Card vs card

For most people, the Venture X. Its $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles cover the $395 fee, and 2x on everything is easy. The Sapphire Reserve costs twice as much and earns more on dining and on flights and hotels booked direct, but you only come out ahead if you use its newer credits: The Edit, StubHub, dining, DoorDash and Apple.

Start with the Preferred. At $95 it’s easy to earn back with its $100 hotel credit, and its 3x categories now cover dining, gas, streaming and online groceries. The Reserve costs $700 more for lounges, 8x on Chase Travel and a long list of credits, which pays off only for people who travel often and use most of them.

Pick the Platinum if lounges and luxury hotels matter most: it gets you into Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, and its credits are bigger on paper. Pick the Sapphire Reserve if you also want a card for everyday spending: it earns 3x on dining and 4x on flights and hotels booked direct, where the Platinum earns 1x on dining.

The Venture X for most people: lounge access for the cardholder, 2x on everything, and credits that cover the $395 fee with little effort. The Platinum gets you into more lounges, including Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, and adds hotel status and many more credits, but at $895 it only works if you’d use most of them.

If food is your biggest spending, the Gold: 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets beats the Preferred’s 3x, and its food and Uber credits can cover the $325 fee. If you want one card for dining, gas, streaming and travel at $95, the Preferred.

They’re built for different people. The Platinum is for travel: lounges, 5x on flights and big hotel credits. The Gold is for everyday life: 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, with food credits. If you don’t fly often, the Gold earns more for about a third of the fee.

The Venture X for most people who travel: it costs $300 more, but its $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles give that back, and it adds lounge access and 10x on Capital One Travel hotels. The Venture is better if you won’t book through Capital One Travel; its $100 stays credit still nearly covers its $95 fee.

Both are $95 cards with 3x on everyday categories and transferable points, so pick by where you spend and fly. The Strata Premier earns 3x at supermarkets and on all air travel and hotels, and its points go to American Airlines. The Sapphire Preferred earns 3x on gas, streaming and online groceries plus 5x through Chase Travel, and its points go to United, Southwest and Hyatt.

The Strata Elite costs $200 less and adds Admirals Club passes, a good fit for American Airlines flyers who book through Citi Travel. The Sapphire Reserve earns more where most people spend (3x on dining every day and 4x on flights and hotels booked direct, versus 1.5x on the Strata Elite outside Citi Travel), with bigger credits, Sapphire Lounges and Chase’s partners like United and Hyatt.

The Palladium if you’ll put most of your spending on it: 2x on everything, Priority Pass and $400 in hotel credits justify the $495. The Obsidian if you mostly want rent points and one bonus category: 3x on dining or groceries for $95.

The Ink Business Preferred for most small businesses: $95 a year, 3x on travel, shipping, ads and phone on up to $150,000, and points that transfer to United, Southwest and Hyatt. The Business Gold earns more (4x) and picks your top two categories for you, including restaurants, gas and software, but costs $375; its credits only help if you’d use them.

Same lounges, same 5x on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel, same $895 fee. The difference is the credits and the rest of the earning: the personal Platinum’s credits are for everyday life (Uber, streaming, lululemon, Equinox), while the Business Platinum’s are for running a business (Dell, Adobe, Indeed, ChatGPT, wireless), and it earns 2x on purchases of $5,000 or more.

Pick by how you spend. The Savor pays 3% on dining, groceries, streaming and entertainment, so it wins if those are most of your spending. The Freedom Unlimited pays 1.5% on everything and 3% on dining and drugstores, so it wins on everything else, and it’s the better partner if you have a Sapphire or Ink Preferred.

If you spend more than about $3,200 a year at U.S. supermarkets, the Blue Cash Preferred: 6% there (on up to $6,000) and on streaming beats the Savor’s 3%, even after the $95 fee. Below that, or if you eat out and buy entertainment a lot, the Savor does as well for $0.

If you’ll activate and keep track of the 5% categories every quarter, the Freedom Flex: 5% on up to $1,500 a quarter, plus the same 3% on dining and drugstores. If you’d rather not plan, the Freedom Unlimited: its 1.5% on everything beats the Flex’s 1% outside the categories.

If your business pays for office supplies or internet, cable and phone, the Ink Cash: 5% there on up to $25,000 a year, and 2% on gas and dining. If not, the Ink Unlimited’s 1.5% on everything is simpler and earns more on most spending.

If you fly Delta with someone else at least once a year, the Platinum: its companion ticket after each renewal can cover the $350 fee by itself, and it adds $2,500 toward Medallion status and 3x on Delta and hotels. If not, the Gold gives you the same free checked bags for $150, and $0 the first year.

The Reserve is the Delta card with Sky Club access: 15 visits a year plus Centurion Lounges on Delta days, and its companion ticket can be used up to First Class. If you’d use the lounges on most trips, that’s what the extra $300 buys.

At home, the Double Cash: 2% on everything beats the Quicksilver’s 1.5%, and its points work with a Citi Strata card. Abroad, take the Quicksilver: the Double Cash charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

For most Marriott guests, the Boundless: its free night every year (up to 35,000 points) is usually worth more than the $95 fee. The Brilliant costs $650 and makes sense if you stay at Marriott often enough to use Platinum Elite, its free night up to 85,000 points, $25 a month in dining credits and Priority Pass.

If your business spends mostly on travel, shipping, ads and phone and internet, the Ink Business Preferred: 3x there on up to $150,000 a year, for $95. If its spending is spread across everything, the Venture X Business earns 2x on all of it, with Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass and a $300 travel credit plus 10,000 miles a year against the $395 fee.

Both cost $0 and charge no foreign transaction fee, so it comes down to what you spend on. The Autograph pays 3x on dining, travel, gas and EV charging, transit, streaming and phone plans, but 1x on groceries. The Savor pays 3% on dining, groceries, streaming and entertainment.