However, it lacks a sign - up bonus and is missing out on key travel features — such as no foreign transaction fee — that can be found on
premium rewards cards as well as some no - annual - fee cards.
Issuers up the ante on
premium rewards cards As competition for new cardholders intensifies, credit card issuers are sweetening their rewards packages and offering unprecedented perks to cardholders willing to pay a sizable annual fee.
Not exact matches
While there are benefits to paying with a credit
card — such
as earning
rewards and building credit — they do not account for the enormous
premium that consumers seem willing to pay.
As we discussed above, you must have at least 1
premium Ultimate
Rewards card to convert the cash - back you earn from
cards with no annual fee to points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners.
The Chase Freedom earns valuable Chase Ultimate
Rewards ® Points that can be transferred to
premium Chase
cards such
as the Chase Sapphire ® Reserve where they are worth 50 % more when redeemed for travel on the Ultimate
Rewards ® travel center.
Additionally, the extra Membership
Rewards points you earn by booking through Amex Travel (especially with a
rewarding Amex
card) can be valuable,
as long
as you aren't paying too big of a
premium through Amex Travel.
As a
premium card, the Marriott
Rewards ® Premier credit
card also grants you a huge list of complimentary services and benefits.
Earn AIR MILES ®
reward miles When you pay your
premiums monthly by credit
card or pre-authorized debit, you have the opportunity to collect AIR MILES ®
reward miles every year
as a CoverMe Guaranteed Issue Life policyholder.
But the clear losers would be the many
card holders who are less adept at such
card - play, or are less able to qualify or afford the credit
cards, such
as cash - back
cards and
premium rewards cards, that offer the best returns.
2017 may become known
as the year of the
premium credit
card, given that U.S. Bank, UBS and Bank of America sought the same success with the Altitude Reserve, Visa Infinite, and
Premium Rewards cards — respectively — that Chase found last year with its Sapphire Reserve
card.
There are a number of travel credit
cards that offer
premium rewards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card ($ 450 annual fee), the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card ($ 99 annual fee) and the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express ($ 95 annual fee after the first
rewards, such
as the Chase Sapphire Reserve
Card ($ 450 annual fee), the Southwest Rapid
Rewards Premier Card ($ 99 annual fee) and the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express ($ 95 annual fee after the first
Rewards Premier
Card ($ 99 annual fee) and the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit
Card from American Express ($ 95 annual fee after the first year).
The Premier
Rewards Gold card from American Express is a premium Membership Rewards card and one of the best travel rewards cards for a seasoned traveler, but it probably won't appeal as much to the general public due to a high annu
Rewards Gold
card from American Express is a
premium Membership
Rewards card and one of the best travel rewards cards for a seasoned traveler, but it probably won't appeal as much to the general public due to a high annu
Rewards card and one of the best travel
rewards cards for a seasoned traveler, but it probably won't appeal as much to the general public due to a high annu
rewards cards for a seasoned traveler, but it probably won't appeal
as much to the general public due to a high annual fee.
The advantage of low interest usually comes at the cost of forfeiting the extra features that a
premium or platinum
card may offer, such
as a
rewards program, complimentary rental car insurance or other extra perks.
Earn AIR MILES ®
reward miles When you pay your
premiums monthly by credit
card or pre-authorized debit, you have the opportunity to collect AIR MILES ®
reward miles every year
as a FollowMe Life policyholder.
If you also own a Chase
premium credit
card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Ultimate Rewards Points earned on your Chase Freedom Unlimited ® become even more valuable when transferred to the premium card for redempt
card such
as the Chase Sapphire Preferred ®
Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Ultimate Rewards Points earned on your Chase Freedom Unlimited ® become even more valuable when transferred to the premium card for redempt
Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Ultimate
Rewards Points earned on your Chase Freedom Unlimited ® become even more valuable when transferred to the
premium card for redempt
card for redemption.
While Chase markets the Freedom
card as a cashback
card, you can get more value from your points if you pair it with a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card, such
as the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve.
In most cases, the
premium card offers higher
reward levels
as well
as bigger incentives (for their first purchases, reaching spending thresholds, or for anniversaries).
You can only do this if you also have a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card, such
as the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or the Ink Plus Business
card.
The Ritz - Carlton
Rewards ® Credit
Card comes as a premium credit card with quite high of an annual fee, but its perks and benefits and large amount of additional services are worthwhile to obtain this c
Card comes
as a
premium credit
card with quite high of an annual fee, but its perks and benefits and large amount of additional services are worthwhile to obtain this c
card with quite high of an annual fee, but its perks and benefits and large amount of additional services are worthwhile to obtain this
cardcard.
As one of the
premium Ultimate
Rewards credit
cards, it also shares many of the travel features that make the Chase Sapphire Preferred a valuable
card.
The earning potential alone positions the Prestige
as one of the few
premium rewards card that could also double
as your everyday spending
card.
