I Ranked Every Travel Credit Card In 2026 (Here's What's BEST)

[00:00] In a year of constant devaluations and

[00:02] negative news in the points and miles

[00:03] world, you're probably wondering which

[00:05] travel credit cards are actually worth

[00:07] it right now. Is it the big name cards

[00:09] that everybody talks about or maybe are

[00:11] there some hidden ones that are flying

[00:12] under the radar? Well, today we're going

[00:14] to answer that. I'll be ranking the best

[00:15] travel credit cards from every major

[00:17] bank from S tier all the way down to D

[00:19] tier. But to keep things focused, we're

[00:21] only going to be looking at cards that

[00:22] earn transferable points, not cash back

[00:25] or dedicated hotel and airline cards.

[00:27] And I'm also not just ranking these

[00:29] based on like total overall value. I'm

[00:31] ranking them based on how good I believe

[00:33] they are for the average person. So

[00:35] there's definitely going to be some

[00:36] takes in here that you disagree with,

[00:37] but I'll explain my reasoning for all of

[00:39] them, obviously. And I do encourage you

[00:40] to kindly share your opinion in the

[00:43] comment section, too. With that said,

[00:44] let's get into it with card number one,

[00:46] the Chase Sapphire Preferred. For many

[00:49] years at this point, this has been the

[00:50] most popular beginner travel credit

[00:52] card, mainly because of its relatively

[00:54] cheap $95 annual fee and the fact that

[00:56] it's the cheapest way to get access to

[00:58] Chase's transfer partners. Its earning

[01:00] rates are respectable too, but not

[01:02] amazing by any means. You get 5x back on

[01:04] travel through Chase, 3x on dining,

[01:07] online groceries, and select streaming,

[01:08] 2x on other travel, and 1x everywhere

[01:10] else. So really people aren't getting

[01:12] the card because of those earning rates.

[01:14] They get it because it unlocks that

[01:15] access to partners like Hyatt,

[01:17] Southwest, United, Air Canada, Virgin

[01:19] Atlantic, and more. There is a $50

[01:22] annual Chase travel hotel credit on this

[01:24] card, which does help a bit, but it's

[01:26] not enough to fully wipe the annual fee.

[01:28] And of course you are locked into their

[01:29] portal to use that. And honestly, I just

[01:31] wish that Chase would refresh this card

[01:32] in general without jacking up the annual

[01:35] fee because it's felt like dated for a

[01:37] long time now. As it stands though, it's

[01:39] still a solid entry point into the Chase

[01:41] Ultimate Rewards point ecosystem and

[01:43] practically mandatory if you want to

[01:44] travel on those Chase points. So for me,

[01:47] it's going to land in B tier. The longer

[01:49] that you're in this credit card game,

[01:50] the more likely you are to consider the

[01:52] next card on this list, the Amex Gold.

