The question I always get after someone has decided to start their points and miles journey is, “Which credit card do I get?” Here are the 3 personal credit cards you need in your wallet to maximize your everyday spend and earn as many points as possible toward your dream vacations. Which credit card you open first is completely up to you, but at some point you need these 3 in your wallet.
The following 3 credit cards earn general bank points that can then be transferred to travel partners, which is what you want so you can stretch points further. Each card will represent each bank: The Chase Sapphire Preferred will earn Chase Ultimate Reward points, the AMEX Gold will earn American Express points, and the Venture or Venture X card will earn Capital One Miles. You want to build general bank points because they are more flexible. They can be transferred to hotel chains or to airlines. So it makes it easier to pay for a vacation that way.
The Golden Trio:
1️⃣ You should start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred because Chase has the easiest bank program to understand. Chase Ultimate Reward points are a basic 1 point to 1 cent ratio, so you can cash them out or transfer to travel partners to stretch them further. The welcome bonus is 60,000 points for a minimum spend of $4,000 in 3 months and an annual fee of $95. You can use the 60,000 points for $600 or for close to $1,000 in travel when transferring to travel partners like Hyatt and Southwest airlines.
You NEED this card because it is THE card you need to pool all Chase points into from all other Chase cards that earn Chase Ultimate Reward points. In the future when you get the Chase Ink Business cards and the free versions of the card like the Chase Freedom Flex card and the Freedom Unlimited, you can transfer all of those Chase Ultimate Reward points to the Sapphire card and then transfer all those points to travel partners. NO OTHER CHASE CARD LETS YOU DO THIS. This is why this card is a must.
You will use this card on Lyft rides for 5x the points. Mainly you just want it to pool and transfer points.
Apply here:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6j/23XVOXR5XD
2️⃣ The next card you need is the American Express Gold personal charge card. You get a 60,000 welcome point bonus after spending $4,000 in 6 months, for an annual fee of $250. This card, like the Sapphire, also allows you to transfer AMEX points to transfer partners to stretch points. This card is a must because it earns a lot of points on the following categories: Groceries 4x the points, dining 4x the points and flights booked directly with airlines 3x the points. Additionally, you need this card because it’ll allow you to get an extra points boost when shopping online no matter what card you are checking out with. To do this you simply link it to the shopping portal Rakuten. You will choose to earn valuable AMEX points instead of cashback. So now when Rakuten says, 12% cashback, that means you will be earning 12x points per dollar spent on your online shopping. You DO NOT have to check our with your AMEX card, you can pay for your shopping order with whatever card you are currently working on the minimum spend for. Just by having this card and linking it, you will be earning points from 2 separate sources. In my first quarter, I earned 10,800 AMEX points from Rakuten, instead of $108. 10,800 points. 10,800 points could get you a flight from NYC to Paris!
Open an American Express Gold card here:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/credit-cards/referral/prospect/MARICBUyZN?XL=MIACP
if you don’t have a Rakuten account, open it here:
http://www.rakuten.com/r/MARICE5496?eeid=28187
3️⃣ Lastly, you need the Capital One Venture or Venture X. You get a 75,000 miles welcome bonus for spending $4,000 in 3 months. Both the Venture and the Venture X earn a flat rate of 2x the points on everything. This card will round out your strategy because you will use this card to earn 2x the points when the other 2 cards mentioned above will only give you 1x the points. This card also allows you to transfer points to travel partners to stretch your points. It also allows you to “erase” travel purchases on your statement using points. People use this feature when wanting to have a truly free vacation and do not want to pay cash for car rentals or experiences. Venture is the basic $95 annual fee one. The Venture X is the luxury one at a $395 annual fee. The Venture X is good for people who travel a lot and can take advantage of all of the benefits the card has to offer. If that’s not you, stick to the basic Venture card since both cards earn 2x the points on everything.
Apply for the Venture card here:
Use the money you’re already spending to give your family dream vacations! Message me through Instagram @mamitravelswithpoints with any questions. Happy travels!
