Access to thousands of airport lounges is on the table for 2022 and new ones are being added constantly (see Capital One travel lounges). Getting the right card in your wallet is the secret to getting your body in a plush, comfortable seat inside an airport with great runway views, hot meals, work stations, private bathrooms and much more. Which cards pull out all the stops when it comes to lounging in style for free during stopovers? As airlines vie to recapture post-pandemic travelers, the cards have definitely been shuffled around a bit since 2019. The most exciting aspect is that airlines are expanding both their lounge offerings and their lounge access.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

• Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Best Airlines Credit Cards
• Best Hotel Credit Cards
• Best Business Credit Cards
• Best Cash Back Credit Cards
• Best Overall in 2022

Let’s cover the best credit cards for complimentary airport lounge access in 2022!

Here’s a look at the credit cards offering the best lounge access in 2022:

• 1. The Platinum Card® from American Express: Access to the most lounges of any card! Choose from 1,200 airport lounges in 130 countries.
• 2. Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Access to 1,200 VIP airport lounges around the world via free Priority Pass Select access.
• 3. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Delta SkyClub access with potential for a big status boost on your Medallion status with every purchase!
• 4. HSBC Elite Credit Card: Free and unlimited LoungeKey access with an annual fee that’s lower than other elite cards.
• 5. Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Free American Airlines Admirals Club® membership with opportunities to jump to a higher status through card purchases.
• 6. Mastercard® Black Card™: Automatic enrollment in Priority Pass Select for access to more than 1,300 lounges around the world.
• 7. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card: Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select access for entry to more than 1,200 lounges around the world when flying on any airline.
• 8. American Express Green Card: $100 LoungeBuddy Credit.
• 9. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Complimentary Priority Pass access with the bonus of complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status.
• 10. United℠ Explorer Card: Two United Club passes per year with a card that offers opportunities to earn PQPs.
• 11. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection with big potential to earn extra points and status upgrades.

The Platinum Card® From American Express

If it’s sheer volume you’re looking for, this personal credit card offers access to the largest number of airport lounges. Platinum Members enjoy totally unlimited complimentary access to Centurion Lounges with Priority Pass Lounges access. That’s a lot of luxury to be rolling your luggage into between flights! In fact, it adds up to access to 1,200 airport lounges spread across 130 countries. What’s more, AMEX is adding new lounges every year. All of that choice won’t seem overwhelming because cardholders can use the American Express app to swiftly find lounges on the go!

There’s also a really big cherry on top with this card. It is one of the rare cards to provide lounge access for a cardholder while also giving the green light for two additional guests. While most cards and lounges have been on a streak of restricting or phasing out guest perks, Platinum still rolls out a red carpet that’s big enough for two to three people every single time!

Let’s quickly cover some specifics of this card.

Yes, the limitless lounge access that goes along with this card comes with a price. The annual fee on the Platinum Card® from American Express is $695. However, a little perspective helps when justifying the decision to jump for this card. An annual Priority Pass membership costs $429. However, the AMEX Platinum is just a little more with actual AMEX-branded lounge access paired with Priority Pass membership. You’re also getting the prestige and credit boost of having this elite card.

The free lounge access is just skimming the surface of the perks offered by the AMEX Platinum. Let’s not forget that this card comes with 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels with a threshold of $500,000!

You can also make back half of your annual fee just by taking advantage of the card’s $240 digital entertainment credit that rewards you with $20 each month when you pay for select digital subscriptions using your card.

There’s also a $200 annual hotel credit, $200 annual airline fee credit, $200 Uber cash credit, $179 CLEAR credit and $300 Equinox Credit.

Lastly, AMEX will give you an annual Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credit. While there are simply too many perks to get into with this card, the AMEX Platinum offers dozens of “extras” that include things like upgrades to Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite status or Hilton Honors Gold status without qualifying stays, free flight upgrades, car rental protection, special cruise privileges and more!

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The caveat with Chase Sapphire Reserve is that you have to be looking specifically for robust Priority Pass access for this card to be worth it in terms of airport lounge access.

The Sapphire Reserve card actually mirrors many of the perks of the slightly more elite Platinum Card® from American Express for a lower annual fee of $550.

In addition, Sapphire Reserve is only slightly behind the elite AMEX card with its offering of access to 1,200 VIP airport lounges around the world via free Priority Pass Select membership. Lounge guests flashing their Sapphire membership enjoy perks like free snacks, drinks and Wi-Fi whenever they touch down! You can also bring along two guests per visit! 

