The 7 Rewards Credit Cards I Actually Keep in My Wallet

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I have roughly 26 credit cards sitting in a drawer, but those are not the cards I use for everyday spending. Most are there for a specific purpose and are not actively being swiped.

Some of them belong to my wife, and in a few cases I have already decided they are not a long-term fit. In those situations, I am simply waiting until they have been open long enough before closing them.

What is more useful, though, is the smaller group of cards I actually carry and use. For rewards cards, there are three main reasons to hold one beyond simply making a purchase or financing a balance.

It helps to know which category a card falls into before applying. Otherwise, it is easy to get distracted by a card’s perks and start using it for spending when it is really better suited only for the benefits. That usually means earning fewer rewards than you could have. Once you understand the framework, the right card choices become much clearer.

1. Strong welcome offer. A card may be attractive because of a large sign-up bonus. That can absolutely justify applying, but it is not, by itself, a reason to keep spending on the card or hold it forever.

2. Valuable perks. Some cards provide lounge access, free checked bags, companion tickets, or credits that can be worth more than the annual fee. Those can be excellent reasons to keep a card and use it strategically, but not necessarily reasons to make it your everyday spending card. Airline cards with free bag benefits and cards like the Amex Platinum are classic examples.

3. Best cards for ongoing spending. These are the cards that give the strongest and most valuable rewards on day-to-day purchases, especially when there is no bonus category at stake and no other card offers a better advantage.

There are seven cards that make it into my wallet. These are the ones I actually carry and use, not the ones that get filed away. Since I write about new offers all the time, it is worth explaining which cards still earn a place in my lineup and why.

Sapphire Reserve for Lounge Access and Hotels

Chase Sapphire Reserve® (See rates and fees) earns 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel^SM, including The Edit^SM, and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. It also earns 3x points on dining worldwide and 1x point on all other purchases. On top of that, it comes with a long list of statement credits:

• $300 annual travel credit that can be used broadly for airfare, hotels, rental cars, rideshares, cruises, and more.

• $300 dining credit ($150 in statement credits every six months) for restaurants in Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables. My daughter loves Kemuri Tatsu-Ya here in Austin, and we used both my credit and my wife’s credit there this year.

• $750 in hotel credits: two annual $250 credits for minimum two-night stays at The Edit hotels, which also include benefits such as an upgrade, free breakfast, and a $100 food and beverage credit, plus early check-in and late check-out if available. There is also a $250 credit for prepaid two-night or longer Chase Travel bookings at participating hotel brands including IHG Hotels & Resorts, Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Virgin Hotels, Minor Hotels, and Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts.

  What I like about The Edit is that stays can still earn hotel loyalty points, elite status credits, and elite status benefits. You can also stack the Edit credit and the hotel-brand credit by booking, for example, an InterContinental or Pendry property through The Edit, and even combine that with the $300 annual travel credit.

• $300 StubHub or viagogo credit ($150 in the first half of the year and $150 in the second half) for event and concert tickets.

• $120 in annual Lyft credits, delivered as $10 per month through the end of the current promotional period.

• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass, a $5 monthly restaurant credit, and two $10 monthly non-restaurant credits. You can also link DashPass with Lyft for ride savings.

Chase operates lounges in Boston, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington Dulles. Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles are expected to open as well.

Chase Sapphire Lounge, New York LaGuardia

Chase Sapphire Lounge, Philadelphia

In addition, the card includes Priority Pass Select membership, which provides access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. That includes lounges such as The Club, and I have used it at places like the Virgin Clubhouse at New York JFK and the Virgin Clubhouse at Washington Dulles, along with the Air France and Turkish Airlines lounges in that same terminal.

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK

Sapphire Reserve lounge access covers the cardmember and two guests, whether you are using Chase’s own lounges or Priority Pass. Authorized user cards cost $195 per year and also qualify. There is no spending requirement for guest access, unlike with Amex and Capital One.

This card is an easy choice for me because I can put work conference spending on it, and that spending falls into the hotel 4x category. I can also spend $75,000 on the card and unlock threshold bonuses, including Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards A-List status, IHG One Rewards Diamond status, World of Hyatt Explorist, a $500 Southwest Airlines credit for use through Chase Travel, and a $250 credit for Shops at Chase purchases.

Bilt Palladium for Everyday Spending

The Bilt Palladium Card (See rates and fees) is my main everyday spending card. Airline, hotel, and restaurant purchases usually go on other cards, but this one handles most of the rest. It has become my new catch-all card.

It offers 50,000 Bilt Points plus Gold Status after $4,000 in purchases during the first three months, along with $300 of Bilt Cash. It earns 2 Bilt Points on everyday spend, and I choose to take 4% back in Bilt Cash on that spending as well. Up to $100 of earned Bilt Cash can roll over into the following year.

This is a $495 annual fee card, but it is worth it to me because of the value of the Bilt Points I earn from spending. I can redeem Bilt Cash for points when paying my mortgage through Bilt, and I can also use their accelerator, which adds an extra point per dollar on spending up to 5,000 points, up to five times per calendar year.

That lets me earn 3 points or even 3.33 points per dollar on everyday purchases, while earning what I consider to be the most valuable points because of the transfer partners and frequent transfer bonuses.

You can redeem points at 1.25 cents each through the travel portal or transfer them to:

• Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Miles & Smiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• oneworld: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Iberia Plus, British Airways Club, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Non-alliance: Emirates Skywards, Southwest Airlines, Aer Lingus Aer Club, Etihad Guest
• Hotels: World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Accor ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewards

Venture X for Lounge Access

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (See rates and fees) offers 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

I like this card most for its lounge access. Capital One has my favorite lounges, even though there are fewer of them than American Express and Chase locations. The food is simply better.

