Beginner Cards - 2026 Refresh

Wondering how to start and what to do? You're not alone! Two of the most common questions I receive when it comes to points are:

Which card(s) do I need to open to start in this hobby?

What card should I open next?

9 times out of 10, if this is someone who has interested in learning about points and/or has opened their first card, my response is going to be the same. Last year I posted my Top 3 Beginner Cards (of 2025) and due to some rule changes, I'm posting an update to that list.

Copenhagen, Aug 2025

But before we jump in, let's start with a few reminders, pulled from my Points 101 post and my New to Points post:

First and foremost - this "game" is for people who have a steady income and who are able to pay off their credit card statement(s) monthly. The point of this is not to bring you into debt, or farther into debt*; it's to take money that you're already spending for every day life (home utility bills, groceries, car insurance, internet, streaming, childcare (if you're lucky), etc) and spend it more strategically on a credit card in order to earn points that you can them redeem for travel. (*I am not a financial advisor!)

The easiest and quickest way to earn a lot of points is by opening a new credit card and spending the minimum spend amount in the allotted time given (commonly 3 months, up to 6 months), in order to obtain the card's sign up bonus. Sign up bonuses ARE the reason to get a new credit card. Earning a sign up bonus will typically, if not always, outweigh the amount of points you'll earn verse using the same credit card daily for all of your expenses.

This WILL lead to you having more credit cards opened and more management on your end; however, you also don't HAVE to keep getting new credit cards if you don't want to. You can simply start with one new card, get the sign up bonus, and utilize those points and be done. How many cards you want to get (and manage) is up to you and your spend. 

Remember, you don't have to keep these cards open forever! You can close cards! While this post talks about closing (and/or downgrading) cards, the most important thing to know is: never close a credit card until you've had it open at least 12 months. Closing a card any sooner than the one year mark will jeopardize your relationship and ability to get future cards with that bank.

Chase 5/24 Rule: If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Chase will NOT approve you for new credit cards (personal or business cards) if you've got 5 or more personal* credit cards of any time in the last 24 month period. This can include cards from ANY bank, not just Chase, like Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi Wells Fargo, etc), store cards (Old Navy, Lowes, Nordstrom, you name it), Airlines, Hotels etc. This also includes if you have been added as an authorized user to someone else's credit card** 

The majority of the time, the best way to utilize flexible points earned, is to transfer them to Hotel and/or Airline Partners of the bank to book directly. This typically leads to lower points price (compared to using points in a bank travel portal at a fixed rate of 1 point to 1 cent), maximizing the value of your points (saving more points for travel!). Each bank has their own set of travel partner Airlines and Hotels; some overlap across banks, but other Hotel/Airlines are specific to only one bank.

2026 Beginner Card Recommendations

Card 1 - Chase Sapphire

This is the absolute number one card that I recommend to open and for at least one person in each household to hold long term. There are two options for this card: Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve.

These are both personal cards and you can only hold ONE of them at a time. The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee and Sapphire Reserve has a whopping $795 fee (but a lot of additional benefits). Which card is right for you? It depends on your ability to pay higher annual fees and utilize the enhanced benefits to offset the annual fee. Follow the links above to learn more about each card and it's benefits.

Why is the Sapphire my top card?

Chase is the best flexible points to start with because it's travel partners (Hotels and Airlines) for transferring points are good for both domestic and international travel. They are also all likely brands you are familiar with, or at least have heard of.

The second reason is that in order to have the ability to transfer points from Chase to a partner, you must have a "premium" Chase card. This essentially means, a Chase card with an annual fee. Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve are the only two personal cards that have this ability.

Long Term Planning: I will always hold a Sapphire card to maintain the ability to transfer to travel partners (and not my Player-2; as the name on the card must match the name on the loyalty account you are transferring too. I like to have those airline/hotel reservations in my accounts/name as much as possible)

Learn more about Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve

Next Up... Pick Your Path:

Personal Cards vs Business Cards

Depending on your monthly spend, consider if you're willing and able to open Business Cards. They often have a higher minimum spend, but yield a higher amount of points. This blog post talks about what qualifies as a "business" in the bank's eyes for business cards (hint: you can apply with you social security number and I walk you through how to do this). I have helped people get approved for business cards using their facebook "resale" with an estimated annual revenue of under $1K per year. 

Business cards are desirable, not only for more points, but also because they don't report to your personal credit, after initial inquiry to apply for the card. Therefore, as mentioned above, business cards don't count in your Chase 5/24; therefore the only "limit" to the amount of business cards you can open is your spending level and waiting at least 30 days between cards (although 90 is more ideal).