Some of the other perks that pad this card include 3x points on worldwide dining and travel, 1:1 points transfers, a $300 travel credit and credits for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®. There’s also a bump of 50 percent more points when redeeming airfare, car rentals, cruise reservations and hotels.

Some of the auxiliary perks of this card include $60 in DoorDash credits, a free DashPass subscription, a free year of Lyft Pink ($199 value), trip cancellation insurance, a rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, travel insurance and emergency medical and dental benefits. 

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

This card is perfect for a self-selecting group that prefers to fly with Delta. In addition to giving you free Delta SkyClub access, this card is going to catapult you to Medallion Status much faster! It’s a win-win deal.

With an annual fee of $550, this card will be a better bet for most than simply paying the $545 annual fee for Delta Sky Club membership because of all the perks and potential for earning back baked into it! In addition to complimentary Delta SkyClub access for you, this card throws in two one-time guest passes per year. While that’s not as generous as the two-guests-per-visit perk offered by both the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and AMEX Platinum, it’s still something. There’s also access to the Centurion® Lounge whenever you book flights with your card. Members with this card also get upgrade priority over other Medallion members within the same level and fare class. 

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card has a nice roster of Delta-oriented perks. The big one is that you can earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases up to four times per year through the Status Boost perk. In addition, the Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) Waiver waives all other requirements for Platinum, Gold or Silver Medallion Status if you make at least $25,000 in purchases per year with your card. 

Purchases made on Delta flights and Delta Vacations will earn you 3x miles. Everyday purchases made with your card will earn you 1 miler per dollar with zero limits on how much you can earn.

That challenges you to reach that $30,000 annual spending threshold for your Status Boost by using your card to pay for everything from gas to groceries. Some of the additional perks built into this card include a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credit, a baggage insurance plan, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, car rental insurance and access to the Premium Global Assist Hotline when you find yourself in a logistical or legal pinch while traveling.

HSBC Elite Credit Card

The big draw of the HSBC Elite Credit Card is free and unlimited access to LoungeKey lounges. Of course, you might not be very familiar with LoungeKey. One of the newer players in the lounge industry, LoungeKey provides lounge access at more than 1,000 locations around the world for cardholders aligned with various credit cards. Coming in with a lower-than-average annual fee of $395, the HSBC Elite Credit Card offers decent perks. The bonus breakdown for purchases made with your card breaks down to 3x travel purchase points for airfare, hotels and car rental. While you’re getting 2x dining points, it’s 1x points for all other purchases. There’s also $400 in travel credits on the table. 

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®

A favorite among people who fly with American Airlines, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® comes with a free Admirals Club® membership that’s valued at $650. That’s not bad when you consider that the annual fee for this card is $450.

This next point is why this card is worth considering even if you’ve already shelled out the fee to get Admirals Club® membership. The card will actually give you a prorated refund on membership if you’re an existing Admirals Club® member. Upgrading can be a great way to maintain the membership you already love while gaining some extra perks every time you spend. 

This card provides 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. You’ll earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. You can also jet your way to elite status with American Airlines faster once you have this card in your wallet. That’s because the card gives you 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 annually. You’re getting handed an opportunity to cultivate 50,000 bonus miles. The longer list of perks offered with this card includes priority boarding, one free checked bag on domestic flights, 25 percent off airline food and beverage purchases and Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credits.

The perks on this card are neat and easy. While Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® won’t have much value for you if you’re already invested in another airline due to years and years of loyalty, it is probably the best card for getting free lounge access every time you fly if you’re an American Airlines devotee. 

Mastercard® Black Card

Offering automatic enrollment in Priority Pass Select, the Mastercard® Black Card provides access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. If you want to bring a guest along, the fee is $32 per person.

While the Mastercard® Black Card isn’t the only card to offer free Priority Pass Select membership, it does stand out for being a card that’s geared for luxury-oriented leisure travelers while having a $495 annual fee that’s lower than many other cards.

Cardholders receive $200 in annual air travel credit that can be used for airline tickets, baggage fees, upgrades and other flight-based purchases. All of your credits will automatically land in your account without any maneuvers on your end.

Members also receive a $1,000 gift card for TCS World Travel jet expeditions if they spend $35,000. The other perks to go along with this card include a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ credit, baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance, auto rental collision waiver, 24/7 Mastercard Global Service, trip cancellation/interruption insurance and travel assistance. 

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

A no-brainer decision if you book stays at Marriott when flying, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card provides complimentary Priority Pass™ Select access for entry to more than 1,200 lounges around the world when you fly with any airline.

Also baked into this card is $300 in annual statement credits for purchases made at hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy program.

This card shines for frequent travelers by offering 6x points on hotels, 3x points on dining and 3x points on flights. There’s also a $300 Marriott Bonvoy statement credit. You also get one free night as a reward each year for your card anniversary. 

American Express Green Card

If you spend part of the year in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain or Switzerland, this card is designed specifically for you.

While this card does come with lounge perks, it is not a heavy hitter in terms of lounge access by any means. The American Express Green Card only offers a single $100 Lounge Buddy Credit per year. However, that could be all you need if you’re just looking for lounge access one to two times per year when you’re making a trek home.

This card also comes with 3x membership rewards at restaurants, transit and travel. There’s 1x membership reward points on all other purchases. In addition, this card comes with great classic AMEX perks like a $100 CLEAR credit, trip delay insurance, upgrades via points, car rental loss/damage insurance, baggage insurance, purchase protection and more. The annual fee on this card is just $150.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

A great card if you’ve been coveting Hilton Honors Diamond status, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card grants your wish when you sign up! Yes, this card comes with complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status.

This card also comes with Priority Pass access that opens up entry to 1,200 lounges around the globe. In addition to free entry for you, you’re getting free entry for up to two guests per lounge visit. The perks for hotel lovers keep coming with an astounding 14x points on hotels and resorts. You’re also getting 7x points on select travel and dining.

In addition, this card comes packed with credits like a $20 airline fee credit and $100 Hilton on-property credit. You’re also covered with extra cardholder perks like car rental loss and damage insurance, access to the Premium Global Assist® Hotline and a baggage insurance plan. The annual fee on this card is $250. 

United℠ Explorer Card

If you fly with United a couple times per year, this card might hit the spot. First, the disclaimer on this card is that it is not a lounge superstar by any stretch of the imagination. You’re not getting the highly generous and unlimited lounge access that’s offered by many of the elite cards on this list when you go with this card.

However, United customers who fly once or twice a year might like the added perk of getting some free lounge access on top of enjoying what is a really solid credit card. The United℠ Explorer Card comes with two one-time United Club passes per year.

While visiting a United airport lounge, you can enjoy drinks, snacks and Wi-Fi in a very posh setting. However, this card probably isn’t worth signing up for just for that perk. That’s why knowing about some of the other nice features of this card helps with making your decision.

First, you’re getting 2x points on dining, hotel stays and United purchases. All other purchases get 1x points. There’s also the perk of getting one free checked bag per trip. That adds up to about $150 saved per flight!

If you’re climbing the points ladder with United, this card offers the chance to earn up to 1,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) per year. Each $12,000 spent equals 500 PQPs. What makes this card really stand out is that it’s the first on the list to offer perks for no annual fee! While there’s a $0 intro annual fee for your first year of owning the card, the fee does rise to $95 per year after that.

This card also includes Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ credit.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

While personal credit cards are famed for offering better lounge access than business cards, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is one card to have your eye on if you often mix business with travel. This card offers big bonuses and big rewards! Of course, the big question has to do with what it offers in terms of lounge access. This card comes with complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection. That means access to more than 1,300 beautiful lounges across more than 140 countries.

In addition to pampering you with Centurion® Lounge and International American Express Lounge access, you can also visit partner lounges operated by big names like Delta Sky Club®. 

This card comes with 5X Membership Rewards points for your flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex’s travel portal. There’s also an airline bonus of 35 percent with the potential to get up to 500,000 points back per calendar year.

Some of the other perks included with this card are a $200 airline credit fee, $179 CLEAR Credit, a credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, car rental loss insurance, a baggage insurance plan, premium car rental privileges and Premium Global Assist® Hotline access. You’re also invited to skip to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status without the need to book the number of qualifying stays needed!

Next, it’s time to get to what makes this a “business” card. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express actually rewards you for making a larger purchase by offering more points! You’re getting 1.5x points on purchases of $5,000 or more. It adds up for the potential of 1 million extra Membership Rewards® points each year! One of the priciest cards to own, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express comes with an annual fee of $595.

The American Express® Gold Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are popular credit cards for travelers because they offer a flexible points currency. Amex Gold rewards cardmembers with Membership Rewards points and Chase has the Ultimate Rewards program.

Both programs are similar in that they offer cardholders the ability to transfer points to travel partners, book travel through an online portal or cash points in for experiences, statement credits or gift cards. Points don’t expire in either program as long as you hold a card that earns them.

These cards have very different annual fees. The mid-tier Chase Sapphire Preferred is the most affordable at $95 a year, Amex Gold is also considered a mid-tier card but it costs $250 a year to hold, and the premium Sapphire Reserve is $550 annually.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

• Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Best Airlines Credit Cards
• Best Hotel Credit Cards
• Best Business Credit Cards
• Best Cash Back Credit Cards
• Best Overall in 2022

As you can see, if you’re considering signing up for one of these cards, the annual fee is a big consideration.

The fee can be offset by travel credits and the card’s earning potential, but only if you use the benefits and maximize the rewards earning potential. It’s important to evaluate the earning opportunities of each card to see if it fits your lifestyle, spending patterns and travel goals.

Sign-up Bonuses, Credits and Bonus Categories

Another big consideration for many is the sign-up or welcome bonus, which is pretty similar for these three cards. The Sapphire Preferred offers 80k points and the Amex Gold offers 60k points after spending $4,000, but the key difference is that American Express gives you 6 months to meet that minimum spending requirement while Chase gives you just 3.

Surprisingly, the card with the most expensive annual fee of the three cards has the smallest bonus. The premium Chase Sapphire Reserve only offers a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

If the sign-up bonus is your main motivation for signing up for one of these cards, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred is your best bet.

Travel and Other Credits 

In addition to the value of the sign-up bonus, you can easily offset about half of the annual fee on any of these cards if you take advantage of the travel credits offered. The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a $50 credit on a hotel booking through its Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you up to $300 in statement credits on travel purchases through its portal every year. 

The American Express Gold card offers $10 a month in Uber credits for rides or Uber Eats. You just need to add your card to your Uber account to get the Uber Cash each month. You also get another $10 a month in dining credits that can be used for Boxed, GrubHub, Seamless, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Cheesecake Factory and participating Shake Shack locations, for a total of $240 a year in credits.

Bonus Points Categories 

The next thing to consider if you are trying to figure out which of these three cards is the best one for you, is how many points you can earn each year. Bonus points earning categories can really boost your balance and help you achieve enough points to book an airline award ticket or free hotel stay sooner.

The Preferred card offers 5x bonus points per dollar spent on any travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal with the exception of the hotel booking that qualifies for the $50 credit. You’ll earn 2x on all other travel including airfare, hotels, taxis and trains.

Other bonus categories for the Chase Sapphire Preferred include 3x for online grocery purchases, dining and select streaming services. All other purchases earn one point per dollar spent.

The Reserve card offers 5x on airlines booked through the bank’s portal after you receive the $300 annual credit for those bookings, and 10x on hotel stays and car rentals booked through its portal. You’ll also earn 10x with Chase dining partners, 3x on all other dining, and one point per dollar spent on everything else.

The Amex Gold card offers Earn 4x Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and 4x Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x) so these points can really add up whether you are dining out or eating at home. The Gold card also offers 3x on airfare purchases through the airline or amextravel.com, and one point per dollar on everything else.

You should review your spending habits to determine the best card for earning points. Clearly the Sapphire Reserve offers bigger bonus categories, but the 10x ones are tied to purchases made through its Ultimate Rewards site, so if you don’t intend to use the portal for travel or prepaid dining, takeout or cooking events, then this may not be the best card for you especially considering the high annual fee.

The 4x bonus on food purchases and 3x on any travel purchased with the Amex Gold is also very tempting, but that card also carries a substantial annual fee so it’s a good idea to crunch the numbers on how much you expect to spend on the card to figure out if the bonus points and other perks are worth it.

Membership Rewards vs Ultimate Rewards

One of the best ways to get the most value out of the points you earn in each of these programs is to transfer points to a travel partner to get an award flight or free hotel stay. While there is some overlap of partners, you should review the list of travel suppliers each card issuer partners with to see if they are ones that you hope to use for your reward travel if you plan to transfer points to a loyalty program.

Travel Partners

Points can be used to top off a balance in an airline or hotel loyalty program or you can transfer the full amount for a redemption. All three cards have airline partners that cover the three major alliances so you can probably fly to any destination you like, but booking a partner airline can be even more complicated than just finding award space on the carrier’s program that you transferred points to, so this is another consideration.

American Express Membership Rewards Partners

American Express partners with 12 airline programs and three hotel chains for its Membership Rewards program. Airline partners include Asia Miles, British Airways Executive Club, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Iberia Plus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, SAS EuroBonus, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. 

Most transfer at a 1:1 ratio, but there are some exceptions, and transfers can take up to five days. Check here for more details. 

Amex hotel partners include Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and Radisson Rewards. Transfer rates vary and can take up to 10 days. Check the website for more details. Other travel transfer partners include Club Eurostar and Nectar.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Partners

Chase partners with 11 airlines and three hotel chains. Airline partners include AerLingus AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airline KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Chase hotel partners include IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Ultimate Reward Points transfer to all travel partners at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000 point increments. Most points transfer by the next business day, but it can take up to a week.

Chase transfers are generally quicker and the points transfer ratio is simpler for many frequent traveler programs, so this is a plus, especially if there is limited award availability. You take a chance on transferring points and losing your desired airline seat if there is limited availability and a delay in transfer.

When it comes to domestic airline programs, If you’re loyal to Delta then the Amex Gold is a good choice. But if you prefer to fly on United, JetBlue or Southwest then one of the Chase cards is your best bet if you plan to transfer points to an airline loyalty program. 

As far as hotel programs, both the Sapphire cards and the Amex Gold partner with Marriott, but if you are loyal to Hyatt, the Chase cards are a better option. If Hilton is your preferred hotel program, then Amex is the best fit.

If you’re not familiar with airline and hotel loyalty programs, or you don’t like searching for space or being limited by award availability, there are other options to redeem your points for travel.

Travel Booking Portals

You can use your reward points in either program to book your travel through the American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portals. They both work like traditional travel booking sites so they are easy to use. The Chase portal is powered by Expedia and Amex uses its own online booking portal for redemptions. 

Booking through the portal is a good option if there are limited award seats available as both of these sites will show all flights and hotel rooms available so you don’t have to worry about finding award space. It’s also a good approach if you want to keep your travel booking experience simple.

Because award redemption is tied to the price of airline fares and hotel accommodations though, this can cost more than using your points in an airline frequent flyer program or hotel frequent guest program.

The standout card for booking through the issuer’s portal is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. That’s because it offers a 50% bonus on points used. The Sapphire Preferred comes in second in this category with a 25% point bonus when booking through the portal. Amex offers points rebates to its business card holders, but not on the personal Gold card so those points are worth a penny each when booking travel through amextravel.com.

The sign-up bonus alone on each of the Sapphire cards is equal to $750 in free travel when booked through the Chase portal. Even though the Reserve bonus is 10,000 points lower, it is still worth the same amount because of the 50% point bonus when booking through the portal.

Chase also has a Pay Yourself Back feature that lets you redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for statement credits in select rotating categories. If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get a 25% bonus, and Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders get a 50% bonus for these redemptions.

Benefits of Each Card 

All three of these cards come with great travel benefits including no foreign transaction fees when making purchases overseas. 

The Chase Sapphire cards come with car rental insurance coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, emergency assistance, as well as extended warranty protection and purchase protection when you use your card to make purchases.

The Amex Gold gives you access to the Hotel Collection, personalized travel service, car rental loss and damage insurance, baggage insurance and the Global Assist Hotline. The card also comes with purchase protection, extended warranties and dispute resolution, as well as access to American Express Experiences and American Express Preferred Seating, which gives you access to premium seats for select cultural and sporting events.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve also includes Priority Pass Select membership which gives you access to 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, and it comes with a statement credit of up to $100 every four years as reimbursement for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS expedited security screening programs.

Both the Sapphire cards also come with a complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash, which gets you unlimited deliveries with no fee and reduced service fees. This benefit needs to be activated by March 31, 2022.

Also, through March 2022 if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card you can earn 5x on Lyft rides, which is 3x points in addition to the 2x you earn on travel. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the bonus for Lyft rides is 10x through March. There are similar bonuses for Peloton bikes and equipment purchased using one of the Chase Sapphire cards if that is on your radar in the new year.

Issuer Rules 

You may have made up your mind about which of these three cards you are interested in, but one big consideration is whether the bank will approve you. They all require a good or excellent credit score to have a successful application, but there are also some other things you should be aware of.

Chase has a 5/24 rule, which means if you have applied for more than five cards from any issuer in the past two years, then you will be denied. Also, you can only hold either the Sapphire Preferred or the Sapphire Reserve, so if you already have one of these Sapphire cards you would have to upgrade or downgrade to get the other.

Lastly, you can only receive the sign-up bonus once every 48 months for either card in the Chase Sapphire family, so make sure it’s been at least four years since you last got a bonus on a Sapphire card or you’ll miss out on those bonus points.

American Express on the other hand, will only give you a bonus on any of its cards once in a lifetime. So if you’ve previously signed up for the Amex Gold card and gotten a bonus, then you should go for one of the Sapphire cards if you meet their criteria to get a sign-up bonus. 

Amex also has a rule that only allows you to hold five personal credit cards at any time, but you can have up to 10 charge cards and the Amex Gold card is considered a charge card with no pre-set spending limit so this should not be an issue unless you already have nine other Amex cards. 

Final Thoughts 

All three of these credit cards are great for travelers as they offer bonus earning opportunities, credits for travel and other benefits. They all offer elevated welcome bonuses occasionally, and that is a great time to apply for one of these three cards so watch for that.

But if you want to add one to your wallet right now, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is your best bet if you want to keep the annual fee low and if you’re not sure how much of the travel credits you can use in the year ahead. It’s also the only one of the three that offers a 10% anniversary bonus on points earned, so this card is actually worth keeping in your wallet at least for the next four years. 

If you apply now that will let the clock start ticking on when you can upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve and still get a sign-up bonus. It’s also a good idea to apply for Chase cards if you’re under the 5/24 rule, so many people apply for those cards sooner rather than later as you never know when the next attractive sign-up offer will catch your eye and that may push you over the limit of card applications that Chase allows.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

• Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Best Airlines Credit Cards
• Best Hotel Credit Cards
• Best Business Credit Cards
• Best Cash Back Credit Cards
• Best Overall in 2022

There are many travel credit cards to choose from, but two of the most popular ones are the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Both credit cards have been around for a while, and they have been heavily marketed to consumers so many people are familiar with them.

You may have seen one of Capital One’s celebrity spokespeople on its TV commercials like Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Garner pitching the benefits of earning double miles on everything, booking airline seats with no blackout dates, and then asking viewers, “What’s in your wallet?”

The two cards are very similar in many ways. The Venture and Sapphire Preferred are both mid-tier cards that carry an annual fee of $95. And they both earn flexible points, which can be redeemed for travel or transferred to airline and hotel partners.

✈️ Looking for a new travel credit card this year? See today’s top offers below:

• Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Best Airlines Credit Cards
• Best Hotel Credit Cards
• Best Business Credit Cards
• Best Cash Back Credit Cards
• Best Overall in 2022

Quick Comparison

How the Programs Work 

The Chase Sapphire card earns points in the bank’s Ultimate Rewards program. Capital One calls their rewards “miles,” but they are not affiliated with an airline program, so they work more like reward points. You use the miles to “erase” travel purchases on your card.

They are both popular with people that are new to miles and points because of their simple redemption options, as well as with experienced miles and points collectors, because of the many travel partners they each have that points can be transferred to.

Where they are different is how you earn points, how you redeem your points for travel and which travel partners they allow you to transfer points to.

Sign-up Bonus

Whether you’ve seen ads about these credit cards or a friend recommended one of them, the thing that probably caught your eye was a huge sign-up bonus. Welcome bonuses give you a big stash of miles and points that are often enough to book a pair of round-trip domestic airline tickets. That can easily offset the annual fee of the card and save you money on airfare, which can be $500 or more for a domestic roundtrip, depending on where you are flying.

Before we go into the points-earning potential of these two cards, let’s compare their sign-up bonuses so you can see how many you will earn on each card after meeting minimum spend. Then we’ll go into bonus categories to see how they fit your lifestyle and travel habits.

The Capital One Venture card comes with 60,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 in the first three months. That’s worth $600 in travel, because the miles are redeemed for statement credits against travel expenses charged on the card at the rate of one mile per penny.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred also now comes with 80,000 bonus points worth $1,000 in travel after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

How Much the Sign-up Bonus is Worth

Even though the bonuses are the same, the Ultimate Reward points earned by making purchases on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are more valuable if you are using them to book travel in the Chase portal because the card comes with a 25% bonus for those kind of redemptions.The sign-up bonus on the Sapphire Preferred is worth $1,000 compared to $600 worth of travel using the Capital One card. That’s a good reason to apply for the Sapphire Preferred card and strive to meet the extra $1,000 in minimum spend.

