Do flights cost more through credit card travel portals?

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Key takeaways

If you’re only interested in the highlights, here’s a summary of the most important takeaways:

• Not every itinerary is bookable through each credit card travel portal.
• Capital One Travel sold the highest percentage of the itineraries we searched; Amex Travel sold the lowest.
• Compared to booking directly, fares are, on average, about the same through Capital One Travel, slightly more expensive through Bilt and Chase Travel, somewhat more expensive through Amex Travel, and much more expensive through Citi Travel.
• Capital One Travel returns the same fare as booking directly more than half the time. Bilt, Chase Travel and Citi Travel return the same fare as booking directly less than half the time. Amex Travel returns the same fare as booking directly less than a fifth of the time.
• To get the best flight price, you should check each portal you can access and compare these rates with what the airline charges for direct bookings.

We learned plenty more interesting things while analyzing our data. So, read on for more statistics and a deeper analysis of what we learned.

Is it more expensive to book flights through a travel portal?

Booking flights through a credit card travel portal is sometimes more expensive, but sometimes cheaper. We crunched data from 134 round-trip itineraries and calculated the average difference between each portal’s pricing and booking directly. Here’s what we found:

• Amex Travel portal: 10.32% more expensive than booking directly
• Bilt travel portal: 6.50% more expensive than booking directly
• Capital One Travel portal: 0.76% more expensive than booking directly
• Chase Travel portal: 5.94% more expensive than booking directly
• Citi Travel portal: 14.59% more expensive than booking directly

Here’s a look at the number of itineraries that were equal to, more expensive than or less expensive than what you could book directly with the airline.

The number of itineraries that had …Amex TravelBilt travelCapital One TravelChase TravelCiti TravelThe same fare through the portal and when booking directly2657815035A more expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly6147264260A fare at least 1% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly5637203653A fare at least 10% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly412992634A less expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly1613191624A fare at least 1% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly14511817A fare at least 10% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly33549

As you can see, the Capital One Travel portal featured the most itineraries with the same price as booking directly. The number of itineraries at least 1% more expensive through the Capital One Travel portal, compared to booking directly, was similar to the number of itineraries at least 1% less expensive. Plus, we found itineraries through the Capital One Travel portal were on average just 0.76% more expensive than booking directly.

Meanwhile, fares for 61 itineraries were more expensive through the Amex Travel portal than booking directly. In 41 instances, the Amex Travel portal returned prices more than 10% higher than you’d get booking directly. One such itinerary involved flying Air Canada in economy between New York and Toronto in December. This itinerary through Amex Travel costs $382, while booking directly would cost $210.

Now, let’s discuss some of these metrics when looking at subsets of our dataset. In particular, we’ll discuss domestic, international and economy flight trends.

Trends for domestic flights

The average difference between each portal’s pricing and booking directly for the 50 round-trip domestic itineraries we considered is as follows:

• Amex Travel portal: 6.10% more expensive than booking directly
• Bilt travel portal: 4.00% more expensive than booking directly
• Capital One Travel portal: 0.05% less expensive than booking directly
• Chase Travel portal: 4.14% more expensive than booking directly
• Citi Travel portal: 2.77% more expensive than booking directly

Here’s a look at the number of domestic itineraries that were equal to, more expensive than or less expensive than what you could book directly with the airline.

The number of domestic itineraries that had …Amex TravelBilt travelCapital One TravelChase TravelCiti TravelThe same fare through the portal and when booking directly1331362213A more expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly181581219A fare at least 1% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly16116916A fare at least 10% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly117264A less expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly80447A fare at least 1% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly80416A fare at least 10% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly10302

In our tests, domestic fares through the Capital One Travel portal were 0.05% less expensive than booking directly, with three fares even being 10% less expensive. One of these fares was for a round-trip United Airlines itinerary from Los Angeles to New York in December. We could book this itinerary through Capital One Travel for $312.

Meanwhile, booking directly or via Bilt travel carried a fare of $412 and booking via the other portals carried a fare of $427 or higher.

Trends for international flights

The average difference between each portal’s pricing and booking directly for the 84 round-trip international itineraries we considered is as follows:

• Amex Travel portal: 12.89% more expensive than booking directly
• Bilt travel portal: 8.12% more expensive than booking directly
• Capital One Travel portal: 1.26% more expensive than booking directly
• Chase Travel portal: 6.91% more expensive than booking directly
• Citi Travel portal: 20.35% more expensive than booking directly

Here’s a look at the number of international itineraries that were equal to, more expensive than or less expensive than what you could book directly with the airline.

The number of international itineraries that had …Amex TravelBilt travelCapital One TravelChase TravelCiti TravelThe same fare through the portal and when booking directly1326452822A more expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly4332183041A fare at least 1% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly4026142737A fare at least 10% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly302272030A less expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly813151217A fare at least 1% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly657711A fare at least 10% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly23247

Amex Travel, by far, had the fewest itineraries for which the fares through the portal were equal to those found directly with the airline. The Amex Travel and Citi Travel portals also showed fares at least 10% more expensive through the portal than booking directly for 30 itineraries — 36% of the international itineraries we considered.

Meanwhile, Capital One Travel had by far the most itineraries for which the fares through the portal were equal to those found directly with the airline. The Capital One Travel portal had 18 itineraries more expensive than booking directly and 15 less expensive, with average fares that were just 1.26% more expensive through the Capital One Travel portal than booking directly.

