Below you’ll find three different combos based on the number of cards you want to apply for. In general, more cards can earn you more rewards but require a little more work to manage.
Please note, I am not a financial planners nor can I guarantee approval for any of the cards I recommend. Please see our page on credit score and getting approved and if you have any questions or concerns, please ask a professional.
Single Card Combo
This is the easiest place to start. While you won’t be maximizing your return, it is easy to implement and you’ll still be earning some great rewards with a low annual fee. When you are ready, step up to the two or three card combos.
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED®
The perfect starting card has 2x multipliers for restaurants and travel. Chase Ultimate rewards are incredibly valuable and flexible and this is best place to start collecting and spending them.
Annual Fee:
$95
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Bonus Categories:
2x Points on Dining
2x Points on Travel
Other Key Perks:
Easily transfer your points to lots of travel programs makes your points more flexible and more valuable.
Redeem your points with a 25% bonus through the chase travel portal.
Plan:
Use it for all your spend.
Single Card Combo – Plan Summary
Earning Points
Use the Chase Sapphire Preferred for all your spend.
| Card | Restaurants | Travel | Groceries | Gas | Everything Else |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Using Points
Use the Chase Ultimate Reward points to purchase travel through Chase Travel directly, or transfer to partner airline and hotel programs for improved exchange when possible.
Two Card Combo
Two cards with higher annual fees will increase your rewards considerably as you can cover all the main categories between the two cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Great multipliers for all restaurants and travel spending, the best rewards program and incredible perks.
Annual Fee:
$550
$75 for each authorized user
Welcome Bonus:
50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Bonus Categories:
3x Points on Dining
3x Points on Travel
10x Points on Lyft
Other Perks:
$300 Annual Travel Credit (effectively making the annual fee only $250 for a single user)
Easily transfer your points to lots of travel programs makes your points more flexible and more valuable.
Redeem your points with a 50% bonus through the chase travel portal.
Receive a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® Fee statement credit of up to $100 every 4 years.
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access at one of the 1,000+ VIP lounges in over 500 cities worldwide with free Priority Pass™ Select membership.
$60 Door Dash Credit
Plan:
Use it for all restaurants and travel spend.
American Express – Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
The perfect complement with great multipliers for supermarkets, gas and everyday spend.
Annual Fee:
$95
Welcome Bonus:
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® Points†
after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
Bonus Categories:
3x Points at US Supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases.
2x Points at US Gas Stations.
1x Points on other purchases
Use your card 30 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 50% extra points on those purchases. If you do, the earnings will be as follows:
4.5x Points at US Supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases.
3x Points at US Gas Stations.
1.5x Points on other purchases
Other Key Perks:
Amex Offers give you frequent extra discount offers.
Plan:
Use it for all spend on supermarkets, gas stations, and everything else. Be sure to use it 30 times a month.
Two Card Combo – Plan Summary
Earning Points
Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex EveryDay Preferred according to the table below. Be sure you use the Amex EveryDay Preferred card 30 times each pay period to ensure you receive the 0.5x points bonus on all spend.
| Card | Restaurants | Travel | Groceries | Gas | Everything Else |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Amex EveryDay Preferred | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Using Points
Use the Chase Ultimate Reward points to transfer to partner airline and hotel programs for improved exchange when possible or purchase travel through Chase Travel directly. Automatically get get reimbursed for $300 worth of travel each year, and for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ every four years. Be sure to use the Priority Pass membership for free access to airport lounges.
Use the American Express Membership Rewards points to transfer to partner airline and hotel programs for improved exchange when possible or purchase travel through Amex Travel directly.
Three Card Combo
Three cards allow you to maximize your rewards for the main categories of spend. Use the right card for the right category and earn the most rewards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Great multipliers for all restaurants and travel spending, and the best rewards program.
Annual Fee:
$550
$75 for each authorized user
Welcome Bonus:
50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Bonus Categories:
3x Points on Dining
3x Points on Travel
10x Points on Lyft
Other Key Perks:
$300 Annual Travel Credit (effectively making the annual fee only $250 for a single user)
Easily transfer your points to lots of travel programs makes your points more flexible and more valuable.
Redeem your points with a 50% bonus through the chase travel portal.
Receive a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® Fee statement credit of up to $100 every 4 years.
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access at one of the 1,000+ VIP lounges in over 500 cities worldwide with free Priority Pass™ Select membership.
$60 Door Dash Credit
Plan:
Use it for all restaurants and travel spend.
American Express – Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
The perfect complement with great multipliers for supermarkets, gas and everyday spend.
