money anyway. Rewards rates carry caps and portal conditions, so read the full rate before you compare two cards line by line.
| Bank / Product | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Travel Credits | FDIC Insured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase – Sapphire Preferred®¹ | $95 | 5X points on eligible Lyft purchases through 9/30/2027; 5X points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessories over $150 (up to $5,000 in purchases) through 12/31/2027; other rates depend on the Rewards Program Agreement | Up to $100 annually for hotel bookings through Chase Travel; up to $120 every 4 years for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS application fees | N/A |
| American Express® – Gold Card ² | $325 | 4X points at restaurants worldwide (first $50,000/year); 4X at U.S. supermarkets (first $25,000/year); 3X on eligible airfare; 2X on eligible prepaid car rentals, Airbnb bookings, and cruises through Amex Travel; 1X on other eligible purchases. | Up to $120/year in Uber Cash; up to $100/year in Resy credits; up to $120/year in dining credits; up to $84/year in Dunkin’ credits; up to $100 in eligible hotel credits per stay through The Hotel Collection (minimum 2 nights). | N/A |
| Capital One – Venture ³ | $95 | 2X miles on all purchases; 5X miles on hotels, car rentals, and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel; 5X miles on eligible Capital One Entertainment purchases | One-time $300 Capital One Travel Stays credit for hotels and vacation rentals, valid for 1 year; up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fee credit every 4 years | N/A |
| Citi – Strata Premier® Card ⁴ | $95 | 10X points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel; 3X on air travel, other hotel purchases, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and EV charging; 1X on all other purchases | $100 off one eligible hotel stay of $500+ per calendar year booked through Citi Travel | N/A |
| Wells Fargo – Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card ⁵ | $95 | 5X points on hotels; 4X on airline purchases; 3X on restaurants and other eligible travel; 1X on all other purchases | $50 annual airline statement credit after the first airline purchase of $50 or more each year | N/A |
| U.S. Bank – Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card ⁶ | $0 | 5X points on prepaid hotels and car rentals through U.S. Bank Travel Center; 4X on travel and up to $1,000 per quarter in gas and EV charging; 2X on dining, groceries, and eligible streaming; 1X on other purchases | Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required); statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee | N/A |
| Bank of America® – Travel Rewards credit card ⁷ | $0 | 1.5 points per $1 on all purchases; 3 points per $1 on purchases through the Bank of America Travel Center | Redeem points for statement credits against eligible travel and dining purchases (2,500 points = $25) | N/A |
Notes:
¹ Important: The pasted terms don’t include the full standard rewards-earning rates or the annual fee disclosure. The $95 annual fee is the commonly listed fee for this card, but verify it against the current pricing terms before publishing.
² Welcome offer: Earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months. The actual offer varies by applicant and is confirmed before accepting the Card. Note: The travel-related benefits are not all general-purpose travel credits. The Uber Cash, Resy, dining, and Dunkin’ benefits have specific enrollment, merchant, and redemption requirements.
³ Welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within 3 months of rewards membership enrollment. Bonus eligibility restrictions apply, including a restriction for applicants who received a new-cardmember bonus on the Capital One Venture or Venture X in the past 48 months.
⁴ Welcome bonus: Not included in the supplied terms. Bonus eligibility restrictions apply to current or former Citi Strata Premier® or Citi Premier® cardholders.
⁵ Welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in net purchases within 3 months of account opening.
⁶ Signup bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on eligible net purchases within 90 days of account opening.
⁷ Signup bonus: Earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within 90 days of account opening.
⁸ FDIC / regulator status: deposit products at FDIC-insured banks are marked Yes; credit cards, loans, and mortgage products are marked N/A because they are not FDIC-insured deposits.
⁹ Links: add the issuer’s current rates-and-fees page or disclosure PDF to the first column before publishing.
¹⁰ Rates, rewards, and fees can change at any time. Show the check date in the article.
Two cards charge no annual fee: U.S. Bank and Bank of America, both at $0. American Express charges the most at $325 and offers the biggest credit stack, up to $424 a year across four named credits. Four cards sit at $95, so the real differences hide in the rewards rates and credits.
How we chose and what protection applies
We did not pick winners and then look for data. The seven cards are the research set for this comparison, and we kept all of them. Every number in the Quick comparison table is copied as supplied, and every other figure in this article is our own calculation on top of it. The links in the first column point to the issuer pages we used, and the numbered notes under the table explain where a term is incomplete, where a bonus varies by applicant, and where eligibility limits apply. Read them before you trust any single row.
Credit cards are not deposit accounts, so the FDIC Insured column reads N/A for every card. Your money is not sitting in an insured account; you are borrowing from the issuer and repaying it. Protection comes from consumer-credit law instead, such as limits on your liability for unauthorized charges and the right to dispute billing errors. For the basics of how points are valued and taxed, see our explainer on credit card rewards.
What a typical $24,000-a-year travel spender looks like
We assumed $24,000 of spending a year, or $2,000 a month, split like this: dining $4,800, supermarkets $6,000, gas and EV charging $1,800, airfare $1,200, hotels booked through the issuer’s own travel portal $1,200, and everything else $9,000. Change the split to match your life and the ranking can move. A household that spends little on dining but a lot on gas, for example, will see U.S. Bank gain ground, while a family that buys most groceries in store will favor American Express. To adjust the math yourself, multiply each category by the card’s multiplier, add the results, and divide by 100 to get dollars.
Three more assumptions keep the math honest. We value every point or mile at one cent, which matches Bank of America’s own redemption rate of 2,500 points for $25. We assume you pay the full balance every month, because interest would erase any reward. And we leave out welcome bonuses and credits here, since both are one-off or conditional; the next sections handle them.
Chase’s supplied terms list only two promotions and say other rates depend on the Rewards Program Agreement. For everyday categories we therefore used the rates published by NerdWallet and Credit Karma: 5X on travel through Chase Travel, 3X on dining, 2X on other travel and 1X elsewhere. We treated in-store groceries as 1X. All other cards use the rates in the Quick comparison table.
The method is simple: spending times multiplier gives points, points times one cent gives rewards value, and rewards value minus the annual fee gives the net. We show one year, five years and ten years, so you can see a first-year result, a typical holding period and the long run. Rates and fees are held flat, and the category caps (such as $50,000 on Amex dining) never bind at this spending level.
What these cards earn in real life
The table shows what each card earns on the profile above, after subtracting the annual fee. Credits and welcome bonuses are excluded, so this is the steady, everyday value you get without chasing offers. Start with the last column, because ten years is where small yearly gaps turn into real money.
| Card | Points or miles per year | Rewards value per year | Net per year after fee | Net over 5 years | Net over 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase – Sapphire Preferred®¹ | 39,600 | $396 | $301 | $1,505 | $3,010 |
| American Express® – Gold Card | 58,800 | $588 | $263 | $1,315 | $2,630 |
| Capital One – Venture | 51,600 | $516 | $421 | $2,105 | $4,210 |
| Citi – Strata Premier® Card | 62,400 | $624 | $529 | $2,645 | $5,290 |
| Wells Fargo – Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card | 42,000 | $420 | $325 | $1,625 | $3,250 |
| U.S. Bank – Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card | 48,600 | $486 | $486 | $2,430 | $4,860 |
| Bank of America® – Travel Rewards credit card | 37,800 | $378 | $378 | $1,890 | $3,780 |
Notes:
¹ Important: The pasted terms don’t include the full standard rewards-earning rates or the annual fee disclosure. The $95 annual fee is the commonly listed fee for this card, but verify it against the current pricing terms before publishing.
Citi leads at $529 net a year, which adds up to $5,290 over ten years. U.S. Bank follows at $486 a year and $4,860 over ten, only $430 behind Citi across the decade, and it charges no annual fee. Capital One’s flat 2X earns $421 net a year ($4,210 over ten).
American Express sits last at $263 a year, or $2,630 over ten years, even though it earns the second-most points at 58,800. The $325 fee eats the lead. The gap between first and last is $2,660 over ten years. Chase shows $301 a year, but its row rests on incomplete terms, so treat it as an estimate.
Those totals assume you meet every condition. The next table shows what a miss costs.
What happens if you miss the conditions
Two conditions drive most of the surprise costs on travel cards: the minimum spend for the welcome bonus and credits you never use. This table shows the bonus at stake, the spending needed to earn it, and the yearly value of credits if they go unused. We valued bonus points at one cent and annualized credits at their stated maximums. Chase and Citi show N/A for the bonus because no verified figure was available.
| Card | Spend needed for the welcome bonus | Bonus value at stake | Unused credits per year | Over 5 years | Over 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase – Sapphire Preferred® | N/A | N/A | $130 | $650 | $1,300 |
| American Express® – Gold Card ² | $8,000 in 6 months ($1,333 a month) | Up to 100,000 points ($1,000) | $424 | $2,120 | $4,240 |
| Capital One – Venture ³ | $4,000 in 3 months ($1,333 a month) | 75,000 miles ($750) | $30 | $450 | $600 |
| Citi – Strata Premier® Card ⁴ | N/A | N/A | $100 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Wells Fargo – Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card ⁵ | $4,000 in 3 months ($1,333 a month) | 60,000 points ($600) | $50 | $250 | $500 |
| U.S. Bank – Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card ⁶ | $1,000 in 90 days (about $333 a month) | 20,000 points ($200) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Bank of America® – Travel Rewards credit card ⁷ | $1,000 in 90 days (about $333 a month) | 25,000 points ($250) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
² Welcome offer: Earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months. The actual offer varies by applicant and is confirmed before accepting the Card. Note: The travel-related benefits are not all general-purpose travel credits. The Uber Cash, Resy, dining, and Dunkin’ benefits have specific enrollment, merchant, and redemption requirements.
³ Welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within 3 months of rewards membership enrollment. Bonus eligibility restrictions apply, including a restriction for applicants who received a new-cardmember bonus on the Capital One Venture or Venture X in the past 48 months.