[01:55] It has a $325 annual fee, but Amex does

[01:58] give you over $400 in credits to offset

[02:01] that through their dining credit, Uber

[02:03] Cash credit, Dunkin credit, and Resy

[02:05] credit. But, I will say as somebody from

[02:06] the boonies that those credits are not

[02:08] equally easy for everybody to use. So,

[02:10] that is going to hold it back in the

[02:12] rankings here. Where this card really

[02:13] shines is the earning. You get 4x back

[02:15] on restaurants and groceries, 3x on

[02:17] flights, 2x on prepaid hotels, and 1x on

[02:20] everything else. And this is exactly why

[02:21] this card gets so much hype. It earns

[02:23] points really fast and not to mention

[02:25] those are Amex Membership Rewards points

[02:27] that it's earning, which are among the

[02:28] highest value points in the entire

[02:30] credit card world, particularly for

[02:32] international travel. For the right

[02:33] person, obviously, this card could be S

[02:36] tier, and I have ranked it like that in

[02:37] the past. But, I think that that person

[02:39] is a lot rarer than the internet makes

[02:41] it sound, especially once you factor in

[02:43] the lack of any real travel perks on

[02:45] this card, and the ability to get 90 to

[02:47] 100% of the same earning rates at a much

[02:49] lower annual fee. So, instead, I'm going

[02:52] to be putting it in A tier. One of the

[02:53] cards that directly competes with that

[02:55] Amex Gold card at a lower annual fee is

[02:57] the Bilt Obsidian. At face value, this

[02:59] card earns 3x back on dining or

[03:01] groceries, so not both. 2x on travel,

[03:04] and 1x on everything else. But, the

[03:05] bigger story with it is that you earn 4%

[03:08] Bilt Cash on every non-housing dollar

[03:10] spent on it. And to simplify a very

[03:12] complicated system, that can effectively

[03:14] add at least another 1.33x

[03:17] points per dollar spent, even if you

[03:19] just use that Bilt Cash towards housing

[03:21] rewards. And with that, the Obsidian can

[03:23] effectively out-earn the Amex Gold card,

[03:26] especially if you value Bilt points more

[03:27] than Amex points, which I do, and I know

[03:29] a lot of other people do, too. There's

[03:30] also up to $100 per year in Bilt travel

[03:33] hotel credits with it, though it is

[03:35] split up bi-annually and requires a

[03:37] two-night minimum stay for each part.

[03:39] So, I definitely wouldn't overrate this

[03:41] perk. Overall, I think this is like one

[03:42] of the best competitors to the Amex Gold

[03:44] card, and it is newer, so it's not as

[03:46] popular as some of the other options

[03:48] we're talking about today. But,

[03:49] regardless, I do think it deserves to be

[03:51] in A tier, as well. While we're talking

[03:52] about these workhorse travel cards, we

[03:54] have to cover the City Strata Premier.

[03:56] For $95, it earns 10x back on hotels,

[03:59] car rentals, and attractions through

[04:00] City Travel, and then 3x on a ton of

[04:02] daily categories, including air travel,

[04:04] hotels restaurants supermarkets gas

[04:07] stations, and EV charging, plus 1x on

[04:09] everything else. And to wipe that annual

[04:11] fee without the earning categories, you

[04:13] get $100 off of a single hotel stay of

[04:15] $500 or more when booked through City

[04:17] Travel. But most importantly, just like

[04:19] the Sapphire Preferred matters since it

[04:21] unlocks Chase's transfer partners, the

[04:23] Strata Premier matters because it

[04:24] unlocks City's, including City's huge

[04:27] edge as of right now, one-to-one

[04:28] transfers to American Airlines. That new

[04:30] transfer path alone has pulled a ton of

[04:32] people into City's ecosystem over the

[04:34] past year, and because this is the

[04:36] cheapest card to get you that, plus how

[04:38] strong its 3x earning rates are for that

[04:40] daily spend, I've seen countless people

[04:42] go for this one recently, and it really

[04:43] seems to be like the card of the year

[04:45] based on the conversations I've had with

[04:47] y'all in consulting calls in the

[04:48] comments. And for its annual fee, I just

[04:50] don't think there are many cards

[04:51] offering more value. So, in my opinion,

[04:54] this is an easy S tier credit card.

[04:56] That's pretty special. We're not going

[04:57] to have many of those, so definitely

[04:59] keep an eye on it. Real quick, if you

[05:00] are trying to build out a really solid

[05:02] setup around the Strata Premier, the

[05:03] Custom Cash and Double Cash are two of

[05:05] the best cards to pair with it. And

[05:06] technically, these are cash back branded

[05:08] cards, so they really shouldn't be

[05:09] included in this video, but they do earn

[05:11] City Thank You points. And if you have

[05:13] the Strata Premier or the City Strata

[05:15] Elite, those points can be transferred

[05:17] out to City's transfer partners as well.

[05:19] So, yeah, they deserve a quick mention.

