UPDATED December 10th, 2014
(See limited time offers for 50k US Airways offer, 80k Hilton Amex offer, & more!)

Below you will find what I consider to be the “Top Deals” available on the market right now for earning frequent flyer miles, and other cards available to fly and travel for free. Click here for a listing of the best vacation rental deals in Puerto Rico.

Please comment at the bottom of the page or e-mail me if you find a better offer, or have questions! Some cards pay me a referral if you apply through my link and are approved, but I will always post the best offer available that I’m aware of – whether it is my link or not! As always, email me with any questions and thank you for supporting this site by using my links!

As always, I recommend that you know your credit score and know what’s in your credit report before applying for any of these cards. You can also try visiting a credit repair website to assist you with increasing your credit score. The general rule of thumb is that most of these premium rewards cards should be applied for by people with credit scores above 700 and great credit reports. People new to credit cards, young people, students, and people with low scores can see student cards available at the bottom of the page.

CLICK HERE to get a Free Credit Score & Credit Report with your free account here from Credit Sesame! (this is not an ad, but it is my referral link)

To learn more about your credit score, & what’s in your credit report, read my 3 post series here:
/category/beginners-steps-2/

These are credit cards!  Be responsible.  Pay your bills on time.  Earn Miles.  Get free flights.  Repeat.

TOP DEALS THAT AREN’T CREDIT CARDS:

• Earn up to 50,000 Delta Skymiles, 50,000 United Mileageplus miles, 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, up to a $500 Apple Giftcard, or 200 free stock trades all from Fidelity Investments. You can only get ONE of these deals every 12 months now.  You used to be able to “cycle” funds by depositing and withdrawing money to boost the amount you’ve deposited. Now you cannot do that. You have to just deposit the entire amount. If you withdraw money, it counts against the amount deposited.

TOP PERSONAL CREDIT CARD DEALS:

• 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles from the Citibank Platinum Mastercard after spending $3,000 in 3 months. Receive 10% of your redeemed miles back each year up to 10k miles. Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on purchases, & 2 miles per dollar on AA flights. No Annual Fee first year, $95 after.  General churning assumption as of 8/29/13 is that you can get a new personal AA card 12-26 months (avg 18 months) after applying for a personal card before.  Stay up to date with this Flyertalk thread** CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• *LIMITED TIME* 50,000 US Airways Dividend Miles from the Barclays Premier World Mastercard after your FIRST PURCHASE and payment of $89 annual fee!  (The Affiliate $89 Annual fee 1st year. Earn 2 miles per dollar on US Airways & AA purchases & 1 mile per $ on everything else. First checked bag free for you + up to 4 companions on domestic US Airways flights. One $99 companion ticket annually, preferred check in & boarding. These miles will turn into American Airline miles by the 2nd quarter of 2015, so this is an amazing deal either way you look at it for only spending $89! US Airways is now part of the Oneworld alliance so you can book AA flights with these!  CLICK HERE TO APPLY
  

