Travel once a week? Here are the best credit cards for you

If you travel regularly – maybe half a dozen times a year, but not quite enough to earn elite status – you probably want the airline's co-brand credit card for perks like priority boarding (don't be forced to gate check your carry on) and free checked bags. That doesn't mean you want to put spending on that card; you can probably do better, but it's worth having. Instead, for spending, get a card like AmEx EveryDay Preferred that earns a 50% bonus on all of your spending each month you make 30 or more purchases with it.

If you're a road warrior, your strategy is different. You already get the airline's perks. It's time to make travel more comfortable, and super-charge your earning.

American Express Platinum or Citi Prestige for lounge access.

Fly Delta? Get the American Express Platinum card and you'll have access to Delta's lounges when flying the airline same day. You'll also have unlimited access to Priority Pass member lounges (this includes Alaska Airlines lounges and the 7 U.S. Locations of "The Club" lounges). And you get in free to American Express' own growing network of posh Centurion lounges. They're currently in Las Vegas, Dallas, New York LaGuardia, San Francisco, Miami, and Seattle.

Fly American? A Citi Prestige card is the cheapest way to access American Airlines lounges (since the card's $450 annual fee is offset by a $250 airfare credit that can be used towards airline tickets). The card also comes with a Priority Pass Select membership that gets you into participating lounges. (Citi Prestige has the all-around richest benefits right now, like a 4th night free on hotel stays and free rounds of golf each year.)

Fly Alaska? Either card gets you Alaska Airlines Board Room access via Priority Pass, which comes with the cards (Citi Prestige's Priority Pass lets you bring two guests into the lounge with you for free).

Fly United? If you're based in San Francisco, or primarily use New York's LaGuardia airport, get the American Express Platinum card and use the Centurion lounge instead of the United Club. Otherwise get the United Club Card which not only comes with lounge access, but also earns 1.5 United miles per dollar on all of your purchases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Citi Prestige for points-earning.

Citi Prestige earns triple points on airfare and hotels, and double points on restaurants and entertainment...in other words, the exact things that road warriors spend the most on. Points can be used to pay for airfare (they're worth 1.6 cents a point when used for American Airlines/US Airways!) or transferred to a variety of frequent flyer programs.

Chase Sapphire Preferred earns double points on travel and dining. The travel category is bigger than air and hotel (like Prestige) and comes at a lower price point ($0 the first year, $95 thereafter). While Citi's points are super valuable, Chase points have better transfer partners than Citi does – like United, Korean Air, and Hyatt.