The 2026 Hater's Guide To Credit Cards

[00:01] any card's going to give you can vary from person to person. But a common when you try to research which one's going to be best for you, you might only hear about the good stuff with each one and not so much the bad stuff. So, in

[00:13] and talk about only the bad stuff for every single popular credit card on the be an updated 2026 haters guide to credit cards, which is actually inspired credit card subreddit. And I think the author of that post was spot on with

[00:26] number one that I want to talk about to start things off here is going to be the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which just got a major update in June of 2026 that I card. And that's because we saw Chase increase the Chase Travel Hotel credit

[00:38] on the Sapphire Preferred from $50 to $100 per year while keeping the annual that, they also added new points multipliers and they threw in a credit of up to $120 every four years to cover the application fee for Global Entry,

[00:51] whether they wanted to do this or not, Chase pretty much made one fatal mistake Hyatt as a transfer partner on the Sapphire Preferred. So now, instead of transferring to Hyatt at a 1:1 rate like before, the CSP only transfers to Hyatt

[01:04] transferring at that devalued rate to Hyatt is typically going to be better on this card because of how devalued that program is on its own. So yeah, the ever on the surface with its new credits and multipliers. But when it comes to

[01:18] loyalists with this card are going to be losing out big time. Now, if you still with Chase, then the good news is you can still get that with the Chase you're going to have to deal with the high annual fee and the coupon book

[01:31] nature that the Sapphire Reserve now has. So, back in mid 2025, Chase updated this card as well by giving it a $795 annual fee and a bunch of credits for StubHub, Pelon, and Door Dash, as well as a dining credit that works at very

[01:44] city, and credits for the edit hotel program from Chase Travel, where the typically going to be too expensive anyway. Also, redeeming your points on flights and hotel stays within Chase Travel is now going to be highly

[01:56] Chase's points boost feature, which is not always that great. So, the days of all travel booked through Chase with this card are now gone, which is kind of sad to see. But like I said, if you really want those 1:1 high transfers or

[02:09] card, like airport lounge access to Chase Sapphire Lounges with up to two use all these credits can be worth the hassle, unless Chase decides to access like every other issuer has already. Now, if you're going to have at

[02:22] chances are you've either had the Chase Trifecta or you're thinking about the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited that I want to talk about next videos, I don't really think having the entire Chase Trifecta is worth it

[02:35] the no annual fee Chase Freedom Flex is still worth having because that card's going to earn 5% or really 5x points per dollar on rotating quarterly categories that change every three months. And so far in 2026, these categories have

[02:47] stations, public transit, and select live entertainment. However, in the stores as a rotating 5x category, but we maybe we'll see that in Q4 or at least sometime in 2027, but Chase has been

[03:01] points on grocery spend. So, I'm also kind of honestly worried that they're rotating category at some point. Now, earning 5x on this card is great, but limited to earning that for only the first $1,500 of combined spending in

[03:15] And you also have to remember to actually activate this benefit inside of thought was kind of annoying. But then for the no annual fee freedom unlimited kind of just stopped using this card altogether now because 1.5% or really

[03:28] 1.5x points per dollar on the all other purchases category just doesn't really cards. Now in the past I was okay with settling on 1.5x as a catch-all card least I could combine my points earned from my Freedom Unlimited with my

[03:41] with Hyatt transfers. But again, since Hyatt has now been devalued on the Sapphire Preferred, you probably should not be using it as your catchup card, makes it a 2x earner. Also, I know that both the Freedom Flex and Freedom

[03:53] Unlimited earn 3x on dining in drugstores, but honestly, that drugstore might think since the prices of household stuff sold to drugstores can be a bit cheaper when buying in bulk elsewhere in my experience. And 3x on

[04:05] Sapphire cards already earn that. So, I never understood why there's still such Chase Trifecta. Now, personally, I like to keep my credit card setup as simple most value back from my spending. And honestly, keeping things simple is how I

