Rosemarie Clancy

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card – credit score, income requirements + odds of approval

June 29, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

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Capital One has some very popular cards for travelers, and many people are familiar with them from their heavy promotion in television ads featuring celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Samuel L. Jackson.

The ads talk about earning double miles on everything and trading them in for airline tickets with no blackout dates. The commercials end with the line “What’s in your wallet?” and many people have decided that one of the Capital One cards deserves a slot.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is unusual though because while it calls its rewards miles, it doesn’t earn real miles in a traditional airline program. What you earn are points that can be used to book travel through Capital One’s portal, erase travel charges on your statement or transfer to travel partners.

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

Fixed Value Cards

Cards like those issued by Capital One and Barclaycard are known as fixed-value credit cards. They are different from airline co-branded cards that offer tens of thousands of miles as a sign-up bonus and the opportunity to earn bonus points on airline ticket purchases and other categories like dining depending on the card. Most other purchases on co-branded credit cards generally earn just one point per dollar spent on everything else.

Airline miles in a traditional reward program can only be redeemed for seats on the carrier they are affiliated with or its partner airlines, but the redemption value can vary depending on how they are used and you need to find an award seat in order to use them to get free air travel which is why Capital One talks about no blackout dates.

Fixed value cards like the Capital One Venture card however, have more predictable earning and trade-in value. All purchases earn 2x miles, and all miles are worth a penny each on trade in. For example, $10,000 in purchases will earn you 20,000 miles that can then be used to book travel or erase a travel purchase of $200.

Credit Score Required

Like most travel credit cards, you will need to have excellent credit to be approved. That means your credit score needs to be at least 720.

You may be eligible with a score as low as 700, but if the score is 750 or more that will give you the best chance at obtaining this card. You also need to have had a credit card with a limit over $5,000 for three years or more before applying.

If you don’t know what your credit score is you can find it at many online banking sites which offer a free credit score to those that bank with them. Or you can use a service like CreditKarma to see your credit score and credit report.

Your FICO credit score, which is the one that is used most often to screen credit card applications is made up of several factors on your credit report including:

payment history (35%),
the amount you owe (30%),
credit history (15%),
new credit (10%) and
your mix of credit (10%).

It’s a good idea to review your credit report for errors as that may impact your application. If you find something that is not correct, report it to the credit bureau and see if you can get the mistake removed before applying, especially if it is dragging your score down as it may stop you from getting approved.

There are three credit reporting agencies that track your credit history including Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You are allowed to get a free credit report from each of them annually so you can make sure the credit reporting agencies are reporting your credit history accurately.

Credit History and Income Level Needed

There are a few things on your credit report that will cause your application to be denied. If you have ever declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan that will stop you from getting approved for the Capital One Venture card. And if you have been more than 60 days late on a credit card, medical bill or loan in the past year they will also deny your application.

You will be asked what your income level is on the application, and in addition to wages you can report other sources of income like child support payments, though you can leave that out if you want to. There is no particular income level required for approval as what you earn is only one of the things that Capital One takes into account when reviewing your application.

As with any credit card application, the higher your income is, the better your odds are of getting approved. If you are earning over $100,000 a year then this may help offset some less-than-stellar credit history as long as you don’t run afoul of the issues noted previously that will cause an automatic denial.

Odds of Approval

If you have an excellent credit score, good credit history and sufficient income, then you have very good odds of getting approved.

Capital One doesn’t have rules like Chase’s 5/24 rule, where the bank will deny you if you have opened more than five cards with any issuer in the past two years. The bank does consider how many cards you have opened recently though, and although there is no particular number of recent applications allowed, it can be another reason for having an application denied.

If you’re worried about not getting approved for the Venture card or you think you may not qualify, you can see what Capital One credit cards you are pre-approved for with no impact on your credit report by using the bank’s pre-approval application.

It will ask for your name, Social Security number, employment status, income and housing costs and it will determine whether or not you qualify for a number of Capital One cards including the Venture card.

Keep in mind that you can still get approved even if you are not offered this card when you check on pre-approval status, but your odds of getting approved are lower if Capital One is not offering you this card when you fill out the pre-approval application. You can also still be denied, but it’s not likely if you’ve gotten pre-approval.

Who is the Capital One Venture Card For?

The Capital One Venture card is perfect for someone who is interested in earning free travel through sign-up bonuses and spending on a credit card, but wants more earning power for all of their spending and flexibility when it’s time to book travel. Capital One has widened its appeal to travelers in recent years with the addition of travel partners that miles can be transferred to so that is another redemption option.

The Venture card is also good for people who don’t have the time or inclination to learn the nuances of frequent flyer programs, which can be complicated. Airline loyalty programs can often offer outsized value on redemption, especially for international travel in first or business class. But finding award space on the dates you want to travel can be challenging, especially if you want to travel to a popular destination during peak travel season.

With the Venture Rewards card you can have the best of both worlds. Points can be used to reimburse you for travel charges on your card, or you can use them to get even more value by transferring them to a travel loyalty program.

You can also choose to book your travel through the Capital One travel booking portal, which is powered by Orbitz. Miles are worth the same penny per point as they are worth when you use them to erase a travel purchase, but you don’t have to wait for the charge to hit your statement and you can skip the extra step of erasing the charges so this is the simplest way to redeem your points for travel.

Capital One Venture Card Benefits

The Capital One Venture card comes with a 60,000 bonus miles for signing up and spending $3,000 in the first three months of opening the card. If you already have this card or you’ve received this bonus before you may not be eligible for this welcome offer.

