Is Airbnb considered travel for credit cards?

In general, yes. That means that if you find a card that offers bonus points on general travel, then you should be able to earn those bonus points on Airbnb purchases.

Do you need a credit card for Airbnb?

No, you do not. However, using a credit card is such a spectacular way to earn rewards on spending you’d be making anyway!

Which credit card is best for Airbnb?

We love the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Amex Green card, Capital One Venture X card, Capital One Venture card, and Double Cash card for personal Airbnb purchases. If you’re booking an Airbnb for business, the best cards are the Ink Business Preferred card or the Amex Blue Business Plus card. There are other cards available like the Ink Business Unlimited card, Capital One Spark Miles card, and Capital One Spark Miles Select card, but these generally don’t have excellent rewards like the Ink Business Preferred card would.

Can you use Chase points for Airbnb?

You can’t redeem Chase points for all Airbnb stays, but you might be able to do so at specific Airbnb properties that are listed on other websites and online travel agencies. You can also buy Airbnb gift cards at a value of 1 cent per point, but your points could be worth more with other redemptions.

Does Airbnb charge foreign transaction fee?

Yes, it charges a 3% fee if the currency of the booking you’re making is different from your home currency. This is a currency conversion fee and is separate from a foreign transaction fee you might be charged on your credit card. For example, if you’re based in the U.S. and stay in a property in France, you will pay a 3% conversion fee from U.S. dollars to euros. Unfortunately, there’s also no way around it — it’s done completely on Airbnb’s end.

11 Best Credit Cards for Booking Airbnb or Vrbo Stays [2023]

Booking an Airbnb or Vrbo stay? Both of these companies offer an online marketplace for vacation rentals as an alternative to hotel bookings. But in addition to short-term rentals, you can also book experiences or long-term rentals.

Whether you use Airbnb or Vrbo, you’ll want to make sure you’re maximizing every dollar you’re spending. But since both of these don’t fall under traditional hotel categories, it can be confusing to figure out whether or not your bookings would earn bonus points.

This guide will show you the best credit cards for booking Airbnb or Vrbo stays.

Table of contents

What To Look for in a Credit Card for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
The 6 Best Personal Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
The 5 Best Business Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

What To Look for in a Credit Card for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
The 6 Best Personal Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
The 5 Best Business Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays
Final Thoughts

What To Look for in a Credit Card for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Airbnb and Vrbo (as well as other competing platforms) almost never count as hotels, so the traditional bonus category of hotels, unfortunately, wouldn’t allow for bonus earnings.

So the first thing we need to do when looking for the best credit card is to find a card that offers the highest rewards on general travel. The definition of general travel is very broad and can vary from bank to bank.

There aren’t a whole lot of credit cards that offer bonus categories for general travel — so after these categories are exhausted, we will look for the best credit cards for non-bonused spending.

After looking at rewards accrual structures, you should focus on the best travel benefits for your needs, including travel and purchase protections.

With all of that in mind, let’s get into our best credit cards for Airbnb or Vrbo stays. We’ll start off with the best personal cards. Then, we’ll walk you through the best business credit cards to use for Airbnb or Vrbo stays should your business necessitate travel.

The 6 Best Personal Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

VRBO families gathered outside — Vacationing with friends and family is more rewarding when you’re maximizing points and miles for the charges! Image Credit: Vrbo

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Benefits
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $550	3x points on all travel, including Airbnb and Vrbo purchases Up to $300 annual travel credit Excellent car rental and travel insurance
American Express® Green Card	Earn 30,000 points after spending $2,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Annual fee of $150	3x Membership Rewards points on all eligible travel purchases, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more No foreign transaction fees
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	2x points on travel, including Airbnb and Vrbo purchases Rental car and travel insurance
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $395	2x miles on all non-bonus purchases, including travel purchases Cell phone, rental car, and travel insurance
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	2x miles on all non-bonus purchases No foreign transaction fees
Citi® Double Cash Card	No welcome offer available. Annual fee of $0	2% cash-back on all purchases (1% when you buy, another 1% when you pay)

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

In our opinion, the best personal credit card to use for Airbnb or Vrbo stays is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The biggest reason why this specific card is the best choice for Airbnb or Vrbo is that it earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on dining and travel.

