Best Card to Start Traveling on Points

The MOST recommended card for people who want to travel on points and miles is the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

With an annual fee of just $95 this card offers great earning potential, easy redemption options and some of the best travel protections out there.

Points earned from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are FLEXIBLE which means you have lots of options when it comes to redeeming them. 

Chase points can currently be transferred to 14 different travel partners including 10 airlines and 4 hotel chains.  Some of the most beginner friendly transfer partners include Southwest, United and Hyatt which are not readily available with other credit card programs.  Hyatt in particular is a sweet spot where you can often get 2-4x more value from your points if you transfer points to stay at Hyatt properties.  

Here’s a post that walks you through the process of using Chase points to book a FREE Hyatt stay.  

It’s not uncommon to redeem Chase points for Hyatt stays that are worth 2x, 3x even 4x in value! 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns points as follows:  

• 5x points on TRAVEL purchased through Chase Travel℠ 
• 2x points on all other TRAVEL
• 3x points on DINING 
• 3x points on ONLINE GROCERIES (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 3x points on STREAMING SERVICES
• 1x point on everything else

Perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card include:

• NO foreign exchange fees
• $50 annual Chase Travel℠ hotel credit
• $10 per month DoorDash credit through December 2027 – details in this post
• 10% anniversary points boost
• 5x on Lyft rides through 9/30/2027
• Primary car rental insurance
• Travel and purchase protection benefits

There are a lot of great cards out there, but starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred will give you a great introduction into the points and miles world with a low annual fee of $95.  

If you’ve already earned a welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or you’d prefer a card with more travel perks including lounge access you can apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card as long as it’s been a year since you earned the bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

HERE is a post all about the Chase Sapphire Reserve and how to use and maximize the MANY credits and card perks it includes.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns points as follows:  

• 8x points on TRAVEL purchased through Chase Travel℠ 
• 5x points on LYFT rides
• 4x points on all FLIGHTS booked direct
• 4x points on all HOTELS booked direct
• 3x points on DINING 
• 1x point on everything else

Perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card include:

• NO foreign exchange fees
• $300 annual travel credit
• $500 annual The Edit hotel credit in Chase Travel℠
• $250 credit for select hotels in Chase Travel℠ (2026 perk only)
• $300 Stubhub credit
• $300 dining credit at participating restaurants
• $250 Apple TV+ and Music credit
• $25 per month DoorDash credits through December 2027 – details in this post
• Airport lounge access with guest access – details in this post
• $120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit every 4 years
• $120 Lyft credits
• IHG Platinum Status
• Primary car rental insurance
• Travel and purchase protection benefits
• AND MORE!

The annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve is high ($795) but if you use the credits and perks you can get lots of value out of the card in addition to the welcome bonus (I value the bonus alone at $2,500+). 

Many of these credits are based on a calendar year so you will be able to use these credits in both 2026 and 2027 under just one annual fee – this is referred to as a “double-dip”. 

For example, if you apply for the Reserve card now you’ll get $450 of Stubhub credits in the first year of having the card instead of just $300.

• $150 Now-June 2026
• $150 July-Dec 2026
• $150 Jan 2027 – until you decide to either keep, close or downgrade the card.

Keep in mind you don’t have to keep a card forever, if after the first year you don’t see value in keeping it another year you can close or downgrade it.  

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has the best travel protections offered on any travel card and earns 4x points on flights and hotels and 3x on dining (and 8x points on travel booked in the Chase Travel portal). 

If you’d like me to send you the spreadsheet I created that allows you to figure out the value of each credit included on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card based on whether you’ll use them send me your email and I’ll get that sent to you.  If you use the credits you can more than make up for the high annual fee.

Couple things to NOTE:

➜ Your chances of approval are higher if you are under 5/24.  Chase will likely not approve you for a new card if you’ve opened 5+ personal cards in the past 24 months.  This includes retail cards like Target or Home Depot so choose your new cards wisely! More about 5/24 status.

➜ I don’t recommend adding your spouse or partner as an authorized user because they are better off earning a welcome bonus of their own.  As of October 2025, you can no longer earn a Chase referral bonus if you refer someone to who has already had a Chase business card. Instead, please consider applying with an affiliate link of a points and miles educator.

➜ Chase points can easily be combined and moved between cards and household members.  This makes it easy to maximize your redemption options! 

➜ As of January 2026, you are able to earn a welcome bonus on both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card once per lifetime and you can hold both cards at the same time. So if you’ve earned a bonus on one of these cards in the past, you can still earn a bonus on the other card. It is recommended to wait at least one year between applying for these cards. Chase has also implemented a pop-up tool for card applications that will tell you if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus before you proceed, with no impact on your credit score. This will be the best way to know if you are eligible for a welcome bonus. If you are not able to apply for a Sapphire card, I’d be happy to help you figure out the next best card for you based on your travel goals and credit card history. There are a lot of great card options!

Holly @onpointwithholly is part of an affiliate network and may receive commission when you support her efforts to continue to provide FREE content, resources and guidance.  Send me a DM if I can help you along your credit card journey!