Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to United, Singapore, British Airways, Iberia, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, Hyatt, and more.

The Sapphire Preferred earns 3x points on dining, streaming services, and online grocery purchases. Sapphire Preferred also earns 2x points on travel. Dining includes bars, restaurants, and fast food. Travel includes airfare, hotels, taxis, rental cars, tolls, parking, and much more.

The Sapphire Preferred is arguably the best card for those just dipping their toe in the travel credit cards rewards pond: The points are versatile, category bonuses solid, and the annual fee isn’t significant.

Make sure you’re under Chase’s 5/24 rule before you apply for this card.

The Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card technically comes with a $750 cash back sign up bonus for spending $7,500 within the first three months, but what you are actually earning is 75,000 bonus Ultimate Reward points.

I said technically above because it is marketed as a cash back card. But the Ultimate Reward points it earns don’t have to be redeemed for 1 cent each, as most card advertisements lead you to believe. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer the 50k Ink Business Cash Ultimate Rewards to one of those accounts to turn them into the kind of Ultimate Rewards earned by the respective account that are transferrable to nine airline or three hotel loyalty programs for outsized value on international/premium cabin award flights and expensive hotel rooms.

Alternatively, moving them to your Sapphire Reserve card also means you can redeem the points for 1.5 cents each on cash flights through the Chase travel portal, which is often the better deal (compared to turning them into airline miles) for domestic flights.

Category bonuses on this card are lucrative as well:

• 5 Ultimate Reward points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services.
• 2 Ultimate Reward points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants

And you get all of this for no annual fee, ever. Just don’t charge foreign purchases on it as you’ll get hit with fees.

If you have a Sapphire Reserve, Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred, then I highly recommend scooping up this card for its earning potential with that 5x category bonus points in business specific expenses. Even if you don’t have one of those other Chase cards, 5x points redeemed as 5 cents cash back from office supplies, cell phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services is a fantastic return.

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card offers a sign up bonus of $900 cash back for spending $6000 within three months of account opening.

Just like the Ink Business Cash, however, if you also hold a Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred, then you can transfer those Ultimate Rewards earned by the Ink Business Unlimited to your other Chase account and they magically turn into the kind of Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred to airline loyalty programs, increasing their value dramatically.

What’s also pretty appealing about this card, which is the business counterpart to the Chase Freedom Unlimited® consumer card, is that it will earn 1.5 points on ALL purchases with no cap. That’s a great return (especially if you can transfer those Ultimate Rewards to a more valuable account) for no annual fee.  This card charges foreign transaction fees so it won’t be a good option to use when traveling.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards after spending $8,000 in the first three months.

Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to United, British Airways, Singapore, Korean, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and more.

The Ink Preferred earns 3x points on travel; shipping; internet, cable, and phone services; and search engine or social network advertising (on the first $150,000 spent annually), and 1x points on everything else.

You’ll also get up to $600 in coverage per claim in cell phone protection against theft or damage for you and your employees, as long as you pay that cell’s bill with the Ink Preferred.

This business card offers solid benefits and return on spending as a stand-alone card and allows you to earn a lot of Ultimate Rewards points quickly if you can meet the minimum spend requirement.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 50,000 Ultimate Rewards after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Points earned by the Sapphire Reserve transfer to all the same airline and hotel partners as the Sapphire Preferred. You can also redeem them for 1.5 cents each towards normal cash flights, which can be a better deal than redeeming miles within the United States.

This premium credit card comes with lots of lucrative benefits to offset the annual fee:

• $300 travel credit each cardmember year (not calendar year)
• $100 credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSAPre √ every four years
• Priority Pass Select membership, which grants access to over 1,200 lounges around the world and guest access for two fellow travelers
• A year of free Lyft Pink membership (15% off rides, priority airport pickups, etc)

The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x Ultimate Rewards on travel purchases, which kicks in after you’ve earned the $300 travel credit. You’ll also earn 3x at restaurants. Travel and restaurants are broad categories and include flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, tolls, parking, rideshare services, taxis, restaurants, bars, fast food, and night clubs.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is ideally paired with the Southwest Business like the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card to earn Companion Pass for almost 2 full years, and timing to do so is about perfect at the moment.

The welcome bonus on this card is identical to that of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. Each product has a different annual fee, and a few different perks. So spend time breaking down each card’s benefits to decide which is the one for you.

