People always want to know about our top three credit card recommendations. We’ve talked about our favorite business card but let’s just talk personal cards today. Here you go!

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred

It comes as no surprise to many of you that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is our #1 favorite card. It is the perfect beginner card to get into the points and miles game, as it is so easy to use. Here are some reasons we love it:

• Best transfer partners (especially for domestic travel), including United, Southwest, and Hyatt Hotels
• Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage – this is huge as most offer only secondary insurance coverage.
• $50 annual hotel credit on hotels purchased with Ultimate Rewards
• 10% bonus on Ultimate Rewards points earned on your total spending amount when you renew your card and pay the annual fee each year
• 1.25 cents per point when you use Ultimate Rewards in the Chase travel portal

 

 

The primary way that we use our Ultimate Rewards is to transfer to Hyatt because they offer such oversized value for stays at their hotels. We have booked many Hyatt stays, including the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Cancun, and really enjoyed the value we get for our points. We heartily suggest everyone get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card before they reach that Chase 5/24 rule!

 

 

Capital One Venture X Card

Our next two cards are not listed in preference order. We like both of them equally. You do need to keep in mind the Chase 5/24 rule, though. If there are a lot of Chase cards you like, you will want to plan on getting them prior to these cards. However, at least one is worth a 5/24 spot. There are two Capital One cards, but we prefer the Capital One Venture X Card over the Capital One Venture Rewards.

Although this card has a $395 annual fee, it is one of our top three credit card recommendations. The annual fee is reduced to $95 when you count the $300 credit in the Capital One travel portal, which is a benefit of the card. Here are all the reasons we love this card:

• Priority Pass Lounge Access for you and up to 2 guests
• Capital One Lounge Access
• Plaza Premium Lounge Access
• Up to $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA Precheck,
• Hertz President’s Circle status
• Primary car rental coverage
• Travel purchase eraser feature
• Read more here

 

 

Next only to the American Express Platinum card, this is the best card to get if you want airport lounge access.  The Capital One lounges (one open in DFW and two being built) are really nice by all reports – I can’t wait to pass through DFW and try that one out. Read Jess’ day at the lounge here.

 

 

Citi Premier Card

Our last suggestion is the Citi Premier Card which has a usual signup bonus of 60K. We have written countless articles on how you can use this card, and honestly, until we researched it further, it was under our radar. Now, we realize what a really great card this is for travel to Europe, Hawaii, Disneyland tickets, and so much more! It also is a great everyday spend card because it earns 3x per dollar spent on things we spend the most on, like:

• Restaurants
• Supermarkets
• Gas stations
• Airfare
• Hotels

Here are some other reasons we recommend this card:

• Low annual fee of $95
• Transfers to Wyndham hotels so can be used on Vacasa Vacation Rentals
• Use to pay your mortgage with Plastiq

 

 

One important thing to note is that both Citi Premier and Capital One cards are a little harder to be approved for. Even with a good credit card score, you could get a denial. It took me three times to get a Capital One card, and I had a score over 800 and money in their bank – it was very frustrating! It took my husband a couple of times to get the Citi Premier card. If you do get a denial, just move on to another card and come back later. Try not to take it personally! 😜 (I know, it’s hard!)

 

 

Bottom Line

Our top three credit card recommendations are the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Capital One Venture X, and the Citi Premier card. Each card has good transfer partners and can be used to book domestic and international travel.  Each has a place in our wallets.