Trends for economy flights

The average difference between each portal’s pricing and booking directly for the 83 round-trip economy itineraries we considered is as follows:

• Amex Travel portal: 17.14% more expensive than booking directly
• Bilt travel: 9.92% more expensive than booking directly
• Capital One Travel portal: 0.14% more expensive than booking directly
• Chase Travel portal: 8.59% more expensive than booking directly
• Citi Travel portal: 11.52% more expensive than booking directly

Here’s a look at the number of economy itineraries that were equal to, more expensive than or less expensive than what you could book directly with the airline.

The number of economy itineraries that had …Amex TravelBilt travelCapital One TravelChase TravelCiti TravelThe same fare through the portal and when booking directly633522517A more expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly4936152936A fare at least 1% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly4633122632A fare at least 10% more expensive through the portal compared to booking directly362852121A less expensive fare through the portal compared to booking directly55121117A fare at least 1% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly537714A fare at least 10% less expensive through the portal compared to booking directly13536

Economy fares through Capital One Travel were the same as booking directly 63% of the time. Compared to other credit card travel portals, Amex Travel featured the fewest economy itineraries with the same fare as booking directly and more than triple the best-performing portal’s number of economy itineraries that were more expensive when booking through the portal.

Forty-nine of the economy itineraries — 59% of the economy itineraries we considered — were more expensive through the Amex Travel portal than booking directly with the airline.

Related: 6 key tools and tips to find the cheapest airfare

What is the best credit card travel portal for booking flights?

Fares

Our data showed that Capital One Travel was, on average, the best at providing fares with the least markup compared to booking directly. Capital One Travel offered lower fares for domestic itineraries than booking directly with the airline. The Capital One Travel portal also offered the same fares as booking directly on 60% of itineraries, the highest percentage obtained by any portal we tested.

XAVIER LORENZO/GETTY IMAGES

The other four portals — Amex Travel, Bilt, Chase Travel and Citi Travel — all offered fares that were, on average, higher than those available when booking directly with the airline.

However, while the difference between booking directly with the airline and using a portal was, on average, less when using the Bilt travel and Chase Travel portals compared to the Amex Travel and Citi Travel portals, the Amex Travel and Citi Travel portals featured higher percentages of itineraries that were less expensive than booking directly by more than 1%.

And, we found nine itineraries through the Citi Travel portal that were less expensive than booking directly with the airline by more than 10%.

So, the Capital One Travel portal is best if you want the best chance of getting a fare close to what you could book directly with the airline. But, our data showed the Amex Travel and Citi Travel portals are most likely to offer a fare that’s 1% less than (as well as 1% greater than) booking directly with the airline. It may also be worth checking these portals to see if you can snag a lower rate.

Related: The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare for the holidays

Bookable itineraries

The main drawback of Amex Travel is that it does not have every itinerary you could book directly; this is more frequently the case with Amex Travel versus the other portals we considered.

Across the 134 round-trip itineraries we considered, 31 weren’t available through Amex Travel, 25 weren’t available through Chase Travel, 17 weren’t available through Bilt, 15 weren’t available through Citi Travel and seven weren’t available through Capital One Travel.

FG TRADE/GETTY IMAGES

In some cases, this was due to the portal not supporting a specific airline. For example, Amex Travel, Chase Travel and Citi Travel don’t offer Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines flights. And Chase Travel is the only portal that offers Southwest Airlines flights (besides the Capital One Business Travel portal, which we didn’t test).

In other cases, the portal only showed some itineraries for airlines it otherwise supports.

While the Citi Travel portal included every American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines itinerary we searched, Amex Travel didn’t show options to book eight of the 72 itineraries we searched for these airlines. Additionally, Chase Travel didn’t show seven of these itineraries and Bilt and Capital One Travel didn’t show four of these itineraries.

Related: How far in advance can you book a flight?

Earning rates and card benefits

It is also worth considering the extra rewards you can earn when booking through credit card travel portals with select rewards credit cards.

For example, I’ll sometimes book flights through Capital One Travel with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to use my card’s $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and earn 5 miles per dollar spent on the part of my fare that the credit doesn’t cover.

Some cards earn rewards at a higher rate when you book flights through the card issuer’s travel portal. Here’s a look at the earning rates when booking flights with some popular travel cards:

Finally, remember that some credit cards offer travel protections when you use them to book flights. These protections are available regardless of whether you use your card to book directly with the airline or via a credit card travel portal.

Related: The best credit cards for booking flights

Redemption rates

You can also redeem rewards when booking flights through credit card travel portals. Some portals offer low redemption rates, though. Here’s the redemption rate you can expect to get when redeeming for flights through the portals discussed in this guide:

• American Express Travel portal: 1 cent per point
• Bilt travel portal: 1.25 cents per point
• Capital One Travel portal: 1 cent per mile
• Chase Travel portal: 1 to 2 cents per point
• Citi Travel portal: 1 cent per point

So, the Bilt travel portal and Chase Travel portal are best if you want to redeem your rewards for flights that you book through the portal.

However, remember that TPG’s November 2025 valuations peg the value of each of these currencies higher than what you can get when booking through the portal. So, you’ll usually want to transfer your rewards to transfer partners instead of redeeming for flights through the portal to get more value from your rewards.

Bottom line

On average, the Capital One Travel portal offered fares closest to what you could book directly with the airline. Meanwhile, the Citi Travel portal was about 14% more expensive on average than booking directly, and the Amex Travel portal was about 10% more expensive.

This doesn’t mean you should pick one booking method and avoid checking other options, though. I was surprised by how much prices varied between the portals — and when compared to the airline’s website — while collecting data for this story. Processing the data and writing this story made me realize more than ever the importance of checking each credit card travel portal you have access to and the airline’s website before booking a flight.

Then, if you decide to book a paid fare, open up all the credit card travel portals you can access via your rewards cards and search for the flights you want.

Finally, compare the rates across the portals with booking directly with the airline to determine which will offer the best value.

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