[05:20] Both of them are free and very

[05:21] straightforward. The Double Cash is

[05:23] going to give you a flat 2x back on

[05:24] every purchase, and the Custom Cash

[05:26] gives you 5x back on your top eligible

[05:28] spend category every month up to $500

[05:31] spent. And if you put those next to the

[05:32] City Strata Premier, you've got the

[05:34] classic City trifecta, where you're

[05:35] earning anywhere from 2x to 5x back on

[05:38] everything you spend money on. To me,

[05:40] the Double Cash is obviously useful, but

[05:42] it is kind of boring and it overlaps

[05:43] with a bunch of other 2x cards out

[05:45] there, like the Active Cash from Wells

[05:46] Fargo. So, I'd put both of those

[05:48] actually in B tier, but the Custom Cash

[05:51] is one that I've kept in my daily wallet

[05:53] for a long time now, even with 20-plus

[05:55] credit cards. So, I'd move that one a

[05:56] step above into A tier. Honestly, if the

[05:59] cap was higher than just $500 per month,

[06:01] it could make a push towards the S tier,

[06:02] but yeah, I can't justify that with that

[06:05] super restrictive cap. Before we get

[06:06] into the next card, which is our first

[06:08] premium one, I have a tool that all of

[06:10] you travelers could get a lot of use out

[06:12] of, and that is Saylite. As you know,

[06:14] one of the most annoying parts about

[06:16] traveling internationally is making sure

[06:18] that your phone has service without

[06:19] paying an arm and a leg for it. I've

[06:21] personally made the mistake in the past

[06:23] of just trusting that my phone carrier's

[06:25] international roaming plan would be the

[06:27] most cost-effective way to do this, but

[06:28] I was very wrong about that. Cuz for

[06:30] like a 5-day trip, I was paying well

[06:32] over $100 just to have service. But that

[06:34] was way before I knew about Saylite.

[06:36] Saylite is an eSIM app, meaning that

[06:38] instead of swapping out your physical

[06:40] SIM card whenever you travel

[06:41] internationally or having to worry about

[06:43] paying your phone service provider for

[06:45] the roaming plans, you just download

[06:46] their app, pick any plan you want for

[06:48] wherever you're going, and once you

[06:50] land, you don't have to do anything

[06:51] else. Your phone is just already

[06:53] working. And whenever I say wherever

[06:54] you're going, I really mean that. They

[06:56] have over 200 destinations now. And

[06:59] also, if you're somebody who likes

[07:00] traveling to multiple different

[07:01] countries within the same trip, they

[07:02] have you covered there, too, with either

[07:04] their regional or their global plans.