You earn 2x miles on all purchases, so you don’t have to worry about using different cards to get bonus points for select categories. Other cards with a similar annual fee only let you earn double points on select categories like travel and dining purchases and everything else earns just a single point.

Even though the Capital One Venture credit card is promoted as a travel credit card, it is not affiliated with a particular airline or hotel like co-branded travel cards so there are no benefits like free checked bags or upgrades.

One nice thing about using Capital One rewards to erase an airfare purchase on your statement or to book travel through the bank’s portal is that you will still earn miles in an airline program or points in a hotel program because using your Capital One miles is the same as using cash to buy the ticket or book the room. This can help you achieve elite status faster and get perks like free checked bags or lounge access with your airline elite status.

Capital One Lounge Openings

The card doesn’t offer extensive airport lounge access like some other cards, but it opened its own lounges starting with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in fall 2021, with two additional lounges scheduled to open in Denver International Airport and Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC, in 2022.

This follows in the footsteps of American Express that has opened its own Centurion lounges in over a dozen airports to give its most valued cardmembers a premium lounge experience.

Capital One lounges will have all the amenities you would find in traditional airport lounges like high-speed WiFi, chef-inspired meals at dining stations, pre-packaged food that you can take on the plane with you, fully stocked bars, coffee stations and quiet work zones where you can charge your devices.

Other offerings, which vary by location, will include shower suites, relaxation rooms, yoga and cycling rooms, and luggage lockers so you can go out and explore a city during a long layover.

Airline and Hotel Reward Program Transfer Partners

The Capital One Venture card also has travel partners that points can be transferred, unlike co-branded airline and hotel cards which earn points that stay within the frequent traveler loyalty program they are affiliated with and need to be used to book travel with that supplier or its partners.

There are currently 17 airlines and hotels that you can transfer your Capital One miles to, but look at the transfer ratios before you pull the trigger on that as they vary.

There are several airline programs that have a 1:1 transfer ratio for Capital One Venture miles including Aeromexico, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Finnair, Qantas and TAP Air Portugal. Capital One miles also currently transfer to one hotel program at a 1:1 ratio and that is Wyndham Rewards, though Choice Privileges is expected to come on board this year at that transfer rate.

These are the partners that you will get the most value from since you are earning miles at a rate of 2x per dollar. For these programs, 10,000 Capital One miles will translate to 10,000 miles in the airline or hotel program.

Several airlines have a less generous transfer rate of 2 Capital One miles to 1.5 airline miles, which is still a good deal because you’re earning the Capital One miles at double the rate of many other cards. The airlines that have a 2:1.5 mile transfer ratio include Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Alitalia, British Airways, EVA Air, JetBlue and Turkish Airlines. For these carriers, 10,000 Capital One miles will become 7,500 airline miles when transferred.

There are also a few airlines that transfer at a 2:1 ratio, which is not as good as the other transfer rates, but still useful especially if you are just looking to top off your account. The airlines that accept two Capital One miles for each airline mile are Emirates and Singapore. The ALL Accor hotel program also has a 2:1 transfer rate. In this case, 10,000 miles = 5,000 miles or points in the airline or hotel program.

Other Travel Benefits

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card also has some other benefits for travelers as it is a Visa Signature card. It offers travel accident insurance, and there are no foreign transaction fees. It also includes a car rental collision damage waiver (CDW) so you can rent a car and avoid that costly insurance if you pay for the rental with your Capital One card. It also comes with a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Capital One Shopping

Capital One also has a shopping portal that looks for discount coupons at the online retailers you are shopping at and automatically applies them to your purchase. You can also use your points for purchases on Amazon.

Or you can redeem your rewards at millions of online stores through PayPal. To do this you just need to link your Capital One Venture Rewards card to your PayPal account and use your rewards balance when checking out.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card has an annual fee of $95, and some people don’t like to pay a fee to hold a credit card. There are a lot of great benefits that can help offset that cost, but if you don’t want to pay a fee you might be interested in the Capital One VentureOne Rewards card, which sounds similar but has less benefits.

The VentureOne card also has a smaller sign-up bonus at only 20,000 points for spending $500 in the first three months, but that is a much more manageable minimum spend than the $3,000 in spending required to get the Venture card bonus. And you’ll only earn 1.25 miles per dollar compared to 2x with the Venture card, so you’ll earn less miles on your spending.

One attractive element of the VentureOne card though that is not offered with the Venture card is a 0% introductory APR for 15 months (followed by an ongoing variable APR of 16.49%-26.49% after that) so this card may be a better fit than the Venture card for someone with a tight budget.

There is also a Capital One VentureOne Rewards card for people with good credit, but with that offer you won’t get a sign-up bonus. The card will still earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent so it is another option for people who have a credit score below the excellent range that is needed to get approved for the Capital One Venture card or VentureOne card with a sign-up bonus. Also, the APR on this card is between 16.49% APR and 26.49% APR (variable).

Final Thoughts

The Capital One Venture card is a great travel card, especially for people that are just starting to collect miles and points for award travel, because it has a simple earning scheme that doesn’t require you to use different cards or watch for rotating bonus categories to earn bonus points.

It’s also good for experienced miles and points collectors, especially since Capital One added transfer partners back in 2018 and has been adding more every year. It is also more attractive to travelers now that Capital Once has started opening airport lounges, especially if you fly out of one of the cities where they have plans to open.