Personal Card Route:

Card 2A - Capital One Venture Card

Venture Card is my number 2 due to Capital One rules and approval methods.

First, Capital One is known to be picky about card approval in general. The less recent inquiries you have on your credit (this includes car loans, credit cards, mortgage, etc) the best. Capital One may automatically decline you if you have one or more credit inquiries in the past six months.

One way to try to "trick" the system if you have more than one recent inquiry is to freeze your credit with all 3 credit bureaus (Transunion, Experian, and Equifax) BEFORE you apply, then wait at least a week and unfreeze the two bureaus with the least amount of inquiries.

Ideally, if you are opening the Venture card "early" in your credit card game, you'll have less inquiries and have an easier time being approved.

Secondly, Capital One recently announced a change to qualification for sign up bonuses of the Venture-Series cards (Venture One, Venture, and Venture X). In order to qualify for a sign up bonus, you must open the cards "in order" of lowest tier to highest tier to be eligible for sign up bonuses. 

Often the Venture One card is skipped (due to lower sign up bonus/benefits not worth taking on up spot of you 5/24). In essence, it's recommended to open a Venture card BEFORE opening a Venture X card. If you open a VentureX card first, you will not be eligible for a Venture card sign up bonus until 48 months have passed since earning the Venture X sign up bonus. 

Long Term Planning: I personally would open the Venture Card first and then the VentureX card. Then after holding the Venture Card for 12 months, I could close Venture Card and keep the Venture X long term.

Learn more about the Venture Card

Card 3A - American Express Gold (Personal)

Amex Gold Personal is one of the cards myself and/or my Player 2 (aka my husband) will always hold. It has a $325 annual fee, but it's benefits offer ways to offset the cost.

The real reason I love this card is that it offers 4x's points for every dollar spent on groceries and dining; which often are top spend budget line items for households.

Long Term Planning: Either myself or my Player 2 will always hold this card moving forward. We don't both need to have it, but it's good for one of us to have for the 4x's dining and groceries when we aren't working on a sign up bonus

Learn more about American Express Gold Personal

ALTERNATIVE PATH - Business Cards:

This alternative path has a Chase Focus. Using this path, you can rack up a ton of Chase points and stay in the same bank/ecosytem if you're not ready to jump into Amex or Capital One. A lot of people, myself included, go this route to keep things simple and learn all of the rules you can with Chase first. Then later on, once you have all of the cards listed here, you can consider expanding to another bank like American Express or Capital One. 

I think the most common thought with business cards is, "I don't have a business" so these aren't for me. But what if I told you to rethink what a business is? Do you resell items on FB Marketplace or Craigslist? Babysit? Property Manage? All of these items can count as a small business and qualify you for a business card, even if you don't have an EIN.

This is where the business card application option for sole proprietor comes into play. You don't need an EIN, you simply use you SSN instead! Read more about business cards and follow my step-by-step sole proprietor business card application instructions here!

Let me just say.... business cards can play a pivotal role in earning points. Chase Ink Cash and Chase Ink Unlimited are amazing cards, in that they have no annual fee, often have an elevated sign up bonus, and you can combine your points earned with your Chase Sapphire to then transfer to direct travel partners. 

Not only are the sign up bonuses usually great, like 75,000 points for a $6,000 spend in 3 months, but if you are working on points in a two-person mode (ie maybe you and a significant other), then you can also refer one another to cards (this is true for all point earning credit cards), so each card you get is not only the SUB (sign up bonus), but it's also the referral points added in too.

*Note, there are four Chase Ink Cards; but only one of them is a true cash back card. (The rest are marketing, but award a sign up bonus in the form of points). The Ink Premier is cash back and this is not an ideal card to get for earning flexible points.

Card 2B - Chase Ink Business Preferred

This card has a $95 annual fee, but also currently has an elevated sign up bonus of 100,000 points for spending $8K in 3 months (as of Jan 2026).

Long Term Planning: This doesn't have to be a long term card (although it is a Chase Premium card, which allows you to transfer points to air/hotel partners. If you don't have a Sapphire card, this is a great alternative for a long term card, that also earns 3x's points on travel!)

Learn more about Chase Ink Preferred

Cards 3C and D - Chase Ink Business Unlimited or Cash

Neither of these cards have an annual fee, which is great! The standard offer is to earn 75,000 points by spending $6,000 in 3 months. The cards have different benefits, that can help you earn more points long term.

Long Term Planning: Because these cards don't have annual fees, there's really no reason not to keep them long term initially (later on you may need to close them in order to free up some credit in order to be approved for more cards. I hit on that in this post)

Learn more about Chase Ink Unlimited and Chase Ink Cash.