[07:06] So, the theme here is that Saylite is

[07:07] really simple, easy to use, and much

[07:10] more affordable than your alternative

[07:11] options, or at least a lot less

[07:13] annoying. So, if you want to give them a

[07:14] try on your next trip, which I highly

[07:16] recommend, you can either scan the QR

[07:18] code on screen to download the Saylite

[07:20] app, or go to the link in the

[07:21] description and use code Spencer Johnson

[07:23] at checkout to get 15% off of your first

[07:26] purchase. Again, just be sure you're

[07:27] using code Spencer Johnson to let them

[07:29] know that I sent you. And thank you to

[07:30] Saylite for sponsoring this video. But

[07:32] let's get back into it. If you're

[07:33] somebody looking for a strong catch-all

[07:35] card like the Double Cash or Active

[07:37] Cash, but you want some travel benefits,

[07:39] too, the Venture X is right up your

[07:40] alley. It costs $395 per year, which

[07:43] isn't cheap, but between the $300

[07:45] Capital One travel credit and the 10,000

[07:47] anniversary miles, that fee is very easy

[07:50] to offset. On top of that, you're going

[07:51] to get a credit for TSA PreCheck or

[07:53] Global Entry, access to the Capital One

[07:55] and Priority Pass lounges, and Hertz

[07:57] President's Circle status. Plus, it

[07:59] earns 10x on hotels and rental cars

[08:01] through Capital One Travel, 5x on

[08:03] flights and vacation rentals through the

[08:04] portal, and 2x on everything else. To

[08:06] address the elephant in the room here,

[08:08] despite how good this card is, I did get

[08:10] rid of it this year, but that had much

[08:12] more to do with my specific setup than

[08:14] the card itself. I already had other

[08:16] premium travel cards that covered all of

[08:18] the benefits that I needed at a lower

[08:19] effective annual fee, and with Capital

[08:21] One miles being my lowest priority

[08:24] transferable currency, I decided I would

[08:26] save myself on that annual fee. But, for

[08:28] the average person who just wants one

[08:30] solid premium travel card without having

[08:32] to worry about a bunch of mental

[08:33] gymnastics, I still think that this is

[08:35] one, if not the best option on the

[08:37] entire market. And sure, its upside is

[08:39] capped compared to some of the highest

[08:41] annual fee premium travel cards, but at

[08:43] the same time, its downside is much more

[08:45] capped, too. And this is one that I've

[08:47] never felt bad recommending to family or

[08:49] friends as long as I know that Capital

[08:50] One's transfer partners fit their travel

[08:52] habits. So, once again, this one is

[08:54] going to be another S-tier credit card,

[08:56] in my opinion, right alongside the Citi

[08:58] Strata Premier. I wonder how many of

[09:00] y'all are shocked by that one. If you

[09:01] like the idea of the Venture X, but you

[09:03] do not need all those premium perks for

[09:04] some reason, then the Capital One

[09:06] Venture and Venture One are the

[09:08] stripped-down versions of that card. The

[09:10] Venture is like the solid middle ground

[09:11] option. It has a $95 annual fee, gives

[09:14] you a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry

[09:16] credit, includes Hertz 5-star status,

[09:18] and earns the same flat 2x back on

[09:20] everything outside of the portal. And I

[09:22] was honestly between a couple of

[09:23] different tiers when ranking this one,

[09:25] but compared to the other cards in that

[09:27] $95 annual fee range, especially the

[09:29] Sapphire Preferred, I think it holds up

[09:31] pretty well, especially when you factor

[09:32] in that it often gets really strong

[09:34] elevated welcome offers on it, too. So,

[09:36] I will leave it in the B tier. The

[09:37] Venture One on the other hand is really

[09:40] only useful for one thing, keeping

[09:41] access to Capital One's transfer

[09:43] partners without paying an annual fee.

[09:45] That's actually exactly why I downgraded

[09:47] my own Capital One Venture X to this

[09:49] card. But, outside of that, the 1.25x

[09:52] earning rate is just not strong enough

[09:54] to ever make it one that you would use

[09:55] consistently. So, I would move this one

[09:57] all the way down to D tier, actually. It

[09:59] would be wrong of me to leave this

[10:00] Capital One ecosystem without mentioning

[10:01] the perfect sidekick to any of the

[10:03] Venture cards, the Capital One Savor.

[10:05] Just like the City Custom Cash, this is

[10:07] not a travel card by itself because you

[10:09] can't directly transfer the rewards out

[10:11] to their partners. But, if you pair it

[10:13] with a Venture card, you can. And that's

[10:15] what makes this card so good. So, since

[10:17] it has no annual fee and earns 3% back

[10:20] on grocery stores, dining,

[10:21] entertainment, and popular streaming

[10:23] services, you can combine that with the

[10:25] Capital One Venture X, for example, and

[10:27] have that very popular Capital One duo

[10:29] that you've probably heard about. That

[10:30] two-card setup is super simple, covers

[10:32] all of your daily spend at two to three

[10:34] X back, and gives you premium travel

[10:36] perks. So, because of how good that

[10:37] Capital One Savor fits into the broader

[10:39] Capital One ecosystem, I am going to

[10:41] move it into the A tier category. Moving

[10:44] back to City for a second, since this

[10:45] card kind of reflects the Savor a little

[10:47] bit, another free card of theirs that

[10:49] earns City Thank You points is the

[10:51] regular City Strata. No, not the City

[10:53] Strata Premier or the Strata Elite, just

[10:55] the Strata. And honestly, this may not

[10:57] have even been a card that you knew

[10:58] existed, and that kind of says a lot. It

[11:00] earns 5x back on hotels, car rentals,

[11:03] and attractions through City Travel, 3x

[11:05] on supermarkets, transit, gas, EV

[11:07] charging, and a self-select category, 2x

[11:10] on restaurants, and 1x everywhere else.

