If you don't spend enough on travel and dining to make the annual fee worth it or want a card that offers better
general spending rewards, you might want to consider a different credit card.
Our top cards like the Barclays Arrival Plus ® World Elite Mastercard ®, Venture Rewards and Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card have
general spending rewards rates that meet this requirement.
The downside is that the Chase Freedom's
general spending rewards are a bit more unpredictable.
If you don't spend enough on travel and dining to make the annual fee worth it or want a card that offers better
general spending rewards, you might want to consider a different credit card.
Not exact matches
The Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card doesn't perform quite as well in the
general rewards category, only offering 1 point for every dollar
spent.
The Bank of America Travel
Rewards credit card, on the other hand, is the better
general spending card, for those consumers with more varied
spending.
Between the high
rewards rate on
general spending, and the ability to transfer
rewards points to airline miles, there is a lot of good value here.
The major downside is that the
rewards program of the Expedia ® + Card can only be optimized under certain scenarios, and is not a card we'd recommend for everyday
spending or
general consumers.
If you're choosing between the cards, the Arrival is probably a better bet as a
general spending card if you have a broad array of expenses, while Sapphire Preferred is a more
rewarding card for the travel focused and will leverage Ultimate
Rewards to its maximum.
Which has led me to be a big party - pooping buzz kill on social media, in
general, and the hours
spent working it versus the
reward seen from the work.
It has a fairly low
rewards rate of 1.3 % on
general spending, and a great 2.6 % rate on purchases at Amextravel.com.
With one point on
general purchases and double points on Lufthansa - related
spending, the card's
rewards structure comes in around the middle of the pack.
And unlike
general travel cards, you can
spend your
rewards on United flights only.
Airline
rewards cardholders usually accumulate
reward miles at a rate of 1 mile per $ 1 in
general spending categories, and up to 2.5 miles per $ 1 on specialized categories (which are often purchases with the card's affiliated airline).
Average
spending rewards were a lower than average 1.55 % based on
general spending, but could range anywhere from an average minimum
rewards rate of 0.6 % to an average
rewards rate of 2.5 % when credit card
spending is maximized.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card doesn't perform quite as well in the
general rewards category, only offering 1 point for every dollar
spent.
Between the high
rewards rate on
general spending, and the ability to transfer
rewards points to airline miles, there is a lot of good value here.
Well, if you earned those 2,350 points through
general purposes it will translate to a 1 %
rewards rate as follows: In order to earn 2,350 Membership Rewards Points ® at a rate of 1 point per $ 1, you must spend $
rewards rate as follows: In order to earn 2,350 Membership
Rewards Points ® at a rate of 1 point per $ 1, you must spend $
Rewards Points ® at a rate of 1 point per $ 1, you must
spend $ 2,350.
If your
spending in these categories is limited compared to other places,
general travel cards like the Barclays Arrival Plus ® World Elite Mastercard ® or the Capital One ® Venture ®
Rewards Credit Card will offer nearly twice as much in overall r
Rewards Credit Card will offer nearly twice as much in overall
rewardsrewards.
The Bank of America Travel
Rewards credit card, on the other hand, is the better
general spending card, for those consumers with more varied
spending.
The Discover It is a great
general purchase cash back
rewards credit card, but some cardholders might find other cards to be better options, whether because of higher cash back percentages, fewer limits on
rewards spending, better introductory offers, or more widespread acceptance.
With
general - purpose travel cards, you can redeem your miles for all manner of travel through a portal that monitors your
rewards and travel
spending.
While it doesn't offer you a complimentary anniversary night like the Marriott
Rewards ® Premier Credit Card, the Starwood Preferred Guest ® Credit Card from American Express offers superior rewards on all your spending — making it a great general purpose credi
Rewards ® Premier Credit Card, the Starwood Preferred Guest ® Credit Card from American Express offers superior
rewards on all your spending — making it a great general purpose credi
rewards on all your
spending — making it a great
general purpose credit card.
