Our Favorite Credit Cards

Five Essential Cards

1. BILT Mastercard:

No annual fee, great points-earning rates, best-in-class rewards, and the unique ability to earn points on rent or HOA fees make this card indispensable for renters and useful to all. 

2. Amex Gold:

The $250 annual fee is offset by $240 in statement credits for easy-to-use dining, delivery, and takeout options, while the 4x points on both dining and groceries makes the card both easy to use and a powerful earner for foodies. 

3. Capital One Venture X:

The seemingly-imposing $395 annual fee is offset by $300 in credit for travel booked through Capital One and $100+ worth of points delivered to your account at every renewal. That net fee of -$5 is a small price to pay for a card earning at least 2 ultra-flexible reward miles on every purchase and offering premium protections, unlimited access to a range of airport lounges–including for guests and authorized cardholders. 

4. Citi Custom Cash:

Earning 5% on up to $500 in spending each month on your highest eligible spending category, the card’s powerful earning rate and flexibility make it an asset to any points-and-miles strategy. 

5. Citi Double Cash:

Earning 2% cashback on every purchase is a solid return for a no-annual fee card.

6. (Honorable mention) Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is basically a slightly inferior version of the Bilt card, minus the points for rent payments, but with one big advantage: the ability to earn hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of travel rewards in the first year just for signing up.

Other Card Reviews

Great Cards

  • IHG Premier (IHG): My favorite non-essential card, the IHG pays for its $99 annual fee with a free night annually while offering loads of status perks at IHG properties, discounts on United flights, and surprisingly good earning rates on things like gas, transit, and parking.

  • World of Hyatt (Chase): Comes with a free night and solid status perks. Hyatt points are probably the most valuable single brand currency available, making even 1x base earning on this card quite solid, and making it reasonable to consider spending $15,000 on the card to earn a second free night (plus at least 15k points good for at least 3 other free nights at many Hyatt properties).  

Fine Cards for the Right Person

  • AA Aviator Red (Barclays): The card itself is unremarkable, but the free checked bag perk it offers might justify the annual fee on its own. Known for regularly offering massive sums of miles after making just a single purchase, applying for the Aviator is one of the fastest ways to a free flight. 

  • AA Executive Club (Citi): Unlimited Admirals Club access and statement credits on Grubhub and Avis/Budget car rentals might justify the $595 fee for certain high rollers.

Read our article Five Essential Credit Cards for 2023 for more details.