Can you use Amex on Airbnb?

The best credit card for Airbnb is the Capital One Venture Rewards card. You’ll earn 2 miles per $1 spent on Airbnb, plus all other purchases. Capital One Venture also counts Airbnb stays as travel expenses, which means you can redeem Venture miles to pay for your Airbnb after the fact. Miles are worth 1 cent each when you redeem them for travel. So Capital One Venture’s 50,000-mile initial bonus for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months is worth $500 toward Airbnb stays.… read full answer

Plus, if you feel like going the traditional hotel route, you’ll earn 10 miles per $1 spent on hotels.com/venture. You can’t book an Airbnb on hotels.com, though.

Another good candidate for best Airbnb credit card is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard. It gives you 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. Those miles are worth a penny each when used to pay for travel purchases, including Airbnb. You’ll also get 5% of your miles back every time you redeem. Plus, the card has a 60,000-point bonus when you spend $5,000 in the first 90 days and pay the $89 annual fee.

Here are the best credit cards for Airbnb:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Initial bonus worth $500 in Airbnb reservations. 2%+ back on all purchases when miles redeemed for travel, including Airbnb. No annual fee for the first year, $95 after. Good credit required.
• Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard: Initial bonus worth $600 in Airbnb reservations. 2.1% back on all purchases when miles used for travel, including Airbnb. $89 annual fee. Good credit required.
• Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card: Initial bonus worth more than $500 in Airbnb reservations. Up to 2% back when miles used for travel, including Airbnb. $95 annual fee. Excellent credit required.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Initial bonus worth $500 in Airbnb reservations. Annual travel credit worth $300 in Airbnb reservations. Up to 3% back when points used for cash back, which can be spent on Airbnb. $450 annual fee. Excellent credit required.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Initial bonus worth $500 in Airbnb reservations. Up to 2% back when points used for cash back, which can be spent on Airbnb. No annual fee for the first year, $95 after. Excellent credit required.

Airbnb is different than other vacation rental outlets, and that’s one reason it’s so appealing to travel credit card enthusiasts. The best credit cards for Airbnb can really maximize your value.

Similar merchants such as VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) and HomeAway are coded as real estate rentals, which means you can earn rewards but they won’t count for bonus points in travel.

Yes, Chase Sapphire Reserve Airbnb purchases count as travel, which means you get 3 points / $1 spent. Chase is pretty liberal with their definition of travel, so a lot of things you might not think count actually do – including services like Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, Uber and Lyft. The only downside is that you won’t necessarily be able to redeem your rewards points to book those services, so you’ll have to spend them on other travel purchases.… read full answer

Here’s how Chase Sapphire Reserve Airbnb rewards work:

• Airbnb stays count as travel so they get you 3 points / $1 spent. The same thing applies to its competitors such as HomeAway and VRBO. Other options may count, too. It depends on whether the merchant codes itself as "travel".
• You can’t book Airbnb stays through Chase Ultimate Rewards. So you’ll have to redeem the points you earn on such purchases for something else.
• You can use your Ultimate Rewards points to buy Airbnb gift cards (when available through the online portal), but it’s not a great deal. You only get 1 cent per point when redeeming for cash back or gift cards, while booking travel through Chase gets you 1.5 cents per point. That means Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 60,000 point initial bonus (received for spending $4,000 within the first 3 months) is worth more when redeemed for Chase travel options than Airbnb gift cards.

So the best option, if you’re a frequent Airbnb customer, is to pay for Airbnb reservations with Chase Sapphire Reserve, earn 3 points / $1 spent in the process, and then redeem those points for other types of travel accommodations that you can book through Chase Ultimate Rewards. They include flights, cruises, car rentals, etc., so there’s plenty of versatility. Another option worth considering for Airbnb purchases is Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It earns you 2 miles per $1 on every purchase. And it offers 100,000 miles for spending $20,000 in the first 12 months or 50,000 miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Each point is worth 1 cent when redeemed as travel statement credit for past travel purchases, including Airbnb.