Underrated Credit Cards

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All information about the American Express® Green Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by MileValue.

It’s easy to get caught up with premium travel credit cards. Whether it’s because of the luxury benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Platinum Card® from American Express, many other travel rewards cards are often overlooked in favor of these premium cards.

While you can easily offset the hefty annual fees on these premium cards, some under-the-radar, hidden gem travel rewards credit cards offer a similar range of perks and high bonus category earning rates for comparatively lower annual fees. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most underrated cards available today.

American Express® Green Card

The American Express Green card is often overshadowed by its fellow Amex cards, such as the American Express® Gold Card and the Platinum Card® from American Express.

However, the Green card comes with excellent value for the frequent traveler or commuter, for a reasonable annual fee of $150 (see rates and fees).

Here’s a breakdown of what the card has to offer:

• 3X points on travel purchases (including flights, hotels, tours, campgrounds, car rentals, cruises, vacation rentals and more)
• 3X points on transit purchases (including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways)
• 3X points on restaurant dining worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US
• 1X point on all other eligible purchases
• $199 annual statement credit toward Clear® Plus membership 
• $100 annual statement credit toward lounge access purchased with your Green Card via LoungeBuddy. Enrollment required.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Travel insurance and consumer protections

The ability to earn 3X points on a wide range of travel and transit purchases makes this card ideal for travelers or simply those who frequently commute. Likewise, the fact that the card earns 3X points on worldwide restaurant dining, including takeout and delivery in the U.S., gives you an easy opportunity to earn additional points on spending.

For the frequent traveler who wants to benefit from expedited security in airport queues, the annual $199 credit toward Clear Plus membership is a huge value. This statement credit will reimburse the whole membership fee, offsetting the annual fee on the card by $49.

Similarly, although complimentary Priority Pass Select membership isn’t included, the Green card gives you a $100 statement credit toward lounge access purchased through LoungeBuddy. You can expect this statement credit to cover the cost of between one to two lounge visits, depending on the specific lounge’s pricing. When combined with the Clear Plus membership credit, this credit offsets the annual fee by a total of $149.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

With a $0 annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a simple and competitive cashback card.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers the following:

• 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
• 3% on dining, inclusive of eligible takeout and delivery services, as well as dining at restaurants 
• 3% on drugstore purchases
• 1.5% on all other purchases
• 5% cash back at gas stations and grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) for the first 12 months after opening your account or until you reach a total expenditure of $12,000

The Freedom Unlimited is one of the few cards to offer 3% back on drugstore purchases. Its 1.5% rate on non-bonus category purchases is also a nice feature.

If you already have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can transfer points earned on your Chase Freedom Unlimited® to your Sapphire account for higher value redemptions through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal or via Chase transfer partners.

Bilt Mastercard® 

Paying rent is a significant recurring cost that normally doesn’t allow any point-earning. Most landlords don’t accept credit card payments, and if they do, payment usually comes with a hefty transaction fee that would eliminate the benefit of any points earned.

This is where the Bilt Mastercard® can be of great value.

With the Bilt Rewards Mastercard, you can pay your rent via the Bilt app and earn 1X Bilt Point per dollar in rewards up to 100,000 points on rent per calendar year (applies for one rental property per month (see rewards and benefits)).

By using the Bilt app to pay your rent, you’ll also avoid any transaction fees, which Bilt absorbs for you. You can earn a maximum of 100,000 points from rent payments per calendar year, making this suitable for the majority of tenants. Even if your landlord doesn’t accept credit card payments, Bilt can pay them via check.

If the property you rent belongs to the Bilt Alliance property network, you can opt to have your rental payments reported to the major credit bureaus, allowing you to build your credit history with timely payment.

You can also opt to turn on BiltProtect, which pulls your rental payment funds directly from a linked bank account, meaning your credit utilization ratio won’t increase but you’ll still earn points.

On top of this, the card doubles bonus category earning rates on Rent Day. So on the day you pay your rent, you can earn 6X points on dining, 4X points on travel and 2X points on other purchases.

The only factor to consider is that you need to use your card a minimum of five times during a statement period, otherwise, you’ll lose your points. So if you pay your rent once, that means you still need to charge purchases to your card another four times within the same billing cycle to keep your points.

In summary, the Bilt Rewards Mastercard offers the following:

• 3X points on eligible dining purchases
• 2X points on eligible travel purchases
• 1X point on rental payments paid through the Bilt app (up to a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year)
• Point earning is doubled on the day you pay your rent with 6X points on dining, 4X points on travel and 2X points on other purchases (excluding rent payment category)
• Travel and rental car insurances

Considering this card has a $0 annual fee, earns bonus category spending points, and allows you to earn points and build credit on rental payments, it’s massively underrated as a credit card.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

For loyal Hilton guests who want complimentary access to 1,400+ airport lounges when traveling, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card offers significant value.

