If you enjoy the great outdoors, then you know how costly obtaining all of the necessary gear is to keep you safe and comfortable during your adventures.
Luckily, you can save a lot with the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard. In this article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard.
REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard intro
Card highlights
$100 gift card welcome bonus
5X at REI
2X on mobile wallet purchases
Rewards stack with dividends
Transactions result in donations to protect the outdoors
No annual fee
Welcome Bonus
Because this is a co-branded retail store credit card, you typically don’t expect much in terms of a welcome bonus.
But the credit card actually has a pretty decent offer and can earn you something like a $100 REI gift card after you make a purchase within 60 days.
For a no annual fee card and for only having to make a single purchase, that is not a bad bonus.
It could take around 6 to 8 weeks after your purchase for the gift card to be sent to you and it will be sent to the primary applicant’s address.
Note that this offer is only available to new cardholders as the terms and conditions state:
Existing and previous REI Co-op World Mastercard cardmembers are not eligible for this offer.
Bonus categories
5% back on REI
2% back on mobile wallet purchases
1% back on all other purchases
5% back on REI
Anytime you can earn 5% back on a given category, that is a strong return in value. In this case, if you regularly are purchasing items from REI, that 5% can add up pretty quickly.
Also, the good news is that you are not restricted on your 5% back. You can earn the 5% back on discount items, REI gift cards, services, and REI adventure travel-invoiced trip payments.
2% back on mobile wallet purchases
With the REI MasterCard you can earn 2% back using mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, LG Pay, and Samsung pay. It should also work with other payment technologies like Fitbit pay and Garmin Pay.
Getting 2% back on mobile wallet purchases is okay.
There are certainly more competitive options out there but this is pretty good for a no annual fee credit card.
(If you use your mobile wallet at REI, you will earn 5%.)
1% back on all other purchases
You will also receive one percent back on all purchases.
A great supplement to the REI card
While these are decent bonus categories, if you want to maximize credit card rewards for use at REI my recommendation would be to pick up an American Express card that earns great rewards in other categories and then redeem your points for REI gift cards.
For example, you could get the American Express Gold Card which earns 4X at US supermarkets on up to $25,000 in spend every calendar year and also earns 4X on dining.
Because you can redeem Membership Rewards for REI gift cards at a one to one ratio this would amount to 4% back at REI for those categories which is fantastic.
Moreover, if you get a card like the Gold Card when it comes with a strong welcome bonus you could be getting up to $600 in gift cards with REI.
Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!
Rewards
Here is the tricky part about the rewards for this credit card.
Unlike other credit cards that typically issue your rewards on a monthly basis, you only receive your rewards once a year.
These rewards are paid at the same time that you receive your dividend rewards. (I’ll explain the dividend rewards below.)
REI dividend rewards
Each March, REI Co-op members receive their annual dividend.
The annual dividend consist of two separate dividends.
The first is your member dividend which is typically 10% back on your eligible REI purchases for the past year.
The second is all of your rewards from purchases that you made with your REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard.
Exclusions
The dividends are a little bit more limited than your 5% cashback earnings because you do not earn dividends on purchases that include sale items, discounted items, REI adventures trips, classes, events, sales tax, postage and the REI membership fee.
However, with the REI credit card you can still earn 5% back on these.
So this is great because you’re 5% earnings stack on top of the 10% back which means that for some of your purchases, you can net 15% back which is really good.
Redeeming awards
You can redeem your dividend rewards at an REI store or online. You can also book REI adventures.
If you would like to receive your dividends in cash you can do so from July 1 through January 3 of the following year.
Basically, you will bring your annual dividend notice to the REI store and ask to get your remaining balance in cash.
You might need to call ahead sometimes because a lot of the retail stores have limited cash on hand. If they don’t have the cash, they might issue you a check.
Speaking of a check, if you would like them to issue your annual dividend in a check you can also submit the online form.
Checks will only be issued for dividend balances greater than or equal to $25 at time of check issuance and checks are only sent to members from July 1 through Jan. 3.
Expiration
Your annual dividend rewards expire on January 3 which is just under two years after they are issued. So if you received the dividends in March 2021, it will expire January 3, 2023.
If your rewards are going to expire, REI will send you a check but that will change in 2024.
Starting in January 2024, REI will no longer automatically mail a check when card rewards expire.
This change will apply for the first time to credit card rewards earned in 2021, issued in the 2022 Annual Dividend, and that expire in 2024.
Adventure benefits
If you redeem your annual dividends for REI adventure travel you can get a 50% discount from the invoice cost of your trip.
You will need to make your trip payment over the phone by calling 800-622-2236 using your REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard.
Whatever amount you apply from your annual dividend, an additional amount equal to 50% of the applied dividends will be applied as a discount.
This means that if you applied $200 worth of dividends then you would receive a $100 discount on the cost of your trip.
So this is a fantastic way to save on REI adventure travel with the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard.
Donations
Something that is very cool about this credit card is that whenever you make a purchase using your card, REI donates to nonprofit partner projects.
For example, in the past they donated $0.10 per REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard purchase transaction made to the REI Foundation.
That is a 501(c)(3) private charity that aims to: “rewild cities and keep wild places wild; connect underrepresented groups to the outdoors; demonstrate nature’s health benefits; and advance climate action.”
Past projects include rerouting of summit trails on Colorado fourteeners to alleviate habitat degradation and river clean-ups in Michigan’s Huron-Manistee National Forests.
REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard FAQs
Who issues the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard?
U.S. Bank is the issuer of the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard.
Is the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard worth it?
The REI MasterCard is worth it if you spend a lot at REI as you can save 5% on your purchases and take advantage of other benefits.
Does the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard have an annual fee?
No, there is no annual fee.
How much do you save with the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard?
You can save 5% on all your purchases and also earn a gift card as a welcome bonus, sometimes up to $100.
What are the REI Co-op World Elite Mastercard bonus categories?
5% back on REI 2% back on mobile wallet purchases 1% back on all other purchases
When do I receive my REI MasterCard rewards?
You will receive your rewards annually in March whenever you receive your annual dividends.
Can I redeem my REI MasterCard rewards for cash?
Yes, you can redeem your rewards for cash by going in store.
When do my REI MasterCard rewards expire?
Your rewards all expire just under two years from the date they are issued. If you receive your rewards in March 2021, they will expire January 3, 2023.
Final word
I’m not always the biggest fan of co-branded retail credit cards. But in this case, I really do like the REI credit card. It offers a great way to save more at REI when those dividends roll around and has some other interesting perks to it as well.
I think it is a fantastic card to pair with an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards which can be redeemed for REI gift cards at a rate of one cent per point.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Which American Express Business Card Is Best?
Offers contained within this article maybe expired.
American Express is one of my favorite credit card issuers because they have terrific transfer partners, great customer service, and a host of extremely valuable charge cards and credit cards. In this article, I’m going to review what I think are some of the best Amex Business cards.
Each American Express card below can serve a different purpose for your business. And in some cases, you might even prefer to get two or three cards to cover all of your different needs.
For example, you could use the Blue Business Plus Credit Card to take advantage of 0% APR, the Business Platinum Card for its travel perks, and the American Express Business Gold for its bonus earnings on select categories like advertising.
So don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to one or even two options because it’s not uncommon to pair up some of these cards together for maximum value.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
The Business Platinum Card
The Business Platinum Card is a premium card that comes with a hefty $595 annual fee but it’s loaded with perks and benefits.
It offers the following features:
5X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com
The 100,000 welcome bonus is solid though the spend requirement is a lot at $15,000 in the first 3 months.
There’s not a whole lot to the bonus earning aside from the 1.5X on purchases over $5,000. So if you have purchases that don’t fall into one of the Gold Card bonus categories and they regularly are over $5,000, that is a sign that the Business Platinum Card could be for you.
But the Business Platinum Card is really tailor made for you if you value travel.
If you enjoy quality airport lounge access, then you will love the Business Platinum Card because you will get free Centurion Lounge access, Delta Sky Club access (when flying Delta), and also an annual priority Pass Select membership.
Centurion Lounges are some of the nicest airport lounges you’ll find in the US and it’s definitely a keystone benefit of the Platinum Card. Priority Pass lounges aren’t always the most amazing lounges but there are some pretty great Priority Pass lounges around, especially if you travel internationally.
The 35% airline bonus means Business Platinum Card Members will receive 3.5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with their selected qualifying airline.
This amounts to a redemption rate of 1.54 cents per point which is better than the 1.5 cents per point you get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve!
This benefit is huge for people who don’t or can’t transfer points to airlines and want to just book their tickets through American Express Travel (which is not subject to inventory controls, black-out dates, etc.).
So for the business traveler who wants a “no non-sense” way of using points for travel, it really is hard to beat the Business Platinum Card — especially since you can earn 5X on your airfare.
The other benefit I really like is the free Gold status with Hilton. That elite status can hook you up with free breakfast, upgrades, and other benefits like late check-out.
The Centurion Lounge at IAH.
American Express Business Gold
The American Express Business Gold stands out with its high bonus earning potential, which covers a lot of categories that businesses will need to make purchases in. With this card, you earn 4X Membership Rewards points on the 2 categories where your business spent the most each billing cycle from the list below:
Airfare purchased directly from airlines
U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
U.S. purchases at gas stations
U.S. purchases at restaurants
U.S. purchases for shipping
4X points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year then earn 1 point per dollar.
The ability to earn 4X on your top two categories gives the American Express Business Gold a prime advantage over competitors.
For one, the 4X is one point higher than the 3X offered by the Chase Ink Business Preferred. And the flexibility is perfect for a business that might shift gears throughout the year with its budget.
Here are a couple of the additional features of the card:
Get 25% points back, after you book a flight using Pay with Points (there is a limitation on your rebate as you will only be able to receive up to 250,000 bonus points per calendar year).
$295 Annual Fee
It will cost you $50 to add an authorized user if you want them to have an American Express Business Gold but the good news is that you can add multiple authorized users for only $50. In addition, you can also add Green Card authorized users for no additional fee.
Blue Business Plus Credit Card
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card is one of my favorite business cards because it offers an easy and convenient way to earn a lot of Membership Rewards and it comes with no annual fee. Here’s what the card features:
2x Membership Rewards points on all purchases up to $50K
No annual fee
0% interest intro period for 12 months
Sometimes this card comes with a 25,000 point welcome bonus but even without the welcome bonus, this card is still a strong contender.
The reason is that this card earns 2X Membership Rewards on every single purchase up to $50,000 each year. That’s a phenomenal return. If you value Membership Rewards at 1.8 cents per point, then that’s a 3.6% return on every purchase.
And did I mention it’s a no annual fee card?
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card also has a 0% interest introduction period that could come in handy if you needed to make some purchases that you couldn’t immediately pay off.
Remember, this card will not report to your personal credit so even if you had high utilization on this card, it wouldn’t affect your credit score. (It also would not affect your 5/24 status).
The drawback is that this is a credit card and not a charge card so if you need to put substantial spend on your card each month, the charge cards might be better options. Note that you can often spend above your credit limit using the “Expanded Buying Power” feature.
Amex Blue Business Cash
While the cards above earn Membership Rewards, many business owners simply want to put cash back into their pocket. For those people, the Amex Blue Business Cash Card might be a better choice. That card earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.
So it is just like the Blue Business Plus Credit Card except it earns cashback and not Membership Rewards. This means that this card would be better for somebody who wants straightforward rewards and does not care to transfer points and mess around with all of that.
If you don’t want to have to “think” about your rewards this is a terrific option.
This card also comes with no annual fee.
But note that this card does come with foreign transaction fees, so you probably don’t want to use this card on international trips since you’ll have to pay foreign transaction fees.
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a perfect business credit card for a business traveler who prefers the Hilton brand. Hilton has a pretty massive footprint so you will not struggle to find Hilton properties in most major cities across the US and internationally.
This Hilton card currently comes with a pretty impressive bonus of 150,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months. With that many points, you could cover one night at a top hotel like the Conrad Maldives or you could stretch your points and stay a couple of nights at a pretty decent hotel.
Hilton cards are known for their high bonus earning rates and this card does not disappoint with 12X at Hilton properties and 6X on select business and travel purchases. You’ll also earn 3X on all other eligible purchases.
My favorite benefit of this card is that you get free Hilton Gold status which is a middle tier status that provides you with free breakfast and can also get you other perks like late check out and even upgrades.
If you spend $15,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you can also earn a free weekend night which can be worth $700. And if you put another $45,000 in purchases on your card in the same calendar year you can earn a second weekend night.
And finally, this card also provides you with Priority Pass which is a lounge membership. (You will be provided with 10 free lounge visits every year.)
Marriott Bonvoy Business Card from American Express
If you are more of a Marriott person then you may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Business Card from American Express.
This card currently comes with a pretty awesome limited one time offer of 75,000 bonus points after you spent $3,000 in the first three months.
You can also earn a $150 statement credit within your first six months for eligible purchases on US advertising.
There is also a special offer to earn Marriott Platinum elite status for one year which will be good from February 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022. That offer ends on January 13, 2021.
Getting Marriott Platinum elite status for one year is an extremely valuable perk. That’s because you can get some really nice perks from Platinum status like free breakfast and lounge access. For some people, getting that perk alone would be enough reason to pick up this card and pay the annual fee.
The bonus earning on this card is pretty good as you can earn a 6X at Marriott properties and also 4X at US restaurants, US gas stations, wireless telephone services, and on US purchases for shipping.
Every year you will receive one free night award after your account anniversary. But you can also earn an additional free night award when you put $60,000 in purchases on your card within the calendar year.
It’s pretty easy to get over $100 in value using a free night award so this is one of those cards where it pays to hold onto it in the long run. Sometimes you might even get issued a retention offer with a reduced annual fee, making this card all the more lucrative.
Amex Plum Card
The Amex Plum card is a great option for someone who might need an extension on the payment every now and again. So if you are working with inventory or dependent on volume of sales, this could be a very fitting option.
