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I worked on a bank client for years and had to learn a lot of this. In general:
1) dont sign up for ANYTHING Bank of America or Citi (except maybe citi double cash). Their customer service and rewards are worst in class
2) CapOne Venture is great for miles and CapOne Quicksilver is arguably the best for cash back
3) Chase Sapphire is the best all around card if you like to play the points game. They give the biggest rewards if you follow their targeted purchase categories (travel, dining, entertainment)
4) Chase, USAA Discover and CapOne have the best customer service. Amex is in the middle. Citi and BoA are atrocious.
5) miles cards are a bit all over the place. Their rules change constantly, and your preferred airline is key. This is why CapOne Venture is the consensus best choice - it’s simple and easy to use
You said venture was the best, might have been a typo, but that’s part of why I replied. Lol.
CapOne targets the poor on the assumption that they’ll eventually be able to pay and that they can nickel and dime them on interest and fees. Odds are, if you’re receiving a Capital One invitation, it’s because they think you fall in this category: I stopped receiving their marketing material once my credit went over 800. I’m just not their target demographic. Anyway, if you have issues with them, they’re extremely unlikely to actually be helpful since their business model is to trick you into paying more for stuff. They might smile when they explain it, but you’re still getting screwed over.
Amex is still best in class on customer service and their points arguably offer the best value in the industry. I’ve been with them for almost a decade from their mid-tier cards to their premium cards. Never had anything but positive experiences, and they still go out of their way to assist new customers and even those who are building credit. I actively refer friends who are starting to go beyond Wells Fargo cards to them, and none of them have had anything but positive things to say.
Amex Gold Card. A charge card, not a credit card, so it has a higher fee ($250), but you easily make it back with the benefits ($10/mo food delivery credit, free Uber eats pass, $100/yr in airline incidentals credit (when we can fly again))
Also gets 4x points on restaurants, groceries and food delivery. Currently there’s a 9x points offer on Uber Eats.
It is by far the best rewards card for the average person, and Amex points can transfer to many, many different airlines at extremely favorable rates, to the point that they can actually be more valuable than the airline points.
Chief
I've had basically every card over 20 years of having credit and AmEx gold is far and away the best customer service. The points/miles are average to above average, easy to use, and easy to earn.
Echoing what a couple others have said. I just have a mid tier AMEX and it’s awesome. I can’t imagine what the more premium cards are like! I cleared $400 in my first year (not counting sign up bonus) and I’m a pretty frugal spender. 6% back on groceries!!!!
Chief
Plus, the free roadside service is great. I've used it a few times for flat tires and once for a dead battery, and it was a great experience each time. Prompt, helpful service. Saves me the money of buying roadside service from insurance or somewhere else.
Rising Star
Chase sapphire reserve is the best credit card I have ever had by a mile. If you travel a lot you will love it especially.
Big fan of the chase amazon card
Enthusiast
Look up the Chase Trifecta. The Sapphires are good by themselves but there’s value in having the other Chase Freedom cards to build up points faster.
Retweet!!! I have the chase sapphire preferred + chase freedom unlimited and the combo is SO GOOD!!!! Together, I’m able to get 2x on travel, 5x on lyfts, 3x on drug store, x5 on groceries, x1.5 on everything else. Adds up soooo quickly
Chief
If you want bang for your buck in the near term, you can make a few hundred bucks EASILY with the Discover cashback. 0% interest for the first year, 5% cashback up to $75 a quarter with certain retailers (each quarter they have a different set of retailers that get the multiplier, they are all normal and useful — Target/Amazon/Walmart during Q4, Walgreens/grocery stores during Q1, etc) and unlimited 1% cashback aside from that, AND they’ll double your accumulated cashback after the first year
Chase is fine in a normal time when you’re traveling, dining... but in a pandemic, hard to beat Discover rewards
Rising Star
Sappahire reserve is awesome
Am 26 also and like the Chase Sapphire a lot. Can use the points for multiple airlines (and hotels I think). Plus some businesses still don't accept Amex. That being said, if you fly Delta a lot, the Sky miles Amex could be worth it.
And I'm sure you know this, but make sure to pay the full statement balance off every month! The interest racks up quickly for a lot of people and they get trapped in their debt.
Conversation Starter
Chase Sapphire wins hands down. One of the best cards out there.
I have the Chase Sapphire—it does NOT give as many points as other options out there. Go with what gives you more points!
Enthusiast
I have both of the Chase Sapphire reserve and Delta Amex Platinum. I definitely love the chase sapphire better for the Points redemption. I use just this card when eating out or when traveling/booking hotels. Have the Delta platinum Amex since I live in the hometown hub, only fly with them and the Skyteam partners, get a companion pass every year, checked bag (prob not as useful during Covid this year). I think the delta Amex cards could be better, but I put a lot of big purchases and charge groceries on this card and skymiles adds up fast.
I have the Amex Gold Skymiles card. I originally got it before Costco switched to Visa and I lived in Atlanta (Delta hub). I now live in the Bay Area where Delta has not had the greatest domestic routes, except the JFK-SFO options. It’s great though internationally (partners with Virgin, Air France and KLM). I was actually saving up miles for a free ticket before COVID. It also has some good cash back awards with different vendors. For instance, online wine merchants had tons of offers. I have been thinking though with the lack of travel options to just get a cash back card. Fidelity sent me a great offer for their cash back Visa card.
I have had the chase sapphire for over a year now and I love it! I pay in full every month as well
I feel like an idiot because I still don’t get even after looking it up.
Rising Star
I have the Chase Sapphire for business and their credit % thing is crazy high af at 17%! And all the service fees are more than other places
Depends on your needs. Are you realistically going to be jet setting in this climate or is it a nice to have? I’m a big fan of cards with rewards systems like the Capital One Quicksilver, Citi Double Rewards, Chase Freedom or Discover IT... I have all and rotate them, I basically get 2% back on all my purchases no matter how I cut things, and both Freedom and Discover have certain categories where I can get 5% back quarterly. Chase and Capital One gave me the highest APR’s out of the four though, Citi the lowest.
Don’t get the Delta card. I’ve never seen a case in the past few years where a Delta award ticket wasn’t at least 2x the miles required for an AA or UA ticket. And sometimes 10x, like a DL business class award to Sydney for 980k miles 🙄