Two Travel Cards for Everyday Rewards

These may be the two most profitable ones available today, but there is a distinct difference between and .

If you're looking for great perks along with tons of redemption value for both travel and regular spending, these cards are probably already at the top of your list. Before you sign up, we'll tell you everything you need to know about both Amex Gold and Chase Sapphire Preferred and how to decide which one is right for you.

American Express Gold Card Overview

• Annual fee: $250 ()

• welcome offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months

• reward:

  • 4x Points at Restaurants Worldwide

  • 4x points at US supermarkets (spend up to $25,000 annually, then 1x)

  • 3x points on flights booked directly through the airline or AmexTravel.com

  • 1x points on all other purchases

Why I like it: Whether you travel frequently or only occasionally, you want to get the most out of your daily spending. With the best deals on food and supermarkets, you can easily save up your rewards from the comfort of your home and cash them in on your next flight or vacation.

It's also nice to be able to offset the annual fee and save money each year. These include up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) when you connect your card to your Uber account, and at Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. . Amex Gold has a hefty annual fee of $250, but these credits alone could earn you as much as $240 a year.

american express gold card pro

• annual credit: With up to $240 in Uber Cash and annual meal statement credits back each year, you can almost outstrip your annual membership fee before taking into account benefits. Of course, these credits are only valuable if you get your money back on the items you would have bought anyway. If you don't typically use Uber for rideshares or buy from eligible eateries, you may not be using your full potential for the year.

• transfer partner: One of the best ways to use your Amex points is to transfer them to a transfer partner loyalty program. Amex has more than 20 travel partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors.

American Express Gold Card Cons

• Annual fee is high: There's a lot in return, but there's no getting around the fact that there's a hefty annual fee. At $250 () per year, you'll need to calculate your expenses and travel costs before applying to make sure you're getting enough benefits and benefits to justify the cost.

• Make the most of your benefits: Unlike some other rewards programs, different redemption options have different values. If you want to get the most out of your points, you'll typically want to use them to book flights through Amex Travel or transfer to partner airlines. There are other ways to get the full 1 cent per point, but many other travel rewards (like hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages with Amex Travel) are typically redeemed for .

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Overview

• Annual fee: $95

• welcome offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months

• reward:

  • 5x points when traveling through Chase Travel (does not include hotel costs that count toward annual hotel credit)

  • 3x points on dining

  • 3x points on online grocery purchases (excludes Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Club)

  • 3x points on some video streaming services

  • Double points on all other trips

  • 1x points on all other purchases

Why I like it: It offers solid rewards in many categories, but we love its redemption even more. If you choose to redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel, you'll receive a 25% increase in value, making each point effectively worth 1.25 cents. For example, if you have 100,000 points to redeem, you can earn up to $1,250 towards your next Chase Travel reservation.

You'll also receive up to $50 in annual statement credits on hotels booked through Chase Travel, and an annual point bonus on your account anniversary. This is equivalent to 10% of the previous year's total purchases. All this for $95 per year. commission.

Chase Sapphire's recommended pros

• Redemption of high-value items: Earn 25% more reward points when you use your points to book travel through Chase Travel. This is one of the card's biggest perks, making the reward points one of the most valuable. If you're comfortable booking your travel through your issuer's portal, this can be a great way to make the most of all the points you earn.

• transfer partner: Like Amex, Chase has a long list of travel transfer partners where you can redeem points. These include British Airways Executive Club, Flying Blue Air France KLM, JetBlue TrueBlue, United MileagePlus, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and more.

Chase Sapphire Favorable Cons

• Lack of annual credits/benefits: When you book a hotel stay through Chase Travel, you can get up to $50 back in statement credits, but it's hard to match Amex Gold's high-end credits. Compare your spending before applying to see if you can earn enough benefits to offset the annual fee.

• Not the best pay rate: This card helps you earn great rewards if your spending falls under the rewards category. However, it lags a bit behind his 4x rate offered by Amex Gold and the wide range of benefit categories found on other services. Still, there are plenty of opportunities to earn great rewards with Sapphire Preferred.

Should you get Amex Gold?

Daily benefit categories and generous annual credits make it one of the most rewarding available today, even with a high annual fee.

First, the 4x return rate (up to annual limits) on both restaurant and U.S. supermarket meals is one of the highest of all. Plus, with Uber Cash and meal statement credits, you can get almost your entire annual fee back every year. It helps you maintain your card's annual value even when you're not traveling.

