The 7 Best Premium & Luxury Credit Cards [September 2023]

Anyone who travels knows that having a premium travel rewards credit card can make a huge difference in your travel experience. These cards often include perks such as lounge access, rental car status, fee reimbursements, and more — all of which can save you money and frustration, and generally give you a more relaxed experience at the airport.

Top Picks (Quick Summary)

Credit Card	Welcome Offer	Top Benefits	Annual Fee
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.	Best card for airport lounge access (1,400+ lounges) including Amex Centurion Lounges & Priority Pass (upon enrollment) Generous collection of annual statement credits	$695 (rates and fees)
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.	Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X).	$250 (rates and fees)
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates and fees)	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	Receive $300 back annually as credit for bookings through Capital One Travel. Access to 1,300+ Priority Pass Lounges & Capital One Lounge Access. Add up to 4 authorized users at no additional cost.	$395

The 7 Best Premium & Luxury Credit Cards

Here’s a look at the 4 most popular premium general travel credit cards:

1. The Platinum Card^® from American Express (Best Card for Global Airport Lounge Access + Luxury Perks)

This card offers access to American Express’ luxurious Centurion Lounge network, Priority Pass upon enrollment, International Centurion Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, Airspace Lounge, select Virgin Clubhouses, select Lufthansa lounges when flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, and Delta Sky Clubs when flying with Delta the same day.

Further, the card offers up to $200 in airline incidental fee credit that can be used to cover incidental fees — think baggage fees, priority boarding, and seat selection — incurred from 1 airline of your choice.

The card also has an assortment of other perks, too. Some of these include a Global Entry fee reimbursement, up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, up to $189 back per year on your CLEAR^® membership, access to the International Airline Program, and complimentary Gold elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors. Note that select benefits require enrollment so be sure to enroll in all applicable benefits through your American Express account to get the most out of the Amex Platinum card.

The card falls short when it comes to points earning, though. It offers 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on airfare booked through Amex Travel or directly through the airline, but offers a mere 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. However, points can be used for tons of high-end redemptions like first and business class travel.

2. American Express^® Gold Card (Best for Earning Lots of Points on Dining and at U.S. Supermarkets)

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

One of our favorite cards, the Amex Gold card offers amazing rewards with an exceptional welcome bonus. Here’s how the earnings are broken down:

• 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year)
• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or at Amex Travel
• 1x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Earning 4x points translates to a return on spending of 8.8%, based on our valuations, which is huge!

The Amex Gold card comes with up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) for rides and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. and up to $120 in dining credits ($10 per month) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, select Shake Shack locations, and Wine.com.

With this card, you can book beautiful stays at The Hotel Collection, too.

Hot Tip: With the Amex Gold, there are also no foreign transaction fees, no additional annual fees for authorized users, purchase protection, extended warranty, and no preset spending limit.

3. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (Best Value Lounge Access Card, up to 4 Authorized Users for No Additional Charge)

We’re thrilled to see Capital One enter the premium travel rewards card space with the Capital One Venture X card. With its lower annual fee compared to other luxury travel rewards cards, a frequent traveler can easily find enough value to exceed this annual outlay.

We like that cardholders can earn big when using Capital One Travel as hotels and rental car purchases earn 10x miles per dollar spent and 5x miles on flights booked via the portal. The earnings continue with 2x miles earned for every dollar spent on all other purchases. Plus, every card anniversary you’ll earn an additional 10,000 miles.

At redemption time, you’ll have strong choices including redeeming miles for travel via Capital One Travel, transferring miles to airline/hotel partners for even greater potential value, or receiving a statement credit.

Add in a $300 Capital One Travel credit each year, Priority Pass Select lounge membership, cell phone protection, and trip insurance benefits, and you could find plenty of bottom-line value as a cardholder.

The card also comes with a generous welcome bonus and a limited-time vacation rental statement credit.

Hot Tip: You can add up to 4 authorized users for no additional cost and they also get access to 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges!

4. Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s answer to the Amex Platinum card. However, this card replaces some of the flashy benefits with elevated points earning, making it better for customers that need a card that offers both premium benefits and great points earning.

On the benefits side, some of the card’s most notable perks include Priority Pass lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit that can be applied to any travel purchase, primary rental car insurance, travel insurance, and a Global Entry fee reimbursement.

Points earning is where the card really shines, though. It earns 10 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on Chase Dining, hotels, and car rentals booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. It also earns 5 points per dollar on airline travel booked through the travel portal. You’ll earn 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases — which includes fast food, cafes, Ubers, taxis, airfare, and much more. These points can then be transferred to one of Chase’s many transfer partners to book award travel.

