Top Credit Cards For Travel Rewards I Use Daily

First up is my trusty Capital One Venture card. This is my tried-and-true everyday spend card that doesn’t involve any spending category math. I get 2x miles per dollar spent on every single purchase with this card. Whereas, with most other cards, you only earn a base of 1x points per dollar spent. Specifically, I use this card when I am between welcome offer minimum spends, which I’ll talk about later. With a low annual fee of $95, I can more than justify keeping this card open every year. In theory, I would only need to put $5000 of my everyday expenses that I’m making anyway to earn 10,000 miles, which effectively pays for the annual fee in travel.

I would recommend this card to any traveler who (A) can afford the $95 annual fee today and (B) wants to earn a good amount of travel rewards without having to think.

Next up is the Capital One Venture X card. Technically, my husband has this card, not me. But, honestly, I love it even more than my Venture. In fact, I plan to open this card for myself soon. It has all of the same great benefits of the Capital One Venture, namely 2x miles on every dollar spent. Again, like the Venture, it doesn’t involve any thinking about spending categories. You always get at least 2x per dollar spent on every purchase. Additionally, you get access to the Capital One Lounges, which are some of my favorite airport lounges, as well as Priority Pass lounges. The annual fee is higher at $395 per year, but it is easily offset by the $300 annual travel credit it comes with (I usually use the credit for rental cars) and 10,000 bonus miles every anniversary (which is worth at least $100 in travel).

I would recommend this card to any traveler who (A) can afford the $395 annual fee today, (B) wants to earn a good amount of travel rewards without having to think and (C) wants airport lounge access.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is another travel rewards credit card that I use basically on a daily basis. I always use my Chase Sapphire Preferred when dining out as well as on online grocery orders because it earns 3x per dollar spent in these two spending categories. I Instacart all of my groceries (use code IC7C949 for $10 off your first Instacart order), so this is a huge points earning card for me. It also comes with an annual $50 hotel credit which helps offset the $95 annual fee. Although, one of the most underrated perks of this credit cards, in my opinion, is the $10 monthly DoorDash credit I get every month on non-restaurant orders, which is worth a whopping $120 dollars per year. These credit can be used at grocery stores, retail stores and convenience stores through the DoorDash app. So, once a month, my husband and I go to our local Kwik Trip (best gas station in the Midwest) and grab $10 of fun drinks and/or treats for free.

I would recommend this card to travelers who (A) can afford the $95 annual fee today, (B) want to stay in luxury hotels for free and (C) don’t mind memorizing a couple spending categories (i.e. dining and online groceries) to maximize their points earning.

In addition, I keep my no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited in my wallet as a backup, just-in-case card. While it’s not my go-to card for everyday expenses compared to my Capital One Venture cards or Chase Sapphire Preferred, it earns the Chase Ultimate Rewards that I value so highly. Moreover, by having both the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, I can transfer my Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Chase Sapphire Preferred account to then transfer out to Chase’s transfer partners like Hyatt.

The Chase Freedom Flex is arguably even better than the Chase Freedom Unlimited, as it also has no annual fee and offers more competitive spending categories. So, if you like maximizing spending categories, the Flex could be a better option for you. The only reason I have the Unlimited is because the Unlimited had an elevated welcome offer last year when I opened it. I’m sure I’ll open the Flex sometime in the future as well.

I would recommend these cards to travelers who (A) want a flexible cash back card that can also be redeemed for travel and (B) wants a no annual fee card.