Five Essential Credit Cards for 2023
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a credit card, and your next card will definitely be an individualized decision. But as a starting place, here are five cards that stand out and will be worth having for many people.
If you rent (or pay HOA fees): Bilt Mastercard
If you can handle credit responsibly and pay either rent or HOA fees, the Bilt card is indispensable. As long as you make at least 4 other purchases each month, you will earn 1 point per dollar on your rent (up to $50,000 annually) without any credit card processing fees. That’s worth $150 in free travel each year on the Bilt travel portal for each $1000 in monthly rent you pay. The points are also extremely valuable, as they can be transferred to AA, United, and Hyatt, among others.
Making the other 4 purchases will also be extremely easy. Bilt provides insurance for your mobile phone if you pay the bill with the card. It also offers 3x on dining and 2x on hotels, airfare, and rental cars. On the first of each month, it doubles the earning on non-rent purchases, and offers fun ways to earn bonus points. These features alone make it competitive with popular travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Citi Premier but, unlike those cards, the Bilt has no annual fee.
If you travel: Capital One Venture X
The $395 annual fee may seem hefty, but it’s actually a bargain. Why? Capital One will give all that money right back to you, along with best-in-class earnings on day-to-day spending, huge bonuses in their travel portal, and top-end travel perks.
The current welcome offer is 75,000 points, good for $750 in travel on the Capital One travel portal (similar to Expedia or Priceline, but Capital One-branded). You will also get $300 back in statement credits each year for purchases on that portal, along with an extra 10,000 points (~$100) on card renewal, making the net effective fee -$5 (yes, that’s a negative sign).
For that, you’ll get double points on every purchase, as well as 5x on flights and 10x on hotels and rental cars booked through the portal. You also get perks like Hertz President’s Circle status and access to airport lounges through the Capital One, Priority Pass, and Plaza Premium lounge networks–something you can share with multiple authorized users (e.g. a spouse, child, or parent) for free. There’s also premium protections like primary rental car collision insurance, baggage insurance, trip delay and cancellation insurance, return protection, and extended warranties on your purchases.
If you dine out a lot: American Express Gold Card
Earning an incredible 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, the Amex Gold card is an essential workhorse card if you dine out frequently. For example, if you spend $10,000 in restaurants annually, you could easily rack up over 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards points in year 1 when combined with the intro bonus which currently sits at 60,000-point points (potentially more if you have a friend with a referral link).
Although the card carries a $250 annual fee, this may be negligible depending on where you live and what your spending habits are. It comes with $10 in uber cash each month along with a $10 statement credit each month for spending at several dining merchants such as Grubhub, Shake Shack, and the Cheesecake Factory. By ordering pickup from both Uber Eats and Grubhub once each month, it’s quite possible to recoup $240 of that annual fee, making the net fee lower than many 3x-earning competitors. The 4x bonus at US grocery stores, 3x bonus on flights, great travel and shopping protections, and Amex customer service all bolster the Gold card’s case to earn a spot in your wallet.
If you want cashback: Citi Double Cash
Here at Lazy Points we, unsurprisingly, like points. They have somewhat variable values and, if used wisely, can bring you extra bang for your spending buck. That said, most people will struggle to get significantly more than 1¢ per point in value, and that value will be tied to certain specific uses (almost always related to travel in one form or another). If you take your rewards in cash, it will be just that: cash. Use it however you want. The Citi Double Cash offers 2% cash back on all your spending—1% when you purchase, 1% when you pay your bill—making it a great card for your day-to-day spending, especially in categories like retail that don’t tend to earn bonus points. (Note: the “cash back” comes in the form of ThankYou Points, which can be redeemed in other ways, i.e. for travel, if you have certain other Citi cards, such as the Premier.)
If you want to maximize: Citi Custom Cash
The Custom Cash is certainly worthy of a place in anyone’s wallet. The value proposition is simple: earn 5% back on up to $500 in your highest (eligible) spending category each billing cycle. It’s a great way to fill out some weak spots in your credit card strategy, for example by using it as a gas card, for your streaming services, or to pay for groceries. While most people will get more value by opening a card with a larger welcome bonus, the Custom Cash’s uniquely versatile power warrants a place on this list.
Honorable Mention: Chase Sapphire Preferred
I’m not a huge fan of the CSP because because it carries a real annual fee and, while it’s good at many things, it isn’t the best at anything. But when the sign-up bonus rises to 80,000 points (as it is as I’m writing this), it’s certainly worth giving it some attention.
Although it has a $95 annual fee, $50 of that is offset, you will get $50 back as a statement credit if you book a hotel through the Chase travel portal. Chase’s travel portal is also very strong, and Chase points are worth 1.25¢ each in the portal, meaning those 80,000 points are worth a minimum of $1,000 in travel. Chase also has great transfer partner options, including United and Hyatt. The bonus points are also quite respectable: 5x on travel booked through Chase, 5x on Lyft rides (through March 2025), 3x on dining, 3x on online grocery purchases, 3x on many streaming services, 2x on general travel purchases (which includes things like parking meters and bus tickets).
There’s even more perks associated with the card, so if you don’t mind the fee, it may be a worthwhile addition.