Summary

There you have it, which cards I would start with if I were just getting into points now! Keep in mind, if you have another adult in your household/life (aka a Player 2) who is willing/able to open credit cards - you can open a card and then use your card to refer Player 2 to the same card. With this, you earn referral points and Player 2 earns a sign up bonus!

If you're interested in going the Business Card route first, I would then circle back and get the personal cards next (Card 2A Capital One Venture and Card 3A American Express Gold Personal).

If you consider opening any of these cards I highlight (or others I have, check My Cards page), I can't thank you enough for using my referral links (all of the cards listed above are clickable referral links). This is completely free to you and provides me with a point kickback so that I can keep traveling on points and sharing the world of points with you! Thank you!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know my suggestions.

Wondering how I keep all of this information organized? Check out my Points Tracker!

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

Chase Ink Preferred

There's an elevated offer Chase Ink Preferred Business card, that usually comes around once a year. Don't miss out on your Chase to build up a stash of my favorite flexible points!

Chase Ink Preferred 

Annual Fee: $95 (that's right! A great price for so many points!)

Current (Elevated) Sign up Offer: Spend $8,000 in 3 months and earn 100,000 points

Standard offer is to earn 90,000 points with the same $8K spend in the same amount of time, 3 months

5/24 Status: Business cards are an important/common part of card strategy because they do NOT count against your Chase 5/24 (don't know what this is? There's a refresh in this post for you!).

Not sure if you have a business or how to apply for a business card? Then this post is for you. You may be surprised to learn that you don't need to have an LLC to get approved for a business card. I even walk you through how to fill out the application, step by step!

Benefits: 

• Earn 3x's points for the first $150K you spend per anniversary year on:
• Shipping
• Internet/Cable/Phone Services
• Travel*
• Earn 1x's points per dollar spent on all other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees*
• Doordash benefits: which honestly I think are annoying to use though; but you can get DashPass, which gives you free deliveries (valued at $120/yr), and a $10 monthly credit to use at $10 non-restaurants

*An example of using these benefits: I opened this card for my P2 before we went to the Maldives; because we knew we would have a hefty bill for food and drinks at the hotel. Not only did we use the bill towards the minimum spend to earn a sign up bonus; but we also earn 3x's points on our bill because hotels code as travel!

Premium Card Reminder: The way you get the most bang for your points isn't booking in the bank travel portal, it's transferring your points to the bank's travel partners. In order to transfer points with Chase, you need to have a premium card (aka a Chase card with an annual fee; one of the following: Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Sapphire Reserve Business. Click on each link to learn more about individual cards and their benefits). This card IS a premium card, that allows you to transfer points out of Chase to travel partners airlines and hotels (full list here). 

If you have other Chase cards that earns points; you can combine points together!

Long Term Strategy: This isn't a forever keeper card. I would open this card now for the elevated sign up offer and then close it after 12 months (or downgrade to the sister card of Chase Ink Cash or Unlimited). That way, your $95 annual fee will drop off. You can read more about Closing and Downgrading cards here.

Chase Policy Changes

In the past six months, Chase has made some changes to eligibility of business card sign up bonuses. In the past, you could essentially get unlimited Ink Business cards. Now the wording has changed that you may only be eligible to get one Ink Preferred sign up bonus and one non-fee Ink Business card bonus (read more below on the $0 fee options!).

Which means.... if you can only ever get one Ink Preferred sign up bonus; now is a GREAT time to get the Ink Preferred at an elevated offer!

Summary

This elevated offer usually only happens once a year and is a great way to rack up additional Chase points without paying a hefty fee! 

If you want a business card options without an annual fee (or with 0% interest the first 12 months), then I would consider Chase Ink Unlimited or Cash Ink Cash. This post goes into detail comparing the two and their benefits.

If you want to open one of these cards, I would SO appreciate if you utilized my referral link to open the card (reminder, if you're viewing this through a Meta app, please open an external browser to apply. This protects your data and gives me credit). If you're interested, but want more information on business cards as well as how to apply for them first, read here!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know suggestions.

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Without a doubt, the number one credit card anyone and everyone interested in getting in the points game should have is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The *only* exception to this is if you can find value in it's sister card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve; which has a higher annual fee but additional benefits to off-set the fee. This post dives into the Reserve, where as the post below is dedicated to the Preferred.

Note: you can only hold ONE of these cards at a time. You will not be approved for one card if you already hold the other!

While I have a post from Spring 2025 about the Sapphire Preferred (CSP), it highlights an elevated offer that is no longer available and some older content. I wanted to make a fresh new post dedicated to the CSP and it's new standard offer!