[11:12] So, on paper, those earning categories

[11:14] look really solid. But, the problem is

[11:16] that City's own lineup already covers

[11:18] most of the same earning categories just

[11:21] as well, if not better. And also, this

[11:23] card only gives you a watered-down

[11:24] version of City's transfer partners, not

[11:26] the full list, and some of the ones that

[11:28] you would actually care about, like

[11:29] American Airlines, come at worse

[11:31] transfer ratios, like 1,000 points to

[11:33] 700 points. I just don't see a reason

[11:35] why you wouldn't get like the Strata

[11:37] Premier instead of this one. So, that's

[11:39] going to put the regular Strata in C

[11:40] tier for me, just below average. Wells

[11:43] Fargo actually has a very similar type

[11:45] of supplemental card, too, that covers

[11:46] some pesky categories for you. Whose

[11:48] points can also be transferred to Wells

[11:49] Fargo's partners with one of the

[11:51] Autograph cards, and that is the Wells

[11:53] Fargo Autune. But, to me, this one is

[11:55] much more interesting than the Strata

[11:57] because the categories that it covers

[11:58] are way more niche and literally like no

[12:01] other card on the market can touch

[12:02] those. Broadly, it earns 4% back on

[12:04] self-care sports recreation and

[12:06] entertainment, and then planet-friendly

[12:08] purchases. But, if you look through

[12:09] Wells Fargo's site, the list of things

[12:11] that fall into those broad categories is

[12:13] honestly kind of insane. Now, I will say

[12:15] that I've seen enough complaints about

[12:17] inconsistent coding that I wouldn't call

[12:19] this card perfect, but when it works, it

[12:21] covers spending that is genuinely

[12:23] impossible to optimize elsewhere. As a

[12:25] sucker for a good competitive advantage,

[12:27] I would put this one much higher than

[12:28] the Strata, actually all the way up in A

[12:30] tier. Okay, now enough about these no

[12:32] annual fee cards, let's really switch

[12:34] gears here and talk about the most

[12:36] expensive consumer credit card on the

[12:38] market, the Amex Platinum. At $895 per

[12:41] year, this card is obviously not for

[12:43] everybody, despite what the internet may

[12:45] have you believe. But, to justify that

[12:46] fee, it comes with a ridiculous number

[12:48] of credits and benefits, and it's so

[12:50] many that I'm not going to even try to

[12:51] list them all here. But, the biggest

[12:53] thing you need to know is that the

[12:54] Platinum has the highest upside of any

[12:56] travel credit card on the market if your

[12:58] lifestyle and travel habits fit it. That

[13:00] is a huge if, though. After the recent

[13:02] refresh to this card, it's way more than

[13:05] just like a travel card these days. It's

[13:06] a full-on lifestyle card, so you need to

[13:08] be able to use stuff like the Resy

[13:10] credit, Lululemon credit, or a credit,

[13:12] and every other similar one to that on

[13:14] top of the travel ones if you want to

[13:16] get the most value. And my biggest piece

[13:17] of advice here is that anytime you're

[13:19] looking at an ultra-premium card like

[13:21] this, but especially the Platinum, you

[13:23] really need to calculate your effective

[13:24] annual fee. What that means is that you

[13:26] need to subtract out the value of the

[13:27] credits and benefits you would actually

[13:29] pay for without the card from the total

[13:32] annual fee. And that without the card

[13:34] part is essential. You should never be

[13:36] stretching your spend or travel to fit a

[13:38] credit card, and if you do, you

[13:40] automatically lose. And it's also

[13:41] important to note that this is a really

[13:43] weak card for daily spending. It's going

[13:45] to give you 5x back on all flights,

[13:47] which is great, but then 5x back on

[13:49] hotels through Amex Travel, and only 1x

[13:51] on everything else. So, yeah, definitely

[13:53] not one to be putting daily spend on.

[13:55] Just the sole fact that it is as

[13:57] expensive as it is means that I could

[13:59] not place this in S tier for the average

[14:01] credit card user. But as a travel card,

[14:03] it's objectively the most valuable and

[14:05] can be incredible for the right

[14:07] traveler. So, I will put it in A tier at

[14:09] least. It only makes sense now to move

[14:11] to the Amex Platinum's want-to-be rival,

[14:13] the Chase Sapphire Reserve. After its

[14:15] refresh last year, this card jumped all

[14:17] the way up to $795

[14:19] per year, and Chase clearly wants it to

[14:21] be their answer to the Amex Platinum.

[14:23] Just like that card, it comes with a

[14:25] laundry list of coupons that you have to

[14:26] use to wipe the fee. But honestly,

[14:29] compared to the Platinum, they're a lot

[14:30] harder for most people to use. The Chase

[14:32] edit credit is far more restrictive than

[14:35] the hotel credit on the Platinum. Their

[14:36] dining credit is way more specific than

[14:38] Resy, and the hotel status is just less

[14:40] broadly useful, too. But where this card

[14:42] does beat the Amex Platinum is in the

[14:44] earning structure. First, since it gives

[14:46] you 8x back through Chase Travel, 4x on

[14:48] direct flights and hotels, and 3x on

[14:51] dining, plus 1x on everything else. And

[14:53] then there's the points boost feature,

[14:54] too, which can get you up to two cents

[14:56] per point when you redeem your points on

[14:58] select hotel and airline redemptions.

