Have Card, Will Travel

Most of us have wallets full of credit cards, each dangling different promises to inspire you to pull it out first.

From free coffee (Starbucks Duetto Platinum Visa) to free books (Amazon.com Platinum Visa) to dollars donated to your favorite alumni association, the perks are endless.

What if your personal passion isn't coffee or books, but travel?

For a lot of us, a travel freebie is hard to beat. We like to reward ourselves for our hard work, and when that reward is free, so much the better.

So I thought I'd seek out the credit cards that offer the best travel-related perks.

Now, when thinking credit cards, airline frequent-flier miles are the first travel freebie to come to mind. But I'm grounding airline points before we even get started.

Why? First, they're commonplace. And as illustrated by those cute Capital One commercials, they come with so many restrictions that, well, planning a trip can take you right out of the vacation mood.

Click here for the video version of this story from Jennifer Openshaw.