The Capital One Venture card is most often compared to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which is very popular with travelers. Both cards earn points that can be used in their own travel booking portal and both transfer to multiple airline and hotel programs.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a better transfer rate to most of its travel partners as they usually transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and you get a 25% bonus when booking travel through the Chase portal. But most of the spending on that card is only earning 1x per dollar.

You also won’t be eligible for a sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you’ve gotten a bonus for either a Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve® in the past 48 months. And if you’ve applied for too many cards in the past two years, Chase will also not approve you because of its 5/24 rule.

As other banks tighten their rules about who can apply and get sign-up bonuses for their cards, Capital One has become a great option for people who may not qualify for travel rewards cards at other banks because of restrictions they have in place.

The Capital One Venture card is also a good option if you have several frequent traveler accounts, but not enough points in any of them to book award travel, because you can transfer your points to Capital One travel partners to reach your travel goal.

Another great selling point of the Capital One Venture card is that miles in its program don’t expire like many airline programs, and if you have a tendency to save up your points for a big vacation you don’t have to worry about an airline program devaluation which can greatly decrease the value of the rewards you’ve been saving.

And best of all, you can earn 2x points on your everyday spending, and can then use them for any airline ticket at any time as long as there is a seat available. This is a big plus for people who have had trouble using airline miles because they don’t understand how mileage programs work, or they travel during peak season and can’t use traditional miles because of limited award seat availability.

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

American Express® Gold Card vs Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®

May 19, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

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:

	Sapphire Preferred	Amex Gold	Sapphire Reserve
Annual Fee	$95	$250	$550
Welcome Bonus	80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months	60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 6 months	50,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
Credits	$50 annual hotel credit when booked through Chase	$120 in Uber Cash and dining credit ($10 each monthly)	$300 in annual statement credits for travel purchases
Bonus Categories	5x on travel booked through Chase and 2x on other travel, 3x for online grocery purchases, dining and streaming services	4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), and 3x on flights	5x on flights and 10x on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase, 3x on all other travel, 10x on Chase Dining and 3x on other dining
Anniversary Bonus	10% of your total purchases	N/A	N/A

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:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card VS Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

May 18, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

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:

Quick Comparison

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Capital One Venture
Annual Fee	$95	$95
Welcome Bonus	80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.	60,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months.
Credits	$50 annual hotel credit when booked through UR	N/A
Bonus Points	5x on travel booked through Chase and 2x on other travel, 3x for online grocery purchases, dining and select streaming services	All purchases earn 2x
Anniversary Bonus	10% of your total purchases	N/A
Foreign Transaction Fees	None	None
Global Entry/TSA Precheck	None	Up to $100 credit

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.

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.

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 new sign-up bonus of 60,000 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.

Credit Score Needed for Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express in 2022

May 16, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

Many people sign up for a credit card to get bonus miles and points for travel, but some prefer their rewards in the form of cash. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (terms apply) is a good cash back card that offers bonus earning opportunities in popular everyday spending categories.

The card doesn’t have an annual fee, and it offers 0% introductory APR on purchases for 15 months followed by a variable APR of between 14.74% to 24.74% after that. It also comes with a $200 welcome bonus which is credited on your statement once you meet the minimum spend of $2,000 in the first six months.

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

Bonus Categories

Cardholders earn 3% cash back on up to $6,000 in purchases at US supermarkets per year. You won’t max out this bonus category unless you spend more than $500 a month on groceries.

Purchases at gas stations and select department stores including Bloomingdale’s, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom earn 2% cash back, and all other eligible purchases earn 1% cash back per dollar spent.

Cash back is received in the form of reward dollars that can be cashed in at a rate of one penny per point, so 25,000 points = $25.00, which is the minimum amount needed to get a statement credit.

Who is the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card For?

This card is good for someone who doesn’t want to pay an annual fee for a credit card, but still wants to earn rewards for their spending. While many travel rewards cards offer bonuses for travel and dining, the bonus categories on the Amex Blue Cash Everyday rewards those that use their card to buy groceries and gas.

The $200 welcome bonus is also accessible for people that don’t spend $1,000 or more a month. Many travel rewards cards require a minimum spend of $3,000 or more in the first three months of having the card. The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card gives you half a year to meet the $2,000 in spend needed to earn the bonus, which amounts to less than $350 a month in spending.

It’s also a good choice for someone who wants to finance a big purchase and pay over time without having to pay interest because it has no interest on purchases for the first 15 months followed by a variable APR of between 14.74% to 24.74% after that. Most travel rewards cards do not offer 0% interest for purchases.

This card is probably not the best option for someone who travels frequently for business and eats out often, but it’s a great choice for families that prepare most meals at home and travel primarily by car. It’s also good for someone who frequents the department stores that offer double rewards.

Credit Score Range Typically Required

Your credit score needs to be 700 or more, which means it has to be on the high end of a good score which is between 690 and 719. Or your score needs to be in the excellent range, which is 720 to 850.

Both FICO and VantageScore use a range of 300-850 to determine credit scores. If your score is in the fair range (630-689) or below, then you will most likely not get approved for the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express.

What’s included in my credit score?

Just over a third (35%) of your FICO credit score is based on your payment history, and another 30% is calculated based on the amount owed. These two factors together make up two-thirds of the overall score.

