Introduction

Whether you’re brand new to travel hacking or a seasoned veteran, we all had to start somewhere. Many of us, who have been ‘in the game’ for a while now, regret at least one of the cards that we signed up for early on. This post is aimed at helping you avoid that mistake and jump-start your rewards earning with the best card for your individual travel goals.

When picking your first travel rewards card there are several things to consider – sign-up bonus, category bonuses, value of rewards, annual fee, etc. There are lots of great cards on the market right now so I’ll break down the pros and cons of each, while weighing the above mentioned factors.

The Contenders

There are thousands of different banks in the United States and many of them offer credit cards to their banking clients. When it comes to travel rewards cards, there are three big banks that you should be aware of – American Express, Capital One, and Chase. These are the banks to focus on when getting started and the ones that I’m going to discuss more in detail.

American Express

In my opinion, the American Express® Gold card is the best starter card for ongoing perks and category bonuses. The Amex Gold card earns 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in spend per calendar year, then 1X once the spending threshold is reached), and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. All other eligible purchases earn 1 point per dollar.

American Express is currently offering 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points for new cardmembers after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months!!

Rates and fees for the American Express® Gold Card apply. See Rates and Fees

In addition to offering extra points in some of the best every day spending categories, this card also comes with a $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

Membership Rewards can be transferred to any of American Express’ 20 transfer partners or used to book travel through the Amex travel portal.

Terms and Restrictions Apply. “Enrollment Required” per Amex guidelines for benefits where enrollment is required.

• Pros
  • Great bonus categories
  • Monthly dining and Uber credit
  • Solid intro offer
• Cons
  • Higher annual fee

Capital One®

Capital One® has offered the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card for more than a decade now. In that time, it’s become a very popular card amongst travelers because of the straightforward earning structure and the ease of using rewards.

On the earning side, the Venture card keeps things simple by awarding 2x Venture Miles for every dollar spent. While it’s exciting to earn extra miles in bonus categories, especially if they’re categories you spend a lot in, some people will definitely be better off just earning 2x everywhere.

This card also offers a really competitive 75,000 mile sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. In addition to the sign-up bonus, The Venture card also includes up to $100 in credit for enrolling in TSA Precheck or Global Entry and two complimentary visits to Capital One Lounges per year. The annual fee is a manageable $95 and can be easily offset with the credit for TSA Precheck and annual lounge access.

• Pros
  • Rewards are easy to earn and redeem
  • Good intro offer
  • Lounge access
• Cons
  • No bonus categories
  • No domestic airline transfer partner

THE WINNER: Chase!

Chase completely changed the travel rewards card game in 2009 with the introduction of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card. Up until that point, cards weren’t offering bonus categories or giving cardmembers additional ways to redeem points. To this day, the Sapphire Preferred remains one of the best travel rewards cards on the market and is also one of the best cards for getting started.

The Sapphire Preferred comes with a solid 60,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. It has some very practical, but not industry leading, category bonuses – 3x points on dining and streaming, as well as 2x on a very broad travel category. Another benefit of this card is the $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit.

When it comes to redeeming your points, the Sapphire Preferred has access to all 14 of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards transfer partners. In addition to transferring points to partners, you can also redeem points for travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. The annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card is $95, but I find it easy to justify with all the benefits that the card offers.

• Pros
  • Valuable rewards
  • Lots of redemption options
• Cons
  • Weaker category bonuses than competitors

Disclaimer:
The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.

This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company.

DrewBinsky.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.

Rates and fees for the American Express® Gold Card apply. See Rates and Fees