Over the past decade, I’ve had countless reward credit cards, which have netted me over $25,000 in rewards. In just this past year alone, I made out with $6,000 in free travel and perks.I’ve used points to cover travel purchases, to buy gift cards, as cash back towards my bill, and to transfer to my frequent flier programs for even bigger rewards. It’s like a fun a little game trying to get the most value from your points. Though it takes some effort, the rewards pay off. Here are a few of my favorite reward cards of the year that have given me the most value:
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My number one right currently is new to the game and winning awards left and right for its ingenuity. Released just two years ago, the BILT Mastercard1 is absolutely revolutionizing the credit card world. It’s the first credit card ever to allow users to earn points on rent payments without any additional fees.
If you attempt to pay your rent with a normal credit card, your landlord will more likely than not pass onto you the the 3% merchant fee that Visa and Mastercard charges them to accept and process credit card payments. The BILT card is unique in that they issue a routing and checking number for your credit card so that you can earn points on rent, bypassing the 3% fee. If your landlord is old school and will only accept checks, BILT even has a paper check option. Just think about—most people’s largest monthly expense is rent, so why not earn points on it?
It’s also the most fun credit card I have ever had! BILT celebrates the first of the month, which they refer to as “Rent Day” with rotating bonuses such as free SoulCycle classes, transfer bonuses to airlines, multiple chances to win free rent, trivia games to earn more points, double the points in all categories (excluding rent), among many other cool and exciting treats. Last year in November, BILT offered United MileagePlus Premier status for 4 months, which covered my checked luggage fee and got me priority boarding.
It’s those little surprises each rent day that keep this card exciting and fun to use as you accrue major points. BILT, in my opinion, is the perfect card for Millennials and Gen Z. The best part is that there are zero foreign transaction fees and no annual fee, which makes it a good card to keep open indefinitely to build and maintain credit history too.
The Venture X card has all the benefits of the Venture card, plus some extra luxury perks like $300 travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and complimentary Hertz President’s Circle elite status. It also has higher earning rates at 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One travel portal and 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through their travel portal.
You get 2x the miles on all other purchases which is pretty darn good, though not the best compared to other cards as far as dining or groceries which sometime offer 3x or 4x the points in those categories. I do appreciate how it simplifies spending since you don’t have to remember which categories earn which level of points. The only higher earning rates are through Capital One’s travel portal.
Overall it’s a pretty good luxury travel credit card with a much lower annual fee than other comparable cards at only $395. The biggest allure of this card though is that it boasts a whopping 75K point sign up bonus. It’s one of the highest sign up bonuses of any personal reward credit card this year.
I’m usually not the biggest fan of airline based credit cards, since you are limited to earning miles with that one airline company. There are exceptions to this rule– the biggest of which is if you fly frequently with a single airline. I’ve had credit cards with United, Delta, and Southwest, to name a few. If you are planning a large trip, opening up a credit card with the company often gives up a sign up bonus that covers part of the cost, free luggage, lounge access, as well as a higher earning rate for miles, which saves you a lot of money if you work it right.
I tend to fly a lot with Southwest lately and therefore, the Chase Southwest Priority card has been my card of choice. Southwest airlines actually offers three levels of their credit card, but if you do the math with the anniversary points, the $75 annual travel credit, and the value of the 4 upgraded boarding you get per year, their highest level card actually pays YOU to have it, unlike the lower and mid-tier Southwest cards. Yes, despite having a $149 annual fee, every year the value you get before you even spend a dime on the Chase Southwest Priority card, makes it so that you net roughly $11.
In addition, Southwest Airlines has multiple promotions throughout the year that you can register for to earn more points in different categories. Just last year with the sign up bonus and all the points earned, I traveled more than 10 flights completely free and earned their elusive Companion Pass. For those who don’t know, the Southwest Companion Pass allows a companion of your choosing to fly free with you every time. All you have to pay is the tax which is around $5.60 for most flights. It makes every flight essentially buy-one-get-one-free!
The best part about all Southwest Airline credit cards is that I’ve actually had their card three times. Unlike many reward credit cards, you can get the sign up bonus more than once in a lifetime. If it’s been at least 24 months since you last received a sign up bonus, you can close and open the same card again with Southwest (I wait a week or two to be safe, just in case!). It’s a nice little hack and why the Southwest Priority Card will always be a staple for me.