[15:00] That perk alone has given me so much

[15:02] value that is harder to calculate than

[15:04] like a credit, for example. So, I get

[15:06] just as much, if not more, value from

[15:08] the Sapphire Reserve than I would the

[15:10] Platinum, meaning that it's technically

[15:11] like an S tier card for me all day. But

[15:14] just like that Platinum, for the average

[15:16] person, it's super hard to justify. So,

[15:18] I'm going to keep it in A tier, and

[15:20] technically under the Platinum if you

[15:21] really cared because yeah, the credits

[15:23] and benefits are just more restrictive

[15:25] right now. Before we completely move

[15:26] away from Chase, I want to mention two

[15:28] cards that pair really well with either

[15:30] of the Sapphire cards, the Freedom Flex

[15:33] and Freedom Unlimited. Just like the

[15:34] other support cards we've talked about

[15:35] today, neither of these are true travel

[15:37] cards by themselves, but if you have one

[15:39] of the Sapphire cards, you can move the

[15:40] points from the Freedom ones to the

[15:42] Sapphire ones and then transfer those

[15:44] points out to Chase's partners. So yeah,

[15:46] they're kind of travel cards, right? To

[15:48] me, the Freedom Flex is the much more

[15:49] interesting one of the two since it

[15:51] gives you 5% back on rotating quarterly

[15:53] categories which can include things like

[15:55] gas groceries dining Amazon PayPal

[15:58] and more. While the Unlimited on the

[16:00] other hand is basically just a flat 1.5x

[16:03] catch-all card, but if you were to

[16:04] combine both of those with one of the

[16:06] Sapphire cards, you've got the classic

[16:08] Chase trifecta which has been popular

[16:09] for over a decade or so now. Out of the

[16:12] two though, the Freedom Flex is the only

[16:14] one that has earned its place in my

[16:16] wallet 20 plus cards later. So I would

[16:18] put that card in A tier. But the Freedom

[16:20] Unlimited has gotten way less compelling

[16:22] over the years since there are so many

[16:24] stronger 2x catch-all cards. And while

[16:26] it can still be a good catch-all to rely

[16:28] on early on or if you don't really want

[16:30] to have too many cards and want to stay

[16:31] within Chase's ecosystem, long-term for

[16:34] those of us looking to maximize, I think

[16:36] it's below average. So I'm going to put

[16:37] it in C tier. Speaking of below average

[16:39] catch-all cards, I did want to quickly

[16:41] mention the Capital One Quicksilver.

[16:43] This is basically just a worse version

[16:44] of the Freedom Unlimited. It only earns

[16:46] 1.5% back alone whereas the Unlimited at

[16:48] least has a few more categories to it.

[16:50] So the Quicksilver is just not exciting

[16:52] at all. If it's the starter card that

[16:54] you have to get, then sure, it's fine,

[16:56] but there are so many better options

[16:57] these days. So this one falls even

[16:59] further than the Freedom Unlimited down

[17:01] to D tier in my opinion. Next up is a

[17:03] card that shares the same base earning

[17:05] rates as the Quicksilver and Freedom

[17:07] Unlimited, but with much more on top of

[17:09] that. And this is the Citi Rewards

[17:11] Elite, Citi's premium travel credit

[17:13] card. It's funny cuz I feel like this

[17:14] one got a a overshadowed when it

[17:16] launched because City also announced

[17:18] that one-to-one partnership with

[17:19] American Airlines on the same day, which

[17:22] was the bigger headline. But as a whole,

[17:24] it's definitely solid. It costs $595 per

[17:27] year and earns 12x back on hotels, car

[17:30] rentals, and attractions through City

[17:31] travel. That's a lot. Plus 6x on air

[17:34] travel booked through City, 6x on dining

[17:36] during City nights, which is unique, 3x

[17:38] on dining otherwise, and 1.5x on

[17:40] everything else. Honestly, those make it

[17:43] seem like a really good one-card setup,

[17:44] but you need to be sure you can get

[17:45] value from its credits and perks like

[17:47] the $300 hotel credit, $200 splurge

[17:50] credit, $200 Blacklane credit, and the

[17:52] Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit with

[17:54] a Priority Pass Select membership and

[17:56] four passes to the American Airlines

[17:58] Admirals Clubs. On paper, there's

[18:00] definitely a lot of value to be had with

[18:02] this card, but the problem is that it

[18:05] kind of lives in a weird middle ground.