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World MasterCard – Earn 40,000 bonus miles when you make $3,000 or more in purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. 40,000 bonus miles equates to $400 off your next trip booked on the card when redeemed, and you receive 10% back, so actually $440+!. No foreign transaction fees, free FICO score access, and points don’t expire as long as your account is open & in good condition. Arrival points are some of the easiest points to redeem that I’ve ever used. They can be redeemed for any travel booked on your credit card as a membership club fees statement credit for example – flights, rental car, hotel, cruise, travel agency, etc… You earn 2 points per $1 spent on everything and you also get 10% of the points back that you redeem, so this is actually worth over 46,000 points after making the minimum spend and getting points back when redeeming! I have this card personally and love it. No Annual Fee first year, $89 after. CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 45,000 Ultimate Rewards points for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature credit card. Receive the 1st 40k points after spending $3,000 in 3 months, and an additional 5k points for adding an authorized user and making 1 purchase. Earn 2 points per dollar on all travel & dining spend, 1 point per dollar on everything else. You also earn a 7% annual bonus on all points earned.  No Annual Fee first year, and NO foreign transaction fees! Ultimate Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to United, Southwest, British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Amtrak & more…  Aside from transferring your points, you can also book travel on the Ultimate Rewards site for a value of 1.25 cents per mile, so a $200 flight would only cost 16,000 miles.  This card is always in my wallet, and is easily one of my all-time favorite credit cards for traveling! 45K VISA SIGNATURE – CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 55,000 United Milageplus miles from Chase United Explorer Visa Signature card by logging into your account first and loading this offer (targeted). Receive 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in first 3 months and another 5,000 miles for adding an authorized user and making 1 purchase on the AU card in the first 3 months. 57k miles after purchases is just short of enough for 1 free round trip flight to Europe or more than enough to go the Caribbean or northern South America! No foreign transaction fees, Ann Fee Waived 1st year, $95/year after. CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 85,000 Club Carlson points from US Bank Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature. 50k points 1st purchase and another 35k points after spending $2,500 in first 3 months. Earn 10 points per $1 on Club Carlson spend and 5 points per $1 on all other spend. Comes with Gold Elite status, 2nd award night free on award redemptions of 2+ nights, and 40,000 annual anniversary point bonus. $75 Ann Fee NOT WAIVED.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 40,000 Wells Fargo points & $100 airline fee credit from the new Propel World American Express credit card after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. No foreign exchange fee, Annual fee waived 1st year ($175 after). Earn 3pts per $1 spent on airlines, 2pts per $1 on hotels, and 1pt per $1 on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for $400 in gift cards, cash, or redeemed at 1-1.5cpp in travel on their website worth $400-$700 in travel. CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 50,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles or 75,000 Hilton HHonors from the Bank of America Virgin America – American Express credit card. Virgin miles transfer at a 1:2 ratio to Hilton! Earn 20,000 Flying Club miles after your first purchase, and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 in 90 days, and 5,000 miles for adding an authorized user. Earn 3 miles per $1 spent on Virgin Atlantic flights, & 1.5 miles per $1 on all other purchases. Annual fee of $90 (not waived). CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 80,000 Hilton HHonors points & Gold Status from the American Express Surpass credit card after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Expires 2/28/15. This comes with Hilton Gold status which includes free internet and breakfast on your Hilton stays along w/bonus points, and possible room upgrades which can be quite valuable. Earn 12 Hilton points per $1 spent at Hilton, 6 at restaurants, & 3pts on all other spend. Earn Hilton Diamond status (the highest available) by spending $40,000 in a calendar year.  Annual fee of $75 is NOT waived 1st year but the Gold Status may be worth it to you. CLICK HERE TO APPLY 

• 60,000 Hilton HHonors points from the American Express Hilton card with NO annual fee *Expires 12/30/14* after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. Earn 7 Hilton points per $1 spent at Hilton, 5 at restaurants/gas stations/supermarkets, & 3pts on all other spend. Earn Hilton Diamond status (the highest available) by spending $40,000 in a calendar year.  No Annual Fee ever on this card. CLICK HERE TO APPLY 

