2026 Travel Credit Card Strategy: What I’m Dropping and Keeping
2026 is bringing big changes to my travel credit card arsenal. I’m downgrading a major player, ditching two airline co‑branded cards, upgrading another, and holding on to a few staples. These decisions were not easy. In fact, I don’t think my hubby or dad want to hear another word about bonus categories, credits, or annual fees. But if you’re a points‑and‑miles nerd like me, I’ll tell you all about my new travel credit card strategy for the new year, and I’d love it if you’d drop a comment about yours.
The Big Downgrade
Chase Sapphire Reserve → Chase Sapphire Preferred
When Chase first announced the huge fee hike and benefit changes, I decided to keep the Reserve card for several key reasons. After enjoying some of the benefits, like the StubHub and dining credits, I decided it’s just not worth it. Here’s why I changed my mind:
- 🎶 The StubHub benefit doesn’t always yield the best ticket prices. Sometimes it’s double or triple Ticketmaster and really only works for sold out shows or last minute deals. I’d rather not be locked in.
- 📺 The Apple TV credit doesn’t apply to Apple One, which is what I need.
- 🏨 We generally stay at Hilton and Hyatt properties and already have co‑branded cards for each. So, we won’t take advantage of the 4× bonus points on the Reserve card.
- 🛌 When we don’t stay with those two hotel groups, we usually book through Airbnb or Booking, which are no longer getting 3× points on the Reserve.
- ✈️ We went all in on American Airlines status this year, so we’ll be booking those flights for 3× points on a new co‑branded card (more on that below).
- 🥂 We have amazing Capital One lounges at our home airports in Washington D.C., so we don’t really need the Chase lounge access. Plus, we’ve been turned away from the Chase-Etihad lounge all but once at IAD. Read here about our favorite Washington Dulles lounges and how to get in.
- 📈 I don’t want to deal with complicated credits that I may or may not get value out of from year to year.
- 🧳 Switching to the Preferred card still gives me 3× points on dining and 2× points on a broad category of travel (including Booking and Airbnb).
- 💲 The Preferred card is only $45/year after the travel credit, whereas the Reserve is $495/year (after the $300 travel credit). Sure, I could use the StubHub, dining, and DoorDash credits, but these are not everyday purchases that I would be making anyway.
⚖️ The biggest opportunity cost for dropping CSR is missing out on the extra 2 points per dollar spent directly with hotels and airlines that we don’t already cover with co‑branded credit cards. But we gain an extra point on broad travel expenses like Viator, Airbnb, WithLocals, and third‑party booking sites now that the Reserve card is only offering 1 point for those. So in the end, it balances out.
✅ This decision simplifies our points‑and‑miles strategy while still giving us great value like strong travel insurance and Hyatt transferability with the Preferred card.
Two Cards I’m Ditching
Chase Southwest Airlines Priority
With all the changes Southwest made for 2026, it just doesn’t have the value it used to. Plus, our card fee just went up from $149 to $229 a year. We used to reliably get at least $250 of value from that card annually, but they hiked up all their prices and completely changed their system. We’ll stick to American Airlines now out of DCA.
Chase United Explorer
We’re not flying with United Airlines or Star Alliance as much anymore for a few reasons. Here’s why we’re ditching the card:
- 😒 United made it super hard to earn the Gold Status we enjoyed for the last few years. While we could strategize with other Star Alliance partners, American is easier for us to gain elite status and more convenient from our home airport.
- 💰 Buying extra space seats is now insanely expensive without status.
- 💰💰 The annual card fee is going up.
- ❌ We don’t need the two annual lounge passes now that Capital One has a Dulles lounge.
🤓 While these are all very specific to our travel habits, these are the considerations you should be making every year before paying the annual fee on a travel rewards card.
The Card I’m Super Excited to Upgrade
I’ve had a Citi Platinum Select American AAdvantage card for years, and the only real value was Group 5 boarding (unless I had status) and 25% off in‑flight purchases. At $99/year, the card was totally worth it for those two perks. But: They just launched a mid‑tier card in October that is amazing! It also comes with a 90k sign up bonus if you spend 5k in the first 4 months:
Citi AAdvantage Globe
This new card is $350/year and comes with some exciting benefits that I will absolutely use:
- ✈️ $100 statement credit for in-flight purchases
- 💵 $100 “Splurge” credit, which I’ll use with AAdvantage hotels or LiveNation
- 🍻 Four Admirals Club lounge passes per calendar year
- 💺💺 A $99 (plus tax) companion certificate (starting in year two) for a domestic main‑cabin round‑trip itinerary
- ✅ The card also includes Group 5 boarding, a free checked bag for domestic flights, travel protection, Global Entry/TSA credit, and other common airline co‑branded card perks
😆 I’m most excited about the lounge access and companion certificate! Although we’ll soon get lounge access when we reach Platinum status for international flights, this will be amazing for domestic trips when Priority Pass or Capital One lounges aren’t available. The best part is the pass is good for 24 hours, so you can use it at your departure airport and on your layover.
