We’ve gotten deeper into traveling with points and miles, but I’ve realized something critical: many resources out there don’t do a great job of tweaking their best travel credit card strategies to account for traveling with kids. Especially in light of some big, consumer-unfriendly changes in 2025 it’s time to round up my suggestions here.
We love our kids and love exploring the world with them, but they are definitely takers rather than givers when it comes to the money side of travel. When you’re trying to figure out the best credit cards for family travel specifically, there are a few pain points to consider since kids can’t get their own credit cards (and can’t even be authorized users until they’re teens in some cases):
- Kids can’t earn miles through credit card sign ups or spending, so adults need to earn twice as many
- You’ll have to find award flights with enough seats for the whole family
- Many hotels outside of North America only have rooms with occupancy of 2 or 3 – and they’re strict about it
- Lounge access may only apply to the card holder (sometimes with one guest allowed)
So what’s a family to do? Be very strategic in choosing the best travel credit card for families and often have each adult in the family open the same card . In the list below I’ll share some of my top picks and which families they’re best for. Some of the best credit card for travel options have low or no annual fee, while some come with a hefty fee that can make sense if you’ll use the included benefits.
It’s good to keep in mind that the people who are constantly jetsetting around the world for free with points and miles are doing that by opening multiple new credit cards per year – and paying them in full every month . Every card they open comes with a huge sign up bonus in exchange for meeting a minimum spend within the first few months. Some of the minimum spends are higher or lower than others, so be honest with yourself about your finances and never spend more than you have or can afford just for the sake of earning rewards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
If you’re just getting started with points and miles, the most natural place to start is with the Chase Sapphire Preferred . This card is pretty no-frills, but that doesn’t matter: its $95 per year annual fee gets you into one of the most valuable points ecosystems around, Chase Ultimate Rewards.
As of June 2025, the Sapphire Preferred earns a 75,000 point welcome offer after you make $5,000 in purchases within the first three months. For context, you could use that bonus to score three nights at an awesome hotel in NYC or get up to six short domestic round-trip tickets (like from Columbus to NYC). Of course there are many more possibilities! If you live in a big city like NYC, that bonus could get three people to London and back.
Many Chase credit cards earn Ultimate Rewards points, which are amazing . You can get great value by transferring them to partners like United, Southwest, KLM, British Airways, Hyatt and a dozen more. The flexibility to transfer to so many different programs is absolutely invaluable – often there’s availability on partner airlines like using British Airways to book discounted tickets to Hawaii on several US carriers or you can book Delta flights via Virgin Atlantic for example. Mind blowing, right? There’s also the option to redeem them directly in Chase’s own travel portal, but that’s not usually the best way to use them.
Every purchase you make on your Chase Sapphire Preferred earns at least one point, with earnings of 2x on travel and 3x on restaurants, streaming and online grocery orders (including if you shop in person but pay using the store’s app!). By transferring those points to partners you can often unlock incredible value whether it’s for flights or hotel stays.
The Sapphire Preferred also comes with very solid travel protections, including primary coverage for rental cars.
Overall I think Chase has done a great job building a card that works for typical families that are taking one or two big trips per year. One really nice feature is that everyone who lives in the same household can combine their points into one pool, and you can also combine points with the free higher-earning Chase Freedom Unlimited or one of the free Chase Ink Business credit cards . You are still required to have the Sapphire to be able to transfer to partners, but the majority of our family’s spending goes on our Freedom cards and the majority of my business spending goes on Ink cards.
This is a great choice for a first travel credit card if you’re hesitant about paying big fees or if you don’t anticipate using lounge access very much and aren’t looking for complicated coupons. Even plenty of experts crown this as one of the best credit cards for travel!
Chase Sapphire Reserve
And now we go from simple to… complicated. The Chase Sapphire Reserve was my top recommendation for the best family travel credit card if you’re constantly on the move, and it was our workhorse when we traveled full time. I’ll be really honest and say that with the 2025 refresh it’s harder to make a broad recommendation for this card, and you’ll really need to consider if it’s the right option for you.
First, here’s the overall package of travel benefits that most families will be interested in:
- Priority Pass Select lounge access for the card holder and two guests
- Top-notch travel insurance
- Primary rental car insurance (which kicks in before your regular insurance)
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement every four years
- Earn triple Ultimate Rewards points on restaurants and four points per dollar on flights and hotels
It also comes with a healthy bank of points to start you off once you meet the minimum spending requirement – you can check the current offer here . The current offer is the best-ever for this card as Chase is working to promote the new refresh.
The annual fee is now an ultra-hefty $795, however your first $300 in travel expenses are automatically credited back on your statement every single year. That brings the annual fee down to $495.