Your credit history, which looks at the length of time you have been granted credit, makes up 15% of the model, and new credit and the mix of credit mix account for 10% each. These last two metrics are concerned with how many new lines of credit you have applied for and the different types of credit you have, which can include home, car and student loans in addition to credit cards.

Income Level Required

In addition to reviewing your credit score, and even possibly modifying the weight given to the factors involved in it, American Express also asks what your income is on your credit card application. They also ask what your housing cost is to help them determine your ability to pay your credit card bills.

There is no specific income requirement for the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card, but what you make is one of the important factors when deciding whether or not to approve your application. It will also come into play when Amex decides what credit limit the card will come with if your application is successful.

Odds of Approval

If your credit score is good to excellent, your income levels are sufficient, and you’re not carrying too much debt on your credit cards, you have a good chance of getting approved.

A typical successful applicant would be someone who has had a mix of credit over a number of years, a good payment history on those lines of credit, and someone who hasn’t opened a lot of new credit lines recently.

Your credit card balance should also not exceed more than 30% of your combined credit lines. A lower debt-to-credit ratio improves your odds, and likewise a higher ratio of debt to credit will decrease your odds. But keep in mind that this is only one factor being considered.

American Express Rules

Your credit score and other factors noted above are not the only things that come into play when your application is getting reviewed. Like most credit card issuers, American Express has certain rules that may block you from getting approved.

For example, you can only apply for two American Express cards in a 90-day period, and you have to wait five days in between applications. Also, you can only have five active Amex cards with a preset spending limit at a time, including both personal and business cards. Popular cards like American Express® Gold Card (terms apply) and The Platinum Card® from American Express cards (terms apply) don’t count as they don’t have a pre-set limit.

Also, another important consideration is that you will only receive the welcome bonus one time for each of its products, so if you’ve ever had the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express before and gotten a welcome bonus, you will not be eligible for the $200 bonus if you apply again.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

If you are thinking about signing up for the Blue Cash Everyday card, but you’ve had it before or you want to earn greater rewards, you might want to consider the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (terms apply).

This mid-tier version of the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card does have a $95 annual fee in the second year, but it includes a statement credit of $300 as a welcome bonus once you spend $3,000 in the first six months.

If your spend is closer to $500 a month rather than just a few hundred, this might be the better option for you because the annual fee is waived the first year and the bonus earnings are greater.

Bonus Categories for the Blue Cash Everyday vs. the Blue Cash Everyday Preferred

The Preferred version of the card lets you earn 6% cash back at US supermarkets up to $6,000, which is double the rewards offered by the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card. Subscriptions to select US streaming services also earn 6% cash back with the Preferred card. This is not a bonus category for the Blue Cash Everyday card so it only earns 1% cash back for streaming.

You’ll also earn 3% cash back at domestic gas stations and eligible transit such as buses, trains, parking, rideshare, taxis, tolls and other transit costs. The Blue Cash Everyday card only earns 2% at gas stations and no bonus rewards on transit. All other purchases on the Blue Cash Everyday Preferred card earn 1% cash back.

0% Introductory Offers for Blue Cash Everyday vs. the Blue Cash Everyday Preferred

The Blue Cash Everyday Preferred by American Express offers a 0% intro APR for the first year (12 months), but that is 3 months less than the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card offers, so if you want longer to pay off a balance for a big purchase then the no-annual fee version might be a better choice. The Preferred card also has a variable APR after the 12 month intro period of between 14.74% to 24.74%.

Both cards offer a buy now, pay later Plan It financing option that allows you to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Any plan created during either card’s intro 0% APR period will have no plan fees. Plans created for purchases after the introductory period ends will have a monthly plan fee of up to 1.33% of each purchase over $100 based on the length of time in the plan, the APR that would normally apply and other factors.

Travel and Shopping Benefits

Both the Amex Blue Cash Everyday and the Preferred version come with the same package of travel benefits and shopping protection. If you use your card to pay for a car rental, you can decline the collision damage waiver and you will have secondary coverage for theft or damage in a covered territory.

Cardholders also have access to the Global Assist Hotline when they travel more than 100 miles from home including help with lost luggage, translations, and legal and medical emergencies, though the card member will be responsible for costs by third-party service providers.

Both cards also come with protection on purchases made with the card. If you need to return something you bought with the card and the merchant won’t take it back, Amex will refund you up to $300 per item with a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year. You also get theft and accidental damage protection on purchases up to 90 days and $1,000 per occurrence for a maximum of $50,000 per calendar year.

Credit Score Needed for Amex Blue Cash Everyday Preferred

The Preferred version of the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card requires a similar credit score and history as the no-annual fee version, so you should compare both cards to see which is a better fit for your needs.

If you want to take some of the guesswork out of whether you will be approved for either one of these cards, especially if your credit score is borderline and you’re not sure if you qualify, you can see if you pre-qualify on the American Express site.

It’s not guaranteed that you will be approved if you do pre-qualify, but it is a good indicator of whether you will be successful in obtaining a particular Amex card.

Bottom Line

If you’re in the market for a credit card that offers cash back on everyday spending like groceries and gas and you don’t want to pay an annual fee, then the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express is a great choice. It offers a good cash back welcome offer and the minimum spend is very manageable.

If you can meet a slightly higher minimum spend ($3,000 vs. $1,000 in the first six months), then the Blue Cash Everyday Preferred will get you more rewards for your gas station and supermarket purchases. The Preferred version also offers 6x bonus rewards on streaming services so the typical family can really rack up rewards with these bonus categories.

