Top Credit Card Combinations for 2024

This series on credit cards, travel points and miles, and budgeting for adventures is presented in collaboration with The Points Guy.

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Credit cards can be a powerful asset in achieving financial objectives and unlocking exciting travel possibilities through rewards programs. While numerous exceptional travel rewards cards can help you get the most out of your spending, most consumers will benefit from carrying at least two cards. Naturally, many of the top cards come with annual fees, so the aim is to reduce your overall costs. The key? Selecting a card combination that aligns with your individual needs.

With the right card pair, you can cut travel costs, enjoy exclusive perks, and maximize rewards on every dollar spent. If you’re new to travel points and airline miles, the options can seem daunting. To assist you in navigating these choices, we've created a guide to selecting the ideal credit card combinations based on your spending habits and rewards aspirations. Here’s all you need to know to craft your perfect credit card duo:

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Key Considerations for Credit Card Combinations

When assembling a credit card combination, it’s crucial to find the right balance. Seek cards that enhance each other through their benefits, annual fees, and rewards rates. Choose cards that reward different aspects of your spending to fully optimize your rewards potential. If one card provides valuable travel benefits, the other should offer rewards that enhance your daily life. If one card has a high annual fee, the other should ideally be low or fee-free. Aim to utilize premium benefits without exceeding your budget.

The ideal credit card combination should deliver cohesive rewards and benefits that cater to various aspects of your lifestyle. Whether it's earning higher rewards on travel or gaining cash back on daily expenditures, the objective is to foster a complementary relationship between cards while avoiding redundancy and high annual fees. Seek this balance to enhance your overall credit card strategy.

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Best for Chase Ultimate Rewards: Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® Cards

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Freedom Unlimited credit cards enable you to truly maximize every dollar spent, whether for travel or daily expenses. The Sapphire Reserve shines as a travel rewards card with an outstanding loyalty program, premium travel perks, and enhanced rewards on travel purchases. For a $550 annual fee, cardholders benefit from a $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass and Sapphire Lounge access, fee credits for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, waived foreign transaction fees, and valuable travel protections.

This card earns up to 10 points per dollar on Chase dining and travel purchases, along with 3 points per dollar on restaurants, eligible delivery services, and travel outside of Chase Travel℠. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar. While the Sapphire Reserve excels in travel, it lacks strong categories for everyday spending, making the Chase Freedom Unlimited a perfect complement.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program allowing redemption for cash back, travel, gift cards, and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, and 1.5% on all other purchases.

The true strength of this card combination lies in your ability to convert cash-back rewards into Ultimate Rewards points. You can then transfer points to 14 airline and hotel partners for even greater value. With no annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited is an excellent way to enhance your rewards potential.

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Best for Capital One Rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card form an impressive pair for those seeking superior rewards on key spending categories and access to one of the most versatile rewards currencies. Currently, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers an enticing opportunity to earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. The card earns 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases.

The card offers travel benefits such as travel accident insurance and access to Capital One and Plaza Premium lounges (valid until 1/1/2025). With waived foreign transaction fees, it’s a superb option for international travel, and its high earning rates are beneficial for most spending. You can enhance your rewards strategy even more by adding a Capital One SavorOne Rewards card to your collection (see rates & fees).

This card has no annual fee and earns 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Cardholders receive 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery purchases. All other purchases earn 1% cash back. With dining, streaming, and groceries being significant expenses, the Capital One SavorOne card can help you maximize rewards on these ongoing costs. Additionally, there’s a $200 cash-back bonus after spending $500 within the first three months of account opening.

Cardholders enjoy practical benefits like 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment bookings and a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months.

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Best for Citi ThankYou Points: Citi Premier® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card

The Citi Premier Card and Citi Double Cash Card form an excellent duo for those aiming to earn valuable Citi ThankYou points. The Citi Premier provides generous 3X rewards on popular spending categories, such as dining, groceries, gas, air travel, and hotels. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar, but you can direct that spending to the Citi Double Cash Card, which offers 2% cash back on all purchases (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay).

Cashback earned from the Citi Double Cash can be converted to Citi ThankYou points and transferred to 18 airline and hotel partners. The Citi Premier has a $95 annual fee, while the Citi Double Cash has none, making this combination an excellent way to maximize your spending rewards.

Additionally, the Citi Premier provides an annual $100 hotel credit on bookings of $500 or more through the ThankYou travel site. Although the Citi Double Cash Card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases made abroad, the Citi Premier waives this fee. Overall, these two cards complement each other well with their unique benefits and reward systems.

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Best for Renters: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and Bilt Mastercard®

The Wells Fargo Autograph Card and Bilt Mastercard are ideal for renters looking to maximize their largest expenses. The Bilt Mastercard uniquely allows fee-free rewards on rent payments (up to 100,000 points each year). Cardholders earn 3 points per dollar on dining, 2X points on travel, and 1X on all other purchases. Additionally, on the first day of the month, all spending (excluding rent) earns double rewards, enhancing its appeal.

