The best credit cards for Airbnb and Vrbo start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which earns 3x points on stays booked directly with either site, per Chase's own rewards category page. The Capital One Venture and Venture X earn 2X miles on the same charge, and the Bilt Palladium earns 2X on everyday purchases. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the card to leave in the wallet: Chase excludes Airbnb and Vrbo from its 4x hotels booked direct category.
Every rate below comes from the issuer's own page, read on October 14, 2026, and Chase's category list was read again on October 16, 2026. Card terms change, so check the issuer's page before you book a long stay around one of them.
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 3x on Airbnb Booked Direct
The Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee) earns 3x on "gas stations, EV charging, and vacation homes at top brands." Chase defines that category by merchant on its rewards category page: "Only bookings made directly with the following merchants will qualify for this category: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com, and Vacasa."
Two things fall outside it. Secondary cleaning fees don't qualify, and neither do "merchants that sell a variety of travel inventory, including vacation homes." A rental booked through a site that also sells hotels and flights won't earn the 3x, even if the same property is listed on Airbnb.
Vrbo has one more wrinkle Chase spells out. Some Vrbo reservations are processed by the property manager, so the rent can post under the manager's name with Vrbo's service fee as a separate charge, and only the amounts Vrbo bills count. Chase suggests checking who is processing your payment in the payment details at checkout.
Outside that category, the Sapphire Preferred earns 5x on Chase Travel, 3x on dining, 3x on top streaming services and online grocery (exclusions apply), 2x on all other travel and 1x on all other purchases, with no foreign transaction fees. Chase's new cardmember offer is 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Our Sapphire Preferred review covers the rest of the card.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: Put Airbnb on Another Card
The Sapphire Reserve ($795 annual fee) lists 8x on purchases through Chase Travel, including The Edit, 4x on flights booked direct, 4x on hotels booked direct, 3x on dining worldwide and 1x on all other purchases. Its new cardmember offer is 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
That 4x hotel rate is the one people assume covers a rental. Chase says it doesn't. Its definition of flights and hotels booked direct counts smaller places like motels, bed and breakfasts and inns as hotel stays, "but vacation home rentals and homestays, such as those purchased through real estate agencies or merchants like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Vacasa, will not."
If you carry the Reserve for its travel credit and lounge access, that's fine. Just don't hand it over at Airbnb checkout expecting 4x.
Capital One Venture and Venture X: 2X on Airbnb, More Through Capital One Travel
The Venture ($95 annual fee) earns "unlimited 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day," and 5X on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. There's no category to trip: an Airbnb charge earns 2X like anything else. Its limited-time welcome offer is $300 to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. The card has no foreign transaction fees.
The Venture X ($395 annual fee) earns 2X on all other purchases, 5X on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, and 10X on hotels and rental cars booked there. Its $300 annual travel credit applies to "hotels, flights, vacation rentals and more through Capital One Travel." Its welcome offer is 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening, and it adds 10,000 bonus miles every year starting on your first anniversary.
So the Capital One cards pay more on vacation rentals when you book through Capital One Travel than when you book on Airbnb itself. Rentals booked through Capital One Travel's Lifestyle Collection (and, for the Venture X, the Premier Collection) also come with an experience credit, Wi-Fi, and early check-in and late checkout when available. Our Venture review and Venture X breakdown go further on both cards.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles aren't the same currency, so 3x beats 2X on the count, and what each is worth depends on how you redeem it.
Bilt Cards: The Palladium's 2X Doesn't Depend on the Category
Bilt's card page lists three cards, all earning Bilt Rewards points, and they treat a stay booked outside the Bilt Travel Portal differently:
- Bilt Palladium ($495 annual fee): 2X on other travel and 2X on other everyday purchases. Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points and Gold Status after you spend $4,000 on purchases (excluding rent or mortgage) in your first 90 days, plus $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Bilt Obsidian ($95 annual fee): 2X on other travel and 1X on other everyday purchases. Sign-up bonus: $200 of Bilt Cash.
- Bilt Blue (no annual fee): 1X on other travel and 1X on other everyday purchases. Sign-up bonus: $100 of Bilt Cash.
The Palladium earns 2X whether an Airbnb charge lands in other travel or other everyday purchases, the only Bilt card that earns 2X either way. It also has a monthly kicker: on the 1st of each month, Bilt's Card 2.0 overview says the Palladium earns 4X on everyday purchases, up to 1,000 bonus points a month. Bilt's Double Points terms exclude "digital platforms where multiple third-party sellers offer products or services," so don't plan an Airbnb or Vrbo booking around the 1st.
Our guide to maximizing Bilt Rent Day covers what the bonus pays on each card. All three Bilt cards list no foreign transaction fees.
Citi Double Cash: A Flat 2% on Every Purchase
The Citi Double Cash Card ($0 annual fee) earns "unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay, on every purchase," per Citi's page. A rental charge earns the same 2% as any other purchase, with no category enrollment or caps. Citi says the cash back is earned as ThankYou Points, which you can redeem for a statement credit, a direct deposit or a check. Unlike the Sapphire Preferred's 3x, it doesn't depend on booking direct or on how the host's charge is processed.
Which Card to Use for Your Next Airbnb
It comes down to which cards you already hold.
You hold the Sapphire Preferred. Use it for anything you book directly with Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com or Vacasa. Chase doesn't count secondary cleaning fees toward the 3x.
You hold a Venture or Venture X but not the Preferred. Use it on Airbnb for 2X. If the same rental is on Capital One Travel, compare prices there, where vacation rentals earn 5X. The Venture X's $300 annual travel credit works there, and so does the Venture's first-year $300 if you opened the card under that offer.
You hold the Sapphire Reserve. Use a 2X card for the Airbnb charge instead, since Chase excludes Airbnb from the Reserve's 4x.
You hold the Bilt Palladium. It earns 2X on the stay, whether Bilt counts it as other travel or an everyday purchase.
You hold a flat-rate card like the Citi Double Cash. It earns 2% on the stay whichever site or processor bills it.
If you're booking abroad, the Sapphire Preferred, the Venture, the Venture X and all three Bilt cards list no foreign transaction fees. For paying for a stay with points rather than earning on it, see our guide to paying for Airbnb with credit card points.
Updated October 16, 2026: Chase Airbnb category.
