The top travel credit cards of 2018 let you earn points fast, making it easy to see the world for a price you can afford. Check out some of the best cards on the market this year. You may use your Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Click here to learn more.

Also, there are general travel rewards cards that are offered to small-business owners. Alternatively, there are many travel rewards cards that offer points or miles in programs operated by a co-brand partner. The two major types of partner cards are airline cards and hotel cards, although there are some affiliated with an online travel agency.

When you use one of these cards, you’ll earn points and miles with the travel provider or travel agency, and the use of your rewards will be subject to the terms and conditions of its loyalty program. However, the card issuer is still setting rates and fees, issuing statements and processing your monthly payments. As with the general travel rewards cards, there are partner cards considered premium or luxury products. These cards will typically offer extensive benefits when traveling with the co-branded airline or staying with the affiliated hotel chain.

Finally, there are also co-branded cards for small business use co-branded airline and hotel partners. Travel cards are just one of many types of cards, including cash back cards, balance transfer cards, low interest cards, and those for fair or poor credit. Before selecting a travel rewards card, you should examine their advantages and drawbacks.

The most obvious benefit of a travel credit card is the ability to redeem your points or miles for award travel. Not only can award travel reservations be very valuable, but many cardholders really enjoy the chance to use their rewards to treat themselves to a vacation. Beyond travel rewards, a good travel card can offer you travel perks just for having the account.

For example, an airline credit card will often give you a free checked bag and priority boarding, while a hotel credit card user will receive elite status that can offer room upgrades, late checkouts and even free breakfast. Other travel cards can offer you statement credits toward airline fees or toward the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Finally, the right travel card can have plenty of travel insurance policies, to cover you when your trip doesn’t go as planned. For example, many cards come with lost or delayed baggage insurance and trip delay, trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage. With all the attractive rewards and benefits that travel cards offer, it’s easy to lose sight of some of their disadvantages.

First, most travel reward cards are designed for those with good or excellent credit. If you’ve had significant credit problems in the past, then you may not qualify for a competitive travel card. Next, consider the costs of a travel rewards credit card. Like other kinds of reward credit cards, travel cards will typically have a higher standard interest rate than similar, nonreward cards.

If you tend to carry a balance on your credit card, you may still want to hold a travel card for its benefits, but you’ll likely pay less interest on charges made to a card with no rewards. Also, many of the most competitive travel rewards credit cards will have an annual fee, which isn’t the case with most cash back credit cards and retailer reward cards. Many travel cardholders can find these reward programs to be complicated and confusing.

The frequent flyer programs and hotel loyalty programs usually have many pages of terms and conditions, and members can sometimes be disappointed when a program doesn’t live up to their expectations. Finally, there are some credit card users who simply aren’t excited about travel rewards. This can include those who rarely travel and others who just drive to their destinations and stay with friends and family, and have no need for award flights or hotel stays.