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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred named "Best Credit Card for Flexible Travel Redemption" - Kiplinger's Personal Finance, June 2018
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
- No blackout dates or travel restrictions - as long as there's a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards
Credit Needed:
Excellent, Good
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
- Enjoy a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $500 in travel
- Earn 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Plus earn 10X miles on thousands of hotels, through January 2020; learn more at hotels.com/venture
- Named 'The Best Travel Card' by CNBC, 2018
- Receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®
- Fly any airline, stay at any hotel, anytime; no blackout dates. Plus transfer your miles to over 12 leading travel loyalty programs
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $95 after that
Credit Needed:
Excellent, Good
By Curtis Arnold Editor-in-chief Updated Dec 26, 2018
The card has an exceptionally low interest rate and no annual fee--a rarity for airline cards. Points can be redeemed for travel on any United States based airline with no blackout dates or seating restrictions. If you don't wish to use the points for flights, you also have the option of redeeming them for hotels, cruises, car rental, restaurants, or full vacation packages. Points are based on 1:1.
Top Features
Rewards
1.25 points per net dollar spent
Bonus Rewards
None
Annual Fee
None
CardRatings Editor's Analysis: Pros & Cons
- There’s no balance transfer fee with this card, so it’s a great option to have on hand for larger purchase you can’t pay down right away.
- There’s no annual fee on this card, so it’s not a bad one to have on hand in case you need to make that balance transfer at some point.
Simmons Rewards Visa Signature® compared to other travel rewards cards
Card Name
Rewards
Bonus Rewards
Annual Fee
Ratings/Apply
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
$95
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
50,000 Miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
$0 intro for first year; $95 after that