Plus, the card now earns 10 points per dollar on Lyft purchases, so you can earn some serious extra points on your rideshare rides. For example, a $75 Lyft ride to the airport would earn a whopping 750 Ultimate Rewards points!

You can redeem your Ultimate Rewards points towards paid flights through the Chase travel portal at 1.5 cents per point. You can redeem a $150 flight for just 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points and still earn frequent flyer points in the process.

With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best Visa travel rewards cards available.

The Best Premium Airline Credit Cards

The “big 3” U.S. airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines — each have a premium co-branded credit card. These cards usually include access to all of the airline’s lounges, a Global Entry credit, and other various benefits. Likewise, these cards usually have high annual fees.

Let’s take a look at 3 of the major premium airline-branded credit cards:

1. Citi^®/AAdvantage^® Executive World Elite Mastercard^®

The AAdvantage Executive World Elite card is the highest-end American Airlines credit card on the market.

The card offers Admirals Club lounge access worldwide when flying on American Airlines, includes a Global Entry credit, gives you a free checked bag on American flights, and offers priority security screening, flight check-in, and priority boarding for you and up to 8 travel companions.

Even cooler, every dollar you spend on the card earns 1 Loyalty Point towards AAdvantage elite status. This makes American Airlines elite status just a bit easier to obtain, and can possibly move you up by a status tier.

It also earns 4x American miles per dollar spent on American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent everywhere else. Note that you’ll get a 25% rebate on American Airlines food and beverage purchases, too, making it just a bit cheaper to dine onboard.

2. United Club℠ Infinite Card

United Airlines’ top-tier credit card — the United Club Infinite card from Chase — has similar benefits to the American Airlines credit card. This card gives you access to United Clubs and select Star Alliance lounges, 2 free checked bags, and access to Premier Access check-in, security, and boarding when flying with United.

This card also gives you Hertz President’s Circle status, so you’ll get perks like car class upgrades, dedicated parking lanes, and a 50% points-earning bonus when you rent cars with Hertz. Depending on how often you rent, these benefits can be extremely valuable.

On the points-earning side, you’ll earn 4 United miles per dollar spent on United purchases and 2 miles per dollar on travel and dining. All other purchases earn 1 mile per dollar spent.

You can also earn 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) per $12,000 spent on the card which can help you reach United Airlines elite status. United Club Infinite cardholders can earn up to $4,000 PQP in a calendar year by spending on the card.

3. Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card

The Delta Reserve card is one of the most valuable premium airline credit cards.

As you’d expect, the card includes Delta Sky Club access when flying on Delta Air Lines, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and a Global Entry credit. The card also has a slew of new benefits that make the card even more lucrative.

Delta Reserve cardholders are also able to access Amex Centurion Lounges when flying on Delta Air Lines, and even non-elite members will be eligible for flight upgrades. These upgrades are space available with non-elite cardholders having priority over other non-elites for upgrades.

Cardmembers will earn 3 Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on Delta purchases, and all other eligible purchases will earn a standard 1 SkyMile per dollar spent. Further, you’ll earn a cool 15,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) per $30,000 charged on the card, up to 60,000 MQMs per calendar year.

Which Premium Airline Card Is Right for You?

Picking a premium airline credit card largely boils down to which airline you fly the most. So if you fly Delta on a weekly basis for work, applying for a United Club card probably doesn’t make sense. You’ll only use the benefits when flying a specific airline.

On a similar note, these cards are only really worthwhile for someone that’s loyal to a specific airline. We don’t recommend signing up for one of these cards if you fly different airlines every time you fly, or if you only fly a few times a year.

More often than not, these cards aren’t worth putting your everyday spend on. None of the cards on this list earn bonus points for dining, groceries, or other common categories, so you should only put everyday spending on these cards when working to meet bonus qualifying point thresholds.

Bottom Line: You should only consider a premium airline credit card if you are loyal to a specific U.S. airline — otherwise, you’re better off with a general travel credit card that provides a wider range of benefits.

What Type of Premium Travel Card Is Right for You?

For the bulk of travelers, a general travel credit card like the Amex Platinum card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the best bet. These cards provide both great returns on everyday spending and have excellent benefits like lounge access across multiple lounge networks, car rental status, and more.

However, those who regularly fly a specific airline for work may prefer a premium airline credit card. These cards can help you achieve airline status faster and will give you access to domestic airline lounges when flying on your preferred airline. This is especially important when you consider that Priority Pass has limited options when traveling domestically.

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.

The information regarding the United Club℠ Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express^® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card, click here.