Perhaps the best "starting out card" in miles and points.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a low annual fee, unlocks transfers from this and any linked Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning card to airline and hotel partners, comes with excellent built-in trip delay insurance, primary car rental CDW coverage and earns 2x points on travel and dining.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Earn Rate:

• 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
• 5X total points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3X points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
• 3X points on select streaming services
• 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 2X Ultimate Rewards points on all travel purchases
• 1X points on all other purchases

Important Note on the 5X multiplier for travel:  This card is listed as earning 5X on travel. You will only receive 5X if you book your travel via the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal (using cash). Hotels booked via the portal are prepaid will not earn hotel points or provide hotel loyalty program benefits. If you book travel directly with a provider, you will earn 2X instead of 5X.

Instacart Benefits

• 6 free months of Instacart Express
• $15/quarter in statement credits

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card DoorDash Benefits

You'll get free access to DashPass which gives you $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.

Chase Will Let you “Pay Yourself Back”

Chase Sapphire Preferred cardmembers can always use their points to book travel via the travel portal where they get 1.25 cents per point.

Now, you can redeem in the same manner for selected rotating categories. Instead of using a “portal” to make the purchases, you just pay as you normally would and then go into the Chase website to “pay” for that purchase with points. You will get the same 1.25 cents per point in value as you get booking travel. The feature is branded “Pay Yourself Back^SM“. 

The only requirement is that the merchant category be in one of the specified categories and you must “Pay yourself back” within 90 days of purchase.

Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers get the same opportunity, but at a higher 1.5 cents per point cash-out rate.

If you apply for a Chase credit card and don't get an instant approval, you may want to call the Chase reconsideration line.

Note: You will only be approved for a Chase credit card if you have applied for fewer than 5 personal credit cards within the last 24 months from any issuer. (Business cards do not count against the total, except for Capital One and Discover, but are subject to the policy). Learn more about the 5/24 rule here.

You also cannot be approved for a Sapphire Preferred if you currently have this card or a Sapphire Reserve card and/or if you have received a bonus on this card in the past 48 months. 

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is the entry-level Chase Southwest card and has the lowest annual fee of the three. Get 2X points on Southwest flights and 3,000 points per card anniversary in exchange for your annual fee each year, plus:

• 2X points on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares (like Uber and Lyft)
• 2X points on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year (Worth $15-$25 each)

Note: Our rewards calculator and Estimated Rewards Values assume all of your "Airfare" is on Southwest and is therefore counted at 2x points. If you also fly another carrier, you will only earn 1x points for those purchases.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card is the mid-level personal Southwest card with a modest annual fee. Get 6,000 points per card anniversary and 3x points on Southwest flights.

• 3X points on Southwest purchases (up from 2X)
• 2X points on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares (like Uber and Lyft)
• 2X points on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• 2 EarlyBird Check-Ins per year (Worth $15-$25 each)

Note: Our rewards calculator and Estimated Rewards Values assume all of your "Airfare" is on Southwest and is therefore counted at 3x points. If you also fly another carrier, you will only earn 1x points for those purchases.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is a premium-level Southwest card comes with extra benefits for loyal Southwest flyers. Get 7,500 points, a $75 Southwest credit, and 4 upgraded boarding positions each card anniversary.

• 3X points on Southwest purchases
• 2X points on local transit and commuting purchases, including rideshares (like Uber and Lyft)
• 2X points on internet, cable, phone, and select streaming
• Unlimited Tier Qualifying points (TQPs) towards A-List status - 1,500 Tier qualifying points for every $10,000 that you spend on the card
• 7,500 Rapid Rewards points each year on your card anniversary. Based on our 1.4 cent value, those points along are worth $105 toward Southwest Airlines flights.
• A $75 annual Southwest travel credit. Just charge your Southwest flight to your credit card and Chase will automatically reimburse you. The credit renews every year after your card anniversary date.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year. Southwest is a first-come, first-served system for boarding. The earlier you check in, the better your boarding position. But upgraded boardings allow you to skip the cattle car process, automatically giving you an A1-A15 position. Normally, you need to pay for these boarding spots, but the card will reimburse you for the first four that you purchase.
• No foreign transaction fees. You won’t pay any foreign transaction fees when you use the card to make purchases abroad.
• 20% back on all inflight purchases. That includes WiFi, as well.

Note: Our rewards calculator and Estimated Rewards Values assume all of your "Airfare" is on Southwest and is therefore counted at 3x points. If you also fly another carrier, you will only earn 1x points for those purchases.

United Quest(SM) Card Earn Rate

• 3X United miles on United purchases.
• 2X on other travel (like air, hotel, and car rentals). (Recall, though, that you can earn 3X points on any airline in the world with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or 2X on any airline in the world with a $95 annual fee Chase Sapphire Preferred.
• 2X miles on dining and streaming services.
• Everything else earns just 1 mile per dollar.

United Quest Benefits

• Two 5,000 mile award flight credits each year after account anniversary. Essentially, you will get 5,000 miles “back” after you book an award flight.
• $125 annual United purchase credit. This is a statement credit against UA purchases like airfare as well as things you can buy that are related to a flight, like checked bag fees, upgrades, seats, and Wifi.
• Earn 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend, up to 3,000 PQP in a Calendar Year - valid up to 1K status as long as the required PQF requirements are also met.
• 2 free checked bags
• Priority boarding
• $100 in Global Entry or TSA Precheck once every 4 years.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Premier upgrades on award tickets. Prioritized after the lowest paid fare class, a Premier member with this card will get upgraded on award tickets.
• 25% statement credit on onboard purchases (food, drinks, and wifi)
• Trip Cancellation / Interruption insurance
• Trip Delay reimbursement
• Primary car rental collision / damage waiver
• Purchase protection
• Roadside assistance

NOTE: In calculating your rewards for this card, we are making the assumption that all airfare entered is spent on United, which earns 3X. Other airfare earns 2X. If part of that spend is on other airlines, that spend will earn only 2x on this card, reducing the value of your rewards.

Instacart Mastercard Earn Rate

• 5% cash back for Instacart purchases made through the Instacart app or at Instacart.com
• 5% cash back for all travel purchased through the Chase Travel Center (only - direct bookings with airlines, hotels, etc do not qualify).
• 2% cash back at restaurants
• 2% cash back at gas stations
• 2% cash back on streaming services
• 1% cash back for all other purchases

If you are looking for a powerful card for all supermarket purchases, you'd be much better off with one of our top credit cards for supermarkets like the American Express Gold Card, which earns 4X Membership Rewards at supermarkets.

But if you are loyal to Instacart, this card is worth considering.

This is the no-fee version of the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, with somewhat reduced benefits in exchange for not having an annual fee.

The IHG credit card is best suited for spend at IHG properties where it earns IHG points at the rate of 5x IHG points per dollar (vs. 10x IHG points with the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card).

This card still gives you the 4th Night Free (defined below) on an Award Stay benefit which is one of the best reasons to have either IHG credit card, although you do give up many other features of the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card which does have an annual fee.

IHG Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card Earn Rates

• 5X per dollar spent at IHG properties
• 3X points per dollar on utilities
• 3X points per dollar on cable, Internet, and phone
• 3X points per dollar on select streaming services
• 3X points per dollar for dining
• 3X points per dollar for gas stations
• 2X points on all other eligible spend

Additional IHG Rewards Club Traveler benefits:

• The fourth reward night free: Enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for any consecutive four-night stay at an IHG hotel; your fourth night will be free!
• Earn 10,000 bonus points when you spend $10,000 in a calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees