Best general purpose reward card - Revision history

Editor: /* The best general purpose reward card (for most people) */

2021-08-12T03:25:10Z

‎The best general purpose reward card (for most people)

Editor: /* The best general purpose reward card (for most people) */

2021-08-12T03:19:01Z

‎The best general purpose reward card (for most people)

Editor: /* The best general purpose reward card (for most people) */

2021-08-12T03:13:34Z

‎The best general purpose reward card (for most people)

Editor: /* Advanced options */

2021-07-20T18:53:34Z

‎Advanced options

Editor at 22:07, 2 July 2021

2021-07-02T22:07:03Z

Editor: /* Great cashback cards */

2021-07-02T22:06:24Z

‎Great cashback cards

Editor at 22:05, 2 July 2021

2021-07-02T22:05:56Z

Show changes

Editor: /* Great cashback cards */

2021-06-25T23:52:21Z

‎Great cashback cards

Editor: /* Great cashback cards */

2021-06-25T23:50:36Z

‎Great cashback cards

Editor: /* Advanced options */

2021-06-25T23:49:42Z

‎Advanced options

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 </ul>
-The Freedom Unlimited Card has no annual fee. However, the Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee is a whopping $550, and you need to have it, or the Sapphire or Ink Preferred Card, in order to get good value from the points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited Card.
+The Freedom Unlimited Card has no annual fee. However, the Sapphire Reserve’s annual fee is a whopping $550, and you need to have it, or the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred Card, in order to get good value from the points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited Card.
 This isn’t as bad as it first appears. The Sapphire Reserve provides an automatic $300 travel credit. That means that the first $300 you spend on travel each year is automatically taken off your credit card bill.  This drops the total out-of-pocket cost to $250 per year. They also have a changing set of other credits, such as $60 per calendar year Door Dash credit, that can help offset the annual fee.  For most of our readers, airport lounge access, high reward rates, and primary rental car insurance are worth it.
-If you don't value the airport lounge benefit and won't be spending very much on travel, you can always get the {{Card|SapphirePreferred|only}}, instead of the Sapphire Reserve. Its annual fee is only $95. You'll only receive 1.25 cents per point when you use your points for offsetting credit card charges or making travel purchases through Chase, but you are likely to want to transfer your points to travel partners anyway, you can still easily take advantage of transferring your points to Hyatt, and you can always temporarily upgrade your card to the Sapphire Reserve at a later time to cash out your points.
+If you don't value the airport lounge benefit and won't be spending very much on travel, you can always get the {{Card|SapphirePreferred|only}}, instead of the Sapphire Reserve. Its annual fee is only $95 and you can offset part of the fee with a $50 hotel credit (that you can only use on likely slightly overpriced rates through the Chase website). You'll only receive 1.25 cents per point (rather than 1.5 cents) when you use your points for offsetting credit card charges or making travel purchases through Chase, but since you are likely to get even more than 1.5 cents in value when you transfer your points to Hyatt or other travel partners, you are unlikely to want to take advantage of this option anyways.  And you can always temporarily upgrade your card to the Sapphire Reserve at a later time to cash out your points.
 {{Box|Higher reward rates are possible with bonus categories}}

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 However, if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, you can get 1.5 cents each. This gives you a "cash" rewards rate of 2.25 cents per dollar, higher than most cashback cards.
-But it gets better. Ultimate Rewards points can be converted into a number of different types of airline miles and hotel points, which can then be redeemed for frequent flyer tickets or free hotel nights. For example, you can convert your Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt points to book an award night or to United miles to book a frequent flyer ticket.
+But it gets better. Ultimate Rewards points can be converted into a number of different types of airline miles and hotel points, which can then be redeemed for frequent flyer tickets or free hotel nights. For example, you can convert your Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt points to book a free hotel night night or to United miles to book a frequent flyer ticket.
-At a "base value" of {{Value|UR}} cents per point, you'll be earning {{Value|UR|1.5}} cents per dollar and you can get even more value with particularly good hotel and frequent flyer award redemptions.
+At a "base value" of {{Value|UR}} cents per point, the effective earning rate is  {{Value|UR|1.5}} cents per dollar and you can get even more value with particularly good hotel and frequent flyer award redemptions.
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 </ul>
-<li>'''The Sapphire Reserve Card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar) on travel and restaurant spending'''. Chances are that you spend a significant amount of money in these categories. When you use the Sapphire Reserve Card, you'll be earning some of the best reward rates on this spending.</li>
+<li>'''You'll earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar) on restaurant spending''' made with either card.</li>
-<li>'''The Freedom Unlimited card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points on Drugstore purchases and 5x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|5}} cents per dollar) on travel purchases made on the Chase website'''. You won't want to use the Chase website for many of your travel purchases, but when you do you'll get an extra rewards boost.</li>
+<li>'''You'll earns at least 3x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar) on travel spending with the Sapphire Reserve'''. If you are willing to purchase airfare through Chase, instead of directly with the airline, you'll boost your rewards to 5x Ultimate Rewards points (valued at {{Value|UR|5}} to {{Value|UR|10}} cents per dollar). In the rare cases where you can get a good deal on a hotel or rental car through Chase, you can earn 10x points.</li>
 <li>'''You’ll start out with 50,000 points from the Sapphire Reserve Card, plus 15,000 points from the Freedom Unlimited Card''' (with the standard offers). 65,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be used like $975 in cash, but you'll probably get more value when you use it for a free flight to Europe, 2.5 flights within the United States, or 5 to 8 nights at a downtown Hyatt hotel (in many major cities).</li>

