According to CreditCards.com, 31 million Americans haven't changed credit cards in more than a decade - and two thirds are still using their first credit card. If this describes you, you're missing out on a bonanza of free flights, complimentary travel incidentals, VIP benefits and perks big banks dole out to entice you to sign-up to their credit cards. The latest up-and-coming benefit; an annual travel incidental credit you can apply against any incidentals fees charged to your card. 

Sign-up bonuses aren't as generous as they once were, but the sign-up incentives alone offered by the credit cards in the chart below add up to 28 free round-trip flights and a dozen free hotel stays. Every year, I earn a few free trips this way, and in the following video, I share how I did this to pull off a trip for taxes only:

                  

FINDING THE BEST CARD FOR YOU

To quickly find which credit cards offer the best overall value to you:

1. Choose 3 credit card travel benefits of most valuable to you.
2. Narrow down which card in the grid below offers the best combination of those benefits. (Canadians: Click Here for a list of credit cards in Canada).

These lists focus on cards I feel provide best overall value based on their combined sign up bonus, perks offered, and annual fee. Due to space restrictions, insurance benefits are not in the chart. But you can review any card's insurance benefits by clicking 'APPLY' and reading the insurance benefits on their homepage:

FLIGHT REWARDS – U.S. RESIDENTS
Credit Card	Annual Fee Waived 1st Year?	Sign Up Bonus Points	Free Checked Bag?	Companion Pass?	Foreign Transaction Fees Waived?	Airport Lounge Access?
Chase Aeroplan Mastercard	No - $95	60K	Yes	No	Yes + $100 TSA Pre credit	Yes - Maple Leaf Lounge
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card	No Fee	25K	No	No	Yes	No
CITI Premier Mastercard	No $95	75K	No	No	Yes	$100/yr Hotel Credit
AMEX Delta SkyMiles Platinum	No - $250	50K	Yes	Yes	Yes	$100 TSA Pre credit
AMEX Delta Skymiles Gold	Yes	40K	Yes	No	Yes	$100 Statement Credit/yr
AMEX Platinum	No $695	100K	$200/yr credit on qualifying airlines	No	Yes	Yes + credits for Uber; Clear; TSA; hotel & flights
Barclaycard Lufthansa Miles & More	No $89	50K	No	Yes	Yes	2x/yr
Barclays Hawaiian Airlines World Elite	No $99	70K	Yes	$100 off/yr + 1x 50% OFF	Yes	No
BoA Alaska Airlines Signature	No $95	60K	Yes	Yes	Yes	$100 off membership
BoA Premium Rewards	No $95	60K	$100/yr incidental credit	No	Yes	$200 Statement Credit
Capital One Venture	No $95	75K	No	No	Yes	$100 credit TSA Pre
Chase British Airways Signature	No $95	85K Avios	No	Yes- 30K/yr spend	Yes	Stmt credits to $600 pending seat class
Chase Ink Business Preferred	No $95	100K	No	No	Yes	No
Chase Sapphire Preferred	No $95	75K	No	No	Yes	No
Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier	No $99	50K	No Bag Fees	10K guest pts/yr	No	2 EarlyBird Checkins/ yr
Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer	Yes	50K	Yes	No	Yes	$100 Global Entry/TSA Pre Credit
Chase United Quest	No $250	60K + 500 PQP	Yes + $125 credit/yr	No	Yes	$100 Global Entry/TSA Pre Credit
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite	Yes	50K	Yes - domestic only	No	Yes	Preferred boarding

Hotel Rewards - U.S. Residents
Credit Card	Annual Fee Waived 1st Year?	Sign Up Bonus Points	Free Checked Bag?	Companion Pass?	Foreign Transaction Fees Waived?	Airport Lounge Access?
AMEX Hilton Honors	No annual fee	80K	No	No	Yes	No
AMEX Hilton Honors Surpass	No $150	130K	1 Free ngt + $200 Hilton credit/yr	No - Auto Gold Status	Yes	No
Marriott BONVoY Boundless	No $95	3 FREE Ngts	No	No	Yes	1 Free ngt /yr
IHG One Rewards Premier	$99	140K	No	No - 1 Free ngt/yr	Yes	$100 TSA Pre Credit
Chase World of Hyatt	No $95	60K	1 FREE ngt/yr 15K min spend	No	Yes	No

MAXIMIZE YOUR POINTS

You should also factor how many points your card earns for everyday purchases. Most cards offer bonus points for purchases made at certain stores in addition to bonus points (or point multipliers) for purchases at select restaurants, with certain travel operators and for gas.

Accelerate your Points Earnings:

1..Charge all everyday purchases to your card as long as you can pay your balance in full each month. Otherwise, any interest on open balances will erode the value of points earned. 

2..Sign-up to 2 or more cards. I recommend traveling with 2 cards in separate places (especially when traveling alone) in case anything happens to your primary card.

3..Charge rent, tuition and income tax payments to your credit card by linking it to a Plastiq account.

To collect your sign-up bonus, you are usually required to first charge a pre-defined dollar value to your card within a set number of billing cycles. This is referred to as minimum spend, and the minimum spend requirement varies by card. Most cards that come with an annual fee require to to spend $3,000 within 3 months of activating your card. Prestige and business cards tend to offer more enticing sign-up bonuses, but they come with higher annual fees and higher minimum spend requirements.

AVOID FEES

Any credit card with generous benefits comes with an annual fee. Some cards waive this fee for your first year upon subscribing, but you might not know how to have this fee waived when it comes due for renewal on your card's anniversary:

1..Call your credit card company and ask to cancel your card.

2..To keep you from canceling, you will likely be offered points or to have your annual fee waived if you keep your account open.

Once feeling unable to afford to travel, Russell Hannon uses lean principles to travel at a fraction of the going rate. He has been featured on CNBC, FOX, CBS, America Tonight, CTV, CBC, Around the World Travel TV and nationally broadcast lifestyle and personal finance shows. He also wrote 'Stop Dreaming Start Traveling: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling More & Spending Less'.