However, when you factor in travel perks and credits, it can far exceed the cost. This includes his 3x points on airfare purchases through Amex Travel or airlines, and up to $100 in experience credits for stays at eligible hotel collections booked through Amex Travel.

One thing to think about before earning is how to redeem your rewards. Use these to get the best perks when booking flights through Amex Travel. There are some other big-ticket rewards, but for example, hotel and car rental rewards typically earn 0.7 cents per point, compared to 1 cent per point for airline tickets.

Should I prioritize getting Chase Sapphire?

We believe that almost anyone looking for great travel value for a relatively low annual fee can benefit from .

As long as you don't mind booking your travel through the portal, the 25% increase in redemption value may be the best reason to choose this card. Let's take the welcome bonus as an example. These 60,000 bonus points can be redeemed for up to $750 in travel expenses.

And at just $95 a year, it's not hard to earn back your annual fee in benefits even if you only travel a few times a year.

Depending on how much you spend, you can also get a huge boost with a 10% bonus on every account anniversary. For example, let's say you charge your card an average of $1,200 a month, or $14,400 a year. This makes the 10% bonus equal to an additional 1,440 Ultimate Rewards points on top of the points you've already earned for the year. That's not a huge amount in and of itself, but the amount adds up over the years.

Should I get both cards?

For most cardholders, there is little reason to open both and . They have relatively similar compensation structures, and both offer additional benefits such as lounge access, elite status, or other significant annual discounts that may justify the additional cost of owning both. I have not.

Instead, consider which of these cards best fits your spending. For example, consider groceries. For many Americans, groceries are consistently one of the biggest expenses each month. If you don't have a grocery rewards card yet, but you spend a lot of money at your local supermarket, the Amex Gold offers one of the highest rates of any card today. But you may already have a card for grocery rewards or want to purchase your groceries through an online service. That way, you'll probably get even more value from the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

How you travel, including which travel brands you prefer, can also be a big deciding factor in choosing these cards. If you regularly fly Delta and are a Hilton Honors member, you'll probably benefit even more from Amex Travel Partners. However, if you live near a United Airlines hub and choose World of Hyatt as your loyalty program, you will need access to a transfer partner.

When using one of these cards, or any other card, it's most important to track your spending and make sure you don't overspend just to earn rewards or take advantage of perks. These cards can result in permanent debt balances if you can't pay them in full.

Other cards to consider

Here are some more we like, depending on what exactly you're looking for.

If you want to simplify your travel benefits:

Why I like it: also has the potential for great rewards. The annual fee is $99, and he gets a 75,000 point bonus if she spends $4,000 within her first three months. Ongoing benefits are simple. Earn 5x miles on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, and he earns 2x miles on all other purchases.

Redemption is also easy. You can use your miles to book future travel through Capital One Travel or apply them towards travel purchases that will be charged to your card. Capital One also has a list of 18 airline and hotel partners to which you can transfer miles, often at a 1:1 ratio.

If you want premium travel benefits:

Why I like it: If the cards listed above lack the extra perks that demand a premium experience every time you travel, a card may be faster for you. After approval, he will earn 80,000 bonus points when he spends $8,000 within his first 6 months. Benefits include 5x points on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 annually), 5x points on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel, and 1x points on all other purchases. It is included.

The annual fee costs a whopping $695 (), but if you travel frequently, the generous benefits and credits may make up for it. Here are just a few: Up to $200 in annual statement credits back on eligible prepaid Amex Travel hotel reservations; Up to $200 in annual statement credits on airfare charges on select airlines; Get up to $200 in Uber Cash per year ($15 per month plus a $20 bonus in December), up to $189 in statement credits for your CLEAR Plus membership, and more.

If you want to combine cashback with travel:

Why I like it: But you can earn rewards (in addition to cash back) that can be redeemed for travel through Chase Travel. This card has no annual fee and an initial 0% APR on new purchases and balance transfers.

These are all benefit categories. 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on dining, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. However, his first year comes with even more perks. This card increases earned rewards by 1.5% in all categories and up to $20,000 in first-year spending. For example, instead of getting 3% back on dining, he can get 4.5% back during this period. If you can make the most of the $20,000 limit, you can earn up to $300 in additional rewards.

This article was edited by rebecca mccracken

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