The annual fee of $550 (see rates and fees) isn’t cheap, but here’s what the card offers you in return:

• 14X points on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
• 7X points on select travel purchases, such as flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com, as well as car rentals booked directly via certain car rental companies
• 7X on dining at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• 3X on all other eligible purchases
• $200 semi-annual Hilton Resort statement credit
• $250 annual statement credit for incidental fees charged to your Hilton Aspire card at one qualifying airline
• $100 credit for qualifying charges at participating Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts properties (minimum stay of two nights required) when you pay with your card at hiltonhonorsaspirecard.com
• Complimentary Hilton Diamond status
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, giving you and up to two guests unlimited lounge visits
• Annual Hilton free night reward

The combined value of statement credits immediately offsets the annual fee by $150.

The card also comes with a lucrative welcome bonus, in the range of roughly 175,000 points, which has an estimated current value of more than double the annual fee.

Add to this complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, with an equivalent value of at least $469, as well as complimentary Hilton Diamond Status and the annual free night reward, and the annual fee begins to look small.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card

The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers the following:

• $100 statement credit for qualifying airline incidental costs
• Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $78 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® application fee
• Earn 25% to 75% more points on every purchase, as a Preferred Rewards member, depending on your tier
• No foreign transaction fees
• 2X points on travel purchases
• 2X points on dining purchases
• 1.5X points on all other eligible purchases
• Point redemption flexibility: redeem for cash back in your Bank of America® checking or savings accounts, as a statement credit to your balance, for credit to eligible Merrill® accounts such as 529 accounts, or for purchases and gift cards at the Bank of America Travel Center
• Travel and purchase protections
• Access to Visa Signature® Luxury Hotel Collection benefits

At first glance, the card earns modest bonus category spending rates, in addition to a total of $200 in travel related annual statement credits.

However, the hidden gem of this card is the Preferred Rewards program.

As a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn between 25% to 75% more points on every purchase, making it extremely lucrative for travel, dining and everyday purchases.

To be eligible, you need to open a Bank of America checking account, as well as have a three-month average combined balance of $20,000 across your Bank of America deposit and/or Merrill investment accounts.

The Preferred Rewards program has the following membership tiers and boosted bonus category earning rates depending on the monetary value of your three-month average combined balance:

	Travel & Dining Purchases	Other Eligible Purchases
Normal cardholder	2X points	1.5X points
Gold ($20,000 to $50,000)	2.5X points	1.875X points
Platinum ($50,000 to $100,000)	3X points	2.25X points
Platinum Honors ($100,000 to $1,000,000)	3.5X points	2.625X points
Diamond ($1,000,000 to $10,000,000)	3.5X points	2.625X points

To put that in perspective, if you can hold a combined average monthly balance between $50,000 to $100,000, for example, you can earn a competitive base rate of 2.25X points on all other purchases.

Aside from this, if you can use the airline incidental statement credit of $100, you’ll offset the annual fee of $95 by $5. And if you’re a Preferred Rewards member, then you effectively have a $0 annual fee card that earns between 2.5X to 3.5X points on travel and dining, and between 1.875X and 2.625X points on all other purchases.

Of course, the Preferred Rewards program requires a significant investment of funds in a bank balance, involving an opportunity cost. However, if you can make this work for you–for example, by rolling an existing 401(k) into a Merrill retirement account–then the card allows you to diversify your points and offset everyday expenditure.

PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® Card

The PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® card is an under-the-radar lucrative travel rewards credit card.

It has an annual fee of $95, which can be waived if you meet certain conditions.

Here’s what the card has on offer:

• 3X points on travel purchases (4X points for PenFed Honors Advantage members)
• 1.5X points on all other purchases
• $100 Annual domestic air ancillary travel statement credit
• Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck application fee
• No foreign transaction fees
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership

To waive the annual fee, you’ll need to be a member of the PenFed Honors Advantage Program. There are two ways to qualify for the PenFed Honors Advantage Program.

You’ll either need to be active status in the U.S. military, a member of the Reserves or National Guard, or honorably discharged or retired from U.S. military service. Or, you need to open an Access America Checking or Free Checking account with PenFed, and maintain a daily minimum balance of $500 (or set up monthly direct deposits of $500).

If you can qualify for the PenFed Honors Advantage Program, then you’ve hit the sweet spot of this card.