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[05:33] sponsoring today's video. Now, next here for this haters guide to credit cards. option, then you may have taken a look at the built Palladium card as well that or raging against. And even though the built Palladium can be effectively as

[05:46] high as a 3.33x catch all card with its 2x on everything multiplier, plus the mortgage, it's still got its fair share of flaws to hate on. First of all, the honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the credits you get on this card to help

[05:59] justify that annual fee because you're going to get an advertised $400 bill be split up into 200 bucks every 6 months. And there's going to be a understand splitting that credit up into 200 bucks every 6 months, but I can't

[06:12] needed to book just a simple one night hotel stay, and I think to myself, oh yeah, I'll just use my built palladium hotel credit just to then realize that I a twoight stay. The Palladium is also the only build card in my opinion that

[06:25] offers a true signup bonus of 50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the points are still objectively the most valuable points in the game, a 50k bonus are offering that have similar annual fees. Obviously, Built Cash is something

[06:40] card on top of build points. But don't get me started on just how confusing the people. So, even though I love the value that built gives me because it lets me other cards can do, a lot of people are still turned off by the complexity,

[06:54] card isn't for you, but you still want to earn bill points on your housing, then maybe the $95 Built Obsidian or the $0 Built Blue card could be worth there's still things to hate on with these other two built cards as well. So,

[07:06] same complexity with earning built cash one of them have a true signup bonus that's going to give you a lump sum of card actually is pretty good at earning 3x points on either groceries or dining

[07:19] on your housing. But the $100 Built Travel Hotel credit on this card faces credit on the Palladium card has, where it's split up into two semiannual credits, which are $50 each. And there's a twoight minimum on each of these

[07:32] of that twoight minimum, then I have no problem with these. But then over on the fee, there's really no credits to worry everything with a blue card though, even though technically that can be bumped up

[07:44] to as high as 2.33x when factoring in points unlocked on housing. So honestly, with a blue card other than that lack of points from a signup bonus and the whole jumping over to some Capital 1 credit cards next here. Let's talk about the

[07:57] been called one of the top credit cards on the market by a lot of creators like once again, no credit card is perfect. So the Venture X does have some flaws as that airport lounge access got destroyed on this card back in 2025. So now

[08:12] guests into Capital 1 lounges for free. And even if you're an authorized user on access because of that, you now have to pay $125 per year per additional card So for solo travelers with this card, that lounge access update was kind of a

[08:28] crowded. But for everybody else, that was a major loss. And then for me, card is the higher travel multipliers of 10x miles on hotels and rental cars as rentals. And that's because those multipliers are only earned when booking

[08:42] book through a travel portal. So that can be a downside here, even if there you out when using that portal. And also, I got to call out the fact that Capital 1, in my opinion, is the worst when it comes to approving people who

[08:55] for their top cards. I've talked about this plenty of times in previous videos Venture X and it happened twice to me just because they said I had too many report, which to me is kind of a dumb reason because that in no way has ever

[09:09] issues. I'm also not alone in experiencing this, which is why I Capital 1 credit cards earlier on in their credit card journey if possible as well. And also for the Venture X, I want to mention that I'm really curious

[09:22] because it really has not been updated in the 5 years since it launched. So, Next, let's talk about the other half of the Capital 1 Duo that people love to Capital One Saver card. And for this card, I'll admit it's kind of hard to

[09:36] awesome multipliers for 3% back on grocery stores, dining, entertainment, one downside that's been in the news a lot recently is that some people are now the Saver Card instead of the Mastercard version that's been around for years.