The downside of the Everyday Preferred card is that it does carry a $95 annual fee, which is waived the first year. The extra $100 welcome bonus ($300 for the Preferred vs. $200 for the no-annual-fee version) can offset that difference, but once the annual fee kicks in you would have to evaluate whether you spend enough in the bonus categories to maximize the rewards and justify the annual fee.

Both cards require the same good to excellent credit score, but the Preferred version may have a higher threshold of creditworthiness because mid-tier cards often have higher lines of credit. But if you have excellent credit, the Preferred version offers greater rewards and you can always downgrade to the no annual fee version after the first year if you want to avoid the annual fee.

If you carry several credit cards in your wallet, the Blue Cash Everyday Card by American Express or the Preferred version can be a great addition that lets you earn 2x, 3x or 6x on categories outside of travel and dining which are the most popular bonus categories for most travel rewards cards.

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

Credit Score needed for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card + odds of approval

May 9, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the most popular travel credit cards in the market for many reasons, but one of the biggest draws is its huge sign-up bonus.

The welcome offer is 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

That translates to $1,000 in free travel (when redeemed through the travel portal), which more than makes up for the $95 annual fee. It’s the kind of bonus you usually only see with a premium card that costs $500 or more a year.

The Sapphire Preferred card earns points in the popular Chase Ultimate Rewards program, and you can use the card to book travel through the bank’s portal at a value of 1.25 cents per point because this card offers a 25% bonus.

You can also redeem the points for cash which means that 100,000 points is equal to $1,000 in cash back. Or you can get statement credits for purchases with the “Pay Yourself Back” feature and get a 25% bonus on select categories.

The points also transfer to airline and hotel programs for even better potential value. This is great if you want to get extra value from your points, especially when booking premium airline seats.

It’s also good if you belong to a travel loyalty program and have some points or miles from flights, hotel stays or credit card sign-up bonuses, but don’t have enough miles or points to book a free hotel stay or award flight.

If you don’t already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, this is the perfect time to sign up and take advantage of the elevated welcome bonus.

But before you hop right into their application process you should know what credit score is required along with general income recommendations and other factors that Chase considers.

To get a better understanding of these factors and requirements, continue reading our comprehensive guide below.

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

Credit Score Required

Remember, Chase considers a number of factors besides credit score.

If neither of the Chase rules preclude you from having a successful application, then this is a great mid-tier card, and this is the perfect time to apply for it because of the elevated bonus. You will still need to have a good or excellent credit score though to get approved.

In most cases a credit score of 720 or more will get you approved for most travel credit cards. This one is no different. You can even be approved with a score of only 700 or even less in some cases, but keep in mind that banks look at a number of factors before making a decision on whether to approve an applicant or not.

Credit History

Chase will also look at your credit history to see if you’re a good candidate.

As a general rule [per consumer.gov] credit history aims to tell a story about how you use your money. Things like:

How many credit cards you have
How many loans you have
Do you pay your bills on time?

…are going to be some of the major factors playing into your overall credit history.

Besides checking to make sure you haven’t applied for more than five cards in the past four years as per the 5/24 rule, they will also check to make sure there are no late payments and that can go back a few years.

You will need to have some credit history to get approved, so if you are new to credit cards this is probably not the best card to start with. Although there are reports of first-timers getting approved, they are rare.

Before you hit the submit button on the application, check your credit score to see if it’s in the right range, and be sure to check your credit history to make sure there are no errors that might interfere with your application.

You can find your credit score for free at many online bank portals, or you can use a service like Credit Karma. You can also see your credit report on that site to make sure you don’t run afoul of the Chase 5/24 rule by counting the cards that you have been approved for in the past two years.

Keep in mind that any card, even retail credit cards, are included in that number. If you’ve applied for one of those in recent years to get a discount or a deal on financing, you might have forgotten about it by now.

Income Level Needed

You will also need to meet income level requirements. They are not formally published, but it is recommended that you earn at least $30,000 a year before applying for the Chase Sapphire card. As is the case with all credit card applications, the more you make the better your chances are of getting approved for this card.

There are many variables that card issuers look at to check your creditworthiness beyond just your credit score, which is determined by looking at credit mix, utilization, payment history, credit history and new credit. The bank will also look at your current employment status and income, and how you’ve used your credit cards in the past in addition to other factors.

Who is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card For?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a great credit card for people that are new to collecting miles and points for free travel because of its flexible redemption options. People that are new to using credit cards for award travel may be confused by the plethora of credit cards available.

There are airline co-branded cards that offer big bonuses as well, but those cards are tied to a particular airline which means the miles can only be used with that airline or its partners. When you want to redeem miles, you need to find award space which can be difficult especially if you want to fly during peak travel times or book multiple seats

Also, airline mileage programs get devalued on a regular basis, so if you’re saving points or miles for a big trip, Chase Ultimate Rewards are a safer bet. They also don’t expire like miles in an airline program can if you don’t fly on that airline or use a co-branded credit card to keep miles from expiring.

Chase Rules

The Sapphire Preferred is also popular with seasoned points collectors because of its big bonus, great earning potential and points value. It earns 2x points per dollar spent on dining and travel and one point on all other purchases so your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance can grow quickly.

But people that already have a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the premium card in the product line, cannot apply for the Preferred card. And you’re not eligible for the bonus if you have gotten one for signing up for either the Preferred or Reserve in the past 48 months.