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Annual Fee: $95

Current (Standard) Offer: Spend $3,000 in 3 months and earn 75,000 points

5/24: This is a personal card and therefore WILL take up one spot in your Chase 5/24 count. (What's Chase 5/24? 

Benefits:

• Ability to transfer to travel partners*
• $50 annual hotel credit (for hotels booked in the Chase Portal and charged to this card)
• Doordash: Annual free DashPass (which saves you on delivery fees) AND monthly $10 credit for non-restaurant door dash purchases)
• Earn 3X points on dining (including food delivery services)
• Earn 3X points for online groceries (excludes Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs)
• Earn 2X points on travel
• Travel insurance protection (for travel charged to this card)

I truly recommend starting with this card and starting with the Chase ecosystem because I find it the most straightforward and easiest to use. I know, some of you are rolling your eyes because I've thrown a lot of information at you that feels overwhelming and it IS a lot of info; but I promise - Chase Points Travel is user friendly!

 
Without a doubt, this is definitely the best place to start. Chase credit cards allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards (CURs), which are their universal flexible points. While you can use CURs to book travel in the Chase Travel Portal, this is much like booking a trip through a third party service like Expedia. You don't earn any loyalty or benefits. The best way to maximize your value of your points (aka spend less points for travel) is to transfer to Chase Travel Partners. You can view all of Chase's Transfer Partners and how/why to transfer in this post.

However, there are only a few Chase credit cards that allow you to transfer your Chase points directly to travel partner. Basically any Chase card with an annual fee. The Sapphire cards are the only non-business cards that allow this. Chase points are considered highly flexible because they transfer to 3 hotel chains (Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG), and 11 airlines (but keep in mind, airlines work in alliances or partnerships. So while there are 11 airlines with a direct transfer, alliances give you the opportunity to book flights with over a dozen airlines).

I know a lot of people are hesitant to open credit cards with annual fees. The Sapphire Preferred DOES have an annual fee of $95/year, but there are benefits to offset that cost. (and honestly, the $95/year to have the ability to transfer to travel partners like Hyatt, Southwest, and United to take free trips we've taken is worth it alone to me).

Summary

I will forever hold a Chase Sapphire card to maintain my ability to transfer my Chase points to travel partners! The CSP, with it's low annual fee, is a great card to have at least one household member hold at all times. Keep in mind that when transferring points from Chase to a Transfer Partner (Hotel or Airline), the name on the CSP card MUST match the name on the loyalty account you're transferring too.

Since I generally like to have our flights and hotels booked under my name/accounts when I can, I will always hold a Sapphire card to have this ability.

If you open this card, I would truly appreciate if you use my referral link! This doesn't cost you a cent, but provided me with some extra points and keeps all of my content free! Thank you in advance!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know suggestions.

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

Capital One Travel Partners

Each bank has their own list of transfer partners; which is to say the bank pairs with various airlines and hotels that you can transfer your flexible bank points to, to book directly instead of booking through the bank's travel portal. This is often the best way to use fewer points/maximize your points value. Some travel partners overlap across banks and others, like Hyatt, specifically only partner with one bank (Chase).

Like Chase Transfer Partners and American Express Transfer Partners, Capital One has it's own unique travel partners, which you can learn about below.

Capital One Travel Partners

Similar to Chase and American Express, Capital One has it's own partners that you can transfer your points to, which typically helps you book travel for less points than the portal; thus making your points go farther!

To transfer points, log into your Capital One account and click on "View Records", then navigate to "Transfer rewards" (as shown in the photo above).

Capital One has 16 travel partners: 

Plus, don't forget airline alliances! If you are not be able to transfer your C1 points directly to a specific airline you want because they're not a Capital One travel partner, if they're part of an airline alliance, you may be able to locate that flight you want on an airline partner and transfer/book with the partner.

For example, you cannot transfer points directly to Delta, but you can transfer points to Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and you may be able to book the exact Delta flight you want through/on Flying Blue. Note: not all flights are available through partners, so first search the partner you can transfer to, to make sure the flight you want is bookable.

It's important to be familiar with travel partners and consider how you'd use points with a bank before you start collecting. As you can see above, Capital One doesn't have a lot of direct US airline partners - however it's possible to book US flights through airline alliances as mentioned above.

