This post includes offers that I think are noteworthy right now. I always include best offers available in these links, even if I don’t earn a commission from it. This is especially true for Amex cards which often have referral offers that are much higher than affiliate links.
Looking for a card not on this list? Go to All Affiliate Offers to browse all my affiliate offers. Applying for a card through my affiliate links doesn’t cost you anything, but earns me a small commission to help keep providing great content free.
Not sure where to start? Check out my post on Picking Your First Card to see our favorite starter cards and get some basic strategy tips. And make sure you understand the Chase 5/24 rule!
Top 5 Cards to Start With
These are my favorite cards to start with because they all have solid bonuses (worth a minimum of $750 towards travel) and the points can be transferred to airlines and hotels. You can read more about each card below but if you’re just starting out, all of these are great options.
All of these cards also get harder to get approved for the more cards you get, so you’ll want to get them early on.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® – 60,000 point offer
This is a perennial favorite for so many reasons! The current bonus will get you $750 of travel…or more if you leverage the transfer partners like Hyatt. It also gives great travel insurance when you book with the card and a $50 annual hotel credit.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 60,000 points
Bonus: 60,000 points
Earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Card Highlights
- $95 annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit
- $15 per quarter statement credit for Instacart
- Great transfer options to Hyatt, United, Southwest, and more
- Earn 3x on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery
My Take
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of my top beginner cards for miles & points. This limited time bonus can get you at least $1000 of travel. The travel insurance it provides is top tier, too! Get this card early in your travel points journey, it’s a keeper.
Recent Bonus History
A publicly available online offer for 80,000 points ran from March 2023-May 2023. Another 80,000 point bonus ended in Fall 2022. Standard bonus is 60,000 points.
An offer for 100,000 points ended in Fall 2021.
Capital One® Venture X Rewards
Don’t let the annual fee of $395 scare you. The $300 annual travel credit and a slew of other benefits make this card a keeper. Plus you’ll immediately up your travel game with airport lounge access and Hertz Presidents’ Club status.
Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- $395 annual fee
- $300 annual travel credit when booking through Capital One’s portal
- 10,000 points every year on account anniversary (worth at least $100)
- Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
- Easy airport lounge access for your whole family
- Miles can be redeemed to erase any travel purchase. 75,000 miles = $750
- Can be transferred to a variety of partners like Jet Blue, Wyndham, Avianca, Turkish Airways and more.
- Get our downloadable checklist here so you can max your benefits
Capital One® Venture® Rewards – 75,000 miles
If you really can’t stomach the annual fee of the Venture X, the Venture has a similar offer and a lower $95 fee! Points have the same uses as the Venture X.
Capital One® Venture® Rewards – Limited time 75,000 mile offer
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Miles can be redeemed to erase any travel purchase. 50,000 miles = $500
- Can be transferred to a variety of partners like Jet Blue, Wyndham, Avianca, Turkish Airways and more
- Also worth considering the Venture X which has more benefits and the same offer.
Citi Premier® Card
Citi has been very stingy with approvals for this card so this is a good one to get early on. The extended warranty is the best of all the starter cards and offers an additional 2 years of protection on items you purchase. This card often raises the bonus to 80,000 points so if you’re not in a rush for the points, it can be worth waiting for a higher offer.
Citi Premier® Card – 75,000 bonus points (non-affiliate link)
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel and car rentals bookings on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024
- Thank You Points can be transferred to a variety of partners like Jet Blue, Avianca, Turkish Airways, Choice and more. Points double when transferred to Choice!
- You can also cash out your points. 60,000 points = $600
- See my full guide to the card here
- My favorite redemptions on this card are Ascend Properties in the US, Choice Hotels in Europe, and redeeming for tickets to Hawaii.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
This can be paired with a Business card to easily earn a Southwest Companion Pass and BOGO travel for even longer!
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card – Earn 60,000 bonus points
- $149 annual fee
- $75 annual statement credit for Southwest purchases
- 4 upgraded boardings per year
- 7500 points per year on your card member anniversary
- 3x earning on Southwest flights; 2x on local transit, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 spent
- Check your Companion Pass strategy before applying
Top Personal Credit Card Offers
While you’re under 5/24, you’ll want to maximize opening Chase cards that interest you. A great way to stay under 5/24 longer is to open business cards. See the business cards further down — but consider Chase personal card offers early on. See all Chase offers here.
Wyndham Earner® Plus Card – 75,000 bonus points
Wyndham has some good hotels but my favorite use is to use the points to book Vacasa vacation rentals. When you hold this card, you’ll get a 10% discount which means each night at a one bedroom Vacasa costs just 13,500 points.
Wyndham Earner® Plus Card – 75,000 points (non-affiliate link)
- Earn 75,000 bonus points, after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
- $75 annual fee
- 10% redemption discount on points redeemed for go free® awards
- Receive 7,500 Bonus Points each anniversary year after payment of the renewal fee
New Choice Privileges Cards from Wells Fargo: Earn 60,000-90,000 points
We don’t have offer history yet since these cards are brand new, but these are strong offers if you’re collecting Choice points. Even the no annual fee version can offer some great value — especially in Europe and around the US.