There is also another Chase rule that may stop you from getting the card. You will not be successful applying for this card if you have gotten more than five personal credit cards in the past two years. And that’s not just Chase cards. It includes any credit card from any issuer, even if you were just added as an authorized user.

Odds of Approval

So what are the odds of getting approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

As our module indicates above, if you have an excellent credit score of 720 or more, your odds of approval are quite good if not excellent. If your income is more than $30k annually, then the odds get better and continue to increase with higher income levels. And if your credit history is clean on top of that then you should be a shoo-in.

If you’ve applied for too many credit cards in the past two years however, that will be a problem. Even though you can call the reconsideration line if your application gets rejected, Chase is not likely to approve you if the number of cards is more than five in the past 24 months.

If you don’t have much credit history, that will also count against you. And if you already have a Sapphire card, then the bank will not approve you. It has to be at least four years since you last held a card in the Sapphire family in order for you to be eligible for the 100,000 point sign-up bonus.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Some people that applied for the premium Chase Sapphire Reserve® when it premiered in August 2016 with a $450 annual fee and a 100,000 point bonus would be eligible for this current offer on the Preferred if they no longer hold the Reserve card.

According to Chase, “This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months.”

If you applied for the Reserve card when it was first introduced and no longer have it, then you are eligible for the sign-up bonus on the Preferred. If you still have the card, you are not.

If you haven’t applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve previously, this may not be the time to get that premium card because the sign-up bonus is only 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. The annual fee is a steep $550.

The Reserve does earn 3x on dining and travel purchases, which is one point more than he Sapphire Preferred. And if you hold the Reserve card, Ultimate Reward points are worth 1.5 cents each if you redeem them through the Chase portal. But the current sign-up bonus on the Reserve is still only worth $900 in travel through the portal, so the Sapphire Preferred is a much better deal..

Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits

It’s important to look at the card benefits in addition to bonuses and earning potential when making your decision to apply for a card, but if you’re eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and have been thinking about getting it, this is a great time to pull the trigger.

The sign-up bonus has never been this high before and you may not see it again as these promotions are usually for a limited time. It’s very rare for a card like the Preferred at the mid-tier level with such high-value points to offer this much of a bonus just for signing up and meeting minimum spend.

We’ve already talked about the value of 100,000 points when used for up to $1,250 in travel including airfare, hotels and travel experiences like tours through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. You can even book local tours if you are taking a staycation. Cardholders also have exclusive access to events in entertainment, dining, music and sports including tickets to the Sundance Film Festival and the Chase Sapphire Private Dining Series.

We’ve also discussed the card’s ability to earn more points when you travel and dine out or order in as it offers double points on those purchases. It’s also important to note that Ultimate Rewards points never expire, especially after a pandemic that shut down travel and dining experiences over the past year.

Food deliveries also earn you 2x points when using the Chase Sapphire card and the card comes with a complimentary one-year DashPass, a subscription service from DoorDash that eliminates delivery fees and reduces service fees on food deliveries. You need to activate it by the end of 2021.

To work off those calories, you also get a $60 rebate on a Peloton Digital or All-Access membership through the end of this year. It lets you take cardio, running, yoga and other classes using a tablet or TV, which is perfect for travelers as no equipment is needed, so no need to head to the hotel gym.

And for a limited time you can earn 5x points on Lyft rides. That’s three extra points over the 2x you would normally earn for travel. This promotion is in place until March 2022, but if you use rideshares often, these points will add up quickly.

Airline and Hotel Reward Program Transfer Partners

When it comes time to redeem that sign-up bonus and all the points you’ll earn on bonus categories and regular spending, one of your best bets to get the highest value is to transfer them to airline and/or hotel loyalty programs, especially if your goal includes booking a seat in business or first class.

This is also a good way to top off your balance if you want to redeem points or miles with an airline or hotel program, but you are short on the amount needed especially if you don’t stay at a particular hotel chain frequently or fly much on an airline but still have some rewards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred transfers to airline frequent flyer programs on a 1:1 basis including:

Aer Lingus,
British Airways,
Emirates,
Air France/KLM,
Iberia,
JetBlue,
Singapore Airlines,
Southwest,
United and Virgin Atlantic

These airline partners give you access to all three of the major airline alliances:

Oneworld,
SkyTeam and
Star Alliance.

You can also transfer points to three hotel frequent stay programs including World of Hyatt, IHG Rewards Club and Marriott Bonvoy. Points also transfer on a 1:1 basis with these hotel partners.

Airline mileage programs can be difficult to navigate for people who are not familiar with the program rules or don’t have the time to search for award space, but if you are new to miles and points the Sapphire card is perfect as you can try to find space and book an airline award ticket with these points or simply use the Chase portal to book your next flight, hotel stay, cruise or car rental.

You can also use a combination of points and cash to book through Chase if you use the Sapphire Preferred so the travel possibilities are endless.

Other Travel Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Preferred also comes with a host of travel benefits including access to a Visa Signature Concierge service 24 hours a day, no foreign transaction fees, car rental insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay and lost luggage reimbursement, travel accident insurance, emergency assistance and roadside dispatch.

The card offers car rental collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance, which can save you lots of money. Just use the card to book your auto rental and decline the CDW when picking up the car. Coverage is primary and will reimburse you for theft and collision damage on most rentals in the US and overseas.

If your trip is cancelled or interrupted by illness, bad weather or other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses including airfare, hotel stays and tours.

