As a points and miles beginner, the #1 goal is to be flexible. That’s why I recommend a transferable points credit card. Transferable points cards allow you to transfer points earned to various airline and hotel partners. Points can also be used to book travel at that bank’s travel portal. Since you’re not locked into one airline or hotel chain, the possibilities are endless. For more information on the different types of credit cards, see Step 4: How to Choose a Travel Credit Card from the getting started guide.

After doing a little research, I decided on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. There are several good options, but I’ll explain why I settled on the Chase Sapphire Preferred as my initial card.

The Candidates (personal credit cards only):

Card Card	Welcome Offer	Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred®	60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months	$95, waived for the first year
American Express® Gold Card	60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 6 months	$250
Citi Premier® Card	60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months	$95
Capital One® Venture® Rewards	50,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months	$95
The Platinum Card® from American Express	100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months	$550
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months	$550; $75 for each authorized user

The First Cut

So why did I choose the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card? The two biggest influences for me were the annual fee and sign-up bonus.

1. Annual Fee – right off the bat I eliminated the Gold and Platinum® cards from American Express and the Sapphire Reserve from Chase. There is potential value in these high annual fee cards, so you should look at the fine print to see any of these cards are right for you. However, if you’re just starting out like I was, I’d rather take the lower risk Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Plus the annual fee for the Sapphire Preferred is waived for the first year.
2. Bonus – The Starwood card doesn’t give me that quick boost of a big bonus so it also was eliminated.

That left only the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Citi Premier® cards, which have the same sign-up bonus and same annual fee.

The Final Cut

So I compared each based on 5 criteria:

1. Bonus – both cards give you 60,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spend. However, with the Chase card you can earn an additional 5,000 bonus points when you add an authorized user. (As of Sept 2018, Chase is no longer offering authorized user bonus)
2. Referrals – with Chase, you can refer others (think family and friends) through a link in your Chase account. Each person who applies, and is approved for a card, gets you 10,000 bonus points (up to 50,000 per year)
3. Transfer Partners – with Chase, the airline partners are top notch as all three major airline alliances are represented. It’s also the only one with relationships with United and Southwest. In addition, Chase’s hotel partners are Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott.
4. Transferring Points – if you book travel through Chase’s travel portal, each Ultimate Rewards point is worth 1.25 cents. If you also carry a no fee Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited card (UR points are redeemed at 1 cent a piece), you can transfer those UR points to your own Chase Sapphire card to redeem at the higher rate. Lastly, if you have a spouse who also has a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can transfer UR points between each other’s accounts. This makes it much easier to build big points balances to use on incredible travel.
5. Car Rental Insurance – the Chase card offers primary car rental insurance while the Citi card only offers secondary. Primary coverage applies before your own personal car insurance and will cover full damages due to collision or theft of most rental cars. With secondary coverage, you will still have to file a claim with your personal insurance company and possibly be subject to that deductible. This an often overlooked, but very valuable perk.

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card for anybody because you get a minimum $625 value in the sign-up bonus. It’s a superb, low risk way to start your points journey, and it’s a card even experienced travelers use and enjoy. I love my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card!

Apply here for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.