These are some of the best offers available if you’re interested in applying for a new card this month.
Chase Ink Business Cash: The bonus is the at the same level you usually see for this card—75,000 points—but the spending requirement has been modified so it’s easier for most people to achieve. Instead of the typical/old spending requirement of $6,000 spent in the first three months to unlock the 75,000-point bonus, now you only have to reach $3,000 of that spending requirement in the first three months to earn 35,000 of the points, and then you have another three months to spend the next $3,000 to earn the remaining 40,000 points. So the spending amount is the same, but it’s stretched over six months instead of three. If the spending requirement was what was holding you back before, this may be easier! This is a business card, but don’t let that dissuade you—most people qualify for business cards according to the banks’ rules. (Plus the best part about getting a business card is that it doesn’t count against your 5/24 status.)
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard: This bonus is up to 75,000 AAdvantage miles (instead of the typical 50,000 miles) and has a manageable spending requirement of $3,500 in the first four months. Plus the annual fee is waived the first year (and after that, it’s $99 per year) and you get a free checked bag on American flights. American AAdvantage miles can be incredibly valuable for not only domestic flights, but also international flights—especially in business class on Qatar, which is a highly sought-after redemption with these miles. We’re using AAdvantage miles to book seats on JAL to Tokyo in economy on one leg of our trip and I wish we had more of these miles so we could have booked both legs with them!
Capital One Venture X: This is still my #1 favorite all-around card, especially for families. The annual fee looks steep at the outset ($395), but you can immediately recoup $300 of that by booking travel through the Capital One travel portal because they give you a $300 travel credit every year. (My favorite way to use that $300 travel credit is to book hotels in places where there aren’t any good points-hotel options. Or rental cars.) This card also gets you Priority Pass lounge access and Capital One Lounge access for the cardholder and two guests. Each authorized user can also get lounge access for themselves and two guests, and it’s free to make someone an authorized user, so if you have a big family and want to make your kids authorized users so everyone can get into lounges, this card will cover everyone for free. It’s amazing. It also comes with travel protections, no foreign-transaction fees, and a $100 Global Entry credit. And did I mention that all your spending, no matter what it’s on, earns 2x? This card is absolutely worth getting if you don’t have it already!
Chase Ink Business Preferred: This offer hasn’t changed in a few months, but it’s still incredible. 100,000 of the best points out there for $8,000 in spending over three months and only a $95 annual fee, which is low. This is also one of those premium Chase cards that unlocks your ability to turn “cash back points” from Chase into Ultimate Rewards points. This is an absolute solid choice of a card. It also earns you 3x on travel, cable, internet, and phone purchases, so it’s a great choice to earn some extra points on monthly bills.
Chase Sapphire Preferred: This offer hasn’t changed in a while, but this is still my #1 recommendation for the first card people should get when they’re first starting with points-and-miles travel. The reasons why? It has a low annual fee, it earns 60,000 points in the absolute best points ecosystem, the points are transferable, it offers 3x earnings on dining and online grocery purchases and 2x on travel, and covers rental cars with primary insurance. This card is easy to understand, easy to earn with, and hard to mess up! And the $95 annual fee is a nice reasonable entry point for anyone new to points and miles. If you get this one while you’re still learning, you’ll be off to a great start.
As always, you can check out all the credit-card offers that get you earning points and miles for almost-free travel on my Best Offers page any time. Any time you use one of my links to apply, you know you’re getting the best offer that’s publicly available (i.e., not targeted to a specific person) and you don’t have to worry about shopping around for anything higher. And some of these cards earn me a small commission from the issuing bank at no cost to you, so I always appreciate your support!

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