There are now even more non-travel credits and benefits thrown on there that Chase uses to justify the annual fee, and your family needs to evaluate if you can organically make use of them. Some that I know we would use are $120 credit toward Peloton membership and $150 off StubHub twice per year. Your family might benefit from others like DoorDash or Apple TV+/Apple Music credits. Be sure to read through all of the new credits offered . If you can benefit from a few, then the math may work out for you to choose the Sapphire Reserveo over the Sapphire Preferred.
A note on lounge access… thanks to negative changes elsewhere, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is probably the best credit card for family lounge access at this time. You can also add an authorized user for $195 per year. Their spending will contribute to your bank of Ultimate Rewards points and they’ll get their own Priority Pass access (along with guests). If you’re a two-parent family with two to four kids, one Chase Sapphire Reserve with one authorized user will get lounge access for everyone (plus all of the other benefits for the primary cardholder) for an eye-popping $990… which is really hard to stomach. If you want lounge access and only have two kids, I recommend that one parent get the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the other parent get the Capital One Venture X – more on that in a minute. You can still both contribute to combined points for the household by getting the other parent a Chase Freedom Unlimited .
Southwest credit cards
While they may not be the most exciting or flexible travel options, if you’re a family that likes to travel within the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean you need to look at Southwest credit cards . With enough points earned during the year, you’ll be award a Southwest companion pass that allows you to bring a guest of your choosing on every single flight for just the cost of taxes.
Spring break in Hawaii ? Just $5.60 each way for my daughter’s ticket! President’s Day weekend at the beach? $5.60 for that too. Couples getaway to Nashville? I brought my husband for the same $5.60. There’s no limit to how many times you can use your companion pass and you can change your companion a few times per year.
Obviously this incredible deal is only relevant if Southwest serves an airport close to you. If it does, you should learn more about Southwest companion pass .
The 30 second summary of how to earn your companion pass is that you generally need to open two Southwest credit cards , first a business card and then a personal card. It doesn’t matter which one you choose from each set. Once you hit the very reasonable minimum spend requirement for both cards, you’ll be awarded a companion pass that’s valid for the rest of the year and all of the next year. The least expensive set is the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card – you can get them both at this link .
If you are an avid Southwest flyer, consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card on the personal side thanks to its $75 annual flight credit. Let me apologize on Southwest’s behalf for making the card names so similar . Under Southwest’s new changes, holding the Priority card card will allow you to choose a standard or preferred seat at the time of booking and also bring a checked bag for each passenger on your itinerary plus your companion.
It’s best to wait until ~November/December or the beginning of the year to apply for these cards, and be sure not to hit the spending requirement until the beginning of the year . That’ll get you basically two full years of free flights!
If you’re a two parent family with two or more kids, you can each do this and then bring the kids for free on every family vacation for almost two years!
Capital One Venture X
Until this month, the Capital One Venture X held the crown as the best credit card for family lounge access. Sadly that’s changing in February 2026: its complementary lounge access will only be valid for the cardholder. Womp womp. We’ll get to that downside in a minute, but first I want to address the upsides.
The Venture X is a premium card at a much more reasonable price tag than the Sapphire Reserve. The annual fee is currently $395 per year, which includes a $300 annual travel credit (which has to be redeemed through Capital One’s travel portal unfortunately), a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, primary rental car insurance and more. I typically use my travel credit to book Hertz rental cars through Capital One’s portal since that allows me to benefit from the included top-tier Hertz status (enrollment required) and the price is usually similar to what I can find elsewhere.
When you meet the spending minimum on the Venture X you’ll get a juicy sign up bonus ( current offer here ) that can be transferred to some great airline partners like British Airways, KLM, Turkish and more. As with Chase Ultimate Rewards, these flexible points can give you great value when you transfer them, even allowing you to book domestic flights through international partners – for example, I booked a one-way flight from Ohio to Alaska on United by transferring just 10,000 Capital One points to Turkish Airlines! The Capital One transfer partners aren’t quite as strong for families (no Southwest, United or Hyatt) but still very good.
One unique transfer option for families is Vacasa, which is a vacation rental service that’s bookable with Wyndham points – and thankfully Wyndham is a Capital One transfer partner! It’s priced at 15,000 points per bedroom for rentals up to $250 per night or 30,000 points per bedroom for rentals up to $500 per night regardless of location. That means you could book a one-bedroom + sleep sofa in some awesome destinations for five nights just using your sign up bonus.
While the Capital One Venture X was the king of airport lounges for families, that ride has ended. Lounge access will be limited to the cardholder alone beginning in February 2026, with the option to pay per entry for guests. That sucks, since it’s not like kids can get their own cards for lounge access. I generally wouldn’t recommend paying for guest access to most Priority Pass lounges ($35) because they aren’t usually great, but the actual Capital One lounges found in a few airports are excellent and offer kids access for $25 – well worth it on a long layover given the quality food and comfortable space.