Another tip for lodging is that you can book short-term rental properties via Wyndham. Wyndham has a partnership with VaCasa. By transferring points to Wyndham you can then book VaCasa properties, if you prefer non-hotel lodging. (Dec 2025 update: in 2026, this is no longer an option. This partnership has ended)

Summary

Capital One has some great travel partners, especially for international flights. If you want to utilize Capital One points for domestic travel, my top three recommendations of how to use points are:

1. Transfer to Airline Alliance Partners (for example, United isn't a Capital One transfer partner, but is in Star Alliance, as is Air Canada. If you find find a Saver Flight directly on United's website; you likely can find that same flight on Air Canada's website and book the United flight with Air Canada, after transferring Capital One points to Air Canada).
2. Hotels: Wyndham, iPrefer and Choice all have hotels in the US
3. Travel Costs: anything that is billed under the "travel category" on your credit card statement can be reimbursed with points, so that your net cost is $0. This is known as the Travel Eraser. Think airbnbs, rental cards, even some tickets and tours!

That's all on Capital One for now! If you're interested in earning Capital One points, I recommend starting with the Venture Card, followed by Venture X. Thank you as always for your support!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

Citi - AAdvantage Business

 "We" aka my P2, just got approved for his first card of 2026! Here's what I opened for him and why!

Citi AAdvantage Business

Annual Fee: $99 (but waived the first year!)

Current (Standard) Sign up Offer: Spend $4,000 in 4 months, earn 65,00 bonus miles

5/24 Status: This is a business card, therefore it does not count against your 5/24. (If you're not familiar with what 5/24 Rule is, visit this post New to Points, Rule 2)

Card Benefits: 

• Earn 2 points for every dollar spent on American Airlines Purchases
• Earn 2 points for every dollar spent on telecommunications, cable/satellite provides, rental car, and gas stations
• Earn 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
• Earn one AA Loyalty Point for every dollar spent
• Free first checked bag; on domestic AA flights

You can also earn a AA Companion Certificate for domestic travel after spending $30K on the card (which I certainly won't do! That cash can be spent elsewhere on another sign up bonus)

Why this Card: My Strategy

After opening the Amex Gold Personal card for P2 and nearing the minimum spend, it's time for a new credit card for one of us. (You can read why I love the Amex Gold Personal card and all about it's benefits here!).

I've been debating what card to open next; with summer camp registration starting, and our normal day to day expenses, I want to maximize the value from the money we're spending.  Basically someone in our household is almost always working on a card's minimum spend towards a sign up bonus.

I decided to have P2 open the Citi AA Business card because it's honestly a nice in-between card for us. What I mean by that is that it's a business card so it doesn't add to P2's 5/24 count and the minimum spend of $4K in 4 months is pretty low. This card basically will be an interim card until I decide what card is next. (I opened this card in Nov 2025. Here's the list of all of the cards we opened in 2025).

For myself, I'm currently trying to take a break from any new card applications, because I want to be eligible to open the Capital One Venture (details here) and likely also VentureX card (VX details here) this year. Capital One can be very picky about it's approvals, especially the number of credit inquiries you have in the past 6 months. Therefore, I'm trying to wait until March before I apply, which will put me at just one credit inquiry in a 6-month period.

I also want to wait closer to taxes being due, to know how much we owe. Our federal tax amount owed, will dictate how high of a minimum spend we can hit (in combination with our normal monthly budget) on our next card. Basically this is a time filler card to keep earning some kind of SUB and also has a minimum spend that we can pretty easily hit overlapping another new card's minimum spend.

Why this Card: The AA Miles

With Denver being our home airport, we are NOT an American Airlines hub. Honestly, I don't even know the last time I flew AA! Buuuuut, what I realized in August 2025 when I was looking for last minute flights to Copenhagen, is just how valuable AA miles can be - thanks to their low redemption cost! 

AA got rid of their standard award chart last year, but still has a lot of good redemptions. This chart shows the "average" points price, but it can vary. In the world of points, you never know which airline will shake out to be the best - so diversity is key!

Summary

This definitely isn't a forever card. For both myself and P2 now having this card, I opened it solely for the low minimum spend and longer time period to earn a sign up bonus. I'll close the card for each of us, once we hit the one year mark - so as not to pay the annual fee.

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know suggestions.

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

2025 Card Recap

Like our 2025 Travel Recap; we also had a steady year of new credit cards to keep those points rolling in! Here's the list of cards we (myself or my Player-2) opened this past year, as well as what we closed, and why! 

Cards Opened in 2025

Me/Hannah/Player 1

• American Express Personal Platinum: This was the first card I opened in 2025. I strategically opened this card because:

1. I already had an Amex Gold Personal (read this post to learn more about the Gold and about Amex Family Rules. (Note currently January 2026, the best offer for the Gold Personal is 100,000 points! I would decline if you after offered less than 85,000 points. When applying, you'll receive your point offer before you formally accept and have your credit pulled).