You’ll have access to a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, with an equivalent value of $469, while paying $0 in annual fees.

You’ll also have $200 worth of travel-related statement credits, as well as earn 4X points on travel purchases and 1.5X points on all other purchases.

Practically speaking, you get $669 back in benefits (Priority Pass Select membership plus statement credits) without paying any annual fees, which is what makes this card a hidden gem–as long as you can qualify for the PenFed Honors Advantage Program.

And even if you don’t qualify for the program, you’ll still offset the annual fee by $574 if you maximize its perks.

Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card

The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus card offers excellent value for a relatively low annual fee of $75. If you’re a fan of Wyndham Resorts, or are willing to start using them during your travels, this card could be of great benefit to you.

Here’s a breakdown of what the card offers:

• 6X points on purchases made at Hotels by Wyndham
• 6X points on gas purchases
• 4X points on dining and grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart)
• 1X point on all other purchases (excluding Wyndham Timeshare resort down payments)
• Receive 7,500 bonus points each anniversary year–enough for one free night 
• Complimentary Wyndham Rewards Platinum status
• No foreign transaction fees
• 10% points discount for booking gofree® Wyndham award stays

While there’s no free night award included, the annual bonus of 7,500 points can get you a free one night stay in one of Wyndham’s low-tier properties. Likewise, earning the welcome bonus could get you the equivalent value of a few free nights.

Similarly, complimentary Wyndham Rewards Platinum status is an impressive perk that gives you benefits such as late checkout and early check-in. Without the card, you’d have to stay a minimum of 15 qualifying nights at Wyndham properties to earn this status.

Overall, if you’re a frequent guest at Wyndham Resorts, this card easily gives you a greater return than what you’ll pay in annual fees.

U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card

When it comes to luxury travel rewards credit cards, the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card is often overlooked.

While its annual fee of $400 is not cheap, what it offers in return more than offsets the cost.

Here’s a summary of what the card offers:

• 5X points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through the Altitude Rewards Center
• 3X points on eligible travel purchases and mobile wallet spending on Apple Pay®, Google Pay™ and Samsung Pay
• 1X point on all other eligible purchases
• $325 in annual credits for eligible travel purchases and dining, takeout and restaurant delivery purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, giving you up to eight free annual visits
• Access to benefits of the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection
• Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® application fee

The combined value of statement credits already puts you $25 ahead of the annual fee. Combine this with complimentary Priority Pass Select membership and you can offset the annual fee significantly.

With airport lounge access and Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection member benefits, this card is a real hidden gem. 

The only drawback of the U.S. Bank points currency is that points can’t be transferred to airline or hotel loyalty schemes for redemption. However, on the plus side, points can be redeemed at a value of 1.5 cents per point when spent on travel via the U.S. Bank online portal.

Other Underrated Cards 

The cards mentioned above are some of the most underrated cards that offer a fairly wide variety of benefits. However, there are still some other underrated cards worth mentioning for the specific benefits they offer.

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card is the first card worth mentioning.

Its welcome offer includes thousands of bonus miles plus its lucrative Companion Fare. On top of this, as long as you charge $6,000 or more in expenses on the card per year, you’ll receive an additional Companion Fare. This perk is massively underrated, as it reduces the cost of your companion’s ticket to just $99 plus $23 in taxes and fees.

On top of this, cardholders who purchase their airfare with their card get one free checked bag plus priority boarding for themselves plus up to six guests traveling on the same reservation. For an annual fee of $95, this card packs a lot of value.

The next underrated card is the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card. 

This is one of the only $0 annual fee cards that boasts a bonus category earning rate of 4X points on dining, restaurant delivery and takeout. It also earns 2X points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services, gas stations and EV charging stations.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is another under-the-radar card that earns a simple 2% cashback on all purchases, without any categories to track or quarterly rotations. With a $0 annual fee, this is a great card to keep in your wallet to help you offset the cost of your monthly expenditure.

Final Thoughts

There’s a wide range of underrated cards waiting for you out there. Behind the publicity of big-name premium travel rewards credit cards, you can find some sweet deals.

If you’re looking for a $0 annual fee card, the Wells Fargo Active Cash card, U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature card and Bilt Rewards Mastercard are all great choices, depending on your travel goals and spending habits.

When it comes to hotel cards that pack luxury benefits and status perks, the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card are two excellent options, depending on which hotels you visit the most.

And if you’re looking for some premium travel perks, without exorbitant annual fees, the American Express Green card, Bank of America Premium Rewards card, PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature card and the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card are all solid options.