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 {{Card|BlueBiz}}
-<li>'''If you have $100,000 in investment or retirement assets that you would be willing to manage through Merrill Lynch, you can earn 2.625% cash back with the Bank of America Travel and Premium credit cards'''. That level of assets qualifies you for Bank of America "Platinum Honors" status, which gives you a 75% bonus for the rewards you earn from some Bank of America cards. The reward bonus boosts the earning rate from the Travel Rewards and Premium Rewards cards from 1.5 cents per dollar to 2.625 cents per dollar (which is the highest long-term cash back rate available from any card). If you have assets at another broker, you can usually transfer them to a Merrill Edge account and manage them there (at little or no additional cost) and qualify for the higher reward rate.</li>
+<li>'''If you have $100,000 in investment or retirement assets that you would be willing to manage through Merrill Lynch, you can earn 2.625% cash back with the Bank of America Unlimited Cash, Premium, and Travel Rewards cards'''. That level of assets qualifies you for Bank of America "Platinum Honors" status, which gives you a 75% bonus for the rewards you earn from some Bank of America cards. The reward bonus boosts the earning rate from these cards from 1.5 cents per dollar to 2.625 cents per dollar (which is the highest long-term cash back rate available from any card). If you have assets at another broker, you can usually transfer them to a Merrill Edge account and manage them there (at little or no additional cost) and qualify for the higher reward rate.</li>
-{{Card|BOAPremium|guide}}
+{{Card|BOAUnlimited|guide}}
 <li>'''If you are willing to sign up for a new account each year, you can get a continuous 3% cash back with the Discover Miles Card'''. It earns 1.5% cash back, but gives you double the points at the end of your first year. The catch is that you'll have to get a new card ever year (and use up a credit card application slot) to maintain access to this effective 3% rate.</li>

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 *[[#The best general purpose reward card (for most people)|The best general purpose reward card (for most people)]]
 *[[#Who should get a different card?|Who should get a different card?]]
-*[[#Great cashback cards|Great cashback cards]]
+*[[#No-annual-fee 2% cashback cards|No-annual-fee 2% cashback cards]]
 *[[#Advanced options|Advanced options]]
 {{/TOC}}

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 </ul>
-=== Great cashback cards ===
+=== No-annual-fee 2% cashback cards ===
 '''There are several credit cards which give you 2% back on every purchase and don't have an annual fee'''. This are a good option if you want something a little simpler than the Chase Unlimited Combo, you are over 5/24, or you hardly spend any money on your cards each year.

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 A somewhat less obscure option, the '''{{Card|PayPal|only}}''' also doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, but it doesn't provide the same purchase protections or a signup bonus.
-<li>'''If you highly value international business and first-class tickets, a card that earns "transferable points" is always better'''. No cashback or fixed-value card can provide as much value as you can get from redeeming your points for business and first-class frequent flyer tickets. You may not always be able to find award space, and it will require a lot of points for each ticket, but you’ll eventually be able to redeem your points for massive values. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>
+'''If you highly value international business and first-class tickets, a card that earns "transferable points" is always better'''. No cashback or fixed-value card can provide as much value as you can get from redeeming your points for business and first-class frequent flyer tickets. You may not always be able to find award space, and it will require a lot of points for each ticket, but you’ll eventually be able to redeem your points for massive values. Your best options are the Chase Unlimited Combo (described above) or the Citi Double Cash Combo or Amex Blue Business Plus Card (described in our advanced options). {{Link|Transferable Points}}.
 === Advanced options ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:50, 25 June 2021
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	A somewhat less obscure option, the '''{{Card\|PayPal\|only}}''' also doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, but it doesn't provide the same purchase protections or a signup bonus.		A somewhat less obscure option, the '''{{Card\|PayPal\|only}}''' also doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, but it doesn't provide the same purchase protections or a signup bonus.
−
−	<li>'''If you think you might want to invest the time to get more from your points, consider the {{Card\|DoubleCash\|only}}'''. While it has a 3% foreign transaction fee and doesn't provide any type of purchase protections, it does have an advantage over other cards. If you get the Citibank Premier or Citi Prestige Card, you can convert your Double Cash points to ThankYou points and then transfer them to one of over a dozen frequent flyer programs or to the Wyndham hotel program. You can also get the Citi Rewards+ card to get a 10% boost to your redemptions.</li>

	<li>'''If you highly value international business and first-class tickets, a card that earns "transferable points" is always better'''. No cashback or fixed-value card can provide as much value as you can get from redeeming your points for business and first-class frequent flyer tickets. You may not always be able to find award space, and it will require a lot of points for each ticket, but you’ll eventually be able to redeem your points for massive values. {{Link\|Transferable Points}}.</li>		<li>'''If you highly value international business and first-class tickets, a card that earns "transferable points" is always better'''. No cashback or fixed-value card can provide as much value as you can get from redeeming your points for business and first-class frequent flyer tickets. You may not always be able to find award space, and it will require a lot of points for each ticket, but you’ll eventually be able to redeem your points for massive values. {{Link\|Transferable Points}}.</li>

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 === Advanced options ===
-For most people, the best options are either to earn 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Unlimited combo, 2.5% cashback with the Alliant Card, or 2% cashback with one of the no-annual-fee options.
+For most people, the best options are either to earn 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Unlimited combo or 2% cashback with one of the no-annual-fee options.
 '''However, some people can earn even more valuable rewards with other general purpose cards.''' Click to view our guide:
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 {{Card|DiscoverMiles|guide}}
 </ul>
 {{/Box}}