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For an intro to the basics of credit cards, sign-up offers, bank accounts, points, travel, good advice, and more I’d recommend checking out these sites:
Here, you can find all of the cards we currently have active (click on the links to learn more and/or apply):
*Updated 1/10/19
Personal Cards
This has been one of my favorite cards for years and I generally use it for most things, but specifically Travel and Dining because of the bonus points. Also, if you or your significant other have other Chase cards (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Cash, etc.) then they can transfer points from those cards to this card and increase the redemption value on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
PROs:
Large Sign-Up Bonuses (usually 50,000+ points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, which is worth $750 towards travel in the UR Portal)
3X Points on all Travel and Restaurant purchases
$300 Travel Credit per year
1.5X Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal redemption value
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit
Complimentary Priority Pass Select Membership
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Metal Card (for coolness)
Lots of Travel Benefits
CONs:
$450 Annual Fee
If you’re big into travel then this is a great card to have in your wallet. The $450 annual fee will be a huge smack in the face for some (it was for me initially), but if you’re using the many benefits that come with this card then you should end up getting more than your money’s worth in value. Use the travel credit every year and the fee is basically now $150. TSA PreCheck costs $85 and Global Entry costs $100, but you’ll get one of those for free if you pay the fee with the Reserve. You will also get complimentary Priority Pass Membership, which is worth $99. Overall, you should at least get enough value in the first year to make this card worth it, and that’s not including any sign-up bonus for when you first apply.
Note: At the time we signed up for the Reserve card the offer was 100K points.
PROs:
1.5X Points on ALL purchases
Decent Sign-Up Bonus (usually a $200 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months)
Can transfer Ultimate Rewards to other Chase cards
No Annual Fee
Overall, there’s nothing really bad about the Freedom Unlimited. If you don’t like having to worry about rotating categories and just want a decent cash-back card then this could be for you. There is no annual fee and basically no thinking with this one. For us, its best use is when we make purchases that don’t fall into a bonus category of one of our other cards.
PROs:
5% Cash Back on rotating Bonus Categories
Decent Sign-Up Bonus (usually a $150 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months)
Can transfer Ultimate Rewards to other Chase cards
No Annual Fee
The Chase Freedom is similar to the Freedom Unlimited in both name and its function as a cash-back card. However, most people would say there is more potential for cash back with the Freedom because of the higher percentage yield on the bonus categories. Each quarter of the year Chase will reveal the bonus categories where you can earn 5% cash back with the Chase Freedom. It can range from Gas to Groceries to Wholesale and more. Once you activate your card during that quarter you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 combined purchases of the bonus category variety. That can really add up, especially if it’s during a quarter where you have to get a lot of gas or groceries.
IHG Rewards Club (alternate link)
PROs:
Sign-Up Bonuses (usually 80,000+ points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months, which can be redeemed for stays at IHG hotels around the world)
10X Points on all IHG Hotel stays purchases
2X Points on all gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants purchases
Free Anniversary Night
CONs:
$89 Annual Fee
We both originally signed up for this card before it was the IHG Rewards Club Premier Card. At the time, we still received 80K points each, but the annual fee was/is only $49 for us. For the anniversary night alone this card was worth it to have because you’re able to stay at hotels where a night is worth much more than $49. For the new Premier card, it is most likely still worth it because of the points (if you like IHG hotels). It’s not as worth it to hold onto anymore because the annual fee is higher, but it depends on if the hotels you use the free night on are worth more than $89/night. Most still are.
jetBlue Card - here is a nice comparison chart that will have links to each of the jetBlue cards
PROs:
Sign-Up Bonuses (usually 10,000+ points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months, which can be redeemed for jetBlue flights)
3X Points on all jetBlue purchases
2X Points on all grocery stores and restaurants purchases
No Annual Fee
This is a pretty basic airlines card. There’s no annual fee and the sign-up bonus is pretty small, but it’s a place to start if you like jetBlue and don’t want to worry about annual fees.
jetBlue Plus Card - here is a nice comparison chart that will have links to each of the jetBlue cards
PROs:
Sign-Up Bonuses (usually 40,000+ points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months, which can be redeemed for jetBlue flights)
6X Points on all jetBlue purchases
2X Points on all grocery stores and restaurants purchases
5,000 Bonus Points every Anniversary
Free first checked bag for you and up to 3 other people on your reservation when you use this card to purchase tickets
CONs:
$99 Annual Fee
This is the previous card’s older sibling. You’ll get a lot more points for the sign-up bonus and some nice, additional perks (like the anniversary bonus and the free checked bag). The additional perks/points will cost you $99/yr. If you use jetBlue a lot then it can be well worth it to own this card, especially for the first year with the sign-up bonus. Checked bag fees add up, you know!
Barclay World Arrival - Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard
I’m not sure if you can actually apply for the no-fee version of the Arrival World so this description is for the Arrival Plus.
PROs:
Sign-Up Bonuses (usually 50,000+ points/miles after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, which can be redeemed for travel statement credits on eligible purchases)
Receive 5% back on your miles redemptions for future use
2X Miles on all purchases
CONs:
$89 Annual Fee (sometimes waived the first year)
The Arrival Plus World Elite has been a fairly popular card for many years now. There are sometimes big sign-up bonuses of 70,000+, which is good for $700 in travel statement credits. I believe this was my first card with an annual fee, but after a couple years I started getting into Chase and haven’t really touched this since. However, I do plan on looking into it again because of the juicy bonuses.
PROs:
Rotating 5% categories just like the Chase Freedom (not necessarily the same categories, though)
At the end of your first year Discover will match all of the Cash Back you’ve earned throughout the year (no limit on this)
No Annual Fee
I originally got the Discover it cash-back card for the option of having a good card for Price Protection that didn’t have an annual fee. However, Discover looks to have eliminated this benefit. Now I use this card in the rare occurrence that there is a bonus category available that isn’t already available through one of my Chase cards. A good example is 5% cash back on Amazon purchases during the holiday season.
I don’t think this card is still available from American Express. This may have been my first non-bank credit card years ago and I got it for the sole reason of it being branded as a “travel card.” There was no annual fee and every 7,500 points was worth $100 in travel statement credits. To this day, probably 9 years later, I still have about $400 worth of points on this card. The weird thing is these aren’t Membership Rewards points, which is the currency you can currently see attached to Amex cards.
If you click the link above you can see all of the Amex cards that are currently available. There are a lot and some of them are pretty good!
Business Cards
PROs:
Sign-Up Bonuses (usually $500 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months)
5% Cash Back from office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone (on up to $25,000 in combined purchases per year)
2% Cash Back from gas stations and restaurants (on up to $25,000 in combined purchases per year)
Can transfer Ultimate Rewards to other Chase cards
No Annual Fee
I originally got the Chase Business Ink Preferred card with a 100K points bonus, but later downgraded it to the Ink Cash because of the annual fee. Now, I use this card for the 5% bonuses, mainly for internet and phone bills.