Capital One Lounge New York JFK Cheese Counter for customized tastings

Capital One Lounge New York JFK Bagel & Coffee Shop serves lox, smoked whitefish, pastrami, and more.

That is even more true at the Capital One Landings in Washington National and New York LaGuardia, which may have the best lounge food in the country, and certainly among bank-branded lounges.

Capital One Landing New York LaGuardia

Capital One Landing DCA Food

It is an easy win in the first year because of the welcome bonus. After that, the $395 annual fee is offset by a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, which I generally use for an airline ticket. On top of that, you get 10,000 bonus miles every year starting on your first anniversary, which more than covers the fee in my view.

The card is also a strong catch-all with 2x transferable points on all purchases, although I have started using Bilt Palladium for that role because I prefer Bilt Points and can earn them faster. Still, I am keeping Venture X.

Capital One Lounge New York JFK Bar

Amex Platinum for Lounge Access, Credits, and Airfare

American Express Platinum Card® (see rates and fees) stays in my wallet for Centurion Lounge access, because Amex has the broadest issuer lounge network even though I do not especially love the lounges themselves, and because the card’s $895 annual fee is more than covered by statement credits.

Centurion Lounge New York JFK

I mostly use it for airline purchases, where it earns 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines. I do not come close to the annual $500,000 cap on that bonus category.

Centurion Lounge Seattle

Hyatt Visa for Hyatt Spending

I am a Hyatt loyalist when it comes to hotels because the elite benefits are stronger than those offered by many competitors. That includes confirmed suite upgrades rather than merely upgrades “if available” at check-in, a clearer breakfast benefit, and 4 p.m. late checkout that in my experience is often proactively honored.

When I travel with my family, I want a suite. The ability to earn suite upgrade awards and confirm a standard suite at booking on a regular room is the most valuable feature in hotel loyalty for me.

I keep and use The World of Hyatt Credit Card because of the status benefits it provides:

• 5 annual elite qualifying nights just for being a cardmember
• 2 additional elite qualifying nights for every $5,000 spent each year
• Spending $15,000 on the card is also worthwhile because it earns an extra Category 1-4 free night, in addition to the points from that spending and the Category 1-4 free night that cardmembers receive every year after renewal.

The card is strong for Hyatt purchases, earning 4x on Hyatt spending, and it also earns 2x on restaurants, direct airline purchases, local transit and commuting, and fitness club and gym memberships. I use it to pay for Hyatt stays.

Park Hyatt St. Kitts

Strata Elite for Friday and Saturday Night Dining

The Citi Strata Elite^SM Card (See rates and fees) is my weekend dining card, earning 6 points per dollar at restaurants, including restaurant delivery services, on CitiNights^SM purchases every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET.

The card also has a welcome offer of 75,000 bonus points after $6,000 in purchases in the first three months after account opening.

It earns 12x on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through cititravel.com, where I have found the prices to be favorable; 6x on air travel booked there; 3x on dining when the 6x rate does not apply; and 1.5x on all other spending. American Airlines AAdvantage is a transfer partner.

The $300 annual hotel benefit, the $200 annual splurge credit that I use with American Airlines, and the $100 semiannual Blacklane credit help offset the $595 annual fee. Because the hotel and splurge credits reset by calendar year, it is possible to get each benefit twice in the first cardmember year. I have not decided whether it will remain a long-term keeper, but it has definitely been valuable in the first year.

Amex Gold for Groceries and Restaurants

American Express® Gold Card (see rates and fees) is an authorized user card on my wife’s account. It is our Membership Rewards earning machine, and we really use it for restaurants and groceries. I am still considering whether I should stop carrying it and just leave it in my wife’s wallet.

• Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points after that.

• Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points after that.

  

Since my wife is a former professional chef and we are a family of four, groceries and dining are a major part of our budget. We fully max out the supermarket bonus category. It is also my preferred card for Sunday through Thursday dining out, though it only offers one extra point per dollar compared with other options, so it may not be worth me carrying when my wife already has her own card.

The card has a $325 annual fee, but the credits we can actually use make it worthwhile.

How It All Fits Together

The Bilt Palladium Card is my workhorse, and most spending goes there unless I am chasing a new card bonus.

American Express Platinum Card® is for airfare purchased directly from airlines.

My Hyatt hotel spending, which makes up most of my hotel stays, goes on The World of Hyatt Credit Card. Other hotel spending goes on Chase Sapphire Reserve®. I keep meaning to book airline tickets through Chase Travel to earn 8x, but more often than not I still book directly with the airline.

Dining out should usually go on the American Express® Gold Card, and Friday and Saturday nights should go on the Citi Strata Elite^SM Card through CitiNights, where it earns 6 points per dollar. Still, I am tempted to trim down my wallet and move that spending to Chase Sapphire Reserve® instead, though not to Bilt Palladium since there is only so much spend I can put on that card at 3 or more points per dollar. The Amex Gold handles my wife’s grocery spending.

I carry Amex Platinum, Sapphire Reserve, and Venture X for lounge access. I do not put much spending on Venture X anymore. It used to be my catch-all card until Bilt Palladium arrived, and Bilt Palladium earns more points and more valuable points. So Venture X no longer serves as my main spending card. Even so, it is still worth keeping because the $300 annual travel portal credit and 10,000 annual points at renewal cover the fee, and I prefer Capital One lounges to Amex and Chase lounges, with Chase ahead of Amex in my view.