[09:51] just not as widely accepted as Mastercard outside the US. So having a to kind of make the no foreign transaction fees feature not as useful to be true for Capital 1 Quicksilver customers who may be getting moved over

[10:05] the Quicksilver card, the good thing is that some customers who have been getting 3% back on grocery stores and gas stations added to the Quicksilver, overlaps a little bit with the Saver card in terms of grocery spend. So who

[10:19] eventually happen to the Saver card with it getting nerfed or a different version to the Quicksilver, you can also earn 1.5% back on that card, which is nothing this card for that purpose. Capital 1 also makes a $95 Venture card and a $0

[10:34] reason to ever get the Venture is if you come across a good limited time offer. with the Venture X. And there's also really no reason to get the Venture 1 almost ever. So, the Venture X and the SA are still the top cards in Capital

[10:47] cards, the first card I want to talk about from them is going to be the Custom Cash. And if there was ever a perfect no annual fee credit card, I from a decent signup bonus to the ability to earn 5% or really 5x points

[11:00] per dollar on your top spend category each billing cycle for up to $500 spent. suddenly pulling it from new card holders as of May 2026. So, the only that you just can't apply for it anymore. And if you have the Double Cash

[11:13] product changing to the Custom Cash while you still can. Now, for the double the most boring but effective credit cards out there that's been around and really the only thing to hate on here. Yes, you can earn 2% back on everything

[11:27] something and then another 1% back when you pay that off. And what I like is here as well, which you can then combine with certain other city cards. But boring credit card, and that's all there is to it. Now for the city strata

[11:39] card that's meant to be a points earning machine with the 3x multipliers it has travel, hotels, restaurants, well as a 10x points multiplier for hotels, car rentals, and attractions

[11:53] again, do you really want to have to book inside of a travel portal all the time just to get that higher multiplier? And also, even though there is a $100 annual hotel benefit here, you do have to spend $500 or more through City

[12:05] might not be as easy to use as you think. Also, let's be honest, you access to 1:1 transfers over to American Airlines. That way, you can have pull your points together, even though again, City is now nerfing how you can

[12:18] get the custom cash. Now, next up is the City Strata Elite, which I think City compete with cards like the Chase Sappa Reserve and the MX Platinum, but let's great unless you're a very specific spender. I think the whole city nice

[12:31] restaurants from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays is kind of a unique concept, but I think it's also such a specific thing that it looks especially when 6x is only a little bit more than the 4x you can earn from the

[12:43] MX Gold card anytime at any restaurant. There's elevated multipliers here for travel book through city as well, plus 1.5x points per dollar on all other the city double cash alongside this card to earn 2x, I don't really think the

[12:56] 1.5x multiplier does that much. The Strata Elite is not cheap either with an annual fee of $595 per year. And yes, there's some credits that can be good, could be used at Best Buy or American Airlines. But other credits, like the

[13:08] $300 hotel benefit, requires a twoight minimum. And I'm not sure how many Lane for that credit. Now, if City had some really cool airport lounge access all these credits could be worth the hassle. But no, you're only getting four

[13:21] per year, which you're going to use more than one of at a time if you want to want to talk about two credit cards from everyone's favorite sports book, I mean the Robin Hood Gold and Robin Hood Platinum cards. Now, the gold card is

[13:35] recently if you're somebody who just prefers to earn cash back and you want a catchall card. But again, every card has its issues, and there's really three First, there's no signup bonus, so you're going to have to spend quite a

[13:49] out ahead of earning 2% on some other card out there that does have a signup wait list for this card that I had to wait on for 2 years before I could finally apply for it. And third, there is effectively a $50 annual fee on this

[14:02] Hood Gold, which you're going to need to have it. Now, I know there's a bunch of ways to get enough value from Robin Hood Gold to justify that $50 fee. But also, probably going to love this card once you get it, you are most likely setting

[14:14] card eventually gets nerfed in the future. There's no guarantee that's man like Robin Hood wants me to be, I would definitely bet that it is going to the writing on the wall since they just took away the no foreign transaction fee

[14:26] benefit for new Robin Hood gold card customers starting on July 1st, 2026. this card is kind of just too easy to hate on because it wants to be like the look at their website and scan through all the credits it has. But I'll save

[14:39] you the time here that the $695 annual fee is such a terrible price point for really tries to position itself as a travel card. Also, as of now, apparently and the Platinum card at the same time.

