You may hear this advert nauseam at TPG: With regards to the perfect bank card, there is not one. And by that, I imply there is not any single card that magically suits each particular person’s particular wants.
For instance, one in every of my greatest bills is groceries, so I’ve a card that earns a excessive reward charge on this class.
Then again, one in every of my pal’s greatest month-to-month bills is her hire, so she has the Bilt Mastercard®* in her pockets to web Bilt Factors (as much as 100,000 factors in a calendar yr; use the cardboard 5 occasions every assertion interval to earn factors) on each hire fee she makes with out incurring a transaction payment (see charges and costs).
Although the Bilt card may be an asset for nonrenters, it is not in my pockets as a result of I do not hire and select to prioritize different merchandise that present me extra worth.
I would let you know that among the finest playing cards you will get is the American Specific® Gold Card as a result of it earns glorious charges in two of my high bonus classes. My pal would say the identical concerning the Bilt card — and that is what I really like about bank card rewards. There’s a really perfect product for each type of funds and spender.
In case you’re enthusiastic about your first — or subsequent — card, try the 4 that I really like and suggest probably the most.
*TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.
Associated: Must you pay your hire with Bilt? We crunch the numbers
Evaluating my high picks for the perfect bank cards
My high 4 bank cards earn factors and money again, the reward currencies I at the moment discover Most worthy. Here is how they stack up.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day e-newsletter
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
By signing up, you’ll obtain newsletters and promotional content material and comply with our Phrases of Use and acknowledge the info practices in our Privateness Coverage. You could unsubscribe at any time.
10 factors per greenback spent on Peloton gear and accent purchases of $150 or extra (by means of Dec. 31, 2027), with a most of fifty,000 factors
8 factors per greenback spent on all purchases made through Chase Journey℠ (together with The Edit)
5 factors per greenback spent on Lyft rides (by means of Sept. 30, 2027)
4 factors per greenback spent on flights and inns booked instantly
3 factors per greenback spent on eating worldwide
1 level per greenback spent on all different purchases
$795American Specific Gold CardDiscover out your provide and see in case you are eligible for as excessive as 100,000 Membership Rewards factors after spending $6,000 on purchases throughout the first six months of card membership. Welcome provides fluctuate, and also you is probably not eligible for a suggestion.
4 factors per greenback spent on eating at eating places worldwide (on as much as $50,000 per calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback)
4 factors per greenback spent on as much as $25,000 in purchases at U.S. supermarkets per calendar yr (then 1 level per greenback)
3 factors per greenback spent on flights booked instantly with an airline or by means of amextravel.com
2 factors per greenback spent on pay as you go inns and different eligible purchases booked by means of amextravel.com
1 level per greenback spent on all different eligible purchases
$325 (see charges and costs)Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire CardEarn 175,000 factors after spending $6,000 throughout the first six months of card membership.
14 factors per greenback spent at inns within the Hilton portfolio
7 factors per greenback spent on flights booked instantly with airways or by means of Amex Journey, automotive leases booked instantly from choose automotive rental firms and eating at U.S. eating places
3 factors per greenback spent on all different eligible spending with the cardboard
6% money again on choose U.S. streaming subscriptions
6% money again at U.S. supermarkets (as much as $6,000 per calendar yr, then 1%)
3% money again on transit (parking, tolls, ride-hailing apps, subway rides, and many others.)
3% money again at U.S. fuel stations
1% money again on all