[18:06] Like it's trying to sit right between

[18:08] the Venture X and the true high-end

[18:10] premium cards like the Platinum and the

[18:11] Reserve, and I don't think it like

[18:13] really beats either lane at what they're

[18:15] doing. So while I do think it's solid, I

[18:17] would still leave it like just in that

[18:18] average B tier. If you're looking for

[18:20] something in that same general premium

[18:22] lane that could be your one card that

[18:24] you use, you might want to check out the

[18:26] Bilt Palladium. This one costs $495 per

[18:28] year, so it's cheaper than the Sapphire

[18:31] Reserve and Platinum and a bit more

[18:32] expensive than the Venture X. So let's

[18:34] see how it competes. On the benefit

[18:36] side, you're going to get $400 a year in

[18:38] Bilt hotel credits, $200 in Bilt cash,

[18:41] and Priority Pass for you and up to two

[18:43] guests. But the catch of course is that

[18:45] those hotel credits are split

[18:46] bi-annually, require two-night stays,

[18:49] and have to be used through Bilt travel

[18:51] just like those Obsidian credits. But I

[18:52] would say that this should be an easy

[18:54] $600 per year for most people at least.

[18:57] And honestly, if you can get that value

[18:59] back, then you unlock the real power of

[19:01] this card, its earning rates. At face

[19:03] value, you might think I'm crazy cuz

[19:05] it's just a simple 2x catch-all card

[19:07] like the Venture X. But once you factor

[19:09] in the extra Bilt cash on top, this can

[19:11] effectively become a minimum 3.33 x

[19:15] everyday credit card if you're using

[19:17] that built cash towards housing, and

[19:18] that is insanely strong. If you're fully

[19:21] bought into that built ecosystem and

[19:22] want to put a lot of spend on this one

[19:24] to get status and all of that, then this

[19:26] could absolutely be an S-tier card, and

[19:27] that's where I would put it in my

[19:29] personal setup. But, because Bilt's

[19:30] ecosystem is way more complex than a lot

[19:33] of people will want to deal with, I

[19:34] think A-tier is the right middle ground.

[19:36] I haven't mentioned this yet with the

[19:37] Bilt cards, but it's important to know

[19:39] that you can only have one of their

[19:41] three. So, you need to compare the

[19:42] Obsidian and the Palladium with the

[19:45] third card, the Bilt Blue, to see if

[19:47] maybe that's the better option for you.

[19:49] Once again, this one might come off as

[19:51] boring at first glance because it only

[19:53] gives you 1x back on all of your

[19:54] purchases, but you need to factor in

[19:56] that built cash layer, of course, and

[19:58] that makes it more competitive than it

[20:00] first looks, offering 2.33x

[20:02] plus per dollar spent, beating out all

[20:04] of the other top catch-all cards out

[20:06] there. I still don't think it's exciting

[20:07] enough for me to move higher than

[20:09] B-tier, but if you wanted a free

[20:11] catch-all card in the Bilt ecosystem, I

[20:13] would definitely consider it. Now, I

[20:15] want to take you to a lender that we

[20:16] haven't talked about in a bit, Wells

[20:17] Fargo, and more specifically, their

[20:19] Autograph Journey card. This card costs

[20:21] $95 per year, and it covers a lot of the

[20:23] same bases as the other $95 cards like

[20:26] the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire

[20:27] Premiere, and Bilt Obsidian. Like, for

[20:29] example, it comes with a small annual

[20:31] credit, in this case, a $50 airline

[20:33] credit, which I actually like a lot more

[20:35] than the other credits since you're not

[20:37] forced into Wells Fargo's portal to use

[20:39] it. Then, the earning rates are also

[20:41] extremely strong, like 5x back on

[20:43] hotels, 4x on airlines, 3x on

[20:45] restaurants and other travel, and 1x

[20:47] elsewhere. Like, that beats a lot of the

[20:50] premium cards out there, like the Amex

[20:51] Platinum and Sapphire Reserve, and you

[20:53] don't have to justify some massive

[20:55] annual fee to hold it. And like I

[20:56] mentioned with the Attune earlier, since

[20:58] this one is part of Wells Fargo's

[21:00] Autograph lineup, it's going to unlock

[21:02] access to their transfer partner list,

[21:04] which makes all of the other Wells Fargo

[21:06] reward earning cards more valuable, too.