🛍️ We’ll put all our everyday spending on this card to help us get to Platinum status (where the good perks kick in). Bonus points on the Globe travel credit card (which count toward award tickets but not loyalty points) include:
- ✈️ 3× on American Airlines purchases
- 🏨 6× on AAdvantage hotels
- 🍝 2× on restaurants
- 🚂 2× on rides and rails
With our Platinum status (75k loyalty points) we get main‑cabin extra‑space seats at booking, Group 3 boarding, priority service, complimentary upgrades when available, and OneWorld Sapphire benefits. And by “our” I mean one of us has the status and the other gets the benefits on the same itinerary.
The Cards We’re Keeping
Capital One Venture X
This should come as no surprise given how much I’ve already referenced it! Theo and I each have this card now that they are charging for authorized users beginning February 2026.
It made more sense to get two cards at $395 each with the annual $300 travel credit and 10k bonus points, rather than pay for an authorized user with no added credits. Plus we got 100k extra points between the sign‑up and referral bonuses.
This card makes so much sense for us for the lounge access at Washington Dulles and DCA alone. We don’t put a ton of spending on these cards, but they are an important part of our travel rewards arsenal.
Chase Hyatt Card
This card is a no‑brainer if you book even one Hyatt stay a year. For the $99 fee you get an annual free‑night award for a Category 4 or lower hotel. We just used ours for a hotel that would’ve cost $300/night. You also get Discoverist status, which comes with 2 PM checkout (this could otherwise cost about $55 with tax) and other great perks.
Hilton Aspire AmEx
TBH, this one almost didn’t make the cut. After Hilton devalued their points twice in 2025, we’ve mostly shifted our loyalty to Hyatt. But there are a few reasons we decided to keep our card for another year, even with the hefty $550 annual fee:
- 🏨 The annual free‑night award can be used at any Hilton property so long as there’s standard award space available. We used ours for the Washington Waldorf Astoria, which would’ve cost $1,225 a night after taxes.
- 🍕 We always take advantage of the $12–18 daily food and beverage credit.
- 💎 We have a few stays booked at properties with an executive lounge for Diamond members (free happy hour). The card gives you automatic Diamond status.
- ✈️ We do use the $50/quarter flight credit and CLEAR annual membership, but the card credits are complicated and annoying, and frankly, CLEAR has hardly been worth it in recent years.
- 🤓 Hyatt doesn’t have as many properties globally, so it’s also good to have elite status with a large global hotel group like Hilton as a backup.
We’ll keep this card as long as we continue to get at least $600 of true value on things we would’ve purchased anyway. Even with the $1225 price tag for the Waldorf free night, I only value it at $300, which is what we would normally spend on a hotel splurge.
TL;DR: My 2026 Travel Credit Card Strategy
- Downgraded: Chase Sapphire Reserve → Sapphire Preferred to simplify benefits and cut the $495 annual fee (net after $300 travel credit).
- Dropped:
- Chase Southwest Priority (fee hike, devalued perks)
- Chase United Explorer (less Star Alliance travel, fewer benefits for us, fee hike)
- Upgraded: Citi AAdvantage Globe for lounge access, companion certificate, and better AA earning rates.
- Keeping:
- Capital One Venture X: Lounge access at DCA/IAD and solid travel perks.
- Chase Hyatt: Free night and late check out easily offsets the fee.
- Hilton Aspire AmEx: Still worth it for the free night, Diamond status, and credits … but barely.
Key strategy shift: Focusing our points-and-miles game on programs we actually use (Hyatt, Hilton, American Airlines), trimmed redundant perks, and cut out complicated credits we don’t fully use.
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👋 If you made it this far: thanks! And now I’d love to hear from you:
What travel credit cards are you keeping, upgrading, or ditching for 2026? Drop a comment and let’s compare strategy.
I love that you’re downgrading the Chase card-I found no consumer protection with them.
I’ve really loved the CSR but taking away the 3x points on travel is such a bummer. I can’t justify 1x point on Airbnb, Booking, Viator, Taxis, and the list goes on! And the overcrowded lounges aren’t worth it.