It comes with an annual fee of $250 that’s waived the first year and doesn’t currently come with a welcome offer. So why is it so compelling?
It has two unique payment features.
The most useful would be that you can take up to 60 days to pay your entire balance off without interest when you pay the minimum Due by the Payment Due Date.
The card will also give you a 1.5% discount when you pay early so it’s like getting 1.5% back so long as you pay everything off.
I’d personally prefer the Amex options listed above over the Plum Card though if you’re dealing with somewhat unpredictable inventory and sales, it could make sense to go with a card like this.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
I personally like the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card because it sometimes comes with a high 60,000 point welcome bonus, though the standard public offer is for 40,000 after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.
You can earn 2 miles for every dollar that you spend on Delta and on US advertising, US shipping, and dining so it has some decent bonus categories as well.
You’ll get some great value from this card if you fly Delta because it also offers a first checked bag free along with priority boarding. The annual fee is $99 but it is waived the first year and there are no foreign transaction fees.
If you’re ever in need of Delta SkyMiles but don’t want to invest in an expensive annual fee the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card is perfect.
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card is another Delta business card that can come with a high welcome bonus.
You can find offers up to 70,000 but the standard offer is 45,000 miles + 5,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 within the first three months of account opening.
The bonus earnings on this card make a pretty dramatic step up from the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card as you can earn 3 miles on every dollar spent on Delta. You can also earn 3X on purchases made directly with hotels.
Also, you can earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 50,000 miles per year).
You’ll get many of the same benefits as the Delta Gold card such as free checked baggage and priority boarding but the big difference with the Platinum Delta Sky Miles card is that you can get help earning elite status.
If you regularly fly Delta and could use a little boost with hitting elite status, this card also comes with the ability to earn up to 20,000 additional Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) by spending $50,000 in a calendar year.
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card does have a higher annual fee of $250 but comes with a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new card within your first 3 months so that gets knocked down pretty quickly to $150.
Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card
The Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card is a premium Amex business card for Delta.
You can earn 45,000 miles + 10,000 MQMs from its welcome bonus, earn up to 60,000 additional MQMs via spend, receive priority boarding and first checked bag free on Delta flights, and get to enjoy Delta Sky Club lounge access at select airports.
You can also get 3X on Delta and after you spend $150,000 in a calendar year, you can earn 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases.
Again, this would be a great option for anybody who is a frequent Delta traveler and wants to capitalize on earning MQMs through spend.
This card is also great if you really want great airport lounge access. Not only do you get access to the Sky Clubs, but you also get access to Centurion Lounges when you book your Delta flight with your Reserve Card. If you can swallow the high annual fee of $550, this card can be well worth it.
Delta Sky Club.
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card is great for someone who spends a lot on Amazon or whose business is forced to pay those lovely AWS charges.
The welcome offer may take different forms but you could be looking at something like a $100 amazon.com gift card after getting approved.
With this card, you can choose to earn 5% back on US purchases at Amazonbusiness, AWS, amazon.com, and Whole Foods Market. Or or you can choose to get 90 day terms so that you can pay later.
The 5% back method is definitely the way to go if you want to maximize savings and you can get 5% back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year.
The catch is you have to have an Amazon Prime membership for the 5% back/90 day perk. Otherwise you will just earn 3% back or have 60 days for payment.
You’ll also be able to earn 2% back at US restaurants, US gas stations, and wireless telephone services purchase direct from US providers.
The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card is attractive because it has no annual fee and also no foreign transaction fees.
Business Green Rewards Card
There’s not a lot to say about the Business Green Rewards Card. That’s because it’s a very basic card but it could offer you some value depending on what you’re looking for.
The Business Green Rewards Card has a zero dollar intro annual fee but then a $95 annual fee after that so it is definitely one of the cheaper cards offered by American Express.
If you spend money through Amex Travel (which is where you can book flights and hotels), you’ll be able to earn 2X on every dollar you spend which isn’t bad.
You might be able to find a welcome bonus on this card for something like 15,000 points after you spent $3,000 in the first three months which at least is a little something.
But overall if you are interested in large amounts of ongoing value then I would consider cards like the Platinum and the Gold Card despite them having higher annual fees.
Amex business credit card FAQ
Which American Express business card is best?
The best American Express business card is the one that suits your business needs best.
But generally, the Business Platinum Card and American Express Business Gold are two of the best Amex business cards.
The Gold Card is great for those who can earn bonus points in categories like advertising and the Platinum Card is great for business travelers and other high spenders.
Which Amex business card offers 0% APR?
A great choice for getting 0% APR with an American Express business card is the Blue Business Plus Credit Card.
Which American Express card is best for advertising?
The best Amex business card for advertising is the American Express Business Gold which allows you to earn 4X on advertising on up to $150,000 spent per year.
Which American Express card is best for airlines?
The Business Platinum Card is a great card for airline travel because you can earn 5X on airfare and also redeem your points at over 1.5 cents per point for air travel.
If you like to fly Delta Airlines, there are several Delta cards you can choose from including the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card.
Which American Express card is best for hotels?
The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card from American Express is great for someone interested in staying at Marriott properties and it comes with a free night every year that can easily offset your annual fee.
If you are interested in Hilton then you might look into the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card which comes with automatic Gold status. If you spend $15,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you can also earn a free weekend night.
In addition to that card, the Business Platinum Card also offers automatic Hilton gold status.
Which American Express card is best for cash back?
A great card for cash back is the Amex Blue Business Cash Card which earns a very straightforward 2% cash back on up to $50,000 in purchases every year.
Is the Amazon business card worth it?
The Amazon Prime business card can save you a lot of money if you are a high spender at Amazon or AWS because 5% back on up to $120,000 in spend comes out to $6,000!
What points do American Express business cards earn?
American Express business cards come in many different forms and so you can earn many different types of rewards.
The most valuable type of rewards are Membership Rewards and you can earn those with cards like the Business Platinum Card and American Express Business Gold.
How much does it cost to add an authorized user to an American Express business card?
The amount that it will cost you to add an authorized user (aka employee card) to an American Express business card depends on the type of card.
In some cases, you can add authorized users for free such as adding a Green Card authorized user, but in other cases it will cost you $50 or more.
The Platinum Card has the most expensive authorized user fee at $300.
Can American Express expedite a business card?
American Express can expedite a business card for you upon approval.
Many times they will ask you if you need the card expedited but you can always be proactive and make the request.
In my experience, an expedited business card from American Express will arrive within a couple of business days.
Final word
These are a lot of solid options for those applying for Amex small business credit cards. All of these cards can serve very different goals, though.
Some will serve to earn you valuable Membership Rewards that you can then use to travel with the Amex transfer partners. Others provide you with benefits like access to nice Centurion Lounges or credits toward elite status.
So in the end the best American Express business card depends a lot on your goals, though you can’t really go wrong with most of these.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
The 9 Best Credit Cards for Entrepreneurs and Startups [2020]
Entrepreneurs are in prime position to take advantage of credit card rewards. Many entrepreneurs spend lots of money on categories like travel, advertising, and telecommunications, which means they can quickly rack up a ton of bonus points. In addition, entrepreneurs often have to travel and points can be used to scale down the cost of airfare, hotels, and other small business expenses.
Here are some of the top options if you’re in search of the best credit card for entrepreneurs and startups.
Best Credit Cards for Entrepreneurs and Startups
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
1. The Chase Ink Business Preferred
One of the best business credit cards for advertising and travel.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is one of the best business credit cards for travel and advertising and thus it’s absolutely perfect for entrepreneurs.
The Ink Preferred comes with one of the most valuable sign-up bonuses at 100,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months!
The Ink Preferred earns 3X on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on:
Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable and phone services
Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
These categories are important to many startups, especially travel and advertising purchases. If you’ve been pouring funds into social media advertising campaigns with no bonus rewards, then you should seriously consider this card. 3X on all of those categories will have you earning rewards in a hurry.
You can then transfer those points (called Ultimate Rewards) to several Chase transfer partners. If your startup company requires you to travel around the US you are set because you can transfer points to United Airlines and Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. You can also transfer your points to British Airways, which you can then use to book flights on oneworld partner American Airlines (often for much cheaper award prices).
And then you’re probably going to need to cover hotel stays. The Chase Ink Preferred can transfer points to the best hotel loyalty programs including Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. I personally recommend transferring points to Hyatt for the most value.
The Chase Ink Preferred also comes with two additional perks that are very noteworthy. You’ll get primary rental car insurance when traveling on business so you won’t have to worry about paying extra for coverage (and this can save your monthly premium from rising).
The second perk is that when you use your Chase Ink Preferred to pay your cell phone bill, you’ll get cell phone insurance. You’ll be covered up to $600 per claim in cell phone protection against covered theft or damage for you and your employees listed on your monthly cell phone bill.
One of the best small business credit cards with no annual fee.
The Chase Ink Business Cash is the little brother of the Ink Preferred. This card comes with no annual fee but still packs a heavy punch with a sign-up bonus worth $750 after you spend $7,500 in the first three months.
It also comes with benefits like primary rental car coverage and fantastic bonus categories which include:
5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on:
Office supply stores
Internet, cable and phone services
2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on:
At gas stations
At restaurants
Which version of the Ink is better for you depends on the spending habits of your startup. If you’re heavy into online marketing, it’s really hard to turn down the 3X of the Ink Preferred. However, the 5% back from office supply stores can come in handy, especially if you utilize gift cards. And if you’re going to be paying for internet, cable, and phone services you might as well get 5% back on those bills.
The major drawback to the Ink Cash is that you can’t transfer your points earned to travel partners, unless you have a premium Chase card like the Ink Preferred or non-business credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
But if you have no desire to utilize the travel perks, then just getting cash back on these categories will probably be good enough for you.
You’ll need a premium card to unlock hotel redemptions.
3. Amex Blue Business Plus
Great for everyday spend and a 0% APR intro period.
The Amex Blue Business Plus is a great card many new start ups. The card earns 2X Membership Rewards back on all purchases up to $50,000 per year and comes with no annual fee.
What I think makes it the best for small businesses is that it also comes with a 0% intro APR period for 12 months. Many new start ups need to make large purchases or at least a lot of purchases to get their business off the ground. With this card you can make one of those large purchases and just pay off that balance while not getting burned on interest.
Since the Amex Blue Business Plus is a credit card and the Business Gold Card is a charge card you can actually apply for both of these at the same time. Together, the two would make a lucrative duo that would provide you with all-around great bonus earning potential since you would pick up 2X on all purchases and up to 4X on select bonus categories. You can read more about the Amex application rules here.
There have been welcome offers for this card at 25,000 before but those offers have been pretty rare and usually disappear really quickly. Because of the 2X Membership Rewards on every single purchase, the Business Blue Plus is worth it even when it doesn’t have a welcome bonus.
Amex has some very valuable business credit cards.
4. American Express Business Gold
The American Express Business Gold is the newly revamped Gold card from American Express. It stands out with its bonus earning potential, which covers a lot of categories that businesses will need to make purchases in.
With this card, you earn 4X Membership Rewards points on the 2 categories where your business spent the most each billing cycle from the list below:
Airfare purchased directly from airlines
U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
U.S. purchases at gas stations
U.S. purchases at restaurants
U.S. purchases for shipping
4X points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year then earn 1 point per dollar.
Here are a couple of the additional features of the card:
Get 25% points back, after you book a flight using Pay with Points (there is a limitation on your rebate as you will only be able to receive up to 250,000 bonus points per calendar year).
$295 Annual Fee
The big thing to note about this card is that earns Membership Rewards and not just straight cash back. This means that your points will be better used on some of the Amex travel partners like Delta, ANA, Aeroplan, or others.
Another feature to note about this card is that it is a charge card and not a traditional credit card. This means that the balance must be paid off each month and that you don’t have a set credit limit (although that doesn’t mean that it’s unlimited). This is why it’s a great business card for those who need high credit limits.
You can use Amex Membership Rewards to fly Emirates first class.
5. The Business Platinum Card from American Express
The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with various welcome offers and sometimes offers as much as 75,000 plus points, depending on the offer.
But in addition to the welcome bonus, this card comes with some solid perks.
5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and eligible hotels on amextravel.com
1.5 points per dollar on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more (that’s an extra half point per dollar). Up to 1 million additional points per year
$200 airline credit
Centurion Lounge access
Priority Pass airport lounge access
Book any First or Business Class flight and get 35% of those Membership Rewards® points back later, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year.
You can receive one Global Entry ($100) statement credit or one TSA Pre✓® ($85) statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA Pre-Check and every four years for Global Entry
The Business Platinum Card from American Express is another one of the great high limit business credit cards. It’s a charge card like the Business Gold card but it comes with additional bonus spending categories. It earns a very strong 5X on airfare via Amextravel.com so if you’re going to be doing a fair amount of flying, this can be very lucrative.
The card also comes with a $200 airline credit that you receive each calendar year. By using those credits twice, you can knock down the effective annual fee to only $150. The 35% rebate on points is great since it allows you to book certain flights at 1.54 cents per point which is very good.
The Business Platinum Card will give you hotel elite status including: Marriott Gold Status and Hilton Honors Gold status. Hilton Gold is still a very solid mid-tier hotel elite status, which will get you free breakfasts, upgrades, late check-out and sometimes even executive lounge access.
And finally, this card provides you and two guests with Amex Centurion Lounge access, which are some very nice lounges popping up around the country. (This card also gets youPriority Pass which will get you give you access to lounges all around the world.)
$750 sign-up bonus after you spend $7,500 in the first three months
1.5% cash back on all purchases
0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases.
No annual fee!
Subject to 5/24
Primary rental car coverage
It’s rare to see a card with no annual fee and a high $500 sign-up bonus. And it’s really rare to see a card with no annual fee and primary rental car coverage (when traveling on business). If those two features weren’t enough, the card earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase and comes with a 0% APR period of 12 months. So again, if you need to do some upfront spending to get your start-up in motion, you’ve got yet another option to go with.
And if you have a premium Chase card like a Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer the Ultimate Rewards earned on this card out to Chase travel partners which makes that 1.5% back equate to a return that could be much higher with the right redemption.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
7. Capital One Spark Cash for Business Credit Card
A great 2% cash back business card.
The Capital One Spark Cash for Business Credit Card is a very simple cash back credit card that earns 2% back on all purchases. This is ideal for an entrepreneur who just needs a simplified rewards system. With this card you don’t have to worry about special bonus categories and all of those complicated award systems.
8. Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card
A fantastic option to cut down your travel expenses.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card is probably one of the most-prized credit cards right now. That’s because Chase recently prevented applicants from picking up two personal Southwest credit cards which made obtaining the Southwest Companion Pass more difficult. But with this business card’s all-time high 60,000 point sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first three months you can earn the Companion Pass quick.
What is the Companion Pass?
It allows a companion to fly for free with you for up to two years. So if you are a duo starting up a business this can be an extremely cost-efficient way to get about the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean (and soon Hawaii).
Since Southwest has such an expansive point-to-point network, I’d check the Southwest route map to see if they fly to cities where you would be flying in and out of. If that’s the case then the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card could make a lot of sense for your business.
9. United Explorer Business Card
Nice benefits for those who will be flying United.
2 miles per $1 spent on purchases at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores
2 miles per $1 spent on tickets purchased from United
MileagePlus Premier members and traveling on an award ticket can receive Premier Upgrades
No foreign transaction fees
$99 annual fee (waived)
The United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card is a solid option because it comes with a solid sign-up bonus of 60,000 bonus miles and the annual fee is waived for the first year. The extra points on restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores a nice plus, too.
If you think you’ll be flying out of United hubs like I do then you’ll probably appreciate having the perks from this card which also offer United Lounge Club access. These United lounges are improving at a lot of airports and they are (slowly) becoming some of the nicest lounges in the US.
It’s also nice getting priority boarding and a free checked bag. The free checked bag could provide your start up with some decent savings if you’re going to be flying United.
United Club at IAH.
Credit Cards for Entrepreneurs and Startups FAQ
What is the best credit card for a start-up?
The best credit card for your start up is the one that suits your needs the best. For example, if you spend a lot of money on advertising then you want to consider the Chase Ink Business Preferred. If you need a 0% APR financing then you would want to look at a card like the Amex Blue Business Plus.
What is a good no annual fee credit card for start-up?
A good no annual fee credit card could be the Chase Ink Business Cash. You can get 0% APR and also earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on: Office supply stores, Internet, cable and phone services.
How can I get a high credit limit as a start up?
A great way to extend your credit limit is to apply for a charge card such as the Business Platinum Card from American Express. You can pre-pay your credit card bill and effectively increase your spending power which will allow you to put large purchases on your card and are valuable rewards.
What is a good airline card for a start-up?
The Business Platinum Card from American Express is a great airline card for a start up because you earn valuable points that can be transferred to different airline programs and you can also redeem your points for flights at a nice bonus rate.
What is a good 0% APR credit card for start ups?
It’s quite easy to get 0% APR for 12 months and a great card to do that with is the Chase Ink Business Cash. If you want to earn 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases then consider going with the Ink Business Unlimited.
What is the best business card for Facebook and Instagram ads?
A great business credit card for Facebook and Instagram ads is the Chase Ink Business Preferred. You can earn 3X on up to $150,000 spent on ads each year.
Do I need a credit card for my start up?
Yes, you should get a credit card for your start up as soon as possible. As soon as you have obtained an in for your entity, you should be able to apply for a credit card. This will help you avoid commingling funds which is not a good idea when you are starting a business, especially a start up that likely has investors.
Final word
The best credit card for your entrepreneurial journey is going to be a card that suits your spending needs. If you are heavy on spending with social media advertising and even do a moderate amount of travel the Chase Ink Preferred is a terrific option. However, if you constantly spend money on specific business categories or need a high limit business credit card then the Amex charge cards could be best.
My advice is to breakdown or project what your spending and travel needs will be over the course of a year, and you’ll quickly start to see which small business credit card is best for you.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
18 Best Metal Credit Cards You Can Get (Custom, No Annual Fee) [2020]
Are you interested in metal credit cards? Now-a-days, there are a lot of metal credit cards to choose from but they are not all created equally…. These cards come in various weights and materials and some have absurd annual fees while some even have no annual fee.
But the most important thing to note is that they come with vastly different benefits.
This article will show you 17 of the best metal credit cards and give you an idea of which metal cards are worth it and which ones you might want to pass on. I’ll also show you how to get custom metal cards and how to properly destroy your metal cards when you no longer have use for them.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
What are metal credit cards?
Metal credit cards are credit cards that come with some form of metal which could include brass, copper, brushed stainless steel, titanium, gold, and even rare palladium.
Some are 100% metal while others come with metal sandwiched between layers of plastic. Metal cards have been around for a while but it’s only recently in the last couple of years that they’ve gotten very popular and we’ve seen various issuers switch to metal, even for non-premium cards.
Why are some credit cards metal?
I’d have to chalk up metal credit cards to a marketing ploy.
I think there’s an association between heavy credit cards and prestige — almost like the heavier the credit card, the more exclusive it is, the bigger the credit limit, the “more important” you are, etc. (it’s very much a status symbol).
Metal can make your credit card more durable so there is a degree of practicality with metal cards, but I think banks are using these cards as a way to generate interest and intrigue for their products — especially from people who like to feel a little special when they swipe or split a bill with friends, colleagues, homies, etc…
List of metal credit cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Amazon Prime
Marriott Rewards
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Ritz-Carlton Rewards
Chase United MileagePlus Club Card
JP Morgan Reserve
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Citi Prestige
Amex Gold Card
Platinum Card from American Express
Business Platinum Card from American Express
Amex Centurion Card
Black Card
Gold Card
US Bank Altitude Reserve
Apple Card
There are a couple of others like the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard and the City National Bank (CNB) Crystal Visa Infinite Credit Card but I’m focusing (mostly) on cards available to the masses.
How to get a metal credit card
As you can see there are many different types of metal credit cards out on the market.
As you’d probably expect, most of these require good to excellent credit scores, so if you want a metal card it will be much easier to get if you have a great credit score. That said, some cards like the Amazon Prime card, are easier to get so you don’t necessarily need a fantastic credit score.
The best metal credit cards
Below are the best metal credit cards that you can get right now.
Chase metal cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred
2X on dining and travel
Redeem points at 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel Portal
Primary rental car insurance
Annual fee: $95 (waived first year)
For a while, the Chase Sapphire Preferred was one of the only metal credit cards available to the masses. I used to get reactions when using it but when metal credit cards became more mainstream, those reactions became less common.
The Sapphire Preferred is a strong travel rewards credit card with 2X on dining and travel along with primary rental car insurance.
I usually recommend people to go with the Sapphire Reserve but not everybody is fine with paying such a large annual fee of $550 so it’s often the case that people want to stick with the Sapphire Preferred, with its low $95 annual fee (that’s waived the first year).
Chase Sapphire Reserve
50,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months
$300 travel credit
3X on dining and travel
Priority Pass with unlimited guests
Redeem points at 1.5 cents per point through Chase Travel Portal
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the ultimate travel rewards credit card and it’s been a hit since it was launched in 2016. In fact, it was such a hit that Chase actually ran out of metal cards and send out plastic ones.
But the metal status of the Sapphire Reserve is secondary to the fantastic travel benefits and rich rewards offered by the the Reserve. Getting a $300 travel credit that can be used on just about anything travel related is huge and it makes utilizing the travel credit very easy.
Also earning 3X on dining and travel is among the best for any credit cards and then being able to redeem points at 1.5 cents per point through the Chase Travel Portal just adds even more value to the card.
Both the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve are the same weight at about 13g, which puts them is sort of the middle when it comes to the heaviness of their metal.
If there’s one metal card that a serious traveler needs in his or her wallet, it’s this one.
Amazon Prime
5% back at Amazon
5% back at Whole Food Market
2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores
No foreign transaction fees
No annual fee
The Amazon Prime card is one of the only metal credit cards with no annual fee and it also comes with no foreign transaction fees. This is actually a great card for Amazon and Whole Foods shoppers since getting 5% back on a constant basis will certainly add up quickly.
I was surprised to find out that this card is metal but if you’re trying to get a metal card and you’re credit score isn’t very high this might be your best shot.
Marriott Rewards Premier Plus
No longer available.
1 Free Night Stay every year after account anniversary (valued up to 35,00 points)
6 points for every $1 spent at participating Marriott Rewards and SPG hotels
2 points for every $1 you spend on all other purchases and your points don’t expire as long as you make purchases on your credit card every 24 months
Coming in 2019, Receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year
Automatic Marriott Silver status
Marriott Gold status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year
The Marriott Rewards Premier Plus is a pretty solid credit card that. It offers a pretty good sign-up bonus and then decent earnings at Marriott properties. The elite credits that will hit in 2019 will be very welcomed though I’m not crazy about the $35,000 spend requirement for Marriott Gold status. Not many hotel co-branded cards are made of metal though so this card is a bit unique.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
$300 in Marriott statement credits (issued on card anniversary)
Receive 1 Free Night Award every year for a redemption level at or under 50,000 points.
Bonus earning:
6x at SPG/Marriott properties
3x at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines
2x on all other purchases
Complimentary Gold Elite status
Earn Platinum Elite status after making $75,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
Each calendar year you can receive credit for 15 nights towards the next level of Elite status.
Priority Pass Select membership
Receive a statement credit every four years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA Preè ($85) with your Card.
No foreign transaction fees
Free, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 1,000,000 Boingo hotspots worldwide.
Receive free in-room, premium Internet access while staying at participating SPG and Marriott Rewards hotels
Annual fee: $450
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is a premium hotel card that comes in metal and earns a decent return on Marriott purchases. But its key benefits are the free night that can be used at some very expensive properties that cost 50,000 points and the $300 in Marriott statement credits. If you plan on spending a bit at Marriott properties, you can easily offset the value of this annual fee.
Ritz-Carlton Rewards
No longer available.
5 points per $1 spent at participating Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG hotels.
Earn 2 points per $1 spent on airline tickets, car rentals, and restaurants
$300 annual travel credit
Upgrade to The Ritz-Carlton Club Level 3 times annually on paid stays of up to 7 nights
Marriott Gold status for one year (need to spend $10,000 each year to retain)
Saves you $100 on the total cost of between 2 and 5 qualifying round-trip, domestic coach airline tickets purchase
There are metal credit cards and then there are metal credit cards. What I mean by that is that the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card is very heavy and thick.
When I used this card I would almost always get a “Wow” reaction and many people would even drop the card or fumble around with it since they weren’t expecting such a heavy thing to be going into their hands.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy using that card.
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card is a strong contender for best metal card for the fact that it’s so heavy and clunky — it’s heavier than the J.P. Morgan Reserve card at 29 grams.
But when it comes to overall travel rewards, it’s sort of an average card.
But if you like to stay at Ritz-Carlton properties this is actually a great card. Two free nights could be worth over $1,000 like when I used those free nights at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, New York.
Also, the upgrades to the Ritz-Carlton Club Level on paid stays for up to 7 nights can be an extremely valuable perk since you could get up to 21 nights of that covered which could be worth a ton.
Chase United MileagePlus Club Card
No longer available.
Access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide
World of Hyatt: Discoverist Status (the same status offered by the Hyatt card)
Hertz President’s Circle® Elite Status
The Chase United MileagePlus Club Card is a premium card ideal for those who frequently fly with United or through airports with United lounges. With this card, you’ll get access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide.
You’ll also get some key elite-status like benefits, such as priority check-in, boarding, and security screening. They also start you off with Hyatt Discoverist status, although there’s not too much to get excited about when it comes to Discoverist status.
The metal United Club card is one of the lighter metal cards so don’t expect to receive a lot of attention for it.
JP Morgan Reserve
3X on dining and travel
$300 annual travel credit
Redeem points at 1.5 cents per point through Chase Travel Portal
Priority Pass with unlimited guests
TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry $100 credit
Primary rental car insurance
The J.P. Morgan Reserve, formerly known as the the Chase Palladium Card, is an ultra-premium card that is available by invitation only. The card is virtually identical to the Chase Sapphire Reserve when it comes to perks like bonus spending, the travel credit, and lounge access.
The big difference is that you’ll be required to have a minimum of $10 million in assets managed by J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank (not to be confused with Chase Private Client).
The card comes with a $595 annual fee which isn’t that bad compared to its competitor, the Amex Centurion Card.
This might be the most special metal credit card because it’s made out of brass and palladium, the latter of which is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal only found in moon rocks (or something like that).
It weighs an impressive 27g, which is on of the heaviest out of any of the metal credit cards.
Tip: Check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can optimize your credit card spend by seeing the best card to use! You can also track credits, annual fees, and get notifications when you’re eligible for the best cards!
Capital One metal cards
Capital One Venture
Earn 60,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
Earn unlimited 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
10X on purchases with Hotels.com (new perk!)
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, $95 after that
No foreign transaction fees
The Capital One Venture is one of the most popular travel cards due to its simple rewards structure that earns a straight 2% cash back on all purchases and also because of the Capital One commercials that so frequently grace your TV screen.
This card recently picked up an additional perk that allows you to earn 10X at Hotels.com, which is pretty impressive and now you can also transfer points to travel partners which is pretty amazing.
It seems that not everybody has been given a metal version of the Capital One Venture so this might be something that you’d need to request.
Citibank metal cards
Citi Prestige
3X on hotels and airfare
2X on entertainment and dining
4th night free benefit
Priority Pass
$100 Global Entry application fee credit
$250 Air Travel Credit
The Citi Prestige can be the most valuable credit card if you play your cards correctly. That’s because it earns a 4th night free when you use the Citi booking service. You can use the 4th night free as many times as you’d like so it has the potential to offer you back some serious value.
The $250 air travel credit is not as broad as the Chase Sapphire Reserve but it’s still enough to knock down the annual fee to an effective $200, which is great. All of these other perks like the bonus earning on hotels, airfare, and entertainment and dining are nice but the only perk that makes this card stand out to me is the 4th night free benefit.
The Prestige looks like a fancy black black metal credit card but it actually only weighs about 12g, making it lighter than even the Amazon Prime card!
American Express metal cards
Gold Card
The new Amex Gold Card is a very attractive option. The standard public offer is for 35,000 Membership Rewards but you can sometimes find offers for 60,000 Membership Rewards.
But what really makes this card stand out are the bonus categories which are:
3X on airfare
4X points at Restaurants
4X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in spend per calendar year)
The card also comes with a $120 dining credit, which offers a $10 monthly credit that can be used at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Shake Shack (read more about that credit here). With the addition of a $100 Amex airline credit, it’s very easy knock down the effective annual fee to just $30.
5X on airfare and 5X on hotels booked through the Amex Travel portal
TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry $100 credit
Annual fee: $695 (NOT waived first year)
The Platinum Card is my favorite metal credit card because I just love the way it looks and feels. At 18g, it’s much thicker than the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve but not quite as thick as the Ritz-Carlton, so it’s still usually practical to use.
The Platinum Card is just full of benefits, especially when it comes to lounge access. You’ll be able to access Centurion Lounges all around the US, which are some of the nicest lounges around. You’ll also get Priority Pass access and Delta SkyClub access when flying with Delta.
If you spend a lot on airfare the Platinum Card could be the best option for you since it earns 5X on all of those purchases made directly with the airline.
Global Entry ($100) statement credit or one TSA Pre✓® ($85) statement credit every 4 years
$595 annual fee
10 Gogo wifi passes each year
The Business Platinum is similar to the personal version but it comes with a lower annual fee (although you don’t get the $200 Uber credits). You also can earn 1.5X per dollar on each eligible purchase of $5,000+.
The perk that stands out the most is being able to redeem your Membership Rewards at a rate of 1.54 cents per point with premium cabin flights (and one chosen airline). This allows you to get even better than the Chase Travel Portal (when you have the Sapphire Reserve), so it’s a pretty valuable perk.
Car Rental Benefits (primary rental car insurance, Hertz Platinum, and Avis President’s Club)
Cruise privileges
Centurion Shopping Program
Concierge services
The Centurion Card, also known as the Amex Black Card, is one of the most prestigious credit cards. And as you can tell, it comes with a long list of travel benefits.
This card is s made from anodized titanium with laser etched numbers and letters but it’s not easy to get. For the personal version, you’ll likely need to be spending around $250,000 per year on your Amex cards just to get an invitation.
And once you get the card, the initiation fee is $7,500 and the annual fee is $2,500.
Although this card is loaded with travel perks, it’s not the best card to use if you just want to rack up points because it offers no real bonus categories and doesn’t with a welcome offer.
Luxury Card has two different types of metal credit cards that it offers.
The Mastercard Black Card
2% back when used for airfare
1.5% back on all purchases
Earn one point for every dollar spent
$100 airline credit
$100 Global Entry credit
Priority Pass Select (allows unlimited guests)
24/7 complimentary Luxury Card Concierge
0% introductory APR for the first fifteen billing cycles following a balance transfer
Patented card design with a black-PVD-coated stainless steel front and carbon back. Heaviest card in the industry at 22 grams.
$495 annual fee
Terms and conditions apply
The MasterCard Black Card is very heavy (22 grams) and comes with patented (46 patents) PVD-coated stainless steel front and carbon back, making for an impressive build.
But it doesn’t offer a whole lot in the points department.
2% back towards airfare is not unique and other premium cards like the Sapphire Reserve earn 3X on travel purchases that can amount to much higher than 2% back. The strength of the Black Card is that you can earn 2% back on airfare and 1.5% back on everyday purchases. (In most cases, you have to pick up an additional card if you want to earn 1.5% back on everyday spend.) You can read more about the MasterCard Black Card here
MasterCard Gold Card
2% back when used for airfare
2% back on all purchases
$200 airline credit
$100 Global Entry credit
Priority Pass Select (allows unlimited guests)
24/7 complimentary Luxury Card Concierge
0% introductory APR for the first fifteen billing cycles following a balance transfer
$995 annual fee
The MasterCard Gold Card is just like the Black Card the only difference is that it offers 2% back on all purchases and has a higher travel credit ($100 more). Just like the Black Card, the strength of the Gold Card is that you can earn 2% back on airfare and 2% back on everyday purchases, so you don’t have to pick up an additional card for everyday spend.
What makes this card so special and unique is that it’s made with 24K gold, which is pretty insane.
But with that gaudy appearance comes a $995 annual fee so you’ll have to pay up for the prestige. Unless you’re one who really likes to be flashy, this premium card isn’t going to be the best fit for someone looking to maximize their rewards in an efficient way while avoiding high fees.
US Bank metal cards
US Bank Altitude Reserve
50,000 points (worth $750 in travel) after spending $4,500 within the first 90 days
$325 travel credit
3X on eligible mobile wallet purchases
3X on travel booked directly with airlines, hotels, taxis, trains, etc. (but no OTAs)
Priority Pass (with only 4 entries)
12 complimentary GoGo passes each membership year
TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry $100 credit
$400 annual fee
The US Bank Altitude Reserve is one of the newer premium cards to come out and hit the market. It’s actually a pretty good card with its 3X on travel and mobile wallet purchases. If you like to use things like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay then this card can be one of the most rewarding cards.
Apple credit card
The new Apple credit card is made of titanium and earns the following rates:
3% on Apple purchases
2% on Apple Pay purchases
1% back on all other purchases
It’s a very sleek looking card and has some cool features for added privacy, security, and budgeting and other convenience-related perks. But ultimately, it’s a fairly average cash back card.
Discover
Discover does not currently offer any metal credit cards.
Maybe it’s only a matter of time?
Custom metal credit cards
You can actually convert plastic credit cards into metal credit cards.
They allow you to choose three different versions: The Premier, basic or fully custom card.
The Premier Card is the companies own trademark of a black card, while the basic version provides a variety of metal options and different logos to choose from.
The fully custom metal card option comes with the added service of a personal design consultant who will help you to create a design and render a mockup your card.
From what I’ve read you could get this done to any credit card even the lowest, no annual fee credit card on the totem pole….
Metal creditcard.com
Metal-creditcard.com is yet another option where you can convert any plastic card to a metal card. This is definitely one of the more economical options that would only cost you $149.
Pure + Solid
Pure + Solid allows you order pre-paid Mastercards made with silver, gold or platinum. But these things aren’t going to be cheap.
A platinum card (yes, made with real platinum) will cost €28,690!
The silver card is much cheaper at €1,490 but that’s still a lot of dough for a pre-paid card.
I guess you could always melt the card in the future and consider it an investment?
Metal credit card problems
I personally love the look and feel of most metal cards but they do cause some issues.
Too thick for machines
These cards can be quite thick and heavy. Sometimes they are too thick to be used in credit card machines or worse — they get stuck!
For this reason, I usually always make sure I have a plastic credit card that earns decent rewards for things like parking garages so that I can always use it if I don’t want to take a chance.
Weighing down your wallet
Since so many issuers offer metal cards now it’s not uncommon for your wallet to get filled with heavy metal credit cards. This can weigh down your wallet a lot and make it uncomfortable to keep in your pocket and difficult to fit additional cards inside.
You might not even be able to get through metal detectors — Okay so maybe that’s a stretch but the point is that metal credit cards can become a hassle to deal with.
Tip: Some issuers might allow you to request a plastic version of their metal card so that’s always something to look into.
How to destroy metal credit cards
Once it’s time to dispose of your metal credit card, you might be wondering how to destroy it?
The first thing to note is to not put the metal credit card in a shredder — that’s not going to end well.
Some people have resorted to things like garden shears and wire cutters to destroy them and have had mixed success. Some banks will provide you with postage so that you can send your cards back in the mail to them for them to handle it. They will pay for the postage so all you have to do is request it.
Other people like to save and store their cards or use them in some sort of arts and crafts project.
Metal credit card holders (wallets)
If you’re trying to up your metal game to its fullest potential, you might want to walk around with your metal credit cards inside of a metal credit card holder.
It might sound a bit ridiculous, but there are some very nice metal credit card holders and cases out there that you can find, many of which come with RFID Blocking Technology.
It might be a bit heavy if it’s loaded up with metal cards but if you just have one or two it shouldn’t be too bad.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on these to fine a decent one either.
Final word
There are a lot of different metal credit cards and each of them is a little bit different in terms of the composition of the metal. But more importantly, these cards are very different in terms of the real value offered by the cards.
My suggestion would be to try to avoid putting too much stock in the fact that a credit card is made out of steel or brass and just focus on what value you can get from the card.
If your form of value includes being able to flash around a fancy black card there’s nothing wrong with that (to each their own) but you should always be aware of what other types of value you’re leaving on the table.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
10 Best Credit Cards for Online Businesses (Blogs & Websites) [2020]
If you are running an online business such as a blog or just a general commercial website there are several ways that you can maximize rewards with some great credit cards. In this article, I will show you some of the top business credit cards that you might want to consider to maximize your rewards.
First, I’ll go through some of the common expenses that online businesses have and talk about some of the best credit card options for covering those expenses. Then I’ll go into more detail for each of these cards and give you all the highlights you need to know about.
If you run an online business, you will probably have some of the following expenses:
Domain registration
Hosting
Plug-ins
Office software
Video and photo editing software
SEO/marketing tools
Email tools
For these type of expenses you probably just want to have a good everyday spending card. Cards like the Chase Ink Unlimited, which earn 1.5% back on every purchase are perfect for these type of general expenses. Also, the Amex Blue Business Plus earns 2X on all purchases up to $50,000 dollars per year so that is another great option for everyday (non-bonus) purchases.
The American Express Business Gold Card is another solid option because you can actually earn bonus points for certain software purchases.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Advertising
For some online businesses, advertising is by far the highest expense. Whether you are advertising on Facebook or Google, if you know what you are doing in the advertising world it can be an extremely lucrative way of generating business.
Luckily, there are a few options that will allow you to capitalize on your bonus earnings with advertising expenses. The Chase Ink Business Preferred earns 3X on advertising and the American Express Business Gold Card can earn up to 4X as well.
Utilities
If you have a large online business then you might actually have office space or even warehouse space. In that case, you would be paying rent, insurance, electricity, and other utilities. But even if you have a home office, you will still need to pay for internet and probably other things like phone bills.
Once again, the Chase Ink Business Preferred Is a solid option because it offers three 3X on Internet cable and phone services. The Chase Ink Cash might even be a better option since it earns 5% back on internet, cable and phone services.
Contractors
If you run a website, there is a good chance that you will need to pay for outsourcing for several different purposes. These include the following expenses:
Writers and editors
SEO
Digital assistants
Interns
Public relations
Marketing
Graphic designers
Photographers
Video editors
Web experts
Security
Legal/CPA fees
You might be able to pay these people through different types of portals but other times you might just make your payments via PayPal or Venmo. In those cases, you will incur transaction fees for every time that you pay these contractors.
The transaction fees are usually at 2.9% or 3%. These don’t sound like a lot but they can definitely add up so you want to make sure that you go with the card that maximizes your return on your spend so that you can justify the transaction fee. Otherwise, you may as well just pay them directly from your bank account.
If you value Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards, then it can often make sense to use their cards for these payments.
I will show you what I mean.
Let’s say you used a card like the Chase Ink Unlimited to make your payment via PayPal. In that case, if you would be paying a 2.9% transaction fee. The Chase Ink Unlimited earns 1.5% back on every single purchase regardless of the category. If you have another premium Chase card, like the Chase Ink Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, then you can transfer these points out to travel partners and get much more value for your points.
So let’s say that you value your Chase Ultimate Rewards at two cents per point. If you are earning 1.5X, that is like getting 3% back on your purchase. In that case, you are only coming out slightly on top but it would still be worth it to earn those points.
Also, in the past, the Chase Ink Business Preferred earned 3X for Venmo payments. At a valuation of two cents per point, that would be like earning 6% back on those payments which means that you will be coming out way on top.
So if you utilize these third-party services to make payments to independent contractors, you should seriously consider utilizing cards like these.
Travel
If you regularly need to travel for your online business then a lot of the cards below will be perfect for you. That’s because they allow you to get the most bang for your buck when you use your points for travel. I would just go for cards like the Chase Ink Business Preferred and the American Express Business Gold that earn bonus points on travel and earn flexible points that can be transferred out to various travel partners.
Cashback
You might not be that interested in utilizing your points for travel. If that is the case, then you might just want to go with a card that earns straight cash back. I really like the SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express. It’s a great cash back card for businesses, since it offers a whole lot of flexibility with choosing the category that you want to earn 3% back.
1. Chase Ink Business Preferred
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is one of the best business credit cards for travel and advertising and thus it’s absolutely perfect for online businesses.
The Ink Preferred comes with one of the most valuable sign-up bonuses at 100,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months! At a valuation of 2 cents per point, that’s $2,000 worth of rewards. Even if you only redeemed these for a statement credit, that’s still an $1,000 rebate!
The Ink Preferred earns 3X on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on:
Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable and phone services
Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
These categories are important to many website owners and bloggers, especially travel and advertising purchases. If you’ve been pouring funds into social media advertising campaigns with no bonus rewards, then you should seriously consider this card. 3X on all of those categories will have you earning rewards in a hurry.
2. Chase Ink Business Cash
The Chase Ink Business Cash is the little brother of the Ink Preferred. This card comes with no annual fee but still packs a heavy punch with a sign-up bonus worth $750 after you spend $7,500 in the first three months.
It also comes with benefits like primary rental car coverage and fantastic bonus categories which include:
5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on:
Office supply stores
Internet, cable and phone services
2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on:
At gas stations
At restaurants
Which version of the Ink is better for you depends on the spending habits of your business. If you’re heavy into online marketing, it’s really hard to turn down the 3X of the Ink Preferred. However, the 5% back from office supply stores can come in handy, especially if you utilize gift cards. And if you’re going to be paying for internet, cable, and phone services you might as well get 5% back on those bills.
3. Chase Ink Unlimited
The Chase Ink Business Unlimited is the newest Chase card that just came out. It’s a hot credit card given all of the perks it comes with, which include the following:
$750 sign-up bonus after you spend $7,500 in the first three months
1.5% cash back on all purchases
0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers.
No annual fee!
Primary rental car coverage
It’s rare to see a card with no annual fee and a high $750 sign-up bonus. And it’s really rare to see a card with no annual fee and primary rental car coverage (when traveling on business). If those two features weren’t enough, the card earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase and comes with a 0% APR period of 12 months.
If you are just starting out an online business and you need to make some large purchases, this can be a great card to use, since you will have one year to pay off all of those expenses before you are charged interest.
4. Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is probably one of the most-prized credit cards right now. That’s because Chase recently prevented applicants from picking up two personal Southwest credit cards which made obtaining the Southwest Companion Pass more difficult. But with this business card’s all-time high 60,000 point sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first three months you can earn the Companion Pass quick.
What is the Companion Pass?
It allows a companion to fly for free with you for up to two years. So if you are a duo with an online business this can be an extremely cost-efficient way to get about the US, Mexico, and the Caribbean (and soon Hawaii).
Since Southwest has such an expansive point-to-point network, I’d check the Southwest route map to see if they fly to cities where you would be flying in and out of. If that’s the case then the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Credit Card could make a lot of sense for your business.
5. American Express Business Gold
The American Express Business Gold is the newly revamped gold card from American Express. It stands out with its bonus earning potential, which covers a lot of categories that online businesses will need to make purchases in.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards points on the 2 categories where your business spent the most each billing cycle from the list below:
Airfare purchased directly from airlines
U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
U.S. purchases at gas stations
U.S. purchases at restaurants
U.S. purchases for shipping
So this can be another great card for those to spend a lot on advertising. But if you also need to spend a lot on software or cloud storage this can be a great card for those categories. And for those who run online businesses where they need to ship a lot of products this is another solid option.
4X points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year Then earn 1 point per dollar.
Here are a couple of the additional features of the card:
Get 25% points back, after you book a flight using Pay with Points (there is a limitation on your rebate as you will only be able to receive up to 250,000 bonus points per calendar year)
$295 Annual Fee
6. Amex Blue Business Plus
The Amex Blue Business Plus is a great card many websites. The card earns 2X Membership Rewards back on all purchases up to $50,000 per year and comes with no annual fee.
What I think makes it the best for online businesses is that it also comes with a 0% intro APR period of 12 months. Some new websites need to make large purchases or at least a lot of purchases to get their business off the ground. With this card you can make one of those large purchases and just pay off that balance in 12 months and you won’t get burned on interest.
Since the Amex Blue Business Plus is a credit card and the Amex Business Gold Card is a charge card you can actually apply for both of these at the same time. Together, the two would make a lucrative duo that would provide you with all-around great bonus earning potential since you would pick up 2X on all purchases and up to 4X on select bonus categories. You can read more about the Amex application rules here.
There have been welcome offers for this card at 25,000 in the past (that have expired) before but those offers have been pretty rare and usually disappear really quickly. Because of the 2X Membership Rewards on every single purchase, the Business Blue Plus is worth it even when it doesn’t have a welcome offer.
7. Amex Blue Business Cash
While the Business Gold Card earns Membership Rewards, many business owners simply want to put cash back into their pocket. For those people, the Amex Blue Business Cash might be a better choice. That card earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.
Also this is a credit card and not a charge card so you don’t get as much flexibility with credit limits although it’s worth pointing out that you can spend above your credit limit when needed. Just how much you’ll be able to spend over your credit limit will be adjusted based on your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to Amex.
This card comes with no annual fee. But note that this card does come with foreign transaction fees, so you probably don’t want to use this card on international trips since you’ll have to pay foreign transaction fees.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
8. The Business Platinum Card from American Express
The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with an offer for 75,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
But in addition to the welcome bonus, this card comes with some solid perks.
5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and eligible hotels on amextravel.com
1.5 points per dollar on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more (that’s an extra half point per dollar). Up to 1 million additional points per year
$200 airline credit
Centurion Lounge access
Priority Pass airport lounge access
Book any First or Business Class flight and get 35% of those Membership Rewards® points back later, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year.
You can receive one Global Entry ($100) statement credit or one TSA Pre✓® ($85) statement credit every 4 years
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is another one of the great high limit business credit cards. It’s a charge card like the Business Gold card but it comes with additional bonus spending categories. It earns a very strong 5X on airfare so if you’re going to be doing a fair amount of flying, this can be very lucrative.
The card also comes with a $200 airline credit that you receive each calendar year. By using those credits twice, you can knock down the effective annual fee to only $150. The 35% rebate on points is great since it allows you to book certain flights at 1.54 cents per point which is very good.
The Business Platinum Card will give you hotel elite status including: Marriott Gold Status and Hilton Honors Gold status. Marriott Gold isn’t going to be quite so lucrative in the future since before it would get you Marriott Gold which would get you free breakfasts and lounge access.
However, Hilton Gold is still a very solid mid-tier hotel elite status, which will get you free breakfasts, upgrades, late check-out and sometimes even executive lounge access.
And finally, this card provides you and two guests with Amex Centurion Lounge access, which are some very nice lounges popping up around the country. (This card also gets youPriority Pass which will get you give you access to lounges all around the world.)
9. The Capital One Spark Cash for Business Credit Card
The Capital One Spark Cash for Business Credit Card is a very simple cash back credit card that earns 2% back on all purchases. This is ideal for a website owner who just needs a simplified rewards system. With this card you don’t have to worry about special bonus categories and all of those complicated award systems.
10. Amex Plum Card
The Amex Plum card is an interesting card but it’s actually one that could be really handy when dealing with online inventory. It comes with an annual fee of $250 that’s waived the first year and doesn’t currently come with a welcome offer. So why is it so compelling?
It has two unique payment features.
The most useful would be that you can take up to 60 days to pay your entire balance off without interest when you pay the minimum Due by the Payment Due Date. When dealing with inventory there are a lot of unknowns sometimes. And so you might need a little bit of extra time to come up with the funds to pay off your balance and getting two months to come up with those funds could be a nice perk for some people.
The card will also give you a 1.5% discount when you pay early so it’s like getting 1.5% back so long as you pay everything off.
I’d personally prefer the Amex options listed above over the Plum Card though if you’re dealing with somewhat unpredictable inventory and sales, it could make sense to go with a card like this.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Amex Gold vs Chase Sapphire Preferred [2020]
Offers contained within this article maybe expired.
The new Amex Gold Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred are two of the most highly sought after travel rewards credit cards. For a while, the Sapphire Preferred had a leg up on the Gold Card but now that the Gold Card comes with a lot of additional perks, the comparison between these two credit cards is much different. Here’s a look at the Amex Gold Card vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Eligibility
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule which means that you cannot get approved for it if you have opened up five or more accounts in the past 24 months. This means that you should normally pursue the Chase Sapphire Preferred first before going after the Gold Card.
There are additional application rules to consider like the 2/30 rule, 24 month rule, and current card holder rule. Meanwhile the Gold Card is only subject to the Amex once per lifetime rule.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Welcome bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with a 60,000 point sign-up bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first three months after account opening. This is a fantastic offer. 60,000 Ultimate Rewards can take you pretty far and you can transfer these points out to the following partners.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airlines
Aer Lingus
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Iberia Airways
JetBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotels
World of Hyatt
IHG Rewards Club
Marriott Rewards
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards
If you don’t want to transfer your Ultimate Rewards to these travel partners, you might want to utilize the Chase Travel Portal to book your travel. Unlike Amex, the Chase Travel Portal offers better redemption rates for your points as you’ll get 1.25 cents per point with your Chase Sapphire Preferred (and 1.5 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve).
This is a key difference for people who don’t like to bother with things like black out dates or with transferring points out to travel programs. If you don’t like to mess around with point transfers, the Sapphire Preferred offers more value when using your points for airfare and hotels.
Amex Gold Card
The standard Gold Card welcome bonus open to the public is for 60,000 Membership Rewards after you spend $4,000 in the first six months after account opening.
Amex has arguably better transfer partners than Chase and you can move your Membership Rewards over to the following partners.
Airline Program
Ratio (MR to airline)
Transfer wait time
Aer Lingus
1:1
Instant
AeroMexico
1:1.6
24 Hours
Air Canada
1:1
Instant
Alitalia
1:1
Instant
ANA
1:1
48 Hours
Avianca
1:1
Instant
British Airways
1:1
Instant
Cathay Pacific
1:1
48 Hours
Delta
1:1
Instant
El Al
1000:20
Instant
Emirates
1:1
Instant
Etihad
1:1
Instant
Flying Blue
1:1
Instant
Hawaiian Airlines
1:1
Instant
Iberia
1:1
24 to 72 hours
JetBlue
250:200
Instant
Qantas
1:1
Instant
Singapore Airlines
1:1
24 to 72 hours
Virgin Atlantic
1:1
Instant
Airline Program
Ratio (MR to airline)
Airline mile value (est.)
Expected Transfer Time
Aer Lingus
January 1, 1970
1.3
Instant
AeroMexico
January 1, 1970
1.2
24 Hours
Air Canada
January 1, 1970
1.4
Instant
Alitalia
January 1, 1970
1.4
Instant
ANA
January 1, 1970
1.4
48 Hours
Avianca
January 1, 1970
1.7
Instant
British Airways
January 1, 1970
1.3
Instant
Cathay Pacific
January 1, 1970
1.2
48 Hours
Delta
January 1, 1970
1.2
Instant
El Al
February 9, 1900
Instant
Emirates
January 1, 1970
1.2
Instant
Etihad
January 1, 1970
1.4
Instant
Flying Blue
January 1, 1970
1.25
Instant
Hawaiian Airlines
January 1, 1970
1
Instant
Iberia
January 1, 1970
1.3
24 to 72 hours
JetBlue
250:200
1.3
Instant
Qantas
January 1, 1970
1
Instant
Singapore Airlines
January 1, 1970
1.3
24 to 48 hours
Virgin Atlantic
January 1, 1970
1.3
Instant
Emirates is a transfer partner of Amex.
Bonus categories
Chase Sapphire Preferred
2X on dining
2X on travel
The Sapphire Preferred earns 2X on dining and travel which is pretty basic but still not bad, especially for travel. Keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3X on dining and travel, so if you’re looking to maximize those bonus categories you might want to look to that card.
Amex Gold Card
3X on airfare
4X points at restaurants
4X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in spend per calendar year)
The Amex Gold Card is now a points-earning beast with 4X on restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. Earning 4X on these categories is going to allow a lot of people to rack up Membership Rewards much quicker than they would with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. If you value American Express points at 1.75 cents per point, that 4X rate comes out to 7% back on these purchases which is fantastic.
Earning 4X at U.S. supermarkets is huge.
Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with a $95 annual fee that is not waived the first year.
Amex Gold Card
The annual fee for the Amex Gold card is $250, which is pretty high and places the Amex Gold card between the $500+ premium cards and premier travel cards that come with $95 annual fees.
$10 monthly credit that can be used at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Shake Shack.
By maximizing those credits, you can get the annual fee down to an effective $30 which is fantastic. However, you need to remember that the dining credit is only $10 per month, so it might not be easy to use for everyone, especially if you don’t dine out at the select restaurants.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Primary rental car coverage
The Sapphire Preferred comes with primary rental car coverage which means that you’ll usually be able to avoid filing a claim with your insurance company if you get into an accident.
The Amex Gold Card only offers secondary coverage for car rentals and so you’ll have to purchase coverage as part of a separate plan if you want primary rental car coverage.
The fact that the Sapphire Preferred has this benefit built in to it is huge and it could end up saving you a lot of money and headache depending on how often you rent cars. So if you’re a frequent traveler who is constantly driving around in rental card, you might want to give the Sapphire Preferred the nod here.
Travel and purchase protections
One of the shortcomings of the Amex Gold Card is that it does not come with the same travel protections that the Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with. Instead, you’ll have to purchase those protections. Some of the protections you won’t get with the Amex Gold that you’ll get with the Sapphire Preferred include:
Trip Interruption: If your trip is canceled or cut short by covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses,
Baggage Delay Reimbursement: If delayed more than 6 hours, you arecovered for essential expenses, such as toiletries and clothes for up to one hundred ($100.00) dollars per day for a maximum of five (5) days.
Trip Delay Reimbursement: If delayed more than 12 hours you are covered for expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket. (The Gold Card now offers this perk but only with coverage up to $300.)
Don’t underestimate the value of these benefits as they can save you money and make your life a lot easier if and when something unexpected happens. For example, it’s really frustrating and worrying when you arrive in a foreign country only to find out your bags have been lost. But being able to go on a little shopping spree when waiting for your bags to arrive really takes the sting out of that experience.
One area where Amex Gold Card is strong is in the purchase protections department. With the Gold Card you can get coverage up to $10,000 on purchases compared to the Chase Sapphire Preferred which only offers coverage up to a maximum of $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per account. That’s a huge difference though the Sapphire Preferred offers coverage for up to 120 days from the date of purchase but the Gold Card only covers up to 90 days.
The Amex extended warranty can provide one extra year added to the original U.S. manufacturer’s warranty for coverage up to the original cost of the item or $10,000, whichever is less on warranties of five year or less. The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers an extended warranty that extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. So when it comes to extended warranties, Amex definitely has the edge.
Refer a friend
Both of these cards have referral programs where you can earn lots of points when your friends or family members are approved for cards when using your link to apply.
For example, with the Gold Card you can earn 10,000 Membership Rewards per referral and you can earn up to 55,000 Membership Rewards per year which is great. You can find out more about the Amex Refer a Friend policy here.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred referral allows you to earn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year. You can read more about the Chase Refer a Friend here.
Shopping perks
The Chase Shopping Portal allows you to earn extra points when shopping online at various retailers. This is a great way to cash in on extra points when making larger purchases or even everyday items.
Amex doesn’t have a shopping portal but they do have Amex Offers, which offers all sorts of different special and promotions at different stores. These allow you to earn extra points or save money and are a great way to put some money back into your wallet.
Both of these programs are nice and it’s hard to pick a winner. I feel that the Chase Shopping Portal is better for earning points when shopping while Amex Offers is better for saving money.
Final word
The best card for you is going to depend on your own spending habits, personal goals, and travel plans. For someone dropping a lot on supermarkets and dining, the Amex Gold Card is hard to pass up. For someone who wants great travel protections like primary rental car coverage and baggage delay reimbursement, the Sapphire Preferred could be the better option.
Ultimately, I think it’s definitely worth getting both of these cards for many people and that’s a route that a lot of people should consider taking, especially if they can utilize all of the travel credits of the Gold Card.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Top Hotel Credit Cards for Optimal Rewards [2020]
Offers contained within this article maybe expired.
Finding the right hotel credit card is all about lining up your personal preferences for things like hotel brands, upgrades, and free breakfast with the unique perks and features offered by cards.
To some people, a hotel benefit that requires $75,000 worth of spend each year is meaningless. And others might not want to touch a hotel card unless it comes with a free breakfast or free night every year. It all depends on the traveler.
In this article, I’ll give you a breakdown of all of the top hotel credit cards and also a lot of insight into how to choose the right card for you.
This article is broken down by common themes that you’ll find with hotel credit card features, so it will be easier for you to browse through your different options and see what type of perks you can look for.
Best hotel credit cards summary
Here’s the breakdown of my top hotel credit cards for some of the major categories you might be looking for:
Best hotel credit card for travel protections: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Best hotel credit card for elite status: Platinum Card
Best hotel credit card for free nights: IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
Best hotel credit card for hotel perks: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Best hotel credit card for hotel spend: Hilton Aspire
Best hotel credit card for everyday spend: Hilton Surpass
Best hotel credit card for high spenders: World of Hyatt Credit Card
Best no annual fee hotel credit card: Hilton Honors Card
Best small business hotel credit card: Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Best hotel credit card for travel protections
Before you even start talking about credit card perks like elite status or free nights, you want benefits that will protect you from the time of booking your hotel stay to the time of check-out.
In order to take advantage of the cheapest hotel rates, you will need to book prepaid rates which will be nonrefundable in the vast majority of cases. That means that if something comes up and you cannot travel, you will get stuck with the bill!
Luckily, if you book with the right card you can get reimbursed for these expenses.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual Fee: $95
If you book with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can get trip cancellation protection for up to $10,000 per trip. For most people, that will cover hotel stays in addition to flights and other trip expenses like tours and activities.
You’ll also be able to earn two times the points on those hotel purchases so you can earn some valuable Ultimate Rewards and if you’d like, you can transfer those points to hotel partners like Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG.
Best hotel credit cards for elite status
Elite status is great because you can get more value from your stays and your hotel experiences will also be more enjoyable. Typically, the best you can do is a mid-tier elite status which will get you some perks like upgrades and late check out.
But if you go with the right card you can also get more meaningful perks like complimentary breakfast and even hotel lounge access.
Platinum Card
Annual Fee: $695
The Platinum Card will offer you automatic elite status with both Hilton and Marriott. For Hilton, it will provide you with Hilton Gold and for Marriott you’ll get Marriott Bonvoy Gold.
Getting status with two hotel programs instantly is pretty top-notch. Marriott Gold is not as valuable to me as Hilton Gold because it doesn’t offer a free breakfast but it’s still nice to have a starting point with Marriott.
Also, the Platinum Card has the FHR program which is a collection of luxury hotels located around the globe. When you book through this program you can get elite-like benefits which include things like:
Noon check-in, when available
Guaranteed 4pm late check-out
Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
Daily breakfast for two people
Complimentary Wi-Fi
Special amenity unique to each property
And the lovely thing about the Platinum Card is that hotel elite status is just one small sliver of the pie when it comes to all of the benefits that this card offers. For the traveler who wants elite status perks but might be bouncing around from brand to brand, the Platinum Card is perfect.
Hilton Aspire
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $450
The Hilton Aspire is the only co-branded hotel card that provides you with automatic top-tier elite status. If you get approved for the Hilton Aspire, you’ll get automatic Hilton Diamond status.
Diamond status has a number of perks but the ones that stand out the most are the free breakfast and lounge access. Diamond status is a bit watered down because it is so easy to obtain via credit cards so upgrades won’t always be super impressive but in the past I’ve been upgraded to some pretty nice hotel suites.
Anybody who is interested in maximizing the Hilton Honors program and staying at Hilton properties on a regular basis should seriously consider the Aspire.
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $95
You’ll get automatic Hilton Gold status with the Hilton Surpass which is why I am a huge fan of it. When it comes to hotel elite statuses, a lot of hotels do not provide you with free breakfast. But this is one reason why I like Hilton Gold so much because it is one of the few that do.
The Surpass also hooks you up with a Priority Pass airport lounge membership that gives you 10 complimentary visits per year and it has great bonus earning potential. If you like Hilton but don’t want to cough up the high annual fee of the Aspire, the Surpass is an amazing offer.
A complimentary breakfast at the Hilton Conrad Maldives.
Best hotel credit cards for free nights
If you’re just trying to get free nights there are a few options you can go with.
Some cards will provide you with a lot of points so that you can cover award nights for free and other cards may provide you with free night certificates that are issued on your anniversary year or perhaps after you meet a certain minimum threshold for spending.
And then there are cards that will offer you something like the fourth night free. You may want to highly consider getting multiple hotel cards that offer free nights because many times one free night can completely offset the annual fee for the card making it worth holding on to several hotel cards.
Here’s a look at a few of the top cards for free hotel nights.
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
Bonus: 140,000 IHG points after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months (plus, earn 10,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 each account anniversary year)
Annual fee: $89
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card is a great hotel credit card to use for helping to stretch the value of your points. One of the perks that it comes with is the fourth night free whenever you are using points to cover your stay. So this card is a great way to stretch the value of your points and cover more free nights.
You’ll also get IHG Platinum status (it’s just okay) and a free anniversary night each year at any IHG property in the world equal to 40,000 IHG points per night. There’s actually a lot of quality choices to choose from and you can read the full guide to the free night here.
World of Hyatt
Bonus:
Earn 25,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
Plus, earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months.
Annual fee: $95
The World of Hyatt Credit Card is great because Hyatt points are some of the most valuable hotel points you can use. This means that you can get some quality free nights by just utilizing your welcome bonus in a smart way. Just take a look at the Hyatt award chart and you can see how far points could get you. With just 60,000 points, you could cover three nights at a super solid category five property.
But you can also get free nights other ways.
Every year you will receive one free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after your cardmember anniversary. And if you spend $15,000 during a calendar year, you’ll get one more free night. To see the best options to use your free night certificates for Hyatt be sure to check out our guide here.
Citi Prestige
Bonus: 50,000 bonus Citi ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual fee: $495
The Citi Prestige is a great benefits-rich travel rewards credit card. It’s known for its high bonus categories of 5X on dining and air travel but it also has a great perk that allows you to get the fourth night free for hotel stays.
The bad news is that this benefit has been devalued over the past few years and now you only can use it a couple of times per year and must go through the Citi ThankYou portal to use it meaning that you could lose out on elite benefits.
The Bonvoy Brilliant will get you a free night at up to a 50,000/night property which includes some truly luxurious brands so if you were looking for a free night at a more top-end property consider that card.
Hotel credit card perks are how you can easily justify their high annual fees. It’s not uncommon to find cards that offer hundreds of dollars worth of credits that can be used for various things like room rates and on site purchases such as room service.
You have to keep an eye on some of the restrictions they come with but for the right person they can essentially offset an entire annual fee and easily be worth it.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Bonus: 100,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 25,000 bonus points after your first anniversary of Card Membership.
Annual fee: $450
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is very similar to the Aspire card because it’s a premium card with a lot of credits. I really like the $300 credit it comes with that can be used on room rates for Marriott bookings. So if you wanted to stay at an awesome Marriott Beach property, you could effectively mark down the price by $300 when you use this card. Pretty impressive.
In addition to that, it comes with a $100 property credit and other perks like Priority Pass and a $100 credit for Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check. The 6X it earns on Marriott properties isn’t too shabby either along with the 3X on US restaurants and flights booked directly with airlines.
In my opinion, this is a must have credit card for anybody who is a frequent Marriott traveler. Keep reading below for more details on this card when it comes to elite status.
Hilton Aspire
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $450
The Hilton Aspire makes the list again but this time it is because of the great perks attached to the card. The Aspire is unique because if you utilize all of its credits, you can pretty easily make a profit on this card and completely offset its $450 annual fee.
$250 Airline incidental fee statement credit
$250 Hilton resort statement credit
$100 on property credit at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts when booking the exclusive Aspire Card package
You’ll also get a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership and a free anniversary night. So for somebody staying at resorts or interested in using its on property credit for things like dining and spa treatment, it’s hard to beat the Aspire.
Sapphire Reserve
Welcome Bonus: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $550
The Chase Sapphire Reserve will get you access to the luxury hotels and resorts collection LHRC. This is a fine collection of luxury properties around the globe and when you book through it you can receive elite-like benefits such as:
Daily breakfast for two
Complimentary Wifi
Room upgrade (based on availability)
Early check-in and late check-out (based on availability)
Special benefit at each property
It also gives you perks to Relais & Châteaux, which is a “prestigious collection of independently owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants, representing approximately 500 establishments globally.”
At these properties, you can receive a VIP welcome which includes things like a bottle of champagne on arrival and also free breakfast (at some properties). Plus, you can get other many solid travel benefits which include a $300 travel credit that can be used on hotel stays.
Because this is a Visa Infinite card, you’ll also get access to the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, with similar benefits including:
Best available rate guarantee
Automatic room upgrade upon arrival, when available
Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, when available
Complimentary continental breakfast daily
$25 USD food or beverage credit per stay
VIP Guest status
Late check-out upon request, when available
Special amenity unique to each property, such as an additional dining credit or spa credit
The Sapphire Reserve earns 3X on dining and travel purchases so you can rack up points on hotel stays pretty quickly and you can also transfer points to some great travel partners including the best hotel partner: Hyatt. If you don’t want to transfer points, you can just use the Chase Travel Portal and redeem points at a rate of 1.5 cents per point.
Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.
Best hotel credit cards for hotel spend
For people who are going to do a lot of hotels stays each year, they should really be looking to maximize the spend on those stays by grabbing a co-branded hotel card for the specific brand they are planning on racking up nights and stays with.
If you want a hotel card that is going to give you the most value back whenever you use it to purchase hotel rooms, you want to look at the following parts.
Hilton Aspire
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $450
The Hilton Aspire makes the list again but this time for its great return on Hilton spend. You’ll earn a whopping 14X with the Hilton Aspire per dollar spent on Hilton stays which based on a WalletFlo valuation comes out to 7.28% back.
Because you’ll have automatic Diamond status, you’ll also be earning an additional 20X for a total of 34X per dollar spent on most Hilton brands. You can often stack this with ongoing Hilton promotions and earn even more points making this a super lucrative credit card for hotel spend.
World of Hyatt
Bonus:
Earn 25,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
Plus, earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months.
Annual fee: $95
The World of Hyatt Credit Card is also great for its value when staying at Hyatt properties. Using a WalletFlo valuation, you will be getting about 6.28% back when using your card at Hyatt properties.
If you consider the additional points you will earn with Hyatt Discoverist status you will be earning 9.5 points per dollar spent which comes out to about 14.9% back which is pretty solid!
Platinum
Welcome Bonus: 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months
Annual Fee: $550
If you don’t want to be locked into one single hotel brand the Platinum Card can be one of the best credit cards to use when purchasing hotel stays because it earns an amazing 5X per dollar spent. Utilizing WalletFlo valuations, that comes out to 8.75% back on hotels. That is extremely valuable.
The drawback to the Platinum Card is that you will have to book through Amex Travel to get the 5X earnings. Many times when you book through such a portal, you are not able to receive your elite status benefits so the increased earnings on your spend may be outweighed by the loss of certain benefits.
But it is worth pointing out that if you book through the FHR, you can earn 5X the points and still get elite perks.
One more thing worth mentioning is that you can take advantage of Amex Offers. Many of these offers will provide you with discounts at popular hotel brands like Hilton and Marriott so you can end up saving even more on your hotel stays (sometimes several hundred dollars).
Wyndham Rewards Visa
Welcome Bonus: 30,000 Wyndham points after you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days
Annual Fee: $75
In addition to 2X on gas, utility, and grocery store purchases, the Wyndham Rewards Visa offers 5X on Wyndham stays. Using a WalletFlo valuation of .87, 5X comes out to 4.3% back.
Since you will also get Wyndham Platinum status, you’ll be earning an additional 11.5 points per dollar spent for a total of 16.5 points. So your total return when staying at Wyndham properties would be at least 14.3% back. That’s actually very competitive and it’s definitely a strong point of this credit card.
Best hotel credit cards for your daily spending
Most hotel branded cards are not going to offer the best reward rates for every day spend purchases. Don’t get me wrong, you can still earn some decent rewards that make it worth using the card but most likely you will not be optimizing your spend in these categories by using a co-branded hotel credit card and should use a different type of travel credit card.
Hilton Surpass
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $95
When it comes to bonus categories, the Hilton Surpass is loaded. Here’s a look at some of those rates that it earns on purchases:
12X for charges with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
6X at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
3X on all other eligible purchases
6X amounts to about 3.1% back. So this effectively turns into a 3% back card on the categories like dining, groceries, and gas. And even its 3X on all purchases isn’t bad since it amounts to close to a 1.5% return.
World of Hyatt — Everyday spend
Bonus:
Earn 25,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
Plus, earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months.
Annual fee: $95
If you want to use a hotel card for every day non-bonused spend, it’s hard to not go with this credit card. With the valuation of 1.57 cents per point, you’re earning about 1.5% back on all purchases which is extremely competitive with some of the best cashback credit cards.
The World of Hyatt card is also good for other categories like transit and gym memberships where it earns an elevated amount of points (2X).
Best hotel credit cards for high spenders
If you are a high spender, meaning someone who spends $60,000 or more on credit cards, you can get some special perks from hotel credit cards. These perks could provide you with elite status upgrades or in other cases — additional free nights.
Here are a few of the hotel credit cards that should be on your radar if you are spending tons of money on your cards.
World of Hyatt
Bonus:
Earn 25,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.
Plus, earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months.
Annual fee: $95
The World of Hyatt Credit Card allows you to earn 2 additional qualifying night credits toward your next tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card. This means that it’s one of the few or only hotel cards where you can spend your way up into top elite status.
Here is what you would need to spend your way to these with these levels of spend:
Welcome Bonus: 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $450
In addition to all of the perks discussed above, you’ll also earn an additional night after you spend $60,000 on purchases on your card in a calendar year. $60,000 is a lot to spend for just one free night but Hilton allows you to use those free night certificates at the most expensive properties so this is a pretty legit perk in my opinion.
Bonus: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you make $5,000 in eligible purchases on your Card within the first 3 months.
Plus, earn an additional 25,000 bonus points after your first anniversary of Card Membership
Annual fee: $450
With the Marriott Brilliant, you can get Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status after making $75,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Platinum elite status from Marriott is much more valuable than Gold and that is where the benefits start to offer real value.
Here are some of the benefits that you’ll be able to enjoy. (The top benefits for me are the guaranteed lounge access that can come with complimentary breakfast.)
50% Bonus on points
Complimentary room upgrade
Welcome gift
Guaranteed Lounge Access
4pm late check-out
Annual Choice Benefit
Guaranteed Room Type
Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos.
Best no annual fee hotel credit cards
Surprisingly, there are quite a few hotel credit cards that do not come with annual fees. Something to keep in mind about these cards is that you can often upgrade to more lucrative products once you get a sense of your needs for a hotel credit card. And sometimes you can get special offers for those upgrades.
Hilton Honors Card
Welcome Bonus: 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $0
The Hilton Honors Card no annual fee credit card is a great starter hotel credit card. It comes with some very respectable bonus earning including 5X on groceries, gas, and dining.
As far as elite status goes, you’ll be given complimentary Silver Status. While Hilton Silver status does not have much to offer, if you spend $20,000 in a calendar year you can earn an upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold status.
I also like that the Hilton Honors Card will often come with upgrade possibilities down the line that contain special bonus offers. These allow you to earn more hotel points while not opening up a new account and thus impacting your credit score.
Bonus: 30,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months
Annual fee: $0
The Radisson Rewards Visa Card is an underdog of a hotel credit card. This credit card can be a free night earning machine as you can earn one free night E-Cert for each $10,000 in spend (up to $30,000). So that’s a total of three free nights per year for only $30,000 in spend and there’s no annual fee. This is an awesome value proposition if you have plans to stay at any of the Radisson brands.
Marriott Bold
Bonus: 30,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months
Annual fee: $0
The Marriott Bold card is one of the newest hotel credit cards on the market. It will provide you with Marriott Silver status which while not my favorite elite status is better than nothing.
You will be able to earn 3X at Marriott properties and also on a wide variety of travel purchases. I like that the card has no foreign transaction fees making it a good option for international travelers. The welcome bonus may seem pretty low but there are actually a lot of cheap Marriott properties out there that aren’t that bad.
Small business hotel credit cards
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
Welcome Bonus: 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $95
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a solid business hotel credit card that is similar to the Hilton Surpass. It will provide you with complimentary Hilton Gold status and it also has some great bonus categories which include 6X on select business purchases at:
U.S. gas stations
Wireless telephone services purchases directly from U.S. service providers
U.S. purchases for shipping
U.S. restaurants
Flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel
Car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies
You’ll also get a free weekend night when you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year and if you spend $60,000 total, you’ll get an additional free night. You’ll also be able to upgrade to Hilton Diamond after $40,000 in spend in one year. So as you can see, this card can be very rewarding to your business if you put your spend on it.
Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card
Bonus: 100,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months
Annual fee: $125
The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card is another solid business hotel credit card. It will set you up with Marriott Silver status and it also comes with some decent bonus categories which include 6X at Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 4X at:
U.S. restaurants
U.S. gas stations
Wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
U.S. purchases for shipping
You’ll get one free night every year after your account anniversary and you can earn an additional free night after you spend $60K in a calendar year. The only thing that I am not crazy about with this card is its high annual fee of $125.
Final word
Like I stated above, finding the perfect hotel credit card is all about knowing your preferences and then shopping around for the right card. It’s really easy to do if you first narrow down the brands you are interested in and then you can just focus on your priorities like free nights, bonus spend, etc. In the end, I think it’s very smart to have multiple hotel credit cards so that you can take advantage of different programs.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card Review [2020]
In early 2018, Chase made big changes to its main IHG product when it rolled out the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card. The free night benefit underwent a major devaluation, the annual fee went up, but new perks were introduced like the 4th night free and a 20% discount on points purchases. With those changes in mind, here’s a look at the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and a review of whether or not it’s worth it.
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card intro
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card comes with the following features:
Welcome bonus can range from 80,000 to 140,000 points after meeting the minimum spend
10,000 points after you spend $20,000 and make one additional purchase each cardmember year
25X for spend at IHG
2X at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
Annual free night certificate at an “eligible hotel”
Automatic Platinum Elite Status
20% discount on purchases of IHG points
4th night free on award stays
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every 4 years
No foreign transaction fees
$89 annual fee
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Welcome bonus
This is definitely one of those credit cards that you want to try to time for one of the better bonuses.
For this card, we’ve seen bonuses offering 80,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months and then much higher bonuses offering 140,000 IHG points after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months.
IHG award redemptions range from 10,000 points per night all the way up to 70,000 points per night. So if you were able to catch this bonus at a higher offer of 140,000 points, you could score 2 nights at a high end property where the value could be in the thousands.
If you want to put your rewards on steroids, you can book something like the Crowne Plaza in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. That would be a 60,000 points redemption per night and the cost for NYE is over $3,000!
One interesting thing about this card is that you can also get an additional bonus of 10,000 points after you spend $20,000 and make one additional purchase each cardmember year.
10,000 points for $20,000 worth of spend and one additional purchase is not something I would be super excited about. This bonus is very similar to other hotel credit cards that offer free nights for hitting spend around $15,000. But 10,000 points will only take you so far with IHG so the extra bonus does not excite me very much.
One thing to be aware of with IHG is that you can take advantage of PointBreaks. These will offer you savings and allow you to stretch your points even further.
So if I were applying for this card, I would try to score a bonus of at least 100,000 points.
InterContinental Times Square.
Eligibility
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card is subject to the Chase credit card application rules including the Chase 5/24 rule and the 24-month rule, not to mention the 2/30 rule.
One thing that I like about this card is that if you had the old IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card, you are not disqualified from eligibility for this card.
The terms only state:
This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.
Instead of trying to keep up with calculating all of these rules yourself, I highly recommend that you sign up for the free app WalletFlo which will automate your eligibility for all of these credit card rules.
You can also set up notifications so that you are reminded when you are finally eligible along with keeping tabs on your annual fees, upgrade history, etc.
2X at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants
1X on other purchases
25X at IHG
The 25X at IHG is broken down as follows
10X as an IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Cardmember
10X for being an IHG Rewards Club member
5X with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of this card
Using a WalletFlo valuation of .56, that comes out to 14% back which is pretty solid. If you plan on staying a lot at IHG properties, this card can be very rewarding.
2X at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants
2X at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants is not very strong. This comes out to just over 1% back based on the valuation above. You can do much better than this with travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred which earns much more valuable Ultimate Rewards.
1X on all other purchases
Because of the valuation of .56, this card would be earning just over half a percent on all purchases which is not good at all. You’d be way better off using a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited which earns 1.5X on all purchases. You could then transfer your points over from the Chase Freedom Unlimited to your IHG account at a 1:1 ratio as well.
Annual free night certificate
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card provides you with an annual free night certificate that can be used at properties costing up to 40,000 points per night.
The annual free night with the old IHG credit card allowed you to book a free night at any IHG property, including top level InterContinentals. For that reason it was one of my top choices for earning a free hotel night stay.
However, the new IHG card is now more on the level of other cards that have a capped anniversary night like the Marriott and Hyatt cards which both offer free nights in the mid-tier range.
If you want to check out ways to maximize your free night with the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card be sure to read our full guide here.
Earn on IHG Rewards Club Dining, OpenTable & Grubhub
IHG Platinum status is not the most lucrative hotel elite status, but it’s helped us to get upgrades in the past so it’s added at least some value to our travels.
You’ll notice that there is no free breakfast that comes with the status, though. (It is possible to get a free breakfast at some properties though.)
I think the most valuable perk is probably the 50% bonus on earnings since that can really start to add up as you saw above with earning 25X on IHG purchases. If you’re interested in cards that offer more valuable hotel elite status check out the full list here.
20% discount on IHG points
IHG has been offering some great promos on purchased points recently and has even lowered the price of their points.
Combining these point promos with the 20% discount offered by this card has opened up some great opportunities, allowing members to save tons of cash on their stays by simply booking with purchases points instead of paying cash.
If you are a true IHG loyallist, this 20% discount could be very lucrative because you could purchase points whenever a promo takes place (knowing that you will use the points for a hotel stay).
IHG credit card offer 4th night free
This is the biggest new perk offered by this card.
With this card, you’ll be given the 4th night free on award stays. Some other hotel programs offer 5th night free but getting the 4th night free is a major perk because it’s much easier to use.
This perk can also increase the value of point purchases with the 20% discount. If you think about it, you can triple stack discounts if you purchased points at a 20% discount while a promotion was going on and then used the fourth night free.
If you would normally make a 4 night stay at an IHG property with points, then this benefit alone could make it worth getting this credit card.
Global Entry / TSA Pre-Check credit
You’ll get a $100 credit for either Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check every 4 years.
It seems like every card is offering this perk now but it’s always cool to see it offered by a card with an annual fee under $100 because it means that you can come out on top if you’ve never used these programs before.
I highly recommend enrolling in Global Entry since it comes with automatic TSA Pre-Check status.
Global Entry will save you tons of time when coming back into the country.
IHG Rewards Club Premier
The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card has some travel and purchase protections to offer but to be honest they are not very strong. If you want to optimize your travel protections for things like trip cancellation or rental car insurance, you will be much better off with something like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance
If your trip is canceled or interrupted because of a covered reason like sickness, severe weather, or some other situation you can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including “passenger fares, tours, and hotels.”
Other cards like the Sapphire Preferred offer this protection up to $10,000 per trip so you can easily get your coverage doubled by going with a better card.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
If you or your immediate family members’ checked or carry-on bags are damaged or lost by the carrier, you’re covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
Baggage Delay Insurance
Baggage delay protection will reimburse you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing when your baggage is delayed over 6 hours by a passenger carrier. You can be reimbursed for up to $100 a day for 3 days.
This is a pretty decent protection here but it only covers three days while other cards will cover you for up to five days.
Purchase Protection
The purchase protection will cover your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. If you go with a premium card instead, you can get purchase protection up to $10,000 per claim so this is definitely on the weaker side.
Annual fee
The annual fee is $89. If you utilize your annual free night, you should be able to offset this annual fee each year pretty easily. And if you take advantage of any of the perks like the free fourth night or 20% discount on points, it should be even easier to come out way on top with this hotel card.
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card FAQ
Does the IHG Rewards Club Premier have foreign transaction fees?
No, the IHG Rewards Club Premier does not have foreign transaction fees.
Does the IHG Rewards Club Premier offer hotel elite status?
Yes, you will get automatic IHG Platinum elite status. See the IHG Platinum elite status section above for more details.
What properties can you use the free night at?
You can use the free anniversary night at IHG properties that cost up to 40,000 points per night. See the full guide above for more details.
Does the IHG Rewards Club Premier offer lounge access?
No, you do not get lounge access to airports or to hotels with this card.
Is the IHG Rewards Club Premier subject to 5/24?
Yes, the card is subject to the 5/24 rule along with other application rules.
What credit score is needed for the IHG Rewards Club Premier?
I would recommend only applying for this card if you have a good credit score, such as a score close to 720. However, it’s possible to get approved for this card even if your credit score is in the (upper) 600s.
Can I get a credit limit increase for the IHG Rewards Club Premier?
The IHG Rewards Club Premier doesn’t offer as much value to everyone as it used to but it actually offers a lot more value to IHG customers and loyalists. If you are interested in staying at IHG properties, you can come out way ahead with a great welcome bonus, strong bonus earning, the fourth night free on awards stays, and a hefty discount on point purchases.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Chase Ink Business Cash vs Chase Freedom (No Annual Fees) [2020]
Both the Chase Ink Business Cash and the Chase Freedom are two great travel rewards credit cards with no annual fee.
But how do these cards compare to each other and should you get one or the other? This article will take a close look at both of these great cash back cards and review which card has the better value when it comes to things like sign-up bonuses, bonus categories, and other special perks.
Business vs personal cards
The first thing to note right off the bat is that the Chase Ink Cash is a business credit card and the Chase Freedom is a personal credit card.
This means that you’ll need to have a business in order to apply for the Chase Ink Cash. But that doesn’t mean you have to have a traditional business — there are lot of different types of businesses and even things like selling items on eBay could be a sufficient business. You can read more about how to get approved for business credit cards.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Sign-up bonus
Chase Ink Cash
The Chase Ink Cash comes with a very solid sign-up bonus of $500 in cash back after spending $3,000 in the first three months. The $3,000 spending requirement is lower than many business cards that often force you to spend $5,000 or more to receive the bonus.