With features like trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay protection, no foreign transaction fees, and primary rental car insurance, this is a superb no-annual-fee travel card. Points can also be transferred to 15 airline and hotel partners, including World of Hyatt, United MileagePlus, and other popular programs.

The Wells Fargo Autograph is an excellent complement to the Bilt Mastercard, addressing a few shortcomings. Notably, the Bilt card lacks a welcome bonus, whereas the Autograph card offers 30,000 bonus points (after spending $300) when you spend $1,500 in the first three months. It also earns a generous 3 points per dollar on dining, travel, gas, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans. Together, these two no-annual-fee cards deliver substantial travel perks and enhanced rewards.

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Best for All Spending: American Express® Gold Card and Amex Blue Business® Plus Credit Card

If you want to boost your Amex Membership Rewards without incurring two annual fees, the American Express Gold Card* and Blue Business® Plus Credit Card* make a fantastic combination. The Amex Gold Card earns 4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants globally (on up to $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1 point per dollar thereafter) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar thereafter). Additionally, it earns 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly or through Amex Travel, and 1X on all other purchases.

The Blue Business Plus is a fantastic option for all other purchases, earning 2 points per dollar on up to $50,000 each year (then 1X after that). With no annual fee, it also offers a welcome bonus of 15,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months of opening the account.

While the Blue Business Plus incurs a 2.7% foreign transaction fee (see rates & fees), the Amex Gold Card does not. In addition to higher rewards, this card pairing provides access to valuable Amex perks like the Amex Offers program, featuring discounts and bonus points at popular retailers.

The Amex Gold Card includes a $10 monthly Uber Cash credit and a $10 monthly dining credit valid at select restaurants, up to $100 Resy Credit for dining at U.S. Resy restaurants or other eligible Resy purchases (up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually; enrollment required), and an $84 Dunkin' Credit, allowing you to earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after enrolling and paying at Dunkin' locations with the American Express® Gold Card. These recurring credits help mitigate the card’s $325 annual fee (see rates & fees). Note that you must have the latest version of the Uber App, and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a payment method in your Uber account; the Amex benefit is only usable in the United States.

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Best for Small Businesses: Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Unlimited are excellent companions for business expenses. The Ink Business Preferred earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards, while the Ink Unlimited provides cashback that can be converted to points. Both cards offer elevated rewards, enabling small businesses to maximize every dollar spent without hefty annual fees.

The Ink Business Preferred starts with one of the highest welcome bonuses available, offering 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening an account. This equates to $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Meanwhile, the Ink Business Unlimited provides $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 in the first three months. These points can be converted to 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points, and whether you redeem cash or points, these rewards can reduce your travel costs.

In addition to the welcome bonuses, the ongoing rewards from these cards work well together. The Ink Business Preferred earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent annually in combined purchases on shipping, advertising, internet, cable, phone services, and travel. For all other purchases, the Ink Business Unlimited earns 1.5% cash back with no annual fee.

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Best for Cash Back: Amex Blue Cash Preferred® Card and Discover It Miles Card

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express* and Discover It Miles Card are ideal for those looking to maximize cash back rewards. The Blue Cash Preferred offers a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, increasing to $95 thereafter. It earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 annually) and on streaming services, 3% cash back on transit and U.S. gas stations, and 1% on all other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars, which can be redeemed as a statement credit or during checkout on Amazon.com. The Discover It Miles Card provides a solid option for all spending outside these bonus categories, offering a straightforward 1.5 miles per dollar spent.

Although Discover’s Rewards program refers to “miles,” they essentially convert to 1.5% cash back. Additionally, Discover doubles all rewards earned in the first year, effectively granting you 3% cash back on every purchase, with no annual fee. You can also use this card internationally without incurring the 2.7% foreign transaction fee charged by the Amex Blue Cash Preferred.

While the Discover It Miles Card lacks a welcome bonus, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred provides $250 cash back after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of opening your account. By combining the Amex Blue Cash Preferred and Discover It Miles Card, you reap the benefits of a welcome bonus, high category rewards, substantial returns on all other purchases, and waived foreign transaction fees.

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Key Takeaway

Investing time in selecting the ideal credit card combination can lead to savings on annual fees and enhance your rewards potential. By creating a credit card lineup that offers balanced benefits within your budget, you can make the most of every dollar spent while enjoying perks that align with your personal objectives. The suggested pairings serve as a great foundation to help you find the combinations that suit your lifestyle and spending patterns best.

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* Eligibility and benefit levels may vary by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. For further details, please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

Editorial note: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed or endorsed by any of these entities.