If your baggage is delayed for over six hours, Chase will reimburse you up to $100 a day for five days. There’s also up to $3,000 in coverage on the card If your luggage or a family member’s checked or carry-on luggage is damaged or lost,

There’s also up to $500,000 coverage if you use your card to pay for air, bus, train or cruise transport and there is an accident that causes death or dismemberment.

[Related: Read our guide on how to choose the right travel credit card for you.]

Final Thoughts

This is one of the best opportunities to get a huge stash of Ultimate Rewards points since many Chase cards that have traditionally offered them as a sign-up bonus, like the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards, are currently offering $200 cash sign-up bonuses.

While those cards are still great for earning Ultimate Rewards points because the Freedom card has rotating categories that offer 5x points each quarter, and the Unlimited version lets you earn 1.5x on all purchases, they don’t come near the value of the current 100,000-point bonus currently being offered for signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

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

United Economy Plus – Is it worth it? See how it compares

January 2, 2022 by Rosemarie Clancy

Many airlines have classes of service that bridge the gap between coach fares and the much more expensive business and first class seats. In some cases there are a few types of fares that usually come with names like comfort and premium attached to them.

These fares are different from the basic fares that sprung up to compete with low-cost carriers. With those fares, which are generally the lowest offered on any route, you can’t pick a seat in advance and you need to pay extra for checked bags. You will also lose your money if you miss or cancel the flight.

But not everyone is looking for bargain basement fares. Some people just need a little extra legroom over what traditional economy seats offer, and they are willing to pay extra to avoid being cramped during their flight.

There are also some other fares that add extras. But it’s not always clear what you are getting for the extra price paid because many airlines use similar sounding names. There are also bundles that add extras to your flight experience which can make it all very confusing, and even subscriptions that allow you to book an Economy Plus fare class on all of your flights.

In this article we’ll take a look at United’s Economy Plus fares and outline what they include compared to other fare types offered by the carrier. We’ll also go over how much extra it might cost and whether it is worth it.

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

What is United Economy Plus?

Economy Plus was first introduced in 1999, so it has been around for over 20 years. The main thing you get with an Economy Plus fare on United is some extra space to stretch your legs. These seats come with up to six inches of extra legroom, and they may be wider or have extra recline though that varies by aircraft. You can check for specifics on a site like seatguru.com. They are also closer to the front of the economy cabin, which allows you to deplane sooner.

This type of fare is available on all United and most United Express flights, but not on Star Alliance partner flights. Don’t get it confused with Preferred Seating on the carrier. Those seats are actually located just behind the Economy Plus seats, but the preferred seat itself is the same as the one you get with a regular economy fare and even a basic economy fare. Preferred seats cost from $9 per flight to upgrade from Economy tickets and from $16 per flight for Basic Economy ticket holders.

Economy Plus vs Premium Plus

United also has a new class of service called Premium Plus. It is considered a premium economy experience, but is only available on select domestic flights including premium transcontinental routes and select long-haul international flights, as well as flights to Hawaii.

This level of service includes a better seat than Economy Plus. Premium Plus seats are made of plush materials and include adjustable foot and leg rests, and include a dedicated power outlet and USB charger in the arm rest.

You also get a larger entertainment screen and an upgraded dining experience complete with custom dinnerware, flatware and a cloth napkin. Complimentary alcoholic beverages are also included with this fare where it is available.

What is the Cost to Upgrade to Economy Plus?

You can book an Economy Plus fare when you book your flight, or you can choose to upgrade before your flight through the website, in the app or by calling customer service before your flight or at check-in online or at the airport if available.

There are two basic ways to purchase United Economy Plus. You can buy it for a single flight, or you can get a subscription for the year and upgrade every time you fly on United as long as the fare purchased is not Basic Economy. The cost to upgrade to Economy Plus from Economy ranges for a single flight ranges from $9 to $299 per person.

An annual Economy Plus subscription costs from $499 to $1,099. It can be purchased by region, and it can be bought for multiple passengers if they are traveling on the same itinerary. You can also upgrade to a different region or add passengers to an annual subscription in your account, but that will automatically extend the subscription for another year and any value on your existing subscription will be applied to the new price.

Another way to get Economy Plus seating is by bundling your trip. Bundles include a custom combination of Economy Plus seating, checked bags, Premier Access, a United Club trip pass, extra award miles, a seat assignment if you booked a Basic Economy fare and/or a Wi-Fi pass for the day. You can buy a bundle when you book your flight.

You can also switch from one Economy Plus seat to another prior to flying if the cost is the same as your original seat, but if it costs more than the original price will be refunded and the new seat must be purchased in full.

For United MileageClub members

If you are a MileagePlus Premier Platinum member, you can request access to Economy Plus seats for yourself and up to eight passengers traveling with you. Premier Gold members get advance access for themselves and one companion, and Premier Silver members can request the upgrade at check-in. If the fare you booked is a Basic Economy ticket, you have to wait until check-in to upgrade and pay the appropriate fee.

If you purchased the upgrade and the airline is unable to accommodate you in Economy Plus, the extra charge will be refunded. You can also purchase a subscription for someone else. If you are the recipient of a Comfort Plus subscription you can activate it here.

If you get upgraded because of your status and no longer need Economy Plus seating, it will be automatically refunded unless the upgrade is a complimentary Premier upgrade or if you are given a seat that is of similar or greater value because of an aircraft change.

