Welcome to the Points Pro, where I answer your credit cards and travel rewards questions each week. If you have a question you'd like answered, you can submit it here.
I already have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, United Quest℠ Card, United Gateway℠ Card, United℠ Explorer Card and two United℠ Business Cards. I have excellent credit. What card can I qualify for that offers bonus points?
This question has been edited for clarity.
Chase issues all of the cards Judy listed. She may want to continue opening only Chase cards, and with an excellent credit score, that may be possible. However, banks limit the total credit they will extend to you across multiple cards.
That may not be an issue in this situation, and in the past, Chase has moved credit limits from existing cards to allow me to open a new card. Let's look at Chase cards and alternate options that could make sense for Judy and review the current card portfolio to ensure there aren't cards that can be downsized.
What card should I get next?
Which of my current benefits are redundant?
Before I apply for a new card, I like to review the cards I currently have. Right now Judy has six rewards credit cards, and it costs $895 every year to keep all of the following:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): $95 annual fee
- United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees): $0 intro annual fee for the first year; after that, the annual fee is $150
- United Quest℠ Card: $350 annual fee
- United℠ Business Card: $150 annual fee per card ($300 total for two cards)
- United Gateway℠ Card: No annual fee
It could make sense to keep all of these cards, but aside from the numbers, you have to enjoy the process of maximizing the benefits. If you track which perks you've used, when benefits expire or renew and which card is best for each category of purchases, then it's possible to earn more than you pay in annual fees.
Even then, it's not free because there is a time commitment. It's beneficial to look at the totality of the cards' benefits because certain overlapping perks provide no additional value. Four of Judy's United credit cards offer free checked bags on eligible flights when you pay with the card (the United Quest offers a first and second free checked bag), and that savings doesn't stack. Other perks don't offer incremental value, such as the United award flight discount, priority boarding and United inflight and United Club discounts on food and beverage purchases.
That doesn't mean this isn't the right mix of cards for Judy. But it's always worth reviewing your card expenses regularly, as benefits change and life priorities shift. The Sapphire Preferred has excellent travel protections, and its rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio to United.
Also, statement credits and elite status points (Premier Qualifying Points or PQP) you earn from spending on certain United cards stack. For example, each United card that earns PQP has an annual cap, but you can earn up to the yearly PQP limit from multiple cards. Holding more than one United card can help you earn elite status if you spend heavily on the cards and fly enough for elite status perks to pay off.
What do you want your points to do for you?
When choosing your next credit card, a big part of the decision is which rewards you want to earn. In Judy's situation, I'll assume that rewards you can use for United Airlines flights are a priority. Also, the airport lounge access you get with premium credit cards doesn't seem to be essential, so cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and Sapphire Reserve for BusinessSM (see rates and fees) may not make sense.
Since Judy qualifies for business credit cards, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (see rates and fees) or Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (see rates and fees) are excellent options. Both have no annual fees and feature limited-time welcome bonuses worth $1,000 cash back.
While these are technically cash-back cards, you earn the cash back as Ultimate Rewards points and combine the points with cards like the Sapphire Preferred. That gives Judy the option to transfer these rewards to United Airlines.
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a flat-rate cash-back card with a strong intro-APR offer for purchases.
- Intro APR for purchases
- Valuable welcome bonus
- No annual fee
- You can't transfer rewards to travel partners without pairing it with another Chase card
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn $1,000 bonus cash back after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 4 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
- No Annual Fee
- Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Earn rewards faster with employee cards at no additional cost. Set individual spending limits for greater control.
- Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Earn 5% total cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee cash-back business card that's especially rewarding at office supply stores and gas stations.
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Intro APR for purchases
- No annual fee
- Bonus spending categories have annual limits
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn $1,000 when you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first four months after account opening
- Earn 5% cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year on the first $25,000 in combined spend
- Earn 2% cash back on dining and gas each account anniversary year on the first $25,000 spent in combined spend.
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
- Earn 5% total cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- As a Chase cardmember, you'll be automatically checked for a credit line increase at least every 6 months.
- Complimentary three-month lnstacart+ membership.
- No Annual Fee
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
Bilt Points (see terms) transfer to United Airlines (1:1 ratio), so a card like the Bilt Palladium Card (see rates and fees) could make sense. It earns at least 2X Bilt Points on eligible everyday purchases, and you can earn 1X Bilt Points on eligible rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fees. Plus, Bilt's point accelerator feature allows you to redeem Bilt Cash (a separate Bilt benefit) to increase your return on purchases.
The Bilt Palladium Card earns 2X Bilt Points on everyday purchases, and your choice of up to 1.25X on rent and mortgage payments
- Earns ultra-valuable flexible rewards
- Simple flat-rate rewards earning
- Can earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments
- Additional steps for no-fee rent payments
- High annual fee
- Bilt Cash redemptions are complicated
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn up to 1.25X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 3 months + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.
- Earn additional points through Bilt Neighborhood Benefits™ when you use your card at Bilt's network of 50,000+ merchant partners.
Balance transfer fee
Greater of 5% or $5
The Bilt Palladium has a smaller welcome bonus of 50,000 Bilt Points and Bilt Gold Status after spending $4,000 in the first 90 days, plus $300 Bilt Cash, and it has a $495 annual fee (see rates and fees). Bilt is a rewarding but complicated program, but if Judy is maxed out on Chase cards, it may synergize well with her current cards. But anyone in a similar situation who doesn't want to commit to an extreme deep dive on credit card rewards will likely prefer one of the Ink Business cards, which are more straightforward.
The CNBC Select Recommends newsletter delivers practical money tips each week along with expert-picked financial product recommendations. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X to stay up to date.
Information about the United Quest℠ Card, United℠ Business Card, United Gateway℠ Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