2. We decided in January that we wanted to book Costa Rica for Summer 2025 and I knew I wanted to use American Express Points to transfer to Hilton and use Hilton Gold Status (given by simply holding the Personal Platinum), to book Tabacon Resort and get the 5th night free for having status!

(The 5th night free was a $500 value for Tabacon; which is really helpful considering this hard now has a heft annual fee of $895. Just this one trip basically offset half the cost of the annual fee (although it was $695 at the time I opened)) 

 

(People say not to open credit cards for one specific trip, but I did! For me - I knew I would immediately use one of the benefits and also use the SUB points in the future). 

I earned 125,000 points for this card. 

 

• American Express Business Gold: I actually opened this fairly quickly after the Personal Platinum. I figured out our estimated personal federal taxes in February and realized that with the amount we owed, I could open a credit card with a higher minimum spend than what our normal day-to-day expenses would cover. Yes, there's a small fee to pay federal taxes with a credit card; but for me - spend just a couple hundred dollars to earn 175,000 points as I did and then use those points to book 2 Business Class seats; valued at $10K, was well worth it! 

**Amex Tip: American Express personal cards generally have a 6-month period to hit the minimum spend, whereas Amex business cards are a 3 month spend. I knew that over a 6 month period, we could hit the spend on both cards, which is why I opened them overlapping. We focused all of our spend on the Business card and once we hit that, we still had a few months left on the Personal card.** 

 

• Chase Ink Business Preferred: After being forced to take an 18-month Chase Ink Business card credit (by Chase, I couldn't get approved for a new Ink in that long of a time frame. Probably because of how many Inks I opened in 2023!), I FINALLY got back in their good graces! And with good timing - I got this card just before Costa Rica and it has no foreign transaction fees! 

I earned 90,000 Chase points for hitting the minimum spend and since P2 referred me, he earned 20,000 points from the referral! 

 

• Chase Ink Business Cash: Chase announced that they were changing the referral program for business cards and also announced an elevated offer for their no annual fee business cards; so I took advantage of both while I could! (Learn more about Chase no annual fee business cards here and how to rethink if you are eligible for business cards here). P2 referred me to this card, so he got points too!

I earned 90,000 Chase points for hitting the minimum spend and since P2 referred me, he earned 20,000 points from the referral!

 

• Citi American Airlines Business: At the end of the year, I knew we'd want a new card with holiday spending and travel; but I wanted to branch out. American and Alaskan Airways are known to have great points redemption but are not transfer partners of the banks I had flexible points at (Amex, Capital One, and Chase); so I decided to branch out! Diversifying points, especially flexible points, can go a long way! I opted for the business card because of the Chase 5/24 rule (read here more on points basics). It also has a $95 annual fee, but it's waived the first year!

I caught an elevated offer for this card and earned 75,000 sign up bonus, plus 5,000 points for the minimum spend; which is pretty great for a $0 annual fee the first year!

now on to my P2!

Ben/Player 2

(It's probably worth noting, although maybe already assumed - but I have permission and access to apply for cards for my P2 and manage all of our cards accounts. I basically warn him when I'm going to apply for a new card on his behalf and also manage which cards are in his wallet/what to spend on)

• Capital One Venture: P2's first card of 2025! You can read here why I picked this card. Note - that late 2025 Capital One changes the Venture-Family cards rules and now you need to open the Venture card before VentureX if you want to be eligible for sign up bonuses on both cards.

P2 earned 100,000 points with this card, thanks to an elevated offer.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Business: This was a brand new card that came out June 2025, along with a big minimum spend. This post talks about the card benefits and how I planned for us to hit the minimum spend and offset the large annual fee.

P2 earned 200,000 points with this card. (Annoyingly, the referral program for this card changed just two days after P2 applied; so we didn't get referral points for this card)

 

• Chase Ink Business Preferred: I opened this for P2 right before our October Anniversary Trip, when Chase announced that business card referrals where changing. The card didn't have an elevated offer like the Ink Unlimited and Cash; but it also doesn't have foreign transaction fees; which made it perfect for our trip!

P2 earned 90,000 Chase points for hitting the minimum spend and since I referred P2, I earned 20,000 points from the referral.

• American Express Gold Personal: I actually had hoped to get this for P2 prior to our October trip, but I applied three times for P2 (using my referral link) and each time P2 was only offered the standard 60,000 points. Because I knew there were 100,000 points offers out there, I had P2 open the Ink Preferred for the trip instead.  About a month later, I randomly decided to apply, again partially because this card has a 6 month minimum spend period, and surprisingly P2 was offered 100,000 points on the first try! 