Earning Rewards

Another big consideration when choosing between these two cards is how you earn points. The Capital One Venture card is simple. Every purchase earns 2x miles, so you don’t have to worry about bonus categories. If you spend $1,000 a month on your card, you will earn 2,000 points which can be redeemed for $20 worth of travel.

Chase Bonus Point Categories

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card on the other hand, has several bonus categories. You earn 5x bonus points on travel purchased through its portal and 2x on all other travel including hotels, airfare, trains and taxis. You’ll also earn 3x on online grocery purchases excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs, 3x on dining out or ordering food through eligible delivery services, and 3x on select streaming services. You earn one point on everything else.

Limited Time Bonuses

Other perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred include a complimentary DoorPass subscription, which gives you unlimited DoorDash deliveries with no delivery fee and reduced service fees. You need to activate this benefit by December 31, 2024. 

Another benefit of the Sapphire Preferred card for a limited time is 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2025. That’s 3 extra points per dollar in addition to the 2x you would normally earn using this card. And one more limited-time bonus earning opportunity is 5x points on each Peloton Bike, Tread and Guide purchase over $450. You can earn up to 25,000 bonus points this way through June 30, 2022.

And another nice perk of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a 10% anniversary bonus on all purchases made the previous year. If you spend $10,000 on the card during the year, you’ll earn an additional 1,000 points when the annual fee is due. 

Which Card is Best for Earning Points?

To determine which card has the most earning power, you should review your traditional purchase history and see how these bonus categories mesh with your lifestyle. For example if you travel, dine out, get takeout or shop for your groceries online, you will earn double or triple points on all those purchases. If you book your travel through the Chase portal, which is powered by Expedia, then those points will add up quickly at 5x points per dollar.

Redeeming Points and Miles

In addition to using either rewards currency to pay for travel by getting a statement credit on Capital One travel purchases or using the Chase portal to purchase travel at a 25% bonus, Chase also has a Pay Yourself Back feature where you can use your points and get a 25% bonus on them to pay yourself back in rotating categories. 

The payback benefit was introduced during the pandemic when many people were not traveling, and there is no current expiration date, though this perk will likely be canceled at some point. There are also other redemption options like gift cards, but you can also choose to cash your Chase Ultimate Rewards points in at the rate of one penny a point. An easy way to calculate the value is to remove the comma in your points, and add a decimal point before the last two zeros. For example, 20,000 points = $200.00.

But if you like to keep things simple or use several credit cards for your purchases and don’t want to keep track of which one to use for bonus points, then you’ll find the Capital One Venture card more attractive as everything earns double points.

Airline and Hotel Partners

Another great way to redeem your points or miles in either the Chase or Capital One program is to transfer your rewards to a travel partner. If you travel often and belong to several loyalty programs, this is a good way to get outsized value for your points or miles.

You should consider the travel partners that each card issuer works with if this is your goal or something you are considering. This is a great option if you want to top off an airline or hotel program to get an award seat or free night.

Chase Travel Partners

Chase has 14 travel partners. Airline programs that you can transfer points to include:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United Mileage Plus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

🏨 Hotel partners include:

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

Capital One Transfer Partners

Capital One has 17 travel partners. Airline programs you can transfer your miles to include:

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Infinity MileageLands
• Finnair Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

🏨 Hotel partners include:

• ALL – Accor Live Limitless
• Choice Privileges
• Wyndham Rewards

As you can see, the two banks have a few overlapping travel partners, but not many. You should have a destination in mind before you transfer points, and make sure award space or that the hotel you want to book with points is available, as the points cannot be transferred back to your Capital One or Chase Ultimate Rewards account.

Keep in mind that most of these airlines belong to one of the three big airline alliances including Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam, so you can use miles to book travel nearly anywhere in the world.

You can transfer points to most programs in increments of 1,000 points or miles at a 1:1 ratio, but that varies so be sure to check on how many points you will receive before you hit the transfer button.