[21:08] So, long story short, I think that this

[21:10] one is just a really strong $95 card and

[21:13] would easily land in A tier. However, if

[21:15] you want that same transfer partner

[21:16] access and a lot of really good earning

[21:18] rates without paying an annual fee,

[21:21] Wells Fargo has that, too, with the

[21:22] regular Autograph. I won't bury the lead

[21:24] here. I think that this is not only the

[21:26] best Wells Fargo credit card, but one of

[21:28] the best travel credit cards on the

[21:29] entire market. For no annual fee, it

[21:31] gives you access to those transfer

[21:33] partners and 3x back on a bunch of

[21:35] everyday categories, including

[21:37] restaurants, travel, gas and EV

[21:38] charging, transit, streaming, and phone

[21:41] plans, plus 1x elsewhere. So, with

[21:43] those, this could easily be like the

[21:45] only card that you need outside of maybe

[21:47] adding something for groceries. And if I

[21:49] really had to find like a downside with

[21:50] this one, it would be that it's in Wells

[21:52] Fargo's ecosystem and their transfer

[21:54] partner list is smaller than the rest,

[21:56] but the partners that they do have are

[21:58] strong enough and you can basically make

[22:00] any international flight happen that you

[22:01] want to. So, even though I know that

[22:03] some of y'all are going to disagree with

[22:04] this one, I am going to put it in S

[22:06] tier. This card is a sleeper and it

[22:07] deserves more attention than it's

[22:08] getting. So, even if this is a bit of a

[22:10] high ranking for it, at least it'll get

[22:12] some of y'all to go check it out who

[22:14] wouldn't have before. At this point, I

[22:16] bet there is at least one person in the

[22:17] comments just yelling at me for not

[22:19] bringing up this next card. So, this is

[22:22] for you. Let's cover the Amex Green.

[22:24] This card has always been like the

[22:25] red-headed stepchild of the Amex

[22:27] ecosystem and that's because it's not

[22:29] really clear who would want it compared

[22:31] to the other options out there. It costs

[22:33] $150 per year and you do get a solid

[22:35] list of category coverage of 3x back on

[22:38] travel, transit, and dining. And that's

[22:40] definitely not bad at all, but the

[22:41] problem is that those rates just aren't

[22:43] hard to beat anymore, as we've seen

[22:44] throughout this video. I mean, heck,

[22:46] even with the free Autograph card that I

[22:47] just covered. And on top of that, the

[22:49] only real way to offset that annual fee

[22:51] is the $209 clear credit, which if you

[22:54] do use, then technically, the Amex Green

[22:56] is going to pay you $59 a year to hold

[22:59] it. But I think that the clear credit is

[23:00] one of the easiest ones in this game to

[23:02] overvalue. I might be biased because I

[23:04] haven't had a good experience with Clear

[23:06] yet, but I just don't think that many

[23:08] people would actually pay $209 per

[23:11] person to have it. And again, I'm open

[23:13] to being wrong about that, but that's

[23:14] just where my head goes. So, while I do

[23:16] understand why some people really like

[23:18] this card, I feel like you can do a lot

[23:19] better elsewhere. So, that leaves it in

[23:21] the C tier for me. By the way, if the

[23:23] main reason that you've even ever

[23:24] considered this card is because you want

[23:26] to keep your Amex Membership Rewards

[23:28] points alive for the lowest annual fee,

[23:30] I would seriously look at the Amex Blue

[23:32] Business Plus before forcing yourself to

[23:34] justify this one. The Blue Business Plus

[23:36] not only keeps those points alive for

[23:38] free, but it also gives you access to

[23:40] Amex's transfer partners for free. So,

[23:42] in my opinion, this one is like a

[23:44] mandatory to get if you're within Amex's

[23:46] Membership Reward point ecosystem. And

[23:48] even though it's a business card, I

[23:50] almost guarantee that you could get it.

[23:51] So, yeah. I've made a full video about

[23:53] that if you're curious. Let's take a

[23:54] deep breath here. I know that was a ton

[23:56] of information I just threw at you, and

[23:58] it probably feels overwhelming, but just

[24:00] remember that you do not need to get

[24:01] like 20 plus cards like I do to make

[24:03] this game work. In fact, I recently

[24:05] challenged myself to answer a much

[24:07] simpler question. If I could only have

[24:08] two credit cards, what would they be?

[24:10] So, if you want to see that exact

[24:12] two-card setup composed of a couple of

[24:14] the cards that we talked about today,

[24:15] actually, then go ahead and check out

[24:16] that video right here. And as always,

[24:19] Owen and I both really appreciate you

[24:20] watching today. If you enjoyed it,

[24:21] consider leaving a like, subscribing to

[24:23] the channel, and checking out all the

[24:24] links in my description to support us.

[24:26] And with that being said, we'll catch

[24:28] you guys next time.