Best Premium Credit Cards of January 2026

What is a premium credit card? It’s a tool that can turn the purchases you would make anyway into very lucrative rewards. It can also enhance your travel experience with perks like airport lounge access and automatic elite status.

A defining characteristic of a premium credit card is its high annual fee. Expect to pay between $350 and $895 each year for credit cards of this caliber. Typically, the higher the annual fee, the more premium rewards and benefits.

We’ll help you decide which premium credit card is best for your financial objectives.

Detailed Overview: Best Premium Credit Cards

Detailed Comparison: Best Mid-Tier Premium Credit Cards

What Makes an Annual Fee Worth Paying?

Is paying several hundred dollars in credit card annual fees worth it?

It can be. Credit cards with a high price point (almost) always offer incredible ongoing benefits that can easily outweigh the cost. The question of whether an annual fee is worth paying is simple: Will you get more value from the card than you’re paying in fees? If the answer is yes, the annual fee is worth paying.

How To Know If an Annual Fee Is Right for You

Let’s look at a quick example: The Amex Delta Reserve, an advertising partner, is a premium airline credit card with a steep $650 annual fee. But the Delta Reserve offers many benefits (enrollment required), including:

• Up to $240 per year (up to $20 per month) in Resy credit to offset your bill at participating U.S. restaurants
• Up to $120 per year (up to $10 per month) in rideshare credit to be used with Uber, Lyft and other services in the U.S.
• Up to $200 per year in credit for eligible hotel bookings booked through Delta Stays on delta.com
• An annual single-use Companion Certificate that allows you to bring a travel buddy with you on eligible routes for just the cost of taxes and fees.
• Delta Sky Club airport lounge access with an eligible same-day Delta boarding pass (potentially worth hundreds of dollars)
• First checked bag free and priority boarding for you and up to eight travelers on your reservation when flying Delta

As you can see, these perks can help justify the card’s annual fee. For even an occasional Delta flyer, the Delta Reserve is worth it for the savings. However, if you never fly Delta, you won’t use most of these perks — and paying the annual fee won’t be right for you.

How To Choose a Premium Travel Card

Just because you can negate an annual fee by utilizing a card’s valuable perks doesn’t always mean it’s a good choice for you.

If you’re spending money you wouldn’t normally spend just to take advantage of a card’s statement credits — or if you’re changing your travel plans to squeeze a few more dollars from some airline or hotel freebies, the card probably isn’t a fit for your situation.

A premium credit card is right for you if it complements your spending and travel patterns and saves you money organically. Identify your financial goals and choose a credit card that supports them. Here are some questions to ask yourself when deciding on the best card for your lifestyle.

Are You Loyal to a Particular Travel Brand?

Most major airline and hotel loyalty programs partner with banks to issue travel credit cards that offer rewards and benefits with the brand. 

For example, premium hotel credit cards such as the American Express Hilton Aspire and American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant come with automatic elite status, annual free night rewards and statement credits. If you regularly stay with Hilton or Marriott, these cards can elevate your travel experience and save you money.

However, it doesn’t make sense to open a co-branded card if you rarely travel with the airline or stay with the hotel chain.

Are Certain Benefits Important to You?

There may be day-of-travel or other perks that rank highly on your premium credit card wishlist. Your home airport may have Priority Pass lounges, so having a card that grants complimentary access would save you money and enhance your journey. Or you might be a frequent American Airlines flyer who could maximize free checked bags, priority boarding and a faster path toward elite status.

Consider your must-have extras (as well as perks that don’t really matter) when you’re evaluating luxury cards to ensure you’re getting the biggest bang for your annual fee buck.

Do You Prefer Flexibility?

If you’re not loyal to specific brands, opening a luxury premium card that earns flexible rewards is a good strategy. For example, the Amex Platinum, an advertising partner, earns American Express Membership Rewards® points you can transfer to Amex’s airline and hotel partners, such as Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors and Air Canada Aeroplan. It also comes with up to $200 in incidental fee credits per year with one eligible airline of your choice (enrollment required).

Similarly, the Capital One Venture X offers $300 each year in credit that you can use toward flights, hotels, car rentals and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel. It also earns flexible Capital One miles, which you can transfer to the issuer’s airline and hotel partners, including Wyndham Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue and Choice Privileges.

How Much Effort Are You Willing To Put In?

You’ll find several premium cards that advertise benefits worth thousands of dollars a year, but to actually get that return, you’ll have to jump through hoops and keep track of a laundry list of partnerships and credits. 

Consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve as an example. It touts $2,700 in annual value from lifestyle and travel perks, but it’s a lot to keep track of. This is just a sampling of the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s benefits:

• Up to $300 annual travel credit each account anniversary year
• Up to $500 credit for prepaid bookings made with The Edit, Chase’s luxury hotel program (up to $250 in statement credits from January to June and up to $250 from July to December), with a two-night minimum required
• Up to $300 dining credit at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables (up to $150 in statement credits from January to June and up to $150 from July to December) 
• DoorDash DashPass membership when you activate by Dec. 31, 2027
• Up to $300 in annual DoorDash promos (up to $25 each month), including a $5 monthly promo to spend on restaurant orders and two $10 promos each month to save on groceries, retail orders, and more, through Dec. 31, 2027
• Up to $300 StubHub/viagogo credit, awarded as up to $150 in statement credits from January to June and up to $150 from July to December through Dec. 31, 2027
• Up to $250 in Apple TV+ annual subscription credit through June 22, 2027
• Up to $120 in annual Lyft credits (up to $10 in monthly in-app credits) and 5x total points on Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027
• Up to $120 in annual credits for eligible Peloton memberships, awarded as $10 in statement credits per month through Dec. 31, 2027 (activation required) and 10x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through the same date
• Up to $120 in statement credits for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS, available once every four years after the first program application fee is charged to your card

• Airport lounge access via the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club network, with two complimentary guests
• Priority Pass Select membership, with complimentary access for the primary cardmember and up to two accompanying guests
• Access to select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in the US, Canada and Europe with an eligible boarding pass

Some folks may get a kick out of maximizing every last benefit to get a value that far exceeds the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee of $795. But if setting calendar reminders and monitoring credits that reset monthly or semi-annually stresses you out, this probably isn’t the card for you.

If you prefer a more straightforward approach, look at a simpler card like the Venture X or Bank of America Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite instead.

What Benefits To Look for in a Premium Card

Useful Statement Credits

Premium credit cards almost always offer multiple statement credits. These can go a long way to offset your card’s annual fee. You’ll often find credits that reimburse you for:

• Hotel stays
• Streaming services
• Air travel
• Purchases with partner retailers

Travel Insurance

If you’re away from home frequently, travel insurance should be one of your top considerations when choosing a premium credit card. The best credit cards with travel insurance offer:

• Primary rental car insurance
• Baggage and trip delay insurance 
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement

This can save you hundreds — even thousands — of dollars if disaster strikes during your trip.

Day-of-Travel Benefits

It’s not uncommon for premium travel credit cards to come with perks that either discount or enhance your travels — or both. For example, most premium airline credit cards offer:

• Airport lounge access
• Preferred boarding
• Free checked bag
• Expedited airport security

Free Memberships

A premium credit card may offer complimentary subscriptions, sometimes in the form of monthly statement credits. It may also come with hotel and rental car elite status.

How To Get the Most out of Your Premium Credit Card

There are a few simple tactics to ensure you get the most value from your premium credit card.

• Read your benefits guide: Premium cards are jammed full of ancillary benefits that can be easy to miss.
• Enroll in everything: From statement credits to elite statuses, many premium credit cards demand that you manually enroll in a benefit before it becomes active. You could lose out on hundreds of dollars if you forget this crucial step.
• Note spending incentives: Your credit card may offer the chance to earn bonus rewards and travel benefits by spending a specific amount within a set period.
• Try to avoid redundant benefits: If you’ve got more than one premium credit card, you may find the same benefits across multiple cards (airport lounge access, travel insurance, TSA PreCheck statement credits, etc.). Having these perks across multiple cards provides little to no added value.

Who Can Get a Premium Credit Card?

Most premium credit cards require at least a good credit score (670 or above on FICO’s scale) to be eligible to apply. A few require a score in the excellent range (720 or more). Generally speaking, though, if you’ve got a credit score of 720 or above and have not applied for a credit card recently, you shouldn’t have difficulty opening any publicly available card as long as you meet the issuer’s other standards.

Why Would a Premium Card Not Be for You?

Although carrying a premium credit card may feel luxurious, you may not need one. A premium card is likely not a good choice if:

• The mental gymnastics of maximizing every benefit to justify a high annual fee doesn’t appeal to you
• Mid-tier or even no-annual-fee cards provide the rewards and perks you’re likely to use
• Paying a high annual fee upfront causes financial stress
• You don’t travel often enough to make the most of upscale perks
• You’re likely to carry a balance on your card, since most premium cards charge high annual percentage rates (APRs)
• You prefer earning and redeeming cash back rather than travel rewards

Have a look at our list of the best rewards credit cards for alternative options that might suit your needs without breaking the bank.

The information related to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card, Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, United Club℠ Card and Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® was collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. CardCritics™ does not receive a commission for this product.