Also, be sure to check the price of a ticket or hotel room night online for the route or hotel you are interested in booking as some cash rates may be better than miles or points redemptions in a hotel or airline loyalty program because discounted fares and room rates may be cheaper than the redemption offered by the airline or hotel chain through their rewards program. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that you need to keep the card open to redeem or transfer points. If you hold the card for a year and plan to close it when the annual fee is due, be sure to redeem or transfer your points to a travel program before you close it. And use the points or miles before they expire in the program you transferred them to. Most airline miles and hotel points are good for at least a year even with no activity. The points in the Capital One and Chase Ultimate Rewards programs don’t expire as long as you hold the card.

Premium Cards and No-Annual-Fee Cards in the Same Family

Both of these cards also have other cards in the same family that earn the same rewards. There are no-fee versions of both cards if you want to downgrade and earn points or miles without paying an annual fee. 

Chase Ultimate Rewards Cards

Chase has the Freedom, Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex cards that earn 1 or 1.5 Ultimate Reward points, and also have bonus categories. These points earn Ultimate Rewards points, but they are considered cash back cards. 

If you have either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card though, you can transfer the points earned on your Freedom cards to either of the Sapphire cards and from there to travel partners. Or you can use them in the Chase portal and get a 25% discount with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or a 50% discount using the Chase Sapphire Reserve for  your redemption.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium card that costs $550 a year to hold. It has a lower sign-up bonus of 50,000 points vs 80,000 for the Sapphire Preferred, but it comes with a $300 travel credit, which helps offset the fee. You also earn more rewards with this premium card as you get 5x on flights booked through Chase and 10x on hotels and car rentals booked through the portal. 

The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on all other travel and dining. It also comes with Priority Pass, which gives you access to 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, and a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or Nexus every four years, as well as a host of other benefits. But not everyone wants to pay a big annual fee to hold a card, and if you don’t travel often, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred is probably a better fit.

Capital One Cards

Capital One has the VentureOne card with no annual fee, but it only earns 1.25 miles per dollar on all purchases vs the 2x earning power of the Capital One Venture. This is a good card to downgrade to if you want to keep your miles and your line of credit, but don’t want to pay the annual fee on the Capital One Venture card for another year.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Capital One recently entered the premium travel credit card market with its launch of its Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card late last year.

It comes with a $395 fee, which is much less than the Sapphire Reserve at $550, but it comes with a huge sign-up bonus of 75,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. This card earns 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels rental cars through Capital One Travel, and 5x on flights booked through the portal. Everything else earns two miles per dollar spent.

With the Venture X premium card you get an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One, and 10,000 miles on your anniversary. It also includes access to Capital One Lounges and more than 1,300 Priority Pass lounges internationally, and a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

If you like earning rewards and you want more travel perks, consider upgrading to the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the VentureX. These cards carry a much bigger annual fee, but come with a lot more earning potential and premium travel perks.

Credit Score and Bank Rules

Both Chase and Capital One require a good-to-excellent credit score to be approved for a card. Your score should be at least 700 if you are thinking of applying for either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Capital One Venture. If you have a great credit history and high income, you might be approved if your score is in the high 600s, but most of the good travel card issuers like to see a score of 720 or more.

Neither Chase or Capital One like to approve applications for people who open too many credit cards. How many is too many? Well, for Chase, it’s five cards over a two-year period. The bank has a 5/24 rule so if you have applied for more than five cards in 24 months your application will be denied.

Chase Rules

Chase also has a rule that states you can only earn the sign-up bonus for a Chase Sapphire card once every 48 months. And you can’t have two Chase Sapphire cards at the same time. So if you already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, then you need to close that or downgrade it.

Capital One Guidelines

Capital One has a reputation for declining applications from people with too many open lines of credit or recent applications. It’s not a formal rule, but there are some other guidelines that may block your application. The bank won’t approve you for a card if you’ve ever declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan, been more than 60 days late on a credit card, loan payment or medical bill. And in order to get approved, you need to have had a loan or credit card for three years with a limit of more than $5,000.

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture cards are both great credit cards for people who like to travel or who travel for business. Both cards have flexible redemption options, and both card programs are easy to understand and use to both earn and redeem points, even for beginners.

And if you’re an experienced miles and points collector, then both of these cards are also great because they have many travel partners. Either card is a good option to transfer your rewards, but be sure the program you are looking to top off or transfer enough for an award is one of the transfer partners.

To make the best choice, review your spending patterns, and the hotel and airline programs you use, to see which of the two cards will help you earn the most points and get you to your next vacation destination sooner. And if you travel often and will use the credits on the premium cards from Chase or Capital One, consider getting one of them.