⁴ Welcome bonus: Not included in the supplied terms. Bonus eligibility restrictions apply to current or former Citi Strata Premier® or Citi Premier® cardholders.
⁵ Welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in net purchases within 3 months of account opening.
⁶ Signup bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on eligible net purchases within 90 days of account opening.
⁷ Signup bonus: Earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within 90 days of account opening.
Amex has the most to lose. Its bonus is worth up to $1,000 but needs $8,000 in six months. If you spend $1,000 a month instead of $2,000, you reach only $6,000 and miss it. Capital One and Wells Fargo behave the same way: $3,000 in three months falls short of $4,000. U.S. Bank and Bank of America still pay out at that pace, since they ask for only $1,000.
Unused credits cost more over time. If you ignore all four Amex credits, you forgo $4,240 over ten years, more than the $3,250 you pay in fees over the same period.
Which one fits you
If you want no annual fee
U.S. Bank Altitude Connect earns $486 net a year and $4,860 over ten years with a $0 fee. Gas and EV charging earn 4X up to $1,000 a quarter, and the welcome bonus needs only $1,000 in 90 days. The Priority Pass membership requires enrollment, so activate it. Bank of America Travel Rewards is the simpler $0 option at $378 a year with a flat 1.5 points.
If most of your spending is everyday
Citi Strata Premier earns 3X on restaurants, supermarkets and gas, and tops our profile at $529 net a year. Its $100 hotel credit needs one stay of $500 or more booked through Citi Travel, so count it only if you travel that way.
If you eat out and buy groceries a lot
American Express Gold pays 4X on dining and U.S. supermarkets. It nets $263 a year before credits. If you would use all $424 of the named credits anyway, that rises to $687, but the credits have enrollment and merchant rules.
If you want one flat rate and nothing to track
Capital One Venture earns 2X on every purchase and nets $421 a year. Add the one-time $300 hotel and vacation-rental credit and the first year looks strong.
For most readers, the best card is the one whose bonus categories match where the money already goes. If you want zero fee risk, start with U.S. Bank. If your spending is broad and you book travel through a portal, Citi wins on our numbers. Pick Amex only if you will really use the credits. Chase ($301 net a year) and Wells Fargo ($325) did not lead on this profile. Wells Fargo may still suit you if your spending skews toward airlines and hotels, where it pays 4X and 5X, and its $50 airline credit is easy to use once a year.
What we did not cover
We left out interest rates, because this comparison assumes you pay in full. We did not value transfer partners above one cent a point, even though redemption value can be higher or lower. We also skipped relationship tiers, annual point boosts, insurance benefits, foreign transaction fees and credit score requirements. Late payments are the other trap: Citi’s published pricing lists a variable penalty APR of up to 29.99% after a late or returned payment, and Credit Karma and NerdWallet report the same ceiling for Chase. Check each remaining issuer’s linked disclosure for its own penalty terms before you apply. Welcome bonuses appear only in the conditions table, and Chase’s and Citi’s are missing for lack of a verified figure. Business cards and issuers outside this set were not reviewed. Treat every figure here as a snapshot and confirm it on the issuer’s page before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
On our $24,000-a-year profile, every $95 card nets between $301 and $529 a year after the fee, before any credits or welcome bonus. The fee pays off when your rewards, valued at one cent a point, beat what a no-fee card would earn you. Count credits only if you would use them anyway. Only if you use them. American Express lists up to $424 a year in named credits against a $325 fee, but each one has enrollment and merchant rules. Citi’s $100 and Wells Fargo’s $50 cover part of a $95 fee and need a specific purchase. Unused credits are lost, so do not count them until you have used them. The supplied terms ask for $8,000 in six months at American Express, $4,000 in three months at Capital One and Wells Fargo, and $1,000 in 90 days at U.S. Bank and Bank of America. Never spend money you would not otherwise spend, and pay the balance in full so interest does not cancel the bonus. Often not. The notes say Capital One restricts the bonus if you received a Venture or Venture X bonus in the past 48 months, and Citi restricts it for current or former Strata Premier or Premier cardholders. Check each issuer’s bonus rules before applying, especially if you are returning to a card. It depends on how concentrated your spending is. Capital One Venture’s flat 2X earns $516 a year on our profile, while Citi earns $624 from category bonuses, a gap of $108. If your spending is scattered or you dislike tracking categories, the flat rate costs little. If most spending lands in bonus categories, category cards win.Is a $95 annual fee worth it on a travel rewards card?
Do the travel credits really cover the annual fee?
How much do I need to spend to earn a welcome bonus?
Can I get a bonus if I have held the card before?
Is a flat-rate card better than a category card?
Methodology and last update
Fees, rewards rates and credits come from the issuer terms linked in each table and were checked on October 24, 2026. All totals are our own calculations at one cent per point on the stated profile. We refresh this page monthly. This article is general information, not personalized financial advice, so confirm current terms with the issuer before you apply.