When your friends find out that you write a travel blog, they’ll likely ask you how they can travel as much as you do. When I explain that most of our travels are paid for with points from loyalty programs, the next question is usually about which credit card I recommend. That’s a difficult question to answer because there are many variables to consider. However, if I think the person is serious about starting to earn points to pay for travel, I’ll suggest one of the entry-level cards that earn transferrable points. However, each bank offers a card in this category, and then the question arises – which one is the best?
The five cards I’ll be comparing are:
- American Express Green Card
- Bilt Rewards
- Capital One Venture Rewards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Citi Strata Premier
I’m going to look at five categories:
- Annual Fee
- Points Earning
- Transfer Partners
- Insurance Coverage
- Extra Perks
American Express Green Card
Annual Fee
$150
Points Earning
- 3X – eligible travel and transit purchases, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, third-party travel websites, and travel purchases on amextravel.com.
- 3X – Restaurants (worldwide)
- 1X – Everything else
Transfer Partners
American Express cards earn Membership Rewards points which can be transferred to these partners.
- Are Lingus Aerclub
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- ANA Mileage Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Delta SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest Miles
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- Iberia Plus Miles
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Privilege Club
- Singapore KrisFlyer Miles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Choice Privileges Rewards
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy
Insurance Coverage
- Secondary rental car CDW coverage
- Trip delay coverage
- Lost baggage coverage
Extra Perks
- $189 CLEAR membership credit
- $100 LoungeBuddy credit
Bilt Rewards
Annual Fee
$0
Points Earning
- 3X points for dining expenses (based on merchant code reporting)
- 2X points for travel expenses booked directly with airlines, hotels, cruise and car rental companies
- 1X points for rent expenses (up to 50,000 points per year)
- 1X points for all other expenses
Transfer Partners
Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to the following partners:
- Are Lingus Aerclub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Alaska MileagePlan
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Flying Blue (KLM & Air France)
- Hilton Honors
- World of Hyatt
- Iberia Plus Miles
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- United MileagePlus
Insurance Coverage
- Primary rental car CDW coverage
- Trip cancellation/interruption
- Trip delay
Extra Perks
Instead of standard perks, Bilt runs a monthly Rent Day promotion which has offered temporary status with United and Hyatt and transfer bonuses to Flying Blue and Alaska MileagePlan. Bilt partners with Point.me to search for award travel and find which program offers a flight for the least number of points (searches are limited to Bilt’s transfer partners.)
Capital One Venture Rewards
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earning
- 5X on hotels & rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X on all other purchases
Transfer Partners
Capital One has these transfer partners.
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- ALL – Accor Live Limitless
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air – Infinity MileageLands
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue (Air France KLM)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TAP Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
Insurance Coverage
- Secondary rental car CDW coverage
- Lost luggage
- Travel accident
Extra Perks
- Two lounge visits per year (Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounges)
- Hertz Five-Star status
- Global Entry or TSA Precheck fee reimbursement every 4 years.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earning
- 5X points for travel purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards, including airline tickets, hotel accommodations, car rentals, activities and cruises.
- 3X points for dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points for groceries purchased online, such as pickup or delivery from grocery store chains and meal kit delivery services (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3X points for select streaming services.
- 2X points for other travel – from airfare and hotels to taxis and trains.
- 1X points for all other purchases.
Transfer Partners
Chase cards earn Ultimate Rewards points which can be transferred to these partners.
- Aer Lingus AerClub (Avios)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
- Emirates Skywards
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Iberia Plus (Avios)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Insurance Coverage
- Primary rental car CDW coverage
- Bag delay
- Lost luggage
- Travel accident
- Trip cancellation/interruption
- Trip delay
Extra Perks
- $50 Chase travel hotel credit
- 10% annual points boost
Citi Strata Premier
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earning
- 10X – CitiTravel.com bookings for Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions
- 3X – Supermarkets
- 3X – Restaurants, including takeout
- 3X – Gas & Ev Charging Stations
- 3X – Air Travel
- 3X – Hotels
- 3X – Travel Agencies (This is a hidden bonus category)
- 1X – Everything else
Transfer Partners
Citi cards earn ThankYou Points, which can be transferred to these partners.
- Aeromexico
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- ALL – Accor Live Limitless
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Leaders Club
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Choice Privileges
- Wyndham Rewards
- Shop Your Way (1 point = 10 SYW points)
Insurance Coverage
- Trip Delay ($500 for a 6-hour or longer delay)
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption ($5,000 per covered trip)
- Lost or Damaged Luggage
- Secondary Car Rental Coverage
Extra Perks
- $100 off single hotel stay over $500 booked with Citi Travel.
Which card is the best?
I was initially going to grade the cards in each category and rank them based on the total score. However, as I started to compare the cards, I realized there’s no perfect card for everyone. There are things to like about each, and they all have some weak points.
If forced to rank them, I’d say:
5. Capital One Venture Rewards
4. Citi Strata Premier
3. American Express Green Card
2. Bilt Rewards
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred
Venture Rewards punches over its weight with insurance and perks but is essentially a 2X card. Citi has improved the Strata Premier by adding back travel insurance coverages. However, it lacks any major US airlines as a transfer partner. The AMEX Green Card is good, but the $150 price is more than the other entry-level cards. If you ask me tomorrow, I might flip the Citi & AMEX cards. They’re that close.
If you pay rent, the Bilt Rewards card is a great option. There’s no annual fee, and you can earn points for one of your biggest monthly expenses. Bilt also has a great list of transfer partners, and you can earn bonus points on Rent Day.
The most well-rounded card for travelers is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It has a decent point-earning setup, a good mix of transfer partners, and the best set of travel insurance coverages.
Which card would you recommend to someone who wants to use credit card points to travel around the world?
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