We're finishing up this minimum spend now, and P2 will earn 100,000 points. I earned 15,000 points for the referral.

 

Cards Closed in 2025

You can read more on when and why to close (or downgrade) a card in this post. Closing a card doesn't necessarily mean you forfeit the points, you just need to plan accordingly and know your options!

Me/Hannah/Player 1

I closed 3 cards in 2025. Two of those cards where Chase Ink Business cards that were more than a year old and holding them seemed to be prohibiting me from getting approved for new Ink cards.

The third card I closed was my Southwest Personal card. I closed this card 12 months after I had opened it. The annual fee hit again and since I already hold a Southwest Business Performance card (which I decided to keep due to Southwest 2025 changes; this card gives me seat selection at time of booking); I knew I didn't want or need to pay two Southwest card fees.

Ben/Player 2

I closed 5 of P2 cards in 2025. Four of those cards where Chase Ink Business cards that were all more than a year old and holding them seemed to be prohibiting P2 from getting approved for new Ink cards.

Similar to me, I also closed P2's Southwest Business card and we kept P2's Southwest Personal card for the ability to continue to check bags for free. P2 *should* (we're still waiting for it to hit) earn A-List status for 2026; which would allow him to pick seats at time of booking.

Summary

In 2025, we opened 9 cards total as a household; two of those cards with higher minimum spends than our usual! We closed 8 cards; which leaves us with a current told of 12 cards open for me and 7 cards open for P2.  (I feel inclined to say that of my 12 cards opened; 3 of them are more than 5 years old and held strategically for their benefits as well as my overall credit length history: two freedom cards for quarterly bonus and an United card for free checked bags and cardmember price savings on flights)

In one of my next posts, I'll talk about which cards we have open, what I plan to close in 2026 and what cards I currently plan to open in 2026.

If you're curious how we used points in 2025, we went on 11 trips (big and small). You can read our 2025 travel recap here.

 **General Strategy Tip: I didn't necessarily plan for this to happen, but after we started to get denied for new Chase cards (more on declines here), due to opening so many in a short amount of time, I branched out to American Express for new cards and I branched P2 out to Capital One. Now in 2026, we're going to flip-flop banks and refer each other to cards at the "opposite" banks. This will allow us to keep holding some of these cards and earning sign up bonuses, but also allows us to close the cards that are more than a year old that we aren't gaining from based on benefits vs annual fee. Read more about closing and downgrading cards here)**

 **2-Player Mode: As you can see, I really take advantage of referral points when opening a new card, so that collectively as a household, we are earning up to 20% more points with every card we open! If you have a friend or family member who's also interested in points, I highly recommend taking turns referring one another to earn even more!

If you consider opening any of these cards, I can't thank you enough for using my referral links (all of the cards listed above are clickable referral links). This is completely free to you and provides me with a point kickback so that I can keep traveling on points and sharing the world of points with you! Thank you!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know suggestions.

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!

2025 Travel Recap

Once people start to earn some points, the next question I'm often asked is "where can I go?!"  The answer is you can pretty much use points to take you anywhere around the world (literally if you want!. Here's a recap of our 2025 travel. 

As a reminder - here's my general rule of thumb for how many points to anticipate spending for hotels and flights

Our 2025 Points Trips

January

Winter Break 2024-2025, we spent 5 nights in Maui at Hyatt Regency and 5 nights in Kauai at Grand Hyatt. Both of these hotels were booked a year in advance by transferring Chase points to Hyatt to book directly.

We used our two Southwest Companion Passes to fly from/to Denver and also in between islands (which meant that instead of using points to buy four flights to/from Hawaii, we only had to buy two and got two free!)

I used the $300 Capital One Venture X travel credit to book our Maui rental car (via Capital One Travel portal) and for Kauai we had booked a Turo but they cancelled last minute and I was able to get an awesome last minute deal with Hertz directly, paying cash.

Trip Cash Value: $18,000+

February

No travel for me, besides skiing; but my boys went to Palm Springs to visit my in-laws, using Southwest Companion Pass. I got a KILLER price going there - of just 2,617 points. Thanks for SW CP, my son flew free!

Trip Cash Value: $500

March

The first half of spring break we had our condo-share and skied; then at the end of break we went to Arizona to see Cubs Spring Training and stayed at Grand Hyatt Scottsdale for 3 nights. I booked this stay only a month (exactly) in advance, by transferring Chase points to Hyatt to book directly. We flew Southwest and used Companion Passes.

Trip Cash Value: $6,000

May

We spent a night at Gaylord Rockies, a Marriott property, as a staycation to celebrate our daughter's birthday. I booked directly with Marriott and used a mix of expiring Marriott points and Chase points transfer to Marriott during a transfer bonus (which is the ONLY time I consider using Chase points for Marriott!)