It was during COVID when the world shut down, that I realized I should start exploring other reward credit card options outside of travel rewards, since I wouldn’t be getting the full value that year for obvious reasons. I started to explore dining and grocery cash back cards, which is when I discovered Savor One by Capital One.
There are many grocery and dining credit card options to choose from, but what I love about Capital One is that there reward program is so simple to use. It’s a 1:1 redemption rate for cash back. Some banks, like American Express and Citi, don’t always offer the best cash back redemption rates, so you’re stuck with choosing between redeeming points for gift cards or transferring to airline partners to get the full value of your points.
If you’re just starting out, or just lazy like me, easy is always better. Savor One has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and earns unlimited 3% on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and grocery stores. Plus they offer 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, making it a great long term card as well as a good card for large purchases you need some time to pay off without cutting into your rewards.
It’s good to have a card like this when credit card churning, so you maintian a long credit history rather than just closing cards every single year. Check out my post about why that is crutial when starting out in the credit card churning game.
They also have really cool perks too like complimentary Uber One membership that gets you 10% cash back with Uber and Uber Eats and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. It’s a solid card that will get you a nice amount of points over time, despite not having the most enticing sign up bonus which is only $200 after spending $500 in 3 months, at this time. What it lacks in sign up bonus though, it makes up for with high earning rates, perks, and no annual fees.
My favorite card ever hands down has to be the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I’ve had it twice actually and even its baby sister, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, once. They are both great reward cards, but I now always go for the Reserve when given the opportunity.
The first thing I must mention is that you can only get the sign up bonus once every 4 years from either card. If you sign up for the Preferred, then you can’t get the sign up bonus with the Reserve card for 4 years. It used to be less, but they increased it because the sign up bonus and perks are just that good, that some people were abusing it (hey, don’t look at me like that!). It’s the card I will always get every chance that I am eligible.
Technically, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is a luxury travel credit card, so it comes with a steep annual fee that they have raised even higher over the years to $550. Don’t let that discourage you though; it’s worth every penny. I’ve gotten over $3000 in rewards this year alone from this one card. The sign up bonus currently is worth $900 (it changes so you could even get a higher bonus, depending when you apply2), $1,200 in partnership benefit value, and $300 annual travel credit.
That’s not even including all the points you get in all the spending categories. You earn 3x points on dining and food delivery and 3x points on travel. The biggest benefit is when you use Chase’s Travel Portal—5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals. To boot, your points are worth 50% more in their travel portal.
Some of the partnership benefits are pretty incredible too!
- Lyft Pink Membership
You get complimentary Lyft Pink membership. That’sa $199/year value, plus you earn 10x points on all Lyft rides!
- DoorDash DashPass Subscription
A $120/year value that gives you free delivery and lower service fees for DoorDash, plus you get a monthly $5 credit that can roll over to up to $15.
- Instacart+ Membership
A $99/year value that gives you free delivery plus a $15 monthly statement credit! I honestly prefer in-store shopping, but I was sure to do Instacart’s pick-up option once a month to take advantage of the statement credits.
- Priority Pass Select Membership
Though it’s not as good as the Amex Centurion Lounge, Priority Pass gives you access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide–a whopping $469/year value! Even if I don’t have time to chill in the lounge, I will find a Priority Pass Lounge just to take advantage of a quick free glass of wine and a meal. I have to admit the airports abroad have much better lounges in the Priority Pass network than the ones in America. So, if you travel internationally, this is a HUGE perk.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
Like most luxury travel reward credit cards, Chase Sapphire Reserve will reimburse your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees ($100 value).
Also, a nice little underrated feature worth mentioning is Chase’s purchase coverage and protection. Anytime I have had to dispute a charge for whatever reason, Chase has reimbursed me with the least amount of hassle compared to other banks out there.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is a beautiful, yet complex beast to tackle. Once you have some experience with credit card churning and getting the max value out of your cards, this one should be on the top of your list3. It’s a powerhouse reward credit card that will make traveling so much better and more affordable, and one of my personal favorite reward cards!
- Applying through the links in the article is a great way to show support for this blog and is greatly appreciated if you decide on one of these reward credit cards. ↩︎
- Sign up bonuses change frequently so always do your research so that you get the best possible sign up bonus. ↩︎
- These are only my personal opinions. None of the cards featured here are paid sponsors. There are plenty of other great cards out there too; these are just a few that I have had great experiences with. ↩︎
