Getting ahead with travel credit cards is all about timing: Opening a card when the welcome bonus is at its highest is what it's all about. If you're in the market for a new travel credit card, this is the place to start.
Just as we do every month, we've assembled a list of the best currently available credit card offers for June 2026 – and everything you need to know if you are thinking about taking advantage. Some of these big bonuses are limited-time offers – with a few ending in a matter of days – while others should be around for a while. Plan accordingly!
But remember: Credit cards are serious business. You should never apply for a credit card if you're already in debt, and never charge more to a credit card than you can afford to pay off immediately. However many points and miles you can earn, they're not worth it.
Not sure which card is best for you? Check out CardPilot, our brand-new tool designed to help beginners and experts alike choose the right card to fuel their travels!
- 1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- 2. American Express® Gold Card
- 3. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- 4. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- 5. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- 6. The American Express Platinum Card®
- 7. Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards
- 8. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Current Offer
We've long considered the *chase sapphire preferred* to be one of the best cards for anyone just getting started with points and miles … and that still hasn't changed.
Its current limited-time, sign-up bonus is a big reason why: You can currently earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in your first three months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *csp*
Why This Offer Makes the List
So, what can 100,000 points get you? In two words: A lot.
Those points are worth a minimum of $1,000 toward flights, hotels, and other travel expenses booked through Chase Travel℠. They can also be redeemed for $1,000 in cash (deposited into a Chase bank account), applied as a statement credit, or used for a number of third-party gift cards.
But you can probably do even better by leveraging Chase's transfer partners and sending those points to airlines like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios – or even a top-notch hotel partner like Hyatt – instead.
The value of the Chase Sapphire Preferred goes well beyond its initial welcome bonus, though. When you use the card for purchases, you'll earn 3x points on dining, gas and EV charging, online grocery orders, and streaming services, 2x on travel (even more through Chase Travel), and 1x on all other purchases. Add in the card's annual $100 hotel credit for bookings made through Chase Travel, and it's clear why this card is such a favorite among beginners and experts alike.
2. American Express® Gold Card
Current Offer
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Annual Fee: $325 (see rates & fees)
Learn more about the *amex gold*
Why This Offer Makes the List
The *amex gold card* is one of our favorite travel rewards cards, period.
With the new offer on the Amex Gold, you can now earn as high as 100,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months. After you submit your application – but before you accept the card (if you are approved) and your credit score is pulled – Amex will let you know the exact welcome offer you are eligible for.
The Gold Card earns 4x points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually, then 1x) and 4x points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 annually, then 1x), making it arguably the best card for all your food purchases.
You'll also get up to $120 in dining credits each year (doled out in $10 monthly increments) to spend at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, or Five Guys, up to $84 in Dunkin' Credit each year (up to $7 per month), up to $100 in Resy Credit per year (up to $50 semi-annually), and up to $120 annually in Uber Cash ($10 per month) to use on both Uber and Uber Eats in the U.S. All of these credits are use-them-or-lose-them benefits, any unused amount won't roll over from month-to-month.
Maximizing these credits alone will cover all your $325 annual fee and then some. These credits and bonus categories are a big reason why we feel the card is easily worth the $325 annual fee.
Read our full review of the American Express Gold Card.
3. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer
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Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *capital one venture card*
Why This Offer Makes the List
Considering Capital One miles can be used to cover nearly any travel purchase at a rate of 1 cent per mile, the current 75,000-mile bonus you'll earn after spending $4,000 in the first three months is worth a minimum of $750 towards travel.
While you won't get all the perks that come with the premium *venture x* , you also won't be on the hook for a $395 annual fee each year. And you'll be earning the same unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, just like the Venture X. This means it'll be easy to keep racking up miles well after you earn the big bonus.
The Venture Card includes a statement credit of up to $120 every four years to cover the cost of a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership – making it one of the most cost-effective ways to get this benefit from a credit card.
With a big offer like this, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better card for someone just getting started with points and miles.
Read More: All About the Capital One Venture Card
4. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Current Offer
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Annual Fee: annual_fees
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
Chase is out with an offer to earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points after spending $6,000 in the first three months of card membership.
Best of all, many travelers who were previously shut out from adding the card (and earning a big bonus) are now eligible.
Beyond the big bonus, the Sapphire Reserve offers a ton of benefits that Chase pegs at $3,000-plus – whether you'll be able to take advantage of all of them is another question entirely. That said, you really only need to use a couple of them to come out ahead and the math works especially well in year one, as the 100,000 points are worth at least $1,000 toward travel and likely much more if you use Chase's transfer partners.
Read More: Earn 100K Points With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®
5. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Current Offer
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Considering you earn at least 2x miles for every dollar you spend on the Venture X Card, you'll have at least 83,000 miles (worth at least $830 towards travel) right off the bat.
Annual Fee: $395
Learn more about the *capital one venture x*
Why This Offer Makes the List
The Venture X is a souped-up version of the ever-popular *capital one venture card* that's chock full of extra benefits like access to Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass™ lounges. It also includes an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit, a statement credit of up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, great travel and rental car protections, and more.
