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Travel Cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual fee: $95
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: One of the best starting points into the travel rewards world. You have flexible points, strong multipliers, a reasonable annual fee, and tons of optionality (whether team cash back or travel).
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American Express® Gold Card
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of account opening. Terms apply. Rates & Fees
Annual fee: $250
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: One of the strongest cards that's great for people who spend a lot on dining, U.S. supermarkets, and flights booked directly. The annual fee is offset with a monthly dining credit and monthly Uber Cash.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 miles after $4,000 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $395
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: Flagship travel card and offers lounge access through Priority Pass and Capital One lounges. You earn competitive multipliers on hotels, rental cars, and flights booked through Capital One Travel and 2x on everything else. The annual fee is offset through a $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles. This is my favorite travel card.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of account opening. Terms apply. Rates & Fees
Annual fee: $695
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: Despite a hefty annual fee, you get up to $1,574 in credits that help offset this. The card is great for people who benefit from lounge access, travel protections, and access to programs like Fine Hotels & Resorts.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Annual fee: $550
Cal's take: A flagship travel card with strong multipliers, Priority Pass, and travel insurances. The annual fee of $550 is offset by a $300 travel credit and 50% more value for travel and Pay Yourself Back.
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Cash Back Cards
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy, on up to $20,000 spent in the first year
Annual fee: $0
Cal's take: The Freedom Unlimited has great multipliers and is a great standalone card or system card (Chase Trifecta). With no annual fee and tons of optionality (cash back or travel since you earn UR) it's an easy pickup.
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Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on the card within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $0
Cal's take: Earner card where you get 3% on dining, grocery stores, entertainment, and popular streaming. This is one of the few no annual fee cards that also have no foreign transaction fees.
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
Earn a $200 Cash bonus after spending $500 on the card within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $0
Cal's take: a good simple option where you get 1.5% cash back on all your purchases.
SoFi Credit Card
Unlimited 2% back. $50 sign up bonus No Fees! Soft credit pull to qualify. Unlimited 3% cash back on the SoFi travel portal.
Annual fee: $0
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: Flat-rate card with no foreign transaction fees and automatic redemptions into SoFi accounts. I've been using it as my general spend card for the past 4 years.
Business Cards
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Earn 100,000 bonus points after $8,00 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening.
Annual fee: $95
Cal's take: A good option for those with high shipping, advertising (social media and search engine), or travel purchases. Also great for those with large internet, cable, and phone service bills.
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Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $900 bonus cash back after $6,000 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $0
Cal's take: A great catch-all card for "everything else" spend. Despite the marketing, you earn Ultimate Reward (UR) points which can be useful if you have a Sapphire Preferred/Reserve or Ink Preferred.
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Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Earn $900 bonus cash back after $6,000 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening
Annual fee: $0
Cal's take: Ideal for people with high spend at office supply stores or on internet, cable and phone services. Given the flexibility of Ultimate Reward (UR) points, this is one of the best earners cards.
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months of account opening. Terms apply. Rates & Fees
Annual fee: $0
𝗖𝗮𝗹'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: No annual fee option where you get 2x back on everything on up to $50,000 in spend per calendar year. After that, it's 1x back.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.