• 50,000 Hilton HHonors points from Citi Hilton card after spending $1,000 in first 4 months. No Annual Fee EVER. Generally this card can be churned repeatedly following Citi card guidelines of no more than 2 apps in 65 days and they must be separated by at least 8 days, however see ongoing conversation on Flyertalk with speculation to see if the Citi Hilton Visa card churning is going away HERE. I have personally received 3 of these cards and have read reports of people with over a dozen! Earn 6pts per $1 on Hilton spend, 3pts per $1 on grocery, supermarket, & gas purchases, & 2pts per $1 on all other purchases. Silver Elite status comes with card which gets you your 5th night free on all awards. CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 25,000 Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) hotel points from the American Express SPG credit card. Receive the 1st 10,000 points after 1st purchase, and another 20,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months. Points are transferable to a large number of airlines at a 1:1 ratio with a 5,000 point bonus for every 20,000 points you transfer, including: American Airlines, British Airways, US Airways, Virgin, Delta, Hawaiian, & more! Also redeemable at Starwood hotels for free nights or cash & points including luxury SPG brands like Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, W Hotels, Le Meridien, Aloft, etc.. Earn up to 5 points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels, & 1 mile per $1 everywhere else. No Annual Fee first year.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 35,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles from Barclays Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard after spending $1,000 in first 3 months. $89 Annual Fee NOT WAIVED 1st year. 1st checked bag free, one time 50% off coupon for coach travel US-Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines, NO foreign transaction fees, 2 miles per $1 spent on Hawaiian airlines and 1 mile per $1 on everything else.  5,000 bonus miles for $10k Annual spend, and $100 coupon off a companion ticket for coach travel US-Hawaii on Hawaiian airlines at anniversary date. You can transfer these to Hilton points at 1:1.5 ratio in increments of 10,000 point transfers so this sign-up bonus can be worth over 50k Hilton points if you’d like.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

TOP BUSINESS CREDIT CARD DEALS:

• 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles from the Citibank Business AA Mastercard credit card after spending $3,000 in 3 months. Receive 10% of your redeemed miles back each year up to 10k miles. Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on purchases, & 2 miles per dollar on AA flights. No Annual Fee first year, $95 after.   CLICK HERE TO APPLY
  *Not a big spender? 35,000 Miles AA Biz card after spending $1,500 in 3 months

• 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Ink Plus Business credit card  after spending $5,000 in 3 months. Good for $625 in travel, or the points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio to: United, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, British Airways, Ritz Carlton etc. See more at www.ultimaterewards.com   Earn 5 points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent at office supply stores, cable/wireless service/landline communications, and 2 points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent on gas/hotels, & 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else. No Foreign Transaction Fee, and No Annual Fee first year.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 85,000 Club Carlson points from US Bank Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa. 50k points 1st purchase and another 35k points after spending $2,500 in first 3 months. Earn 10 points per $1 on Club Carlson spend and 5 points per $1 on all other spend. Comes with Gold Elite status, 2nd award night free on award redemptions of 2+ nights, and 40,000 annual anniversary point bonus. $60 Ann Fee NOT WAIVED.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

• 25,000 Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) hotel points from the American Express SPG business credit card after spending $5,000 in 6 months. Points are transferable to a large number of airlines at a 1:1 ratio with a 5,000 point bonus for every 20,000 points you transfer, including: American Airlines, British Airways, US Airways, Virgin, Delta, Hawaiian, & more! Also redeemable at Starwood hotels for free nights or cash & points including luxury SPG brands like Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, W Hotels, Le Meridien, etc.. Earn up to 5 points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels, & 1 mile per $1 everywhere else. No Annual Fee first year.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY

STUDENT / LOW CREDIT SCORE CARDS:

•  Discover It Student Card – A great beginners credit card for college students with little/no credit with surprisingly AMAZING benefits! Earn 5% cashback on rotating categories and 1% cash back on ALL purchases! No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No pay-by-phone fee. No foreign transaction fee. And no late fee for your first late payment. Plus they won’t raise your APR for paying late. CLICK HERE TO APPLY

DISCLAIMER // PRIVACY POLICY:
I am not a licensed financial adviser, and everything stated on this website is strictly opinion. Opinions expressed on this website are strictly opinions, and should not be acted on by any user. You take full responsibility of your actions and deem both David Morrison, and Travel and Credit LLC exempt of all liabilities resulting from your actions.

Travel and Credit has financial relationships with some of the cards mentioned here, and Travel and Credit may be compensated if consumers choose to apply for these links in our content and ultimately sign up for them.

* See the online credit card application for details about terms and conditions. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on the “Apply Now” button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the issuer’s website.

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