Best Beginner Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Annual fee: $95
Current welcome offerHow you earn points
Full benefits & perks
My thoughts
How to use your points
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
5xpoints on travel through Chase Travel℠
3xpoints on dining, select streaming & online groceries
1xpoints on all other purchases
Full benefits & perks
- $50 annual hotel credit when booked through Chase Travel℠
- 5x on travel through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, 2x on other travel
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, lost luggage insurance
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to 14 airline and hotel transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio
My thoughts
This is the G.O.A.T. of beginner travel cards! It's the best all-around card for anyone just getting into points and miles. The $95 annual fee is SO worth it, the welcome offer is generous, and the Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners are truly some of the best in the game. If you don't have one, now is the time to grab it!
How to use your points
Chase Ultimate Rewards are some of the very best points out there! Here are some of the best ways to use them:
- Transfer to World of Hyatt for incredible hotel value — read why I love Hyatt
- Transfer to Air France Flying Blue for flights to Europe — learn about Flying Blue
- Transfer to Southwest Rapid Rewards for domestic flights — learn about the Southwest Companion Pass
- Transfer to Virgin Atlantic for Cabo and Caribbean flights — learn about Virgin Atlantic
- Book through Chase Travel℠ for cruises, rental cars & boutique hotels
Further reading
Quick recap
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.This is the card I recommend most often — and for good reason.
- The best beginner card for earning flexible travel points
- $95 annual fee is absolutely worth it for what you get
- The transfer partners, especially Hyatt, make these points incredibly valuable
- If you only ever open one travel card, make it this one
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Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.