Travel payouts: four cards, and the only $10 minimum on the wall
Airbnb, Hotels.com, Southwest Airlines and Delta. The category that asks the most patience and gives the most back for it.
Every other category on the wall starts at $5. This one starts at $10, and in practice it asks for a good deal more than that — because travel is priced in hundreds and a card is a contribution, not a purchase.
What is on the wall
| Card | From | Spends on |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | $25 | Stays and experiences, applied at booking |
| Hotels.com | $10 | Hotel bookings through their site |
| Southwest Airlines | $15 | Flights, including bags and changes |
| Delta | $50 | Flights and Delta-operated fares |
The cap matters more here than anywhere else
$100 is the most a single card can carry, and a flight rarely costs that. What makes this category work is that all four let you apply a card as partial payment and put the rest on your own card — so $100 off a $340 fare is a real discount, not an unusable amount.
Cashing out twice for the same trip is allowed and is how most people use this.
Southwest is the friendliest of the airlines
No change fees, bags included in the fare, and gift cards that apply cleanly at checkout. Delta has the wider network but a higher floor at $50 and a fare structure where the card disappears into a more expensive ticket.
Airbnb credit sits on your account
You redeem it once and it stays there until a booking uses it. That makes it the best of the four for saving towards something: the balance is out of your inbox and waiting when you find the right place.
Is it worth it?
Only if you are already travelling. A travel card cannot make a trip happen on a rewards balance alone — but it can take a hundred dollars off one you had already decided on, which is the honest version of what this category does.
Four brands, from $10.
See the travel cards