Trip Cash Value: $400

June

We were joined by my parents for a trip to Costa Rica! We flew United direct from Denver to Liberia, and had a rental car (directly booked with Hertz). We spent the first five nights in La Fortuna, staying at Tabacon Resort. I booked Tabacon by transferring Amex points to Hilton, at a 1:2 ratio (essentially doubling my points) and also got the 5th night of our stay free (for holding Amex Platinum Personal card, which automatically gives you Hilton gold status). Read all the details here!

From there, we spent 6 nights in Playa Langosta/Tamarindo area at an short term rental (which I put on a new credit card to earn a sign up bonus!). We flew home on Southwest, using our Companion Passes.

Trip Cash Value: $9,000 (including cash airbnb)

Aug

I booked a last minute (like two weeks in advance), trip to meet my sister in Copenhagen over Labor Day weekend! I flew Edelweiss Business Class there (booked by transferring Amex points to Air Canada), using Chase Sapphire Reserve points boost and cash to stay 3 nights at 1 Hotel and then moved to Hotel Skt Annae (which is a Mr and Mrs Smith hotel under Hyatt) for a cheaper last night stay. I flew Lufthansa economy home (booked by transferring more Amex points to Air Canada)

Trip Cash Value: $9,000

September

If you have followed me for at least one fall season, you know I'm obsessed with fall colors! I used points for some quick getaways in the nearby mountains to soak up all of the gold we could find!

Stay 1: I used Chase Points Boost with P2's Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card and booked one night at Indigo Hotel Silverthorne for 13,000 points. I highly recommend this hotel; but note during ski season it costs a lot more! The 13K stay seems like a lucky find.

Stay 2: I used my $300 Hotel Credit from my Amex Personal Platinum card to book a night at Grand Hyatt Vail; one of my fav local hotels. This one benefit use basically covered the high annual fee cost! I wrote about it in this post.

Trips Cash Value: $900+

October

October was our big 15-year anniversary trip! This include one night at Hyatt Regency Seattle, Business Class Singapore Air flights direct from SEA to SIN (16.5 hours long! but a breeze in business), 3 nights at Andaz Singapore, economy Singapore Air flight to Maldives, sea plane transfer from Maldives airport to our resort, 5 nights at Alila Kothaifaru Maldives (a Hyatt brand, booked direct by transferring Chase points to Hyatt. I then emailed the resort and paid cash $100/night plus taxes and fees, to upgrade to an overwater villa), sea plane back to MLE airport, business class flight from Maldives to Doha, one night stay at Doha Hyatt Regency and business class QSuite flights on Qatar Airways to Toronto. Unfortunately prior to our trip, our flight back to Denver from Toronto changed times, which resulted in us needing to spend one night at Hyatt Place Mississauga/Toronto, before flying Air Canada back to Denver.

(I'm still working on break out posts for this trip, more details to come! I was able to book this trip just five months in advance, which is pretty lucky to find saver award space on both Singapore Air and Qatar Airlines not a year in advance).

Trip Cash Value: $34,000+

November

Girl's trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia to celebrate a 40th birthday! I used my SW CP to fly the birthday girl for free!

Trip Cash Value: $700

December

After a big year of travel (which is not quite our norm!), I was glad that I had kept this year's winter break pretty easy. We went to Palm Springs for 5 nights and stayed at Grand Hyatt Indian Wells. I booked this trip a year in advance, as holiday points bookings often sell out quickly). I booked us Southwest flights as soon as the dates released and I'm glad I did. We still have companion pass, so we only had to pay for 2 flights, which were 23,000 points each going there and only 11,000 points coming back. After I booked, the point cost jumped up to around 60,000 points each, one way, and never seemed to drop!

I used the $300 Capital One Venture X annual travel credit to book our rental car only 3 weeks in advance (with Hertz via Capital One Travel portal) 

For this trip, I used a Guest of Honor award; which got us free parking ($32+/night), free daily buffet breakfast ($130/day), and upgraded room from two queen beds to two king beds.

Trip Cash Value: $5,000+

Summary

In total for 2025, for the trips mentioned, we spent around 50 nights away and over $75,00 cash value for less than $8,000 out of pocket.  2025 definitely was not a "normal" travel year for us; we generally don't travel this much in a year! But we had some big celebrations, incredible trips, and memories made!

I'm grateful to points and for your support to make it happen!

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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.

Trying to figure out your next card? Here is my FREE personalized Next Card Recommendation form. Simply fill this out and I'll let you know suggestions.

Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!