Sure, the card's $395 annual fee may immediately turn off some travelers, but in practice, the card is actually far cheaper. Consider this: You get an automatic $300 credit towards travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal each year – and then, starting in year two, you get a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus (worth a minimum of $100).
Are you the kind of person who plans to spend $400 a year or more on travel? If so, do the math, and you’ll see your real out-of-pocket cost isn't much. And it's an even better deal when you add in all the other perks and welcome bonus, which you can use to cover nearly any travel purchase.
Read More: A Full Review of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
6. The American Express Platinum Card®
Current Offer
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Annual Fee: annual_fees (see rates & fees)
Learn more about the *amex platinum*.
Why This Offer Makes the List
With the new “as high as” offer on the *amex platinum* you might be eligible for a big welcome offer! Exactly what bonus offer you're eligible for will vary, but after a recent hike to the spending requirement, you can now earn as high as 175,000 points after spending $12,000 in the first six months.
After you submit your application – but before you accept the card (if you are approved) and your credit score is pulled – Amex will let you know the exact welcome offer you are eligible for.
There's a reason why the *amex platinum* comes with such a high price tag … after the latest round of changes last year, the card is chock-full of new benefits. But with a huge welcome offer bonus and unbeatable travel perks, now is as good a time as ever to get the Platinum Card.
And while that big annual fee may be hard to stomach, you can still come out way ahead in your first year, thanks in part to the huge welcome offer. Better yet, you can double-dip by opening the card now: Use up a bunch of money-saving credits before the year ends, then get another round of perks come Jan. 1 when everything resets for the New Year.
Just know that if you don't already have an American Express Membership Rewards-earning card, it may be better to start at the bottom and work your way up. With changes to Amex application rules, going straight to Amex's best card could cost you additional new card welcome offers down the road.
7. Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Limited-time offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: annual_fees (see rates & fees)
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Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
Limited-time offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: annual_fees annual fee (see rates & fees)
Learn more about the card_name
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Limited-time offer: bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee: annual_fees annual fee (see rates & fees)
Learn more about the card_name
Why These Offers Make the List
While each of these welcome offers is tiered (depending on how much you spend), the total makes them among the biggest welcome offers we've ever seen on the SkyMiles Cards. Best of all, it doesn't look like Amex's new “as high as” offers completely killed off the occasional limited-time welcome as we had initially feared.
And now's a great time to consider adding one of these cards to your wallet because Amex recently rolled out new benefits, like a second checked bag free on domestic itineraries and up to $120 per year in rideshare statement credits. After your first card renewal, you can earn up to $10 in statement credits each month when using your SkyMiles Gold Card on U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers (enrollment required).
While many travelers are quick to write Delta SkyMiles off as worthless, we wholeheartedly disagree. A recent surge of SkyMiles flash sales and even discounted Delta One seats is proof that there's still plenty of value in redeeming SkyMiles – you just have to know where to look.
But the real value in holding a Delta credit card goes beyond the initial welcome offer. With benefits like an annual Delta Stays credit, annual companion certificate, Delta's TakeOff 15 benefit, and Delta Sky Club® access, these cards are worth a permanent spot in the wallets of many Delta loyalists.
Throwing in up to 125,000 SkyMiles is just a … well, it's a bonus.
8. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Current Offer
Earn 80,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $3,500 in the first four months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99
All information about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Why This Offer Makes the List
Considering all the great ways you can use AAdvantage miles, this card and its big bonus is well worth your attention … even if you're not an American Airlines flyer.
From business class flights to Japan or Europe to lie-flat seats to Hawaii, the list of ways to use a big bonus like this could go on and on – and that’s just scratching the surface. These miles go further than almost any other airline’s … especially with the right partner.
Beyond the big bonus, you'll also get benefits like free checked baggage, priority boarding, and earn status points from your everyday spending.
Last thing: There's nothing in this for us if you apply. We just think this is an excellent bonus you should know about!
Bottom Line
June is off to a hot start with a handful of elevated credit card offers. While there are plenty of cards and bonuses to choose from, we think these are the best travel rewards card offers currently available.
Be sure to check our Top Credit Cards Page, as offers are always changing.
I had the JetBlue Plus Barclay card and was denied the Aviator… but they said the reason was how many accounts opened in the last 24 months (though they couldn’t give me a number of how many was too many!) and how much credit I have (but they couldn’t move any of my $10k credit line from the JetBlue card to get me approved). Disappointing as I had been waiting for this attractive bonus on the Aviator card, and I have very good credit with not a ridiculous amount of accounts open (maybe 10-12 over the last 5 years and half of those in the last 2 years).
Hey do you know if you already have a Barclay card with Jet blue can you still qualify for an aviator Red card?
Also My husband had an aviator card and canceled it in Jan ’22 and I was a signer on it, can I apply for my own and get the sign on bonus? Its not clear in the terms.
Thanks,
Wendy
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