Best Travel Credit Cards for Seniors and Retirees
After decades in the workforce, retirees finally have free time to pursue personal interests. They can develop hobbies, visit relatives or friends, travel for pleasure, or enjoy fun activities. For most seniors, retirement is the ideal time to take on extended travel adventures, such as international trips, which may have been challenging to do during their working years. Improved technology on travel planning, booking, and connecting on the go has helped easing travel experience for retirees.
International travelers would inevitably learn that using credit cards for purchases abroad may incur foreign transaction fees, which is usually a surcharge of 3% on purchase prices. Such fees sting for everyone, especially for seniors who typically live on a fixed income. However, there are a few travel credit cards that waive foreign transaction fees. These credit cards are the best payment cards to use overseas. In addition, some credit cards offer lucrative travel rewards or bonus, such as 3% rewards, $500 travel bonus, extra travel credit to cover incidentals such as baggage fees, airport lounges, or expedited security screening, etc.
Here is a quick rundown of the top travel credit cards for seniors and retirees.
Credit Card | Bonus and Rewards | Annual Fee |
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 | Citi Strata Elite℠ Card | For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases | $595 rates & fees |
 | Citi Strata Premier® Card | 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases | $95 rates & fees |
 | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases | $95 rates & fees |
 | Citi Strata℠ Card | For a limited time, earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.2 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent at Restaurants; earn 1 ThankYou® Point for each $1 spent on All Other Purchases. | $0 rates & fees |
 | Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi | 5% cash back rewards on gas at Costco and earn 4% cash back on other eligible gas and electric vehicle (EV) charging purchases for the first $7,000 combined spend per year, and then 1% thereafter.3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases and eligible travel, including Costco Travel.2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com1% cash back on all other purchases | $0 rates & fees |
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