Choice Privileges® Mastercard® Credit Card: 60,000 points (non-affiliate link)
- Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
- No annual fee
- Cell phone protection included when you pay your bill with this card
- No foreign transaction fees
Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® Credit Card: 90,000 points (non-affiliate link)
- Earn 90,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
- $95 annual fee, waived first year
- Cell phone protection included when you pay your bill with this card
- No foreign transaction fees
- Global Entry or TSA Precheck Statement Credit
Bank of America Alaska Mileage Plan
Highest ever offer on this card. Alaska has some great sweet spot options and includes a free stopover on award flights, even one way flights! Bank of America can be sensitive to lots of recent card openings. Your best chance of approval if you have opened more than 2 cards in 12 months is to open a Bank of America checking account. Business card may be a better option for you if trying to stay under 5/24.
Alaska Mileage Plan – 70,000 miles + $100 statement credit (non-affiliate link)
- Earn 70,000 bonus miles + $100 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening
- $95 annual fee
- Includes Alaska’s Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare + taxes and fees from $23)
- Free checked bag
- Priority boarding
- 10% rewards bonus
- 20% back on all Alaska Airlines inflight purchases and $100 off annual Alaska Airlines lounge membership
Air France/KLM World Elite Mastercard: 70,000 miles
This is a great option if you’re trying to go to Europe with your family and can take advantage of Flying Blue promos. It will count towards 5/24 but then you can save your transferrable points for another purpose!
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® – 70,000 miles (non-affiliate link)
- Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening
- Reports say that if you do a dummy booking (pretend to book a flight on their website), you’ll get shown an offer for an additional $100 statement credit signup bonus, on top of the 70,000 and 40 XP
- $89 annual fee
- 5,000 Miles every year on your account anniversary after you spend $50 or more on purchases within the anniversary year
World of Hyatt Credit Card
This offer is really only worth pursuing the first half of. But I love keeping this card for the annual hotel night certificate. The offer hasn’t changed in a few years so while it isn’t an exciting offer, I keep it on this page because I still think the card is worth getting.
The World of Hyatt Credit Card – Learn how to apply
- $95 annual fee
- 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Provides 1 free night certificate every year on account anniversary (up to a category 4 hotel)
- If you spend $15,000 per year on the card you will earn an additional free night certificate
The Platinum Card from American Express – 150,000 points + $200 credit
American Express typically offers its best sign up bonuses through referral links. Sometimes these links need to be opened in a private/incognito browser to get the highest offer. These will count towards 5/24. If you aren’t eligible for the bonus, you will get a pop up after you click apply and before your credit is run.
The Platinum Card® from American Express – 150,000 point + $200 credit offer (non-affiliate link)
All information about The Platinum Card® has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. The Platinum Card® is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
(not my referral link, this is just the best offer)
- $695 annual fee (Terms Apply | Rates and Fees), enrollment required for credits
- Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- $200 annual airline incidental credit, enrollment required
- $240 annual digital entertainment credit, enrollment required
- $100 annual Saks credit, enrollment required
- $200 annual Uber credit, enrollment required
- Lounge access to Centurion Lounges and Priority Pass lounges and more, enrollment required
- Hilton Gold Status, enrollment required
- Marriott Gold Status, enrollment required
American Express® Gold Card – 90,000 points + $200 credit
American Express typically offers its best sign up bonuses through referral links. Sometimes these links need to be opened in a private/incognito browser to get the highest offer. These will count towards 5/24. If you aren’t eligible for the bonus, you will get a pop up after you click apply and before your credit is run.
American Express® Gold Card – 90,000 points + $200 credit offer via referral (non-affiliate link)
All information about the American Express Gold Card® has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. The Gold Card® is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
(not my referral link, this is just the best offer)
- $250 annual fee (Terms Apply | Rates and Fees)
- Earn 90,000 Membership Rewards® after you spend $4,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- $120 total annual Uber credits ($10 per month) and $120 total annual restaurant credits (to certain restaurants, $10 per month), enrollment required
- 4x earning at restaurants worldwide, including Takeout and Delivery in the U.S.
- 4x earning at U.S. Supermarkets, on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases
American Express® Green Card
American Express® Green Card – 60,000 points + cash back on travel
- $150 Annual Fee (Terms Apply | Rates and Fees)
- 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit. Terms Apply.
- $189 CLEAR Plus Credit: Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express® Green Card.
- $100 LoungeBuddy credit each year
- 3X points at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x points on transit, including trains, buses, ferries, subway, and more
- 3x points on travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card – 130,000 Bonus Points + a Free Night Reward
Though lower in points than previous Hilton offers, the Free Night Reward can be very valuable as you can use it at almost any Hilton property with standard award availability — making it worth up to 95,000 points.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card – Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and one Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors
- $95 annual fee (Terms Apply. | Rates & Fees.)
- Earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and one Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 12x points for spend directly at Hilton hotels and resorts
- 6x points for spending on gas and groceries
- Complimentary Gold status (enrollment required)
- 10 Priority Pass visits per year (enrollment required)
Business Card Offers
Business cards are an important part of your overall miles and points strategy. That’s because they generally don’t report to credit bureaus so they don’t affect your credit score as much. And you probably qualify for a business card even if you only have a small side hustle like selling old toys on Facebook marketplace.
Chase Ink Cards – 75,000-100,000 bonus points
Chase Ink cards are our favorite option when we have larger expenses coming that help us to meet the higher minimum spend. The bonuses for the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited are listed as cash back. But if you have a Chase Sapphire card, you can actually combine the “cash back” points with your Sapphire card. (If you have a Chase Ink Business Premier card you cannot combine the points.)
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card – Learn how to apply
- $0 annual fee
- Earn $750 (75,000 points) after you spend $6,000 in 3 months
- If you have a Sapphire card, you can transfer the Ink points to the Sapphire card to get all the airline and hotel transfer benefits!
- Earn unlimited 1.5% Cash Back rewards on every purchase
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card – Learn how to apply
- $0 annual fee
- Earn $750 (75,000 points) after you spend $6,000 in 3 months
- If you have a Sapphire card, you can transfer the Ink points to the Sapphire card to get all the airline and hotel transfer benefits!
- Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services eacInh account anniversary year.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card – Learn how to apply
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card – 165,000 points
IHG® One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card – 165,000 points
- $99 annual fee
- Earn 165,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Free Reward Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide (worth 40,000 points)
- 4th night free when you redeem points for any stay of 4 or more nights
- Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- Platinum Elite status as long as you remain a Premier card member
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
Southwest Business Cards
These card offers haven’t changed in over a year. They make it so easy to get a Southwest Companion Pass. Just pay close attention to your timing when applying if you’re trying to maximize the Companion Pass.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card – 80,000 point bonus
- $199 annual fee
- TSA Precheck/Global Entry statement credit
- 4 upgraded boardings per year
- Free in-flight wifi
- 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 spent
- 4x earning on Southwest flights; 2x on local transit, internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
- 9000 points per year on your card member anniversary
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card – 60,000 point bonus
- $99 annual fee
- 2 Early Bird Check Ins per year
- Free in-flight wifi
- 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points for every $10,000 spent
- 3x earning on Southwest flights; 2x on local transit
- 6000 points per year on your card member anniversary
Alaska Mileage Plan Business Card – 70,000 miles
Alaska has some great sweet spot options and includes a free stopover on award flights, even one way flights! Bank of America can be sensitive to lots of recent card openings. Your best chance of approval if you have opened more than 2 cards in 12 months is to open a Bank of America checking account.
Bank of America Alaska Mileage Plan Business Card – (non-affiliate link)
- $50 per company and $25 per card for business level earning plan or $0 per company and $75 per card
- 70,000 bonus miles and companion pass from $121 after you make $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account
- Get another companion pass every year
- Free checked bag for you and six companions
- 3x miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines purchases and 1x miles on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
Hilton Honors American Express Business Card – 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points + a Free Night Reward
Though lower in points than previous Hilton offers, the Free Night Reward can be very valuable as you can use it at almost any Hilton property with standard award availability — making it worth up to 95,000 points.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card – Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward
- $95 annual fee (Terms Apply | Rates and Fees)
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors Business Card within the first three months of Card Membership. Offer ends 7/19/23.
- Complimentary Gold status (enrollment required)
- 10 Priority Pass visits per year
- Earn 12X at hotels & resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 6X on U.S. gas stations, on U.S. purchases for shipping, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants.
- Earn 3X on all other eligible purchases.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® – 65,000 miles
This is a standard offer for this card but I leave it on this page because it is a good one to get to stock up on AA miles. The offer doesn’t seem to go up or down too much.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (non-affiliate link)
- $99 annual fee (often waived the first year)
- First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation
- Preferred boarding
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express – 150,000 points
This has a very high spend as well as high annual fee. BUT may be worth it for some people, especially if you can leverage the Dell credits.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express – 150,000 points (non-affiliate link)
Alternate targeted offer: 200,000 points (log in after clicking this link to see if your account is targeted.
All information about The Business Platinum Card® has been collected independently by Katie’s Travel Tricks. The Business Platinum Card® is no longer available through Katie’s Travel Tricks.
- $695 annual fee (Terms Apply | Rates and Fees), enrollment required for credits
- Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 in qualifying purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- $200 annual airline incidental credit, enrollment required
- Unlock over $1,000 in annual statement credits on select purchases such as with Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and U.S. wireless service providers. Enrollment required.
- Lounge access to Centurion Lounges and Priority Pass lounges and more, enrollment required
- Hilton Gold Status, enrollment required
- Marriott Gold Status, enrollment required