The Ink Cash earns cash back for its sign-up bonus but if you have a premium card like the Chase Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, or Sapphire Reserve then you’ll take home 50,000 Ultimate Rewards which can be transferred to a lot of travel partners like:
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airlines
Aer Lingus
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Iberia Airways
JetBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotels
World of Hyatt
IHG Rewards Club
Marriott Bonvoy
Chase Freedom
The Chase Freedom comes with $150 after you spend $500 in the first three months. This is obviously much less than what the Ink Cash offers but then again the minimum spend requirement is much lower, too
For a no annual fee card, getting $500 in cash back is not very common so the Ink Cash is definitely the stronger contender here. In fact, the Ink Cash is one of the most valuable no annual fee cards you’ll probably ever come across when it comes to your sign-up bonus.
Bonus spending
Chase Ink Cash
Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:
Internet, cable and phone services
Office supply stores
Getting 5X is great especially considering that the Chase Ink Plus no longer is available to new applicants.
Office supplies stores like Staples, Office Max, etc. will trigger the 5% cash back, making it a very valuable card for office supplies stores.
This is especially true because you can purchase gift cards at many office supply stores! So instead of earning a standard 1X on many purchases (or even 2X or 3X), you can head to an office supply store and buy a gift card to that establishment and potentially quintuple your earnings! Just take a look at all of the gift cards you can purchase from Staples so see how you can earn 5X on purchases like groceries, travel, and shopping!
It also just feels good to earn 5% back on monthly phone, internet, and cable bills which can add up to pretty big savings for a lot of people.
Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:
Gas stations
Restaurants
Getting 2X on gas and dining isn’t a bad bonus category either.
Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
If you’re interested in the Chase Ink Cash then you might also want to consider the Chase Ink Unlimited which earns 1.5% back on all purchases.
Chase Freedom
The Chase Freedom earns 5% on rotating quarterly categories on up to $1,500 spent per quarter. That means you can earn up to 7,500 Ultimate Rewards per quarter with the 5% bonus and after that you’ll just earn 1% back.
If you max out the quarterly bonus spend (which is pretty difficult to do for many people) then you could net $300 in cash back per year based on the 5% alone. One thing to note is that you must remember to activate the bonus each quarter.
Getting 5X back on rotating categories isn’t bad but I really prefer getting 5X on a consistent basis like what the Ink Cash offers. It’s also nice to get 2X on gas and dining, so overall I’d prefer the Ink Cash.
Annual Fee
Both cards come with no annual fee.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Primary rental car coverage
The Chase Ink Cash offers primary rental car coverage when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most cars in the U.S. and abroad.
Meanwhile the Chase Freedom only offers secondary coverage. This is a huge difference if you rent cars on business travel since the Ink Cash will serve you much better.
Chase application rules
Both of these cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule and because of that you will be denied for these cards if you’ve opened up 5 or more accounts within the past two years.
The Chase Ink Cash is known for offering referrals although currently you might not be able to pull them up. But typically, the Chase Ink Cash referral allows you to earn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
Chase Freedom
The Chase Freedom referrals allow you to earn 10,000 points per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
Chase Shopping Portal
Both of these cards give you access to the Chase Shopping Portal.
The Chase Shopping Portal is a special website open only to Chase cardmembers that allows you to earn additional bonus Ultimate Rewards when making purchases at various online retailers. It’s a fantastic way to increase your earnings and rack up points — you can learn more about this portal here.
Chase Travel Portal
Both of these cards will allow you to redeem your Ultimate Rewards through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1 cent per point. With the Chase Travel Portal, you can book flights, hotels, and more, so getting 1 cent back isn’t horrible but you’ll get much better value with other Chase cards.
For example, the Sapphire Preferred will allow you to redeem at a rate of 1.25 cents per point and the Chase Sapphire Reserve will allow you to redeem at 1.5 cents per point. Find out more about the Chase Travel Portal here.
Final word
Both of these cards are top-notch for no annual fee credit cards. The Ink Cash offers much more up-front value with its $500 sign-up bonus and a consistent way to earn 5% on many business purchases. Meanwhile, the Freedom is a great card for someone looking to earn 5% back with diverse spending.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Review (100,000 Points!) [2020]
The Chase Ink Preferred is one of the most popular small business credit cards on the market due its high value potential, solid travel and purchase protections, and strong bonus categories. But is it truly worth all the praise or is this card a little overhyped?
In this review article, I’m going to break down the Chase Ink Preferred and take a look at all of the value that this card has to offer and go over the benefits like the 100,000 point sign-up bonus, bonus spending, cell phone insurance, and a few others.
Be sure to check out the YouTube video at the end as well!
Sign-up bonus
The standard sign-up bonus for the Chase Ink Preferred is 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This is one of the most valuable credit card sign-up bonuses available.
Other Chase Ink cards have high offers of 50,000 points and the Sapphire Reserve offers a 50,000 point offer as well. So this is a significant increase from those offers.
With that said, there have been targeted offers that have gone out for 120,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Those were incredible offers but you pretty much just need a ton of luck to be on your side in order to receive one of those and only a small group of people received those.
Then there’s the 100K offer. This is an offer that has been available in-branch before but mostly to Business Relationship Manager (BRM) clients and only during certain times of the year (usually starting around March). BRM clients are business clients with high revenue around $1,000,000+.
I haven’t heard a lot about this recently so I wouldn’t get your hopes up for it.
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
What can you do with 100,000 points?
Overall, I’d be very happy with the 100,000 point offer if that is all that I could find because that’s a lot of value. You could use those points in the Chase Travel Portal and redeem your points for $1,250 worth of travel or you could transfer them out to some of the transfer partners which are listed below.
You can use your Ultimate Rewards to experience some of the top business class and first class cabins in the world. Here are a few specific examples of what you could do with your points.
If you’re trying to fly internationally, 65,000 miles could cover you for a roundtrip in economy to Europe for a Saver award or a one-way business class award. You’d also have enough miles for a roundtrip in economy to Asia or a one-way flight in business class on a partner like EVA (worth $3,300+).
Southwest
80,000 points transferred to Southwest could get you very far, especially if you have the Companion Pass. You could easily score a handful of roundtrips around the country if you jumped on the right Wanna Get Away fares.
Singapore
You could use Singapore miles to book two roundtrip business class tickets on United to anywhere in the domestic US or from the US to Canada (worth $1,500+).
Virgin Atlantic
After meeting the minimum spend, you’d only be 5,000 miles short of being able to redeem a roundtrip business class ticket on partner ANA from Japan to the western US (worth $5,000+)!
Hyatt
100,000 points transferred to Hyatt could get you at least 4 nights at a solid property like the Park Hyatt Bangkok, 3 nights at a category 6 property, and after meeting your minimum spend, you’d only be a few thousand points short of having 3 nights a top category 7 property like the Park Hyatt Milan (worth $2,700+).
Park Hyatt Bangkok.
Bonus earning
The Chase Ink Preferred earns 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:
Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable and phone services
Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
Travel
Travel is broadly defined and allows you to earn triple the points on all sorts of purchases. The Chase Sapphire Reserve also earns 3X on travel but it comes with a much higher annual fee of $550 so this is a strong perk for a card with a $95 annual fee.
Shipping
If your business does a lot of shipping then this is a great way to capitalize on earnings. Other cards do offer bonus potential for spending on shipping though like the new Amex Business Gold Card.
That card allows you to earn 4X points on the 2 select categories where your business spends the most each month and it applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.
You can choose from the following:
Airfare purchased directly from airlines
U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
U.S. purchases at gas stations
U.S. purchases at restaurants
U.S. purchases for shipping
The Amex Business Gold Card does come with a very high annual fee of $295, though, and it currently does not offer a standard welcome bonus of Membership Rewards.
Internet, cable and phone services
Getting 3X on internet, cable and phone services is certainly nice but there’s always the option of going with the Chase Ink Cash which offers 5X on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year.
So if you really want to capitalize on these categories and your spend is somewhere around that $25,000 range, you might really consider using the Chase Ink Cash to maximize those categories.
The Ink Cash also earns 2X on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. And the Ink Cash comes with no annual fee.
Advertising
You’ll earn 3X on advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines which is great but again consider what you might be able to earn with the Amex Gold Business Card that offers 4X on those categories.
Everyday
For every purchase that does not fall into a bonus category you’ll earn 1X on that purchase. If you can do it, you might want to think about getting another card like the Chase Ink Unlimited or the Chase Freedom Unlimited since both of those cards earn 1.5X on all purchases with no limit.
Another contender might be the Amex Business Blue Plus which earns 2X on all purchases up to $50,000. That’s one of the best everyday spending cards though it is capped at that $50K mark.
Inside tip: The Chase Ink Preferred has coded as 3X for services like Plasiq and Venmo in the past so keep an eye out for that!
Earn 3X on travel with the Ink Preferred.
Can you use the Ink for personal use?
A lot of people wonder whether or not they can use their Chase Ink cards for personal spend.
The application states the following in the terms and conditions:
I certify, understand and agree that: 1) This is a business account which shall be used only for business purposes and not personal, family or household purposes;
So according to the terms this should be used for business purposes. However, if you’ve ever ran your own business or you’re an entrepreneur you know that it’s not always so black and white and personal and business expenses can overlap.
Also, the terms allow for primary rental car coverage while “renting outside your country of residence for personal reasons” so this seems contradictory.
Thus, I think that it’s perfectly fine to use your Ink card some expenses that could be considered “personal” and many people do this.
Just keep in mind that some consumer protections don’t apply when you use a business card so you could be losing out on some of those. Also, if you’ve structured your business entity to protect your personal assets, it’s always a good idea to keep your personal and business funds and transactions as segregated as possible.
Cell phone protection
With the Ink Preferred, you’ll get up to $600 per claim in cell phone protection against covered theft or damage for you and your employees listed on your monthly cell phone bill when you pay it with your Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card. This is good for a maximum of 3 claims in a 12 month period with a $100 deductible per claim.
That $100 deductible cuts into the value of this benefit, especially because there are other (personal) cards that offer cell phone protection with a much smaller deductible. For example, Wells Fargo phone insurance is offered by certain credit cards and it will protect you up to $600 subject to only a $25 deductible.
Primary rental car coverage
This card is one of the few that offer primary rental car coverage.
This is huge because it means that you can avoid paying for rental car coverage when renting a car and save some money. But it also means that you can avoid filing a claim with your car insurance provider and avoid seeing an increase in your monthly premium.
It is primary coverage while renting primarily for business purposes or when renting outside your country of residence for personal reasons or if you do not have automobile insurance.
You can read more about the rental car coverage here.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Annual fee
The annual fee is $95. In the past, some people have been able to use get the annual fee waived with in-branch offers so keep an eye out for those in the future.
Foreign transaction fees
This card has no foreign transaction fees.
Chase 5/24 rule
This card is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule which means that if you have been approved for 5 or more accounts in the past 24 months you won’t be able to get approved.
However, this card does not count towards your 5/24 status which means that you want to prioritize this card and make it one of the first Chase cards (or any cards) that you apply for.
Business needed
Some ask if they can get the Ink Preferred without a real business. Well, this is a business credit card so you will need a business to qualify.
The good news it that just about anything can constitute a business, including selling things on eBay, Craigslist, and doing things like tutoring, etc. If that’s the case, you would likely want to apply as a sole proprietorship.
Chase Ink Preferred Approval odds
You’re going to need a good to excellent credit score to get the Chase Ink Preferred. I’d prefer to have a score of 720+ with a solid few years of credit history to feel comfortable applying but there are a lot of factors at play with approval decisions so the exact score needed will differ with each situation.
Chase does like to see a good credit history so if your credit profile is very thin getting the Chase Ink Preferred could prove to be difficult to get.
Tip: If you don’t have a relationship with Chase you might consider opening up a Chase business account to start building that relationship.
It probably helps to have business income/revenue for your application but there are reports out there of people getting approved for Chase Ink Cards with very little business income at times (under $2,000 and even $0). Some will resort to a good-faith projection of their income for the upcoming year but you’ll have to decide with what you’re most comfortable with.
You also need to know how to handle a Chase business reconsideration phone call since that might be needed. Note the questions about revenue and profit that will likely come up.
Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is a network of over 900 luxury properties all around the world and it comes with the following elite-like benefits:
Daily breakfast for two
Complimentary Wifi
Room upgrade (based on availability)
Early check-in and late check-out (based on availability)
Special benefit at each property
This benefit is not advertised for the Chase Ink Preferred but I was able to get access to the program with my Chase Ink Preferred. If you like to stay at luxury properties this program can save you a lot of money with its benefits. To learn more about this program click here.
Travel and purchase protections
For a card with only a $95 annual fee, the travel and purchase protections on this card are fantastic.
Trip cancellation and interruption
If your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per trip for your pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
This can be a life-saver when you’ve booked prepaid hotels or cruises or any type of tours and you’re forced to miss out on the trip due to something unexpected.
Trip delay
Covers you up to a maximum of $500.00 for each purchased ticket for reasonable expenses, on a one-time-basis, incurred if your Covered Trip is delayed by a Covered Hazard for more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay.
Getting compensation for flight delays is never guaranteed and if the source of the delay is something like bad weather, you have very minimal chances of getting covered for things like lodging with most airlines. And even when you do get some benefits, it can often be for a hotel stay limited to about $100 per night and only a meal or two.
With this protection you can choose which hotels you want to stay at and have $500 to work with which is pretty generous.
Baggage delay
This covers you up to $100.00 per day for a maximum of five days and is limited to emergency purchases of essential items needed as a result of the delay including but not limited to: clothing, toiletries, and charging cables for cellular telephones.
Some Chase cards only provide coverage for three days so it’s great to get full coverage for up to five days with this card.
Purchase protection
Covers your new purchases for up to 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. Many cards limit this protection to only $500 or some other low amount so getting covered up to $10,000 per claim is pretty significant.
Extended warranty
Extends the time period of U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
If you want to find out more about these protections, you can check out the benefits PDF.
YouTube
Final word
The Chase Ink Preferred stands out to me because of its high sign-up bonus, strong bonus earning categories, low annual fee, and solid protections. I think that it’s one of the best small business credit cards because of all of those reasons.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
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