Need points for spring break and summer travel next year? Apply for a new credit card now

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

If you’re planning on making travel plans for next spring break or summer 2026, now’s the perfect time to start racking up points for your itineraries.

At TPG, we believe it’s never too early to start earning. If you can earn travel rewards now, you can start making your spring, Easter and summer 2026 bookings early, taking advantage of more hotel and airline availability and cheaper rates all around.

Here’s our step-by-step guide to earning rewards early — meaning right now — to enjoy a low-stress and savings-filled spring, Easter or summer travel season.

Cash in on timely welcome offers

First, applying for the best welcome offers on new cards right now will give you plenty of time to meet their minimum spending requirements.

Most cards have a three- to six-month window on their welcome offers and can require thousands of dollars in spending. Don’t put yourself behind the curve by getting a card in the fall — take advantage now.

For example, if you apply for a card now and get it by June 1, 2025, you’ll have until September 2025 to take advantage of a typical three-month welcome offer. Then, you can receive your points by October 2025, with time to book spring, Easter and summer travel while it’s still cheap and plentiful.

Best welcome offers right now

If you’re wondering which card to get, here are just a few of our favorite welcome offers available right now.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The incredibly popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is offering its best welcome offer this year of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s worth $2,050 according to TPG’s May 2025 valuations. But act fast if you want to take advantage of this stellar offer — it ends May 15 at 9 a.m. EDT.

You can read more about the card in our review.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Both the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offer generous welcome bonuses, and the Venture Rewards card even includes a limited-time offer.

With the Venture X, new cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

The Venture Rewards offers the same 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in the first cardholder year.

The Venture X welcome offer is valued at $1,388, and the Venture Rewards is valued up to $1,638 — if you fully use the $250 credit (based on TPG’s May 2025 valuations).

To learn more about these cards, check out our card review of the Venture Rewards credit card and our card review of the Venture X Rewards credit card.

American Express Gold Card

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the American Express® Gold Card, which has a welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. This bonus is worth up to $1,200, according to our May 2025 valuations. You may also be able to get a higher bonus through the CardMatch tool (terms apply).

The Amex Gold is a heavy hitter in the world of points and miles, as it earns

• 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar).
• 4 points per dollar spent (up to $25,000) in purchases at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (then 1 point per dollar).

Read more in our Amex Gold card review.

Related: The best credit card welcome bonuses

Use card perks for fall and winter travel

It’s not just about welcome offers, though. You can utilize your new card’s bonus-earning categories to earn more points to put toward your spring, Easter and summer travel plans. In the meantime, you can also use your new card and its perks to enjoy all your fall and winter holiday travel.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) offers up to $300 in travel credits annually, statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and a Priority Pass membership.

The aforementioned Capital One Venture X provides lounge benefits extended to authorized users and two guests, access to top-tier Hertz President’s Circle* status and a $300 annual credit for travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal.

*Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through the duration of the offer. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

Any or all of these cards should ensure that your next trip is cushier, even before you factor in the welcome offers involved.

Related: Traveling these holidays? Here are the best cards for making your trip more comfortable

Book spring and summer plans early

As previously mentioned, you’ll want to get a new card sooner rather than later to ensure you can book your spring, Easter and summer trips with as little money and as much flexibility as possible.

Booking earlier means more available flights and hotel rooms at cheaper rates.

Booking summer travel in January or February is much cheaper than waiting until April (or even May). Every day counts, so you’ll want to stay ahead of the game.

Related: 7 mistakes to avoid when redeeming hotel points

Bottom line

The early bird gets the worm. If you’re looking to take a stress-free trip that you’re not stuck planning last minute, now’s the time to get a card that’ll earn a nice stash of rewards you can use in the future.

If you can get approved for a new card now, you can capitalize on lucrative welcome offers and book your next trip sooner rather than later. You’ll take care of two tasks at once: You’ll enjoy your new card’s perks during the fall and winter holiday seasons and save money during the spring, Easter and summer seasons.

Then, you can start thinking about how to do it all again next year.

Related: How to choose a credit card for airport lounge access

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.