Cards with the best deals
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
DEAL OFFER: 50,000 rewards points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.
ANNUAL FEE: Introductory fee of $0 and $95 after that.
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: With the Sapphire Preferred card, you get the amazing 50,000 sign up bonus, worth $625 on travel!
Southwest Rapid Reward Plus
DEAL OFFER: 40,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $1,000 in 3 months.
ANNUAL FEE: $69 per year, not waived in first year.
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: Southwest has fantastic redemption domestically and this gets you almost halfway to the Companion Pass! (Read the Companion Pass Guide)
Ink Business Preferred
DEAL OFFER: 80k Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 in 3 months!
ANNUAL FEE: $95 annual fee, not waived in the first year.
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: This is a crazy amount of the best kind of points! You can combine these with your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve points and go somewhere big!
Chase Sapphire Reserve
DEAL OFFER: 50k Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in 3 months
ANNUAL FEE: $450, not waived first year
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: This is Chase's premier travel card! Benefits include $300 automatic reimbursement of travel expenses per year, free Global Entry (~$95 value), an upgrade of all Ultimate Rewards points to 1.5x value on Chase Portal, 3x earning on dining and travel, and a Priority Pass for airport lounges. This is my go-to card, but is not for everyone!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Business
DEAL OFFER: 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.
ANNUAL FEE: $99 per year, not waived in first year.
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: Southwest has fantastic redemption domestically and this gets you more than halfway to the Companion Pass! (Read my Companion Pass Guide!)
Citi American Airlines Mastercard
DEAL OFFER: 50,000 AAdvantage points after spending $2,500 in the first 3 months.
ANNUAL FEE: $99 per year, waived for the first year.
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: American Airlines flies to many domestic and international locations and is part of the OneWorld alliance.
American Express Marriott Bonvoy
DEAL OFFER: 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months.
ANNUAL FEE: $450 per year, NOT waived for the first year. (this is a big one, but offset by $300 of Marriott statement credit)
WHY IT'S THE SMART WAY: Marriott includes SPG properties and has tons of hotels! 100,000 points will go a long ways and the $300 of Marriott statement credit offsets a lot of the $450 annual fee. Every year you also get a free night (up to 50k points value), which can more than offset the fee!
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