Maximizing Points and Miles

Ever wonder how my spouse and I travel so much? The answer is we play the credit card game and maximize our points.

While I was once concerned about my credit score with opening multiple cards a year, the best piece of advice here is to avoid canceling the cards—always try to downgrade to a free card, if available. If you open and cancel cards, your average credit history will shorten, which is not good. The other thing you want to do is ensure you turn on automatic payments, even if it’s just for the minimum balance, to avoid late payments on your credit report.

  

What is the Credit Card Game?  

It’s the experience of signing up for new credit cards when the new sign-on bonus is at or close to an all-time high or you believe it’s a valuable bonus. Once you are approved and receive your card, you have to spend a certain amount in the first few months to earn the bonus.

Bonuses are usually the highest when credit cards launch for the first time. For example, I got 100,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points when the Chase Sapphire Reserve card was first released in 2016, but it hasn’t reached that level since. You can stay up to date on this by following me on Instagram and the Points Guy.

Card Overview and Recommendations

Let’s start with an overview of the cards before we dive into my recommendations for you. Note, the bonuses listed below are from July 2024 unless otherwise noted, and my spouse or I may earn points or rewards if you use my referral links below. 

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve

• • Annual Fee: $550

• • Top Perks:
    • • 3x points on travel and dining
    • • $300 annual travel credit
    • • Priority Pass Select membership
    • • 50% more value when redeeming points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
    • • 1.5x points value through Pay Yourself Back feature
    • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit

• My Referral Link:

2. Chase Sapphire Preferred

• • Annual Fee: $95

• • Top Perks:
    • • 2x points on travel and dining
    • • 25% more value when redeeming points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
    • • 1.25x points value through Pay Yourself Back feature
    • • Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months

• • My Referral Link:

3. American Express Gold Card

• • Annual Fee: $250

• • Top Perks:
    • • 4x points at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
    • • 4x points at U.S. supermarkets/grocery stores (up to $25,000 per year)
    • • 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
    • • $120 dining credit (up to $10 per month at select restaurants and food delivery services)
    • • $100 airline fee credit

• • My Referral Link:

4. American Express Platinum Card

• • Annual Fee: $695

• • Top Perks:
    • • 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
    • • 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
    • • $200 annual airline fee credit
    • • $200 Uber Cash annually
    • • $240 digital entertainment credit
    • • $300 Equinox credit
    • • $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit
    • • Access to Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select, and other premium lounges
    • • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit

• • My Referral Link for the Amex Platinum!

5. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• • Annual Fee: $95

• • Top Perks:
    • • 2x miles on every purchase
    • • 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
    • • Up to $100 credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck
    • • Transfer miles to over 15 travel loyalty programs

• • My Referral Link: N/A. I don’t have this card nor do I know anyone who does. I wanted to list it as an option to not be biased.

6. Bilt Mastercard

• • Annual Fee: $0

• • Top Perks:
    • • Earn points on rent payments with no fees (up to 50,000 points per year)
    • • 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points on rent
    • • No foreign transaction fees
    • • Access to Bilt Rewards travel portal for booking flights and hotels
    • • Special transfer partners – see below

• • My Referral Link for the Bilt card – earn money on your rent now!

7. Discover it® Cash Back

• • Annual Fee: $0

• • Top Perks:
    • • 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1.5k usually, activation required)
    • • 1% cash back on all other purchases
    • • Cashback Match: Discover matches all the cash back earned at the end of the first year for new cardmembers
    • • No foreign transaction fees
    • • 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (then a variable APR applies)
    • • Access to Discover’s FICO® Credit Score for free

• • My Referral Link for the DiscoverIT card. In September 2024, you qualify for $100! That’s so sick. 

Recommendations

For Non-Travelers

• • Bilt Mastercard: With no annual fee and the ability to earn points on rent and dining, this card is excellent for everyday spending without travel-specific perks.

• • American Express Gold Card: Ideal for those who spend a lot on dining and groceries, which you can use a special trip.

• • Discover it® Cash Back: With no annual fee and the ability to earn double cash back in the first year, you can put your cash back towards a trip!

For Beginner Travelers

• • Chase Sapphire Preferred: A low annual fee and solid travel rewards make it perfect for those starting to travel more frequently.

• • American Express Gold Card: The higher fee compared to Chase Sapphire Preferred is offset by the airline credit and dining credit.

For Frequent Travelers

• • Chase Sapphire Reserve: High rewards rate on travel and dining, along with extensive travel perks like Priority Pass and travel credits.

• • American Express Platinum Card: Best suited for frequent travelers who can take advantage of premium lounge access, extensive travel credits, and high rewards on travel bookings.

Each of these cards offers unique benefits tailored to different spending habits and travel frequencies. Find one that matches your lifestyle and travel preferences. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section below.

Wait, before you decide…

Knowing your home airport and which airline partners have hubs or frequent flights there is essential. The point game is best optimized with a Chase or Amex card that you can transfer to several partners rather than getting an airline-specific card. I’m not saying that you should never sign up for an Airline card—you may want that IF they have a stellar deal. Again, this game is about getting the best-perceived value.

To help – here are the airline partners as of July 2024. 

Chase Sapphire Reserve & Chase Sapphire Preferred

Airline Partners: Aer Lingus AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotel Partners: IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt

Bilt Mastercard

Airline Partners: American Airlines AAdvantage, Air Canada Aeroplan, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, United MileagePlus, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotel Partners: IHG Rewards Club and the World of Hyatt

American Express Gold Card & American Express Platinum Card

Airline Partners: Aer Lingus AerClub, Aeromexico Club Premier, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Alitalia MilleMiglia, ANA Mileage Club, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Delta SkyMiles, El Al Matmid, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Hotel Partners: Choice Privileges, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and Radisson Rewards.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Airline Partners: Aeromexico Club Premier, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Finnair Plus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, and Virgin Red.

Hotel Partners: Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards

Discover it® Cash Back

The Discover it® Cash Back card does not have specific airline or hotel transfer partners. Instead, it offers cash back rewards that can be redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, and more.

Overwhelmed by this list? Trust me, I was there once, but you can sometimes find deals on these random airlines, like Qantas. So it’s nice to have access to several even if you only plan on using the major US airlines (e.g., United or American). Note, some of these partners transfer one-to-one, but others may have higher redemption rates. Feel free to email me at beeceeingtheworldyo@gmail.com or comment below for comments or questions. 

Embrace the quirk, explore the world with me, BeSeeingTheWorldYo!