Going with Points

The best cards to use during the holidays

In my household, we start to celebrate the holiday season the moment Mariah Carey shouts, "It's time!" and the chimes begin to play "All I Want for Christmas is You."

And, like many of you, the holiday season brings many familiar rituals. For me, this includes:

Baking my prize-winning linzer tree cookies. (A labor of love, but so worth it.)
Debating whether Love Actually is a holiday movie. (It's not. It just happens to be set during the holidays.)
Attempting to dress my cats in Santa costumes. (They hate it, but still, we persist.)
And finally, opening a new credit card.

The last one is purely pragmatic. I can only speak for myself, of course, but the arrival of the holiday season means more spending in the fourth quarter of the year. Between gifts, decorations, travel tickets, food and beverages for parties, and charitable donations, I plan to spend more during the holidays.

That's why I usually open a new credit card during the fourth quarter. Since I have more spending planned, why not have it count towards earning a card's signup bonus? While you shop for others, you're gifting yourself with a sleigh full of points or miles for your next trip.

Best travel card options:

Card A or Card B: Many holiday purchases-including gifts and decor-don't fit in traditional bonus categories on many cards. That's not a problem when you use one of these cards: You'll earn 2x per dollar on all purchases.
Card C: This travel card is a classic. The holidays are a perfect time to apply for it and earn its welcome bonus. Have holiday travel planned? It earns 2x per dollar on travel and transit. Hosting a holiday party? It earns 3x per dollar on online grocery shopping.

For higher spenders:

If you have a lot of spending planned, then these options might be worth a look.

Card D or Card E: These cards both have higher spending thresholds to earn the welcome offers, but if you can manage it, either will reward you with lots of bonus points to redeem for a future trip.

No annual fee options:

Opening a $0 annual fee card is the ultimate flex. You get to earn more points and miles without adding an annual fee to your list of holiday expenses.

The best option for you depends on what else is in your wallet. Here are some ideas:

If you already have Card A or Card B: Then consider Card Q or Card U. These are no-annual-fee cashback rewards cards, but if you have Cards A or B, you can combine and redeem as travel rewards.
If you already have Card C: Consider Card X, Card Y, or Card Z. These are cashback rewards cards, but if you hold Card C, you can combine the rewards points and use them for travel.
Card K: This card earns 2x points per dollar (on the first $50,000 annually). It pairs well with cards D or E, but it also works great as a standalone card.

What not to use your new card for:

Cash tips.

If part of your holiday tradition is giving cash tips to those who make your life easier throughout the year-including barbers, pet sitters, babysitters, building maintenance staff, and more-keep up your generosity, but don't use your new card to withdraw cash.

Cash withdrawals on credit cards are considered "cash advances" and do not count toward earning a signup bonus. Cash advances are also subject to higher interest rate charges, and usually immediately, too.

Honestly, that's worse than coal.

With expert:

Kurt Adams

Kurt is a writer with too many credit cards in his wallet. Before becoming a credit card points pro, he wrote personal finance and small business content. A graduate of Princeton, he lives in New York City.

A disclaimer about card names:

Due to the quirks of credit card compliance, we are sometimes not allowed to use the actual names of cards or certain banks in emails. This means we have to resort to using more generic language when talking about some credit cards.

We know this can be confusing or frustrating, but we encourage you to click through to our site, where we can name and talk more candidly about the cards and their benefits. While we are bound by the rules of credit card compliance, our mission will always be to put our readers first and help you travel better for less.

Share with a fellow travel lover by forwarding to a friend.

Get the app today

Upgrade Membership | Advertise | Email Preferences | Unsubscribe

The editorial content here is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone.

This email may contain links through which we are compensated when you click on or are approved for offers.

QuinStreet, 950 Tower Lane, 6th Floor, Foster City, CA  94404