Be aware though that Chase recently changed their rules to prevent anyone from getting two personal Southwest card bonuses in less than 24 months.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is ideally paired with the Southwest Business like the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card to earn Companion Pass for almost 2 full years, and timing to do so is about perfect at the moment.

The welcome bonus on this card is identical to that of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. Each product has a different annual fee, and a few different perks. So spend time breaking down each card’s benefits to decide which is the one for you.

Be aware though that Chase recently changed their rules to prevent anyone from getting two personal Southwest card bonuses in less than 24 months.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is ideally paired with the Southwest Business like the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card to earn Companion Pass for almost 2 full years, and timing to do so is about perfect at the moment.

The welcome bonus on this card is identical to that of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card. Each product has a different annual fee, and a few different perks. So spend time breaking down each card’s benefits to decide which is the one for you.

Be aware though that Chase recently changed their rules to prevent anyone from getting two personal Southwest card bonuses in less than 24 months.

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a terrific new card from Chase. It replaces the previously offered Chase Freedom Card (no longer available for new applicants), but offers better bonus categories:

• 5% on bonus quarterly categories. Similar to the old Freedom, cardmembers will have to activate 5% back each quarter to receive 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases on bonus categories
• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3% cash back on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
• 3% cash back at drugstores

The card would still earn 1% cashback on everything else.

Keep in mind that you can combine these points with other Chase Ultimate Rewards to be used with transfer partners and booking travel through the Chase portal.

Chase has made significant improvements to it’s no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® card over the last few months, causing it to be a more serious contender for space in your wallet.

This card earns a $200 bonus in the form of 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $500 in the first 3 months of card membership.

First, they introduced a new signup promotion for cardmembers – earns 5x Ultimate Rewards points on grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.

Then, they added bonus categories to the previously universal 1.5% earning card:

• 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3x on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
• 3x at drugstores
• 1.5x on everything else.

The current offer for the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card is for 140,000 bonus points. This is slightly down from the all-time high offer on this card, but still a good move.

Don’t know what IHG is? You’re not alone. Unlike Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt, you have probably never seen an “IHG Hotel” along the side of the road. IHG hotels include Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites, and more. There are more than 5,000 of them to choose from worldwide, so they have a fantastic portfolio of diverse properties located around the world.

Generally, IHG points and redemptions are better suited outside of the US where IHG has better hotel offerings than here in the U.S., but you can have some good redemptions domestically as well.

Many IHG properties go for as little as 10,000 points per night, with their high end properties pricing out around 80,000 points per night.

The bonus on the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is the highest bonus I can ever recall seeing on a Southwest branded credit card.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is ideally paired with a Southwest personal card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card to earn the Companion Pass for almost 2 full years, and timing to do so is about perfect at the moment.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card is subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, but you are not excluded from also opening a Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card is an excellent choice for business owners that may regularly fly Southwest.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card is ideally paired with a Southwest personal card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card or Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card to earn the Companion Pass for almost 2 full years, and timing to do so is about perfect at the moment.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards^®Premier Business Credit Card  is subject to Chase’s 5/24 rule, but you are not excluded from also opening a Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Performance Business Credit Card.

The signup bonus on the The World of Hyatt Credit Card was just downgraded recently by requiring a higher minimum spend.

But even with the increased spending requirement, 60,000 World of Hyatt points is enough to earn you two free nights at some of the best Hyatt properties in the world.

What really makes this card earn a long-term slot in your wallet is the annual free night certificate, which is good for a category 1-4 Hyatt property anywhere in the world. This perk alone can easily save you hundreds of dollars.

The signup bonus on the American Express Gold Card is the highest public offer we’ve seen for quite some time.

If you’re a heavy spender at U.S. Supermarkets or Restaurants worldwide, the Amex Gold will help you earn a lot of points fast as it earns 4x points on these categories.

The Amex Gold also comes with an annual dining credit worth up to $120 (enrollment required). When you dine at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations you can earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card.

A newly announced benefit of this card is the ability to earn up to $120 in annual Uber Cash (enrollment required). With this perk, you’ll earn up to $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.

These 2 benefits alone almost offset the entire $250 annual fee.

The Amex Gold also has a baggage insurance benefit. If your luggage is lost, stolen or damaged during travel via a common carrier, and you purchased your ticket for this trip with your Amex Gold Card, you can be eligible for up to $1,250 in coverage for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage (enrollment required).

