Traveling for the holidays? 5 reasons to open a new travel card now

The holiday travel season is nearly here — which means now is the time to book flights, hotels, and other travel reservations.

Even as many Americans tighten their budgets, holiday travel is still a priority this year. The 2025 PwC Holiday Outlook shows that “many [people] are still planning to travel, host celebrations and exchange gifts, even if it strains budgets and means adjusting elsewhere.”

But you don’t have to blow your entire budget on travel this year, whether you’re planning to return to your hometown, visit extended relatives, or take a holiday getaway. One way to ease the strain is by using a great travel credit card. Here are a few ways the right credit card can help you save money this holiday season.

A great travel credit card can benefit anyone’s wallet year-round. The key is choosing the right card for your spending, travel schedule, and budget.

A travel credit card should help you earn rewards on your frequent spending. If you travel often, you may want to focus on travel rewards, for example. But if you only really travel during the holidays, you may instead want to earn rewards on everyday spending to redeem toward an annual trip. Your travel card should also fit within your budget. Make sure your earnings outweigh any annual fee cost and you can take advantage of the benefits each year.

With that in mind, here are some reasons securing a travel credit card now can save you money this holiday season — and help you build a solid rewards foundation for the new year.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of getting a new travel credit card is the opportunity to earn a high-value sign-up bonus. These cards are well-known for their bonus offers worth hundreds of dollars in value, if not more.

Because you may budget more money than usual for travel, gifts, and more, the holiday season is a good time to consider a new card welcome bonus. You’ll need to meet a minimum spending threshold to qualify, so those added budget items could help you score the bonus without overspending.

Here are just a few of today’s top credit card sign-up bonuses for travelers:

Even if you are spending more than usual this season, always make sure you have the cash to pay your balance in full when your bill is due. Interest charges from very high credit card APRs will cost much more than you’ll get in return from bonus rewards.

More Americans are waiting longer to book their holiday travel — and they could end up spending more as a result.

According to the 2025 Holiday Travel Shopping Index from Hopper, the number of people booking travel less than two weeks before both Thanksgiving and Christmas increased between 2019 and 2024. The same study shows that 30% of people still haven’t booked their holiday trips this year.

But flight and hotel prices only rise as the holidays grow closer, so you shouldn’t wait much longer to secure your travel.

Recent data from Google Flights shows that you can save on both Thanksgiving and Christmas flight prices by booking more than a month in advance:

• Thanksgiving: Google’s estimate for the cheapest prices if you’re flying around Thanksgiving has already passed (Google Flights data recommends booking in October), but the historic low price range extends as far as 24 days out from your departure date.

• Christmas: Google Flights data shows that you can score the lowest prices on Christmas travel 51 days before your departure. This year, you may be able to score solid deals into mid-November.

Choose the credit card you want to use for your holiday travel, and start booking now to lock in today’s lower prices before they rise further.

A great welcome bonus isn’t the only attraction of a new travel credit card. You can also rack up rewards when you use your new card to book this year’s holiday travel to bank toward a future vacation.

When you use the right travel credit card to make your travel purchases over the holiday season, you can cash in for great deals to other destinations for spring break or summer vacation.

Example: Say you open a new card with a 50,000-point welcome bonus after you spend $3,000 within 3 months of account opening. It also earns 3x points on travel spending.

You’re planning to visit family across the country this December on a round-trip flight that costs you about $800. While you’re going to spend the majority of your trip staying with family, you do book one night at a hotel for another $200.

That’s a total of $1,000 spent on holiday travel alone, one-third of the way to earning the bonus. Plus, with 3x rewards on travel, you’ll get 3,000 bonus rewards points on that spending. Your regular spending totals another $2,000 at 1 point per dollar, helping you meet the required spend for the bonus.

In total, you’ll gain 55,000 points toward your next trip within three months of opening your account. At a minimum redemption rate of 1 cent per point, that’s equal to at least $550 in travel.

Holiday spending doesn’t only include travel; shopping can increase your budget this season, too. On average, Americans expect to spend $1,552 per person over the holidays (a 5% decrease from last year), according to the PwC survey.

Just like your holiday travel purchases can help you meet a spending bonus or start earning rewards toward future travel, so can your holiday spending in general.

Keep your planned spending in mind when choosing your new travel credit card, too. If you know you dine out frequently — and have multiple restaurant visits planned over the season, you may want to ensure your travel card offers bonus rewards at restaurants, like the 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. restaurants with the American Express® Gold Card.

Or maybe you have a large extended family to deliver gifts to by mail, and want to earn points on all your upcoming online shopping. While this isn’t usually a common rewards category, you can use a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and earn 2x miles on every purchase, so you’ll get boosted rewards on all your spending.

While every traveler hopes for a seamless travel experience, you never know what’s in store until you arrive. And as travel delays and cancellations mount amid the ongoing government shutdown, it’s a good idea to take any precautions you can.

Not even the best credit card can predict the weather or prevent a logistical breakdown, but it may help protect you against unknown flight disruptions. Travel protection and insurance benefits may even be one of the best reasons to open a travel card before you book your upcoming holiday travel.

Here are a few protections top travel credit cards today might extend to cardholders:

• Trip delay reimbursement

• Trip cancellation insurance

• Trip interruption insurance

• Baggage delay, loss, or damage insurance

• Travel accident insurance

• Rental car insurance

• Emergency assistance services

These may not be the standout benefits you look for when choosing your travel credit card, but they can make all the difference when you need them. If travel protections and benefits are important to you, make sure you read the fine print of your card agreement before applying. Not all cards offer the same protections, and you may need to meet certain requirements (like booking your trip with the card) for your specific travel to be covered.

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers.