Let’s simplify choosing your first travel card!

So you think you want to start earning points and miles…but you’re overwhelmed. You’ve probably heard people say, “Just start. You’ll learn as you go.”

And honestly? I agree.

Because as they say, time is money, but in this world, time is points.

We’re already spending money every single day. Groceries, gas, dining out, bills, Target runs, Amazon orders, the list never ends. Where I live, gas just hit $6 a gallon. If you drive a diesel, it’s closer to $8.

If I’m already spending that money, I better be getting something back for it and for me, that’s points toward my next trip.

You absolutely do not need to know everything about points and miles before you start. I certainly didn’t. But there are a few things I think you should have in place first.

Before You Start: A Quick Checklist

✓ Aim for a credit score of 700+.

You don’t need perfect credit, but I personally wouldn’t jump into travel credit cards with a low credit score. A score of 720+ will generally put you in a stronger position when applying for many popular travel cards.

✓ Don’t carry credit card debt month to month.

If you’re carrying credit card debt and paying interest, points and miles shouldn’t be the priority yet. The interest you’re paying will almost always outweigh the value of the points you’re earning.

✓ Be prepared to pay your statement balance in full every month.

This is a big one.

The goal isn’t to spend more money because you have a rewards card. It’s to put purchases you were already going to make on the right card, earn the points and then pay your statement balance in full.

✓ Make sure you’re at a good point in life to open a new card.

Applying for a credit card usually involves a hard inquiry and opening a new account, which can temporarily and minimally affect your credit score.

A small temporary change might not matter to you, but if you’re planning to apply for something major, like a mortgage, in the next few months, this probably isn’t the time I’d start opening travel cards.

If you check all those boxes, then I’d say it’s time for the fun part:

Choosing your first card.

Okay, But Which Card Do I Start With?

When I first started researching points and miles, I probably scoured a hundred different accounts looking for someone to just tell me:

THIS IS THE CARD YOU START WITH.

Just give me the answer. But that’s not really how it works.

After digging into it, I think there are two really solid beginner cards that accomplish two very different things:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Neither is automatically “better.”

The better card depends on how you spend your money, where you want to travel and how much effort you want to put into earning and redeeming your points.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture

Here’s the easiest way I can break it down…

Chase Sapphire Preferred Might Be Better for You If You…

• Spend a lot on dining, gas/EV charging, online groceries and select streaming
• Travel domestically frequently
• Like Chase transfer partners such as United, Southwest and Hyatt
• Want stronger travel protections, such as coverage for things like trip delays, baggage issues and rental cars
• Don’t mind paying attention to spending categories to maximize your points
• Think you may eventually want to add other Chase cards and build out a larger Chase points strategy

The Sapphire Preferred makes a lot of sense for someone who doesn’t mind learning a few bonus categories and wants access to some very recognizable travel partners.

If you’re looking at your future vacations and thinking Hyatt hotels, Southwest flights or United flights, that should absolutely factor into your decision.

Capital One Venture Might Be Better for You If You…

• Don’t want to think about multipliers and would rather earn 2X miles on essentially every purchase
• Have a lot of spending that doesn’t fit neatly into traditional credit card bonus categories
• Travel internationally frequently
• Like transfer partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Flying Blue, British Airways, Wyndham and Choice Hotels
• Want a really simple way to earn miles without constantly asking, “Wait…which card am I supposed to use for this?”
• Like having the option to use miles to cover eligible travel purchases, such as cruises or Disney park tickets, things that are typically harder to cover with points.

That last one is especially interesting for beginners.

One Reason I Really Like Venture for Beginners: Covering Travel Purchases

Capital One gives you the ability to use your miles toward eligible travel purchases you’ve charged to your card. Its commonly referred to as travel erase.

In very simple terms:

Buy travel → use miles to “erase“ it.

You’re generally not squeezing the maximum possible value out of your miles this way. Transferring miles to airline partners can potentially get you significantly more value.

But maximizing every single point isn’t always the goal.

Let’s say your dream trip is a cruise. Finding a magical airline or hotel transfer partner isn’t going to help much if what you actually want is to pay for that cruise.

Or maybe you’re going to Disneyland and have travel expenses that aren’t easily covered through traditional airline and hotel award programs.

Having the ability to use miles toward eligible travel purchases gives you another option. Sometimes simple and useful beats technically “maximized.”

So Which One Should You Choose?

Don’t choose your first travel card because someone on Instagram told you it’s the “best beginner card.”

Look at your life.

Where does most of your money go every month?

Do you want to learn spending categories and transfer partners, or do you want something incredibly simple?

Where do you actually want to travel?

Which airlines fly out of your home airport?

Which hotel brands do you realistically stay at?

Do you want to travel domestically, internationally—or both?

And most importantly:

What do you want these points to pay for?

That’s the question I wish I had started with. Because there isn’t one perfect beginner travel card. There is, however, probably a card that makes a lot more sense for you. And once you’ve figured that out? Start earning. You can learn the rest as you go.