[14:52] you're basically locking yourself out of potentially the most valuable and best right, next up here, I wanted to mention the Discover it card, which just like remained unchanged for so many years, but the Discover it has rightfully

[15:05] cashback credit cards on the market as well. that everyone should get at least It earns 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories for up to $1,500 of the Freedom Flex. But the only downsides here are that you are limited to earning

[15:19] and miles. And just like the Freedom Flex, you do have to remember to actually activate these categories each quarter. The signup bonus is also very is going to match whatever cash back you earn in your first year dollar for

[15:31] this card as a beginner, but once you discover where the real value is with going to sock draw this card and then not use it that much after year one with the Apple card, where you can earn either 2% back on everything with Apple

[15:44] Pay or only 1% back on everything when the actual physical Titanium card's thing as any other 2% catchall card, it's worse. So, why not just use any other 2% card without this limitation?

[15:57] like the Apple Card, from its user interface to its security features, but at the end of the day, no one I know who is deep in the credit card game is ever knows what the future of this card is going to be like now that Chase is

[16:09] Goldman Sachs had with it. All right, next here. Let's get to some popular American Express cards. Starting with the $895 per year A MX Platinum. So, if tell yourself that this constantly increasing annual fee is somehow worth

[16:22] it even as it approaches $1,000. you try to remember to use all the credits for you manage to get enough value out of these credits, you're going to be earns a terrible 1x points per dollar on any real everyday spend categories

[16:36] And you get the chance to visit overcrowded lounges that are honestly kind of mid anyway compared to Chase and Capital 1 lounges nowadays. At least the somehow made it because of the reputation and the branding it has. Or

[16:48] maybe you have the MX Gold card as well that actually is a great card for multipliers on restaurants and groceries. But honestly, are you really using all the coupon book credits on the gold card every single month? For most

[17:00] populated suburb, I'll admit that the resi credits and the Uber cash are good you actually going to Duncan every single month if you didn't have this card? Or is the Duncan card balance in your Duncan app just climbing every

[17:13] know. Hopefully, you're able to at least enjoy $10 back on a trip to the Cheesecake Factory or Buffalo Wild Wings with the dining credit every few months good for the right person, but I do think it's easy to overvalue the credits

[17:26] that I'm a bigger fan of both the MX Platinum and the MX Gold compared to the going to magically come out with a long overdue update as soon as I upload this right now, to put it lightly, I think the MX Green card is an overpriced $150

[17:42] Sure, you can get 3x back on travel, transit, and dining, but 3x on dining is cards these days, so that's nothing special. And 3x on travel and transit is realistically, you are going to have to spend a lot on those things to overcome

[17:56] there's really no good credits that are going to bring down that annual fee for would you actually be spending money on Clear Plus if you didn't have it covered by this card? And don't even get me started on the 40,000 point signup bonus

[18:09] standards. But honestly, chances are you might not even be eligible for this have the much more appealing platinum or gold cards because of the way the terms work for MX welcome offers. Maybe cash back is more of your thing though. So

[18:21] the Blue Cache Preferred instead. And even though these cards can be great for for some people is that you're earning your rewards as a statement credit. The Blue Cache Everyday card is cool though because it has no annual fee and it

[18:33] retail, and gas. But each of those categories is limited to US transactions only. And there's also a $6,000 spending cap for each category when earning that Preferred, on the other hand, has a $0 intro annual fee, which then goes up to

[18:47] $95 in year 2 and beyond. And even though the 6% back on groceries is to US supermarkets only. And there is a $6,000 spending cap for that elevated multiplier as well. So again, like I'll always say here on this channel, no

[19:00] to use the cards that are going to work the best for you. My advice is don't get because they all have their own flaws. So, just pick what works for you today future if any credit card ever stops working for you. But let me know in the

[19:13] to hate on with these credit cards here because I know you guys have some strong if you want to see another video just like this going over more credit cards too long. But as always, thanks so much for watching. Make sure to subscribe as

[19:26] for watching. Make sure to subscribe as well and I'll see you in the next one.