If you have a small business, go for the Venture X Business instead. While kids will still be charged to enter Capital One lounges, the business card will continue to get two guests into Priority Pass lounges. This is our family’s plan – Venture X Business for me and the personal Venture X for my husband. Capital One also allows you to combine points between different members/accounts so that you can redeem them together!
IHG One Rewards Premier
If your family travels a lot in the US, especially to places like National Parks , you might love the IHG One Rewards Premier card – and the nifty features it offers. In case you aren’t familiar with IHG, that’s the parent company of huge brands like Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. They’re everywhere! Everyone has stayed at a Holiday Inn before, and they’re a solid choice for families thanks to free breakfast, rooms that accommodate the whole crew and usually pools on site.
The new IHG One Rewards Premier card stays true to the brand’s value roots. For just $99 per year you get:
- A big sign up bonus to start you off (the amount varies but it typically enough for at least four nights)
- Platinum Elite status (which landed us in a two-room suite on our Michigan road trip !)
- 4th night free when you redeem points for 3 nights
- Free night certificate every anniversary – you can combine with the 4th night free to make a 5 night trip
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement every four years
These are serious benefits for a card that only costs $99 per year! You can stretch your points at a Staybridge Suites in the US or splash out at an Intercontinental overseas. This would also be an ideal credit card for travel sports families, as those costs add up quickly and you can almost always find an IHG hotel near weekend tournaments.
If you plan to fly anywhere, this is the cheapest credit card that covers TSA PreCheck. Each adult needs to have their own PreCheck, so it could make sense for them to open their own IHG One Rewards Premier card at least for the first year. But plenty of miles and points experts rate this card a “hold” thanks to the free night certificate you’ll receive on every anniversary. I have both the personal and business versions of this card and recently used the two free night certificates so send my husband and his best friend to the Intercontinental New York !
But be warned… sometimes the welcome offer for this card is a set of free nigh certificates. I would not open the card if that’s the offer, as the certificates don’t give you nearly as much flexibility as points and you can’t take advantage of the 4th night free deal.
More options for credit cards for family travel
While my top picks for the best credit card for travel with kids are listed above, there are a few others worth considering in some circumstances. Consider these my personal “runners up” for the best credit cards for families who love to travel. We don’t have them yet but they’re on my radar.
- Amex Green card – This card is a competitor to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and is worth a look if you want an alternative. The card has a $150 annual fee, but more than makes up for it by including a $199 credit for CLEAR Plus (the biometric “express lanes” you see at many airport security lines). This card earns Amex Membership Rewards, which are wonderful for transferring to lots of airline partners, and it earns them fast – 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, travel and transit.
- Amex Gold card – This is a mid-level card that doesn’t offer tons of travel-specific benefits, but it earns 4 Membership Rewards points for every dollar you spend at restaurants and US grocery stores. It offers a healthy sign up bonus as well. Membership Rewards points are also incredibly flexible and have great transfer partners, just like Ultimate Rewards points. This card also has monthly credits for Uber and certain restaurant partners.
- Amex Platinum card – Many consider this card to be the “big Kahuna” of travel rewards cards, though it has pros and cons for families. First, the big downside: the $695 annual fee. YIKES. You do get some good value from that fee, like CLEAR Plus membership for one person and access to both Amex and Priority Pass lounges – but the Amex lounge access is only for the cardholder. My favorite unique benefit is a $200 annual credit for Fine Hotels and Resorts, which allows you to book a really nice hotel at a discount and get elite perks on that booking. There’s also another $200 toward airline incidentals, $240 toward Disney+ or Hulu, $200 Uber cash and more. You can pretty easily recoup the annual fee with all those credits plus you’re earning Membership Rewards points. But honestly, managing all those credits can be exhausting!
Important tip for Amex cards:
American Express has some really great personal credit cards, but you
must
get them in the right order. If you start with some of the more expensive cards, you’ll be blocked from the less expensive ones! In the Membership Rewards family, start with Green, then go for Gold and finally conquer Platinum (if you can stomach the annual fee).
Want to turbocharge your earnings?
Sign up for Rakuten
and link your account to an Amex card. Since Amex points are easily worth 2 cents each when transferred to airline partners, you can get amazing value. For example, if Rakuten advertises 10% back on Viator you’ll get 10x points… which can be worth close to 20%!
The next step to maximize your savings is to learn how to get discounted rental cars every time you travel. There are tons of great strategies!
For more tips on making family travel affordable, but sure to read our budget travel articles . They’re loaded with actionable tips to help you travel more while spending less!
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The post Looking for the Best Credit Cards for Family Travel? Check These Choices appeared first on The Family Voyage .
