Our “Famous Card Explorer”

Pros

• Robust 5x Membership Rewards® on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel
• Access to over 1,550 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection including Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass™ Select membership, and more.
• Unlock over $3,500 in business and travel value annually on the Business Platinum Card.

Cons

• High annual fee of $895
• While there are variety of generous statement credits, they are mostly specific to certain merchants: i.e. Dell, Adobe, Indeed, etc.
• Airline fee credit does not cover airfare, only incidentals like checked baggage fees or other incidentals.

Pros

• You can't beat the 4X points on 2 out of the following 6 categories each month: U.S. advertising and media, U.S. gas stations, U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, U.S. restaurants, U.S. wireless telephone service providers, and U.S. Transit
• Although the annual fee seems high, if you max out the 4X on $150,000 in purchases, that earns you 600,000 Membership Rewards points which Your Best Credit Cards values at around $10,000
• Card membership includes the very well regarded American Express customer service

Cons

• The high annual fee, despite being worth it for high spenders
• If you spend well over $150,000 a year in these categories, you may max it out and remaining spend earns at just 1X.
• Car rental CDW coverage is secondary to your own auto insurance

Pros

• A wide array of travel and lifestyle credits and exclusive access that can enhance your life.
• There is no better card for the breadth and variety of airport lounge access worldwide. Plus, the Centurion Lounge network is the largest amongst credit card issuers.
• One of the best cards to earn points on airfare: 5 points per dollar on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through the Amex Travel portal (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year).

Cons

• High annual fee that will require a bit of work to fully maximize.
• Besides airfare and select hotels, it's not the best card to use for other purchases as it only earns 1X on categories outside of flights booked directly with the airlines (5X) or through the Amex Travel portal (5X on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year) and 5X points for prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel.
• Car rental insurance is only secondary, not primary as it is with premium cards from Chase and Capital One.

Pros

• The annual fee is more than covered by annual credits
• Comes with access to Capital One lounges and Landings and participating Priority Pass™ lounges
• No Preset Spending Limit

Cons

• The annual fee, while effectively negative $5 after credits, can feel like a lot.
• Aside from bonus points for booking through Capital One Business Travel, there are no bonus categories. Still, all eligible purchases do earn 2X miles per dollar spent which is great.
• Points don't transfer to any domestic airlines, although you can use other partners to book domestic award tickets on domestic airlines.

Pros

• With no preset spending limit, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a perfect business card for businesses with a high amount of monthly spend.
• You'll never pay any foreign transaction fees.
• 2% cashback on all purchases.

Cons

• The $150 annual fee may be high if you aren't going to put significant spend on this card.
• There are no bonus categories other than car rentals and hotels via the Capital One Travel portal.
• Does not have a full range of trip protections or purchase protections, although it does offer Extended Warranty coverage.

Pros

• For a pure combination of spending on dining, groceries, and airfare, the American Express Gold card is unmatched
• Although the annual fee seems high, you can actually come out ahead by using available monthly statement credits
• Earns valuable American Express Membership rewards points and card membership includes the highly regarded American Express customer service

Cons

• The annual fee of $325, despite the statement credits that can offset it, is steep for some
• Bonus categories are limited to just three
• Car rental CDW coverage is secondary to your own auto insurance

Pros

• 2% Unlimited Cash Back on Eligible Purchases
• 5% Unlimited Cash Back on Flights and Prepaid Hotels Booked at American Express Travel Online
• No Preset Spending Limit; No limit on Rewards

Cons

• High annual fee
• Limited Statement Credits available compared to some other mid-level annual fee cards

Pros

Cons

Pros

• Earn 3X Membership Rewards points on travel, transit, and restaurants worldwide
• Get CLEAR membership with the included $209 CLEAR credit
• A variety of purchase and trip protections are included

Cons

• $150 annual fee
• Trip delay coverage doesn't kick in until the delay is 12 hours or more
• Only earns 1X points on purchases outside of eligible travel, transit, and global dining purchases

Pros

• No foreign transaction fees
• Choose each statement cycle between cash back or extended payment terms of 60 days
• No Preset Spending Limit means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

Cons

• Car rental CDW benefit is secondary
• High annual fee
• Other cards earn higher rewards (although without the 60 day payment option)