The Citi Premier Card comes with a limited-time offer of 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

That’s the highest bonus this card has ever offered. Points are the same as those earned by the Prestige, transferrable to a variety of airline loyalty programs that span all three alliances. Points are also redeemable for 1.25 cents each on any airline’s cash tickets (bonus is worth $1,000 redeeming this way).

Category bonuses include a stellar 3 ThankYou Points per dollar spent on travel and gas purchases, and 2 ThankYou Points per dollar spent on restaurant and entertainment purchases.

For a card with an annual fee of just $95 (that is waived the first year), that’s a valuable benefits package. You can also use this card abroad or on foreign purchases and no foreign transaction fees are collected.

The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the most well known high-annual fee card that comes with a slew of perks and benefits.

The current offer of 100,000 Membership Rewards after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months can be transferred to 17 airline and 3 hotel partners or redeemed to book travel directly with American Express for a minimum of $750 of travel. You’ll get the most value by transferring to airline partners.

The card has a $695 annual fee. But it comes with huge benefits like up to $200 in airline fee credits (enrollment required), up to $200 in hotel credits (enrollment required), up to $240 in digital entertainment credits (enrollment required), up to $300 in Equinox credits (enrollment required), and the up to $179 CLEAR® Credit (enrollment required), a 5x category bonus for purchases directly from airlines, a $100 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit (enrollment required), Centurion Lounge Access (enrollment required), and much more. For more info on setting up and maximizing the benefits, see Get the Most Out of Your Platinum Card.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card sports a respectable welcome bonus of 130,000 points.

If you frequently stay at Hilton properties, you can earn Hilton points fast with the 12x on all Hilton spend. It also comes with complimentary Hilton Gold Status.

Don’t fall for the big signup bonus alone. 130,000 Hilton points doesn’t go as far as you might think. But 130,000 Hilton points spent strategically can offer a great redemption.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the top business cards that exists.

For starters, the Business Platinum earns American Express Membership Rewards, which are incredibly valuable because of their ability to be transferred to 17 airline partners and 3 hotel partners or use to book with American Express Travel^®.

The spend required to earn the bonus on this card is one of the highest on the market. But a number of business owners can benefit strongly from the 5x earned on travel booked directly on AmexTravel.com.

Business Platinum cardholders can also get 35% of their points back by booking a first or business class flight, or any flight with the selected airline, up to 500k points back each year (enrollment required).

Business Platinum cardholders also get complimentary access to the Amex Centurion Lounges, which are some of the best airport lounges in the US (enrollment required).

Cardholders also receive Gold status with Marriott and Hilton (enrollment required).

And lastly, American Express has upgraded this card to a new metal version. Not exactly a travel perk, but it certainly beats a plastic card.

The AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard is a great card for business owners who love to earn American Airlines miles. With it’s low spending requirement, you’ll have a nice stash of AA miles in your account in no time.

As has come to be standard on so many airline cards, this card offers familiar perks such as a free checked bag, priority boarding for the cardholder and up to 4 companions. It even offers 25% in-flight savings.

The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® is a great card for business owners who love to earn American Airlines miles. If you’re under 5/24, this is a fantastic card to add to your wallet for valuable AA miles.

This card offers familiar perks such as a free checked bag, priority boarding for the cardholder and up to 4 companions. It even offers 25% in-flight savings.

You’re eligible for this card even if you also are a cardholder of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®, or any of the AA cards issued by Barclays.

The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is a great card for those who love to earn American Airlines miles. If you’re over 5/24, this is a fantastic card to add to your wallet for valuable AA miles.

If you’re under 5/24, consider grabbing the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®  instead to not take up a 5/24 slot.

This card offers familiar perks such as a free checked bag, priority boarding for the cardholder. It even offers 25% in-flight savings.

You’re eligible for this card even if you also are a cardholder of the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® Elite™ Mastercard®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®, or any of the AA cards issued by Barclays.

The AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard is a great card for individuals who love to earn American Airlines miles and are over 5/24. With its low spending requirement, you’ll have a nice stash of AA miles in your account in no time.

As has come to be standard on so many airline cards, this card offers familiar perks such as a free checked bag, priority boarding for the cardholder and up to 4 companions. It even offers 25% in-flight savings.