3 Top Combinations of Personal Credit Cards that Maximize Travel Points

Since learning to travel on points and miles in 2020, I constantly want to maximize my credit cards’ features to earn more points in any way I can. I want to travel with my family, and points are how we make it all possible!

Certain credit card combinations work well together because of the different ways you can maximize your spending and earn more points. Consider using one of these credit card combos in your strategy to get you more of the points you love.

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1. The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Flex

Both these cards will help you maximize those Ultimate Rewards, allowing you to book your favorite transfer partners like World of Hyatt, Southwest, Marriott, and more! Here is why these two cards work so well together!

Benefits of this credit card duo:

• Points from Freedom Flex can be transferred to Sapphire to use for travel
• Freedom Flex has rotating 5x categories each quarter, and you can max out at 7,500 Ultimate Reward points each quarter in that category-Earning you an additional 30,000 points a year
• Low annual fee duo- Freedom Flex is a no annual fee card, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred is only $95 a year

Personal Take: I love this duo and use it in my point strategy. Why? Because I always need these points for my World of Hyatt stays. This is my primary way I use these points, and I am always looking at staying at a new resort or hotel by Hyatt. I can usually find one area in the 5x categories that easily fits our budget, so it’s not a hard spend. I can still work on a minimum spend while also working on this bonus category. Yes, they both take a spot in your personal 5/24 slots.

2. The Chase Sapphire Preferred and The Capital One Venture X

Maximize two different kinds of points while still getting tons of great benefits with these two cards! You don’t want to box yourself in with just getting one type of flexible point. By having different flexible points from different banks, you have more partners and varieties of ways to use your points. Some of the banks do have the same partners, allowing you to transfer points from both places to certain airlines.

Benefits of this credit card duo

• Earns two different kinds of flexible points, allowing you more options
• Venture X earns 2x on everything, so if you don’t have a bonus category on your Chase Sapphire, use the Venture X, getting you more points instead of just 1x
• Both have travel credits with their travel portals. Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with an annual $50 hotel credit. Venture X has an annual $300 travel credit that can be used for anything in their travel portal
• Venture X comes with Capital One lounge access and Priority Pass lounge access, giving you free food options while traveling. Great for families, you get 2 guests free! TIP: Add additional users to get more guests in for free if you have a bigger family
• Use Chase Sapphire Preferred as your dining out card to earn 3x on all dining out
• These cards can be harder to get approved for, so I got them both early on to ensure a higher approval rate

Personal Take: Another great combo I use on a regular basis! If I don’t know if my card has a bonus spend category, I always default to my Venture X card because I will always earn 2x. If the lounge isn’t your thing, then you can get the Venture with a lower annual fee but still the same 2x benefits. Our family saves so much money on the lounge opportunities while traveling. Food at airports is expensive! We are able to use the additional hotel and travel credits very easily during our travels. I use them more towards the beginning of the year so I don’t forget!

3. The American Express Platinum and the American Express Gold card

This power duo will help you maximize points while traveling and during your everyday life, making this a power combo! You will reap tons of travel benefits, giving you the luxury travel experience while also bringing in high points with your day-to-day expenses. Let’s look at how these two complement each other. The list is long because there are a lot of perks and benefits that come with these cards!

Benefits of this Credit Card Duo

• Together, both cards will give 2 large welcome bonuses, giving you lots of options to start booking free travel.
• Platinum will give you tons of luxury travel benefits
  • American Express Global Lounge Collection- over 1,400 worldwide lounges
  • Earn 5x points spent on flights when you purchase directly from an airline
  • $200 hotel credit through portal (requires 2-night minimum)
  • $200 Airline Fee Credit
  • $200 Uber Cash- Can use for Uber or Uber Eats (Gold also gives you $120)
  • $199 Clear Plus Credit, more waiting in long airport lines, also available at some stadiums and entertainment venues
  • Also Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Amex Gold and Platinum together earn you a lot of savings on your everyday living with different credits and point multipliers
  • $155 Walmart+ credit- save on delivery fees, shipping, and save you time grocery shopping in store (Platinum)
  • $240 digital entertainment credit- $20 each month on streaming like Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, etc (Platinum)
  • $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit (Platinum)
  • Highest points back for restaurants at 4x (Gold)
  • 4x on U.S. Supermarkets, giving you tons of points with every grocery run (Gold)
  • $320 in Uber cash between both Gold and Platinum
  • $84 a year Dunkin credit (Gold)
  • $120 Dining credit (Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Win.com, Five Guys) (Gold)
  • $100 Resy credit (Gold)

Personal Take: Great combo as long as these perks are used and fit into your lifestyle. The annual fee with these two cards is HIGH! My best advice is to make sure you utilize all the perks and get the value out of these cards to justify the fee. The best combination to use when wanting to earn more Membership Rewards (MR) with Amex. Don’t forget to link one of these cards to your Rakuten account for even more points when shopping online! You can learn more about Rakuten and American Express HERE.

Using any of these power combos can help you bring in lots of points for travel when combining the welcome offers and the ways you can multiply your spending, bringing in even more points.