For example, if your other available card for
general spending earns 2 %, such as the Citi ® Double Cash Card or the Fidelity ®
Rewards Visa Signature ® Card, then you'd need to
spend $ 11,800 (i.e. $ 59 / 0.005) to break even on the annual fee and any
spending beyond that threshold would tip the scales in favor of the Alliant Cashback Visa ® Signature.
At the same time, you might also have a
general travel
rewards card that you use for most of your
spending.
General cash back
rewards: These credit cards will offer up to 2 % on every purchase, meaning you are getting the most cash back no matter what you
spend your money on.
As far as travel
rewards earned from
general spending, however, this card is unimpressive.
At this
spending range, the Barclays Arrival Plus ® World Elite Mastercard ® outperforms both the Premier
Rewards Gold Card from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card when it comes to general spending — it provides the most spending flexibility for the greatest travel r
Rewards Gold Card from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card when it comes to
general spending — it provides the most
spending flexibility for the greatest travel
rewardsrewards.
Consumers earn 1 % back with the Korean Air Visa Signature card when
spending in other categories, so someone who uses the credit card to charge both Korean Air tickets and
general household expenditures will get a weighted average of the two
rewards rate.
Instead, we recommend supplementing the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card with a good cash back credit card, such as the Citi Double Cash or the Chase Freedom, to earn higher than average
rewards for
general everyday
spending.
There is simply more opportunity for
rewards on
general household
spending made with the Chase Sapphire Preferred over the SKYPASS Visa Signature for the typical consumer.
If you're choosing between the cards, the Arrival is probably a better bet as a
general spending card if you have a broad array of expenses, while Sapphire Preferred is a more
rewarding card for the travel focused and will leverage Ultimate
Rewards to its maximum.
With the plus giving better
rewards on the
general spending categories in exchange for the annual fee, it's really just a matter of math.
«The best travel
rewards card for
general spending.
We will profile how the cards differ in greater detail, but the chart below will give you a
general idea of how the
rewards rates on them differ with varying levels of
spending.
On the
spending rewards front, it has the standard affiliated card 1x / 2x structure with 1 AAdvantage Mile on
general spending and 2 AAdvantage Miles on US Airways or American Airlines - related
spending.
The card awards two membership
rewards points for every dollar
spent on travel booked through amextravel.com and one point for every dollar
spent on
general purchases.
These stores mostly feature items for the home, clothing and shoes so if you don't
spend a lot on those kinds of things, a
general rewards credit card may serve you better.
For
general spending the card will net you 1 % in
rewards and 2 % when used in the bonus categories.
If you
spend more than this, however, a
general travel
rewards credit card, like the Barclays Arrival Plus ® World Elite Mastercard ®](#barclaycard - arrival - plus), may be better.
General 2 % cash back may not be the most optimal card if you
spend more on special categories (or use the card for such purposes): in that case, the 3 % from Chase or the 5 % from Discover may go a longer way for you as a
rewards card.
You can enter your
general spending habits into our tool below to help determine which credit cards will provide you with the highest
rewards.
If you want better value on
general everyday
spending we recommend going with a
general travel
rewards card.
Despite this potential subsidy,
general spending on other top credit cards would have been more
rewarding.
The major downside is that the
rewards program of the Expedia ® + Card can only be optimized under certain scenarios, and is not a card we'd recommend for everyday
spending or
general consumers.
With the Reserves's 10 points per dollar
spent on HHonor properties, this equates to a 5 %
rewards rate on average significantly higher than you can get with a
general rewards credit card.
For more
general spending, a flat - rate unlimited
rewards card may be best.
This is not the best earning scheme out there — there are many cards on the market that enable you to build up bonus points on special categories of
spending, and even a few cards that offer a higher
general rewards rate.
Also, be sure to have a good
general rewards card that earns at least 1.5 percent on all purchases for all
spending that does not fall into a bonus category.
As a
general rule, the Marriott card is more
rewarding for everyday
spend than the SPG card.