As you can see from values in the chart below, signing up for a
premium rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred) and redeeming your points for travel is generally the best way to go with your Ultimate Rewards
rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred) and redeeming your points for travel is generally the best way to go with your Ultimate
Rewards Rewards points.
However, we strongly recommend transferring your points to a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card such
as the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, with which you can get a much better value than 1 cent per point for travel redemptions.
Global Entry perk may make big - annual - fee
rewards card worthwhile — Some
premium cards have annual fees of $ 450 or more, but features such
as lounge access and Global Entry might make them palatable... (See Global Entry)
That cashback can be more valuable
as Ultimate
Rewards points, but you need to transfer to one of the
premium Ultimate
Rewards cards.
As we discussed above, you must have at least 1
premium Ultimate
Rewards card to convert the cash - back you earn from
cards with no annual fee to points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners.
You can only do this if you also have a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card, such
as the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or the Ink Plus Business
card.
While Chase markets the Freedom
card as a cashback
card, you can get more value from your points if you pair it with a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card, such
as the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve.
For Uber riders interested in a
premium credit
card with elite travel
rewards, there's a solution
as well.
One key point to estimating the value of your Ultimate
Rewards points: You get a 25 to 50 percent bonus on your Ultimate
Rewards points if you own a
premium card such
as the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve
card and redeem your points for travel through the Ultimate
Rewards portal.
All of Chase's
premium Ultimate
Rewards cards have annual fees; one even
as high
as $ 450.
Elite
rewards cards, which carry higher annual fees, also often include
premium perks, such
as airport lounge access, free Wi - Fi on flights and extensive travel insurance coverage.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited wins big over the other
card options above when you also hold a
premium Ultimate
Rewards card, such
as the Chase Sapphire Preferred
card.
With much fanfare, Chase recently released the Chase Sapphire Reserve ℠ a
premium travel
rewards credit
card, to serve
as the «flagship» credit
card of the Chase brand.
The Hilton Honors Aspire takes the crown
as the best
premium hotel
rewards credit
card.
For a
premium rewards card, the points are not the highest payouts among
reward credit
cards as many «no - frills»
rewards cards offer a one - point - per - dollar -
reward rate.
After all, a
premium travel
rewards card is only
as valuable
as its benefits, right?
Chase credit
cards with no annual fees such
as the Chase Freedom ®
Card also earn Ultimate Rewards points but those UR points must be transferred to a premium card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred to receive the greater value of 1.25 versus one cent per point if redeemed via the Chase Free
Card also earn Ultimate
Rewards points but those UR points must be transferred to a
premium card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred to receive the greater value of 1.25 versus one cent per point if redeemed via the Chase Free
card such
as the Chase Sapphire Preferred to receive the greater value of 1.25 versus one cent per point if redeemed via the Chase Freedom.
And if you pair this
card with one such
as the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus then these points become even more valuable
as they then become
premium Ultimate
Reward points that can be transferred to one of their many partners.
The earning potential alone positions the Prestige
as one of the few
premium rewards card that could also double
as your everyday spending
card.
As you can see, the main difference between the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are annual fee (with the Reserve's falling in line with other
premium travel
rewards cards), earning rates, sign - up bonus and extras like lounge access and travel credits.
In fact, it might rate
as the most overrated of the
premium rewards credit
cards.
With
premium cards —
as with any credit
card — the key to determining whether one is right for you comes down to assessing the value of the
rewards and perks and making sure you use them.
They include some no - fee
cards, like the Hilton HHonors
card, and many of the midlevel and
premium travel
cards, such
as the Premier
Rewards Gold
card and the Delta Reserve
card.
The
premium reward cards such
as the Chase Sapphire Reserve ℠ and Citi Prestige ® will cover the most expensive emergencies.
While several Chase
cards earn Ultimate
Rewards points, such as the Ink Cash and Freedom, the option to transfer those points into their Air and Hotel rewards program partners is only available if you have one of the «premium» Ultimate Rewards cards, such as the Business Pre
Rewards points, such
as the Ink Cash and Freedom, the option to transfer those points into their Air and Hotel
rewards program partners is only available if you have one of the «premium» Ultimate Rewards cards, such as the Business Pre
rewards program partners is only available if you have one of the «
premium» Ultimate
Rewards cards, such as the Business Pre
Rewards cards, such
as the Business Preferred.
Most of the time they're
premium travel
rewards cards, but there are some no annual fee credit
card options
as well.
That's because those airlines also partner with Chase Ultimate
Rewards and American Express Membership
Rewards, so getting an extra 50,000 from a Citi
card could help you supplement your earnings from other programs and help you meet your goal if you're trying to book a
premium cabin, such
as the coveted Singapore Suites.
[Offers contained within this article may no longer be available] The American Express ® Premier
Rewards Gold
Card is often regarded
as one of the top
premium travel credit
cards.
The American Express ® Premier
Rewards Gold
Card is often regarded
as one of the top
premium travel credit
cards.