Annual Fee:
$95
Welcome Bonus:
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® Points†
after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months.
Bonus Categories:
3x Points at US Supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases.
2x Points at US Gas Stations.
1x Points on other purchases
Use your card 30 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 50% extra points on those purchases. If you do, the earnings will be as follows:
4.5x Points at US Supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases.
3x Points at US Gas Stations.
1.5x Points on other purchases
Other Key Perks:
Amex Offers give you frequent extra discount offers.
Plan:
Use it for all spend on supermarkets, gas stations, and everything else. Be sure to use it 30 times a month.
Chase – Freedom
Earn 5% rewards in bonus categories each quarter.
Annual Fee:
$0
Welcome Bonus:
20,000 points after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
Bonus Categories:
5x points on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter. Examples of bonus categories include drug stores, gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc.
Other Key Perks:
Combine Chase Ultimate rewards points with those earned from Chase Saphire Reserve.
Plan:
Use it for all spend on the bonus category each quarter.
Three Card Combo – Plan Summary
Earning Points
Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex EveryDay Preferred. Each quarter use the Chase Freedom for categories to receive the 5x Bonus (e.g. if bonus category is Groceries, use Chase Freedom at grocery stores instead of the Amex EverDay Preferred). Be sure you use the Amex EveryDay Preferred card 30 times each pay period to ensure you receive the 0.5x points bonus on all spend.
| Card | Restaurants | Travel | Groceries | Gas | Everything Else |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Amex EveryDay Preferred | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Chase Freedom | use if bonus | use if bonus | use if bonus | use if bonus | use if bonus |
Using Points
Combine the Chase Freedom points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve points to have a single pool of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Use these points to transfer to partner airline and hotel programs for improved exchange when possible or purchase travel through Chase Travel directly. Automatically get get reimbursed for $300 worth of travel each year, and for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ every four years. Be sure to use the Priority Pass membership for free access to airport lounges.
Use the American Express Membership Rewards points to transfer to partner airline and hotel programs for improved exchange when possible or purchase travel through Amex Travel directly.
Bonus Cards
The cards in your combo are used for everyday spend, but there are a few more cards that you should consider just for the perks they give you. You don’t need them all, but you might want them all.
Chase – The World of Hyatt Credit Card
1 free night at a Hyatt property each year provides value greater than the annual fee.
Annual Fee:
$95
Welcome Bonus:
Earn 25,000 World of Hyatt Points after $3,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 25,000 World of HyattPoints after $6,000 total in purchases in your first 6 months.
Bonus Categories:
4x World of Hyatt Points per $1 spent on purchases at all Hyatt hotels
2x World of Hyatt Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, local transit and commuting as well as fitness club and gym memberships.
1x World of Hyatt Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Other Key Perks:
Receive one free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year after your cardmember anniversary.
Earn an extra free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 during your cardmember anniversary year.
Receive free World of Hyatt Discoverist status.
No foreign transaction fees.
Plan:
Use it for Hyatt spend only and enjoy a free hotel room each year.
Chase – IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
1 free night award at an IHG property each year provides value greater than the annual fee.
Annual Fee:
$89
Welcome Bonus:
125,000 IHG Reward Club points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Bonus Categories:
25x IHG Reward Club points per dollar spent at IHG Hotels for the first 12 months, after that, 10X points spent at IHG Hotels
4x IHG Reward Club points on all other purchases for the first 12 months from account opening – after that, 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
Other Perks:
Free reward night after each account anniversary year at IHG hotels worldwide.
Free reward night when you redeem points for any stay of 4 or more nights.
Receive free IHG Platinum Elite status.
No foreign transaction fees.
Plan:
Use it for IHG spend only and enjoy a free hotel room each year.
Bank of America – Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card
Use the yearly Companion Fare award for a round trip ticket from $99 plus taxes and fees. This delivers value greater than the annual fee.
Annual Fee:
$75
Welcome Bonus:
40,000 bonus miles plus Alaska Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $22) after making $2,000 in purchase within the first 90 days.
Bonus Categories:
3x miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
1x mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Other Key Perks:
Yearly Alaska companion fare ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22).
Free checked bag.
No foreign transaction fees.
Plan: Use it for Alaska Airlines spend only and enjoy the Companion Fare each year.
Learn More
This site is designed to give you the simplest path to great travel rewards. I’ve done the hard work to find the best combos for most people. But I’ve purposefully kept things simple. If you want to dive in deeper, and learn about all the cards on the market or find out the best way to spend the hundreds of thousands of rewards points you’ve earned, here are a few great sites to explore: