Choosing a travel credit card if you rarely fly
By the Agoroam team · Published 20 August 2026
Quick answer
- If you fly two or three times a year, the value is in no foreign transaction fees and travel insurance, not in points.
- An annual fee only makes sense if you can name the specific benefits you will use and they exceed it. Write the number down.
- Airline-branded cards are usually the wrong choice for infrequent flyers. You will not fly enough to reach the thresholds.
- Flexible points that transfer to several airlines beat points locked to one airline when you fly rarely.
- The sign-up bonus is often worth more than two years of ordinary earning, so the choice of when to apply matters.
Start with what you actually do
The travel card advice you find online is written for people who fly twenty times a year. If you take two or three trips, most of it is irrelevant and some of it is actively expensive.
Work out three numbers before looking at any card. How much you spend abroad in a year, in foreign currency. How many trips you take. And how much you currently spend on travel insurance and airport lounges or fast track.
Those three numbers determine which features are worth anything to you. Everything else is noise.
The feature that pays for almost everyone
No foreign transaction fees. A typical card charges 2 to 3 percent on every purchase made in another currency, plus sometimes a poor exchange rate on top.
If you spend EUR 2,000 abroad in a year, that is EUR 40 to EUR 60 of pure cost, invisible because it is buried in the exchange rate line. Two trips at EUR 1,500 each and you are at EUR 60 to EUR 90 a year.
This one feature is available on plenty of cards with no annual fee. For an infrequent traveller it is usually the single highest-value thing to optimise for, ahead of any points programme.
Travel insurance, which is worth more than people think
Many mid-tier and premium travel cards include travel insurance when you pay for the trip on the card. Coverage varies enormously and the detail matters, but a decent policy typically covers trip cancellation, delay, lost baggage, and medical.
If you would otherwise buy an annual multi-trip policy at EUR 40 to EUR 90, or single-trip policies at EUR 20 to EUR 40 each, a card that includes it can justify a moderate annual fee on its own.
The three things to check before relying on it: whether the whole trip has to be paid on the card or just part, whether winter sports and adventure activities are covered, and what the age limits are. Card travel insurance frequently excludes off-piste skiing and often reduces or excludes cover above a certain age.
- Check whether the full trip cost must go on the card
- Check the medical excess and the maximum trip length
- Check winter sports and adventure activity exclusions
- Check age limits, which are common and often not prominent
- Card insurance rarely covers pre-existing medical conditions
The annual fee arithmetic
The honest test for an annual fee card is this: write down the specific benefits you will use, put a euro value on each, add them up, and compare with the fee. If you cannot name them without looking at the marketing page, the answer is no.
For an infrequent traveller, the benefits that typically clear the bar are travel insurance, airport lounge access if you actually use it, and a free hotel night certificate on a hotel card if you would have paid for that night anyway.
The ones that usually do not clear the bar: statement credits for services you do not use, priority boarding, extra baggage allowance you do not need, and points earning rates, which only matter at volume.
Flexible points versus airline points
Airline-branded cards earn miles in one airline programme. Bank cards with flexible points let you transfer to several airline and hotel programmes, or sometimes redeem against travel spend directly.
For a frequent flyer loyal to one airline, the airline card can be excellent. For someone taking two or three trips a year, it usually is not: you will not reach status thresholds, the miles expire or devalue, and you are locked into whichever routes that airline flies from your airport.
Flexible points are the better default when you fly rarely. They keep the option open, they can usually be used for hotels as well, and if a specific redemption looks good you can transfer at that point.
The sign-up bonus, and why timing matters
On most travel cards, the sign-up bonus is worth more than one or two years of ordinary earning. For an infrequent traveller, that means the bonus is essentially the whole proposition.
That has two implications. First, apply when you have a large planned expense coming up, so the minimum spend requirement is met with money you were going to spend anyway rather than with manufactured spending. Second, do not apply for a card whose minimum spend you cannot comfortably hit, because carrying a balance at credit card interest rates wipes out every point you earned several times over.
This is the single most important rule in the whole subject: travel card rewards are only worth anything if you clear the balance in full every month. Card interest rates run far above any rewards rate. If there is any chance of carrying a balance, the correct travel card is a debit card with no foreign transaction fees.
- Apply before a large planned purchase, not after
- Never spend money you would not otherwise spend to hit a minimum
- Clear the balance in full every month, without exception
- If you might carry a balance, use a fee-free debit card instead
A simple decision path
If you fly once or twice a year and spend little abroad: a no-fee card with no foreign transaction fees. Nothing more.
If you fly two or three times a year and would otherwise buy travel insurance: a mid-tier card with no foreign transaction fees plus decent travel insurance, and check the fee against what you would pay for the insurance separately.
If you fly four or more times a year and use lounges: consider a premium card, but only after writing down the specific benefits and their value.
If you are loyal to one airline and one hotel chain and travel regularly for work: that is a different article and a different answer.
Frequently asked
What is the best travel credit card if I only travel a few times a year?
For most infrequent travellers, a card with no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee. The 2 to 3 percent foreign transaction fee on an ordinary card costs more than an occasional traveller will ever earn back in points. Add travel insurance only if the fee is less than what you would pay for a policy separately.
Are airline credit cards worth it for infrequent flyers?
Usually not. Airline cards earn miles locked to one programme, and an occasional traveller will not reach status thresholds, may see miles expire or devalue, and is limited to that airline routes. Flexible bank points that transfer to several programmes keep more options open.
Is a travel card annual fee worth paying?
Only if you can name the specific benefits you will use and their combined value exceeds the fee. For occasional travellers, travel insurance and lounge access sometimes clear that bar. Points earning rates and statement credits for unused services usually do not.
Does credit card travel insurance actually cover you?
Often yes, but check the detail before relying on it: whether the whole trip must be paid on the card, the medical excess, the maximum trip length, age limits, and whether winter sports and adventure activities are excluded. Pre-existing medical conditions are rarely covered.
When should you apply for a travel credit card?
Shortly before a large planned expense, so the sign-up bonus minimum spend is met with money you were going to spend anyway. Never spend extra to hit a minimum, and never take a rewards card if there is any chance of carrying a balance, because interest costs far exceed any rewards value.
Plan it with your crew.
Free for the first trip. Everyone votes. The AI does the boring half.