It is difficult for people new to travel credit cards, points, and miles, to grasp what is going on with them. What’s most important is that it is not clear what the best way to get started is.
If you want to make travel easier, cheaper, and more comfortable, this article is for you.
Two strong options for your first travel credit card are Chase’s Sapphire Preferred, and Capital One’s Venture X. Let’s start with the perennial player, the Sapphire Preferred.
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED
The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) has long been one of the best entry-level travel credit cards. It has an attractive welcome bonus, a very reasonable annual fee, and a surprising amount of perks. Anyone who travels at least once a year will likely get outsized value from this card.
The annual fee for the CSP is a modest $95. The welcome bonus for the CSP fluctuates between 60,000 points and 80,000 points for $4,000 of spend in the first 3 months. We’ve seen offers as high as 100,000 points, but depending on your travel needs it may not be worthwhile to wait for a higher bonus to return.
Here are some of the notable perks offered by the CSP. Please note, this list is not comprehensive, and benefits change over time.
- $50 annual statement credit (starting year 2) for hotels booked through the Chase travel portal
- Points have 25% more value when redeemed for travel through the Chase travel portal
- For example, you want to book a $250 flight. Normally, this would cost 25,000 points. With this perk it would only cost 20,000 points.
- Note: This perk applies to all of your Chase points, not just the ones earned from the CSP
- For example, you want to book a $250 flight. Normally, this would cost 25,000 points. With this perk it would only cost 20,000 points.
- 5x points per dollar spent through the Chase travel portal
- Ability to transfer points to partners
- This subject demands numerous articles of its own, but as a teaser, this is the perk I used to book a $7,500 business class flight to New Zealand for under $100
- At least 12 months of complementary DashPass
- 5x points per dollar spent on Lyft
- Free travel insurance when you book travel with the card, including primary CDW
SUMMARY OF BENEFITS
- 60,000-100,000 point welcome offer
- $50 annual statement credit when booking a hotel through the Chase travel portal
- 25% bonus when redeeming Chase points towards travel
CAPITAL ONE VENTURE X
The Venture X (VX) has a case for being the best travel credit card currently available. It has a hefty annual fee of $395, but more than enough perks to justify the fee.
Before we analyze how the annual fee is actually very reasonable, let’s look at the welcome offer. The current offer is 75,000 bonus points for new applicants who spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. This welcome offer is worth at least $750 towards travel.
Here are the two most valuable perks offered by the VX:
- $300 annual travel credit when booking through Capital One’s travel portal
- 10,000 point annual bonus (starting in the second year)
Let’s take a deeper dive into the perks offered by the VX. Please note, this list is not comprehensive, and benefits change over time.
- Priority Pass Lounge Access
- Complimentary Priority Pass (PP) membership. This includes unlimited access for the cardholder and two guests to over 1,500 airport lounges worldwide
- Free Authorized Users
- Often referred to as a “secret perk”, the VX allows you to add additional card users at no cost. Additional users also get a free PP membership, which means you can grant PP membership to those you trust with your credit card
- $100 Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit every 4 years
- Both of these last 5 years, so you will have both for as long as you have the card
- 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One’s travel portal
- Ability to transfer points to partners
- This subject demands numerous articles of its own, but as a teaser, this is the perk I used to book a $7,500 business class flight to New Zealand for under $100
- Free travel insurance when you book travel with the card, including primary collision damage waiver (CDW)
SUMMARY OF BENEFITS
- 75,000 point welcome offer
- $300 annual travel voucher
- 10,000 annual bonus miles (starting in the second year)
- Priority Pass airport lounge access
FINAL THOUGHTS
Which card is right for you depends on your travel plans and your valuation of the perks offered by each card. Personally, I prefer the Venture X. I love the fact that you only have one credit to “manage”, and that the travel credit is easy to use.