Chase defines travel very broadly, which means that your bookings on Airbnb and Vrbo will count and earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers an awesome welcome bonus, a generous up to $300 travel credit (which can be used for Airbnb and Vrbo stays), and numerous other benefits.

This credit card comes with up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS application fee credit, the ability to earn 10x points per dollar on Chase Dining purchases, 10x points on hotel and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 10x points on Lyft purchases through March 2025 (plus 2 free years of Lyft Pink All Access and a third year at 50% off when you activate by December 31, 2024), a Priority Pass Select membership, access to The Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, and elite hotel benefits at Ennismore (sbe) and Relais & Châteaux.

Also, you’ll enjoy a complimentary subscription to DoorDash DashPass (activate by December 31, 2023) and car rental privileges at Avis, National, and Audi on demand.

It doesn’t end there because you’ll enjoy the best travel protections offered by a single credit card, consisting of primary auto rental collision damage coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, travel accident insurance, emergency medical and dental coverage, and emergency evacuation and transportation coverage.

As far as other card benefits, you can utilize roadside assistance, purchase protection, return protection, and extended warranty coverage.

Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

At Upgraded Points, we are huge fans of Chase Ultimate Rewards points because they can be used for a variety of different redemptions. This includes statement credits and cash-back, gift cards, merchandise, and booking travel through the Chase travel portal.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you will receive 50% more value for travel booked through the Chase travel portal, which will net you a 1.5 cents per point value.

But our favorite way to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to airlines and hotels for business or first class flights, and luxury hotel stays. Indeed, transferring points to travel partners is one of the reasons why these points are some of the most valuable in the world, worth around 2 cents per point.

2. American Express® Green Card

The Amex Green card is one of our favorite cards because it offers rich rewards, unique travel perks, and more.

This premium card offers a great introductory welcome bonus to start your points accrual. The Amex Green card earns 3x Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide, on transit, and on all eligible travel purchases.

This card is the only card from American Express that offers bonus points on travel as a broad category! It includes airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and, of course, vacation rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo.

It also boasts up to $189 in statement credits per year towards a CLEAR membership and up to $100 in statement credits per year on LoungeBuddy purchases.

If you’re looking for travel coverage, you’ll find tons of value in this card thanks to its trip delay insurance, secondary car rental coverage, and baggage insurance. Of course, you’ll find purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, which is common for these types of cards.

Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

The points you’ll earn on the Amex Green card are Amex Membership Rewards points.

Earning Amex Membership Rewards points is one of the most lucrative things you can do when it comes to rewards. In short, Amex has the most valuable transferable points, which can be used for incredible value when transferred to airline and hotel partners.

Other ways to redeem Amex points include travel booked through Amex Travel, gift cards, Amazon, cash-back, charitable donations, and more. However, we recommend transferring your points to airline and hotel partners.

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the most popular travel rewards credit cards in the world, and for good reason!

This card is one of the best “starter” rewards credit cards because of its incredible welcome bonus, access to Chase Ultimate Rewards partnerships, and of course, the ability to earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining and on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), and 2x points on all other travel purchases (including Airbnb and Vrbo, which is why this is one of our top choices).

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also offers a complimentary subscription to DoorDash DashPass (activate by December 31, 2023) and no foreign transaction fees.

For travel benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a card with better coverage. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has primary rental car insurance, complimentary travel delay insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance, roadside dispatch, and travel and emergency assistance.

And as you’re making purchases on the card, you’ll rest easy with purchase protection and an extended warranty on all your purchases.

4. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X card is Capital One’s ultra-premium credit card. It has the ability to earn 2x miles on Airbnb and Vrbo bookings, as this card earns 2x on all other purchases.

In addition, there’s an up to $300 statement credit for all bookings made through Capital One Travel.

Here is the earning structure on this card:

10x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel
5x miles per $1 on flights purchased through Capital One Travel
2x miles per $1 on all other purchases

Every account anniversary, holders of this card will get 10,000 bonus Capital One miles, too!

The Capital One Venture X card confers a Priority Pass Select membership, access to Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status, travel insurance and protections, primary rental car insurance, cell phone insurance, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fee, and no-additional-charge authorized users.

Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles

Capital One miles are one of the major transferable currencies, which means that you can transfer your Capital One miles to airline partners for amazing flights in premium cabins.

You can also redeem your miles for statement credits, travel purchases, gift cards, and much more. However, we believe that the best way to redeem your Capital One miles is for airline partner transfers.

5. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture card is one of our favorite credit cards for simple transferable rewards. With the Capital One Venture card, you’ll earn unlimited 2x Capital One miles on your purchases with no caps!

Since you don’t have to worry about bonus categories, you can bet that Airbnb and Vrbo stays will count!

This card also offers up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit and solid travel protections, including secondary car rental insurance, travel accident insurance, lost luggage coverage, roadside dispatch, and more.

Plus, you’ll enjoy cardholder benefits like zero fraud liability, purchase security, and extended warranty coverage.

6. Citi® Double Cash Card

The Double Cash card is one of our favorite credit cards because it earns 2% cash back. Specifically, you’ll earn 1% when you purchase and 1% when you pay it off (earned as ThankYou Points), with no caps!

That means that for your Airbnb and Vrbo stays, you can potentially earn 2% with no caps!

You can redeem points for cash-back in the form of a statement credit, direct deposit, or mailed check. Alternatively, you can also redeem them for gift cards and travel, or shop with points at Amazon.com and more.

Other benefits include an enticing introductory APR offer, zero liability for unauthorized purchases, fraud protection, and more.

Why We Like Earning Citi ThankYou Rewards Points

Having the ability to earn 2% with no annual fee on Airbnb or Vrbo is fantastic.

When you pair your Double Cash card with a premium card like the Citi Premier® Card, can transfer ThankYou Points to the full catalog of travel partners and redeem them for flights like Singapore Airlines first class or Delta One Suites!

The 5 Best Business Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Airbnb Orum House — Airbnb has a variety of hosts with unique properties that are ideal for corporate retreats and team building. Image Credit: Airbnb

It’s easy to fall in love with any of the personal credit cards above and use them for Airbnb or Vrbo stays.

But if you happen to be traveling for business, you’ll want to use a business credit card that can keep your personal and business expenses separate. So in this next section, we’ll show you our favorite business credit cards for Airbnb or Vrbo stays.

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Benefits
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on internet, cable and phone services, shipping expenses, travel, and ads purchased with search engines or social media sites Excellent travel insurance
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express	Earn 15,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 (rates & fees)	Earn 2x Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases on the first $50,000 every calendar year, 1x after that
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card	Earn $750 cash-back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Annual fee of $0	Unlimited 1.5% cash-back on every purchase made for your business 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 17.74% – 23.74% thereafter
Capital One Spark Miles for Business	Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that	Unlimited 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business	Earn a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Annual fee of $0	1.5x miles on all other purchases

1. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Without a doubt, our favorite business credit card for Airbnb and Vrbo is the Ink Business Preferred card.

This card offers a huge welcome bonus to start, worth around $2,000. And as you look deeper, you’ll find that you will earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on up to $150,000 every cardmember year in these bonus categories:

Advertising on social media and search engines
Travel
Shipping
Internet, cable, and phone

That means that you’ll experience the same exact earning structure for Airbnb and Vrbo as you would with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The main difference is that the Ink Business Preferred card has a cap of $150,000 in combined purchases, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve card doesn’t have a cap.

The other big difference is that this card’s annual fee is just $95, which is just a fraction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s annual fee.

The Ink Business Preferred card also offers cell phone insurance, primary rental car insurance, trip interruption and cancellation coverage, trip delay coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty, and no foreign transaction fees. You can also add employee cards for no fees.

Hot Tip: Between the huge welcome bonus, the best-in-class 3x earning categories on travel (up to $150,000 across all bonus categories), the travel benefits, and the modest annual fee, it’s easy to see why the Ink Business Preferred card is our favorite business credit card for Airbnb and Vrbo stays.

2. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

The Amex Blue Business Plus card is our runner-up choice for Airbnb and Vrbo stays. This superb credit card earns 2x Membership Rewards points on everyday business purchases, up to $50,000 spent every calendar year. Then, the card earns 1x thereafter.

This basically means that your first $50,000 in purchases every calendar year would earn 2x points, including Airbnb and Vrbo.

This card has a generous welcome offer and comes with no annual fee and benefits like no-additional-cost employee cards (rates and fees).

If you maxed out the $50,000 in bonus spending every year, you’d end up with 100,000 Amex points, worth around $2,200, according to our valuations. That’s equivalent to a 4.4% return on spend!

3. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

The Ink Business Unlimited card offers superb benefits with no annual fee. With this card, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back with no caps on every purchase made for your business.

In addition, this credit card offers an awesome welcome bonus and 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 17.74% – 23.74% thereafter.

If you have an Ultimate Rewards credit card, you can even convert your 1.5% cash-back to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points.

The card also has purchase protection, zero liability fraud protection, extended warranty coverage, unlimited employee cards with no fees, primary rental car coverage when traveling for business, and more.

4. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles card is a great business credit card that earns straightforward 2x Capital One miles with no cap for Airbnb and Vrbo stays, which is similar to the Capital One Venture cards above.

You’ll encounter a nice welcome bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, plus the ability to earn 5x miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel (does not include Airbnb or Vrbo), and a $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit.

The Capital One Spark Miles card also has zero fraud liability, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, free employee cards, and roadside assistance.

5. Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles Select card is the no-annual-fee variant of the Capital One Spark Miles card. Instead of earning 2x Capital One miles with no cap, you’ll earn 1.5x Capital One miles with no cap.

The welcome bonus is usually lower than the Capital One Spark Miles card, but the card still offers zero fraud liability, transfer partnerships, 0% introductory APR for 9 months, free employee cards, no foreign transaction fees, roadside assistance, extended warranty, purchase protection, and more.

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of credit cards out there. Finding the best credit card for Airbnb and Vrbo stays isn’t as easy as it looks.

In fact, there aren’t a lot of credit cards that offer bonus points for general travel, which Airbnb and Vrbo both fall under.

The best personal and business credit cards for these purposes belong to American Express and Chase, though Capital One and Citi both offer decent options.

We hope you’ve found this detailed guide useful to help you figure out the best credit cards for Airbnb and Vrbo stays.

The information regarding the American Express® Green Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, and Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.

2 comments

JohnB January 16, 2022

What about the Citi Premier CC?

- Jarrod West January 17, 2022
  
  Hi John,
  
  The Citi Premier’s travel category only rewards 3x points per $1 on airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. AirBnb and VRBO stays are not included.

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The 11 Best Credit Cards for Booking Airbnb or Vrbo Stays [2023]

What To Look for in a Credit Card for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

The 6 Best Personal Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Card Summary

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

2. American Express® Green Card

Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

4. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles

5. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

6. Citi® Double Cash Card

Why We Like Earning Citi ThankYou Rewards Points

The 5 Best Business Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Card Summary

1. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

2. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

3. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

4. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

5. Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb considered travel for credit cards?

Do you need a credit card for Airbnb?

Which credit card is best for Airbnb?

Can you use Chase points for Airbnb?

Does Airbnb charge foreign transaction fee?

About Stephen Au

2 comments

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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What To Look for in a Credit Card for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

The 6 Best Personal Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Card Summary

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

2. American Express® Green Card

Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

4. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles

5. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

6. Citi® Double Cash Card

Why We Like Earning Citi ThankYou Rewards Points

The 5 Best Business Cards for Airbnb or Vrbo Stays

Card Summary

1. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

2. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

3. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

4. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

5. Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb considered travel for credit cards?

Do you need a credit card for Airbnb?

Which credit card is best for Airbnb?

Can you use Chase points for Airbnb?

Does Airbnb charge foreign transaction fee?

About Stephen Au

2 comments

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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Advertiser Disclosure