Premium Cabins

You can purchase a Basic Economy, Economy and Economy Plus on just about any United flight, but the choice of premium cabins has a lot to do with the destination you are flying to. Depending on where you are headed, there are different upgraded options beyond Economy Plus including Business Class, Polaris Business Class and First Class.

If you’re flying on a transcon flight between Boston or New York/Newark and Los Angeles or San Francisco, you have two upgraded options. You can choose to fly in Economy Plus or Business Class.

Economy Plus vs Business Class

You can book business class on United for flights between the US and select cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Business class tickets come with Premier Access, which will get you through airport security and check-in quicker, and you’ll board earlier.

Flying business class on United will cost a lot more than upgrading to Comfort Plus. Ticket prices for business class on international flights vary based on a number of factors, but generally cost between $3,000 and $5,000. A flight from New York to London in United Business Class runs around $4,000 for example.

Polaris Business Class

Premium cabins vary by aircraft, but you can book the United Polaris business class product on select long-haul international routes. This is the airline’s most premium product which includes a suite-like space with ergonomically designed seats that lie flat and privacy dividers.

You can customize the recline on these seats, and for entertainment you have a 16-inch HD monitor and a full library of movies and shows to watch. You also get noise-reducing headphones and elevated service.

You also get access to the United Polaris lounge before you board if it is available in the airport. Polaris lounges can be found at Chicago O’Hare, Houston Intercontinental, Washington Dulles, New York/Newark, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Most were closed during the pandemic, but have reopened. The two California are expected to reopen in 2022. At the lounge you can take a shower and get a multi-course meal to eat before you board so you can sleep while flying.

On board the flight you get restaurant-quality meals created in partnership with the Trotter Project and complimentary alcoholic beverages. Or you can slip into 100% cotton pajamas and enjoy Saks Fifth Avenue bedding including a mattress cushion, cooling gel pillow, duvet and throw.

Economy Plus vs First Class

United First will also get you extra space in its first class seats. These fares are available on flights throughout North America and Alaska and Hawaii. In addition to the added comfort of a first class seat in the front of the plane, you also get Premier Access. First class tickets on United also come with two free checked bags and priority handling of those bags.

These spacious leather seats have a six-way adjustable headrest and a padded seat cushion. They also have an in-arm slot for your tablet or laptop as well as a personal water bottle console and double pockets on the back of the seat.

The seats also come with a flip-up mobile device holder and charger, and a granite-topped table in the center of the console, which frees up the tray table for working or eating. You also get United Private Screening, which includes on-demand entertainment from DirectTV, and you can stream entertainment to your personal device. Youdo have to pay extra for United Wi-Fi though where available.

You’ll also get upgraded food and dining choices which vary depending on the length of the flight. They include a full meal with two entree choices, premium snacks, fresh fruit and Illy coffee. Alcoholic beverages are also included in the fare including On the Rocks Cocktails and craft beer selections.

Food and Beverages on United Comfort Plus

The meals and drinks served to Economy Plus passengers are the same as you would get in the rest of the main cabin. Flights that are less than two hours and 20 minutes don’t have any meal service or snacks, so bring your own or eat before you board.

If the flight is longer than that or you are flying on a premium transcontinental flight in United Economy, you’ll receive a pack with two snacks and an 8.5 ounce bottle of water. Passengers on international flights receive a salad, entree, snack and a cup of ice cream if available, and complimentary beer, wine, soft drinks and tea/coffee.

Snacks include chookies, pretzels or snack mix. You can also choose to purchase Choice Menu Bistro meals on select flights or Choice Menu Snack boxes.

Non-alcoholic beverages are complimentary for all passengers, but if the flight is less than an hour you will need to request them. Wine and beer are only complimentary for United Economy passengers on premium transcontinental flights and long-haul international flights, but alcoholic beverages including beer, wine and spirits are available for purchase on other flights.

Baggage Allowances

With Economy Plus you also get the same allowance for bags as coach passengers. You are allowed to bring a carry-on bag and a personal item for no charge. The maximum size for the bag is 9 inches x 14 inches x 22 inches including the handles and wheels. Personal items like a shoulder bag, backpack or laptop must be smaller than 9 inches x 10 inches x 17 inches.

If you have to check an item at the gate, the first checked bag costs $35, a second one is $45 and a third one is $150. If you purchased a basic economy fare, there is also a $25 charge to check the bag at the gate.

There is a fee of $200 if the bag is oversized, which is more than 62 linear inches. Bags that weigh more than 50 pounds (but under 70 pounds) will cost from $100 to $200 each depending on the cabin, status level and itinerary. If the bag weighs between 70 and 100 pounds, it can cost up to $400 per bag.

If you have Gold elite status with the carrier, you are allowed two complimentary checked bags at 70 pounds each for domestic destinations and up to three checked bags to select international markets.

Is Economy Plus Worth it?

That depends on how much the upgrade costs and how much you need the extra legroom. United Economy Plus will definitely give you more room, especially on transcontinental or international flights. But it may not be worth it to upgrade on shorter domestic flights unless you need the extra space.

Also, if boarding or getting off the plane sooner is important to you, an Economy Plus ticket will get you in an earlier boarding group ahead of Economy and Basic Economy passengers. And you’ll be closer to the front of the plane when it’s time to deplane.

You also earn extra Premier qualifying points in the United MileagePlus frequent flyer program for the purchase of a one-time or annual subscription to Economy Plus, which will help you achieve elite status faster. So if you’re chasing a higher status tier, this will help you attain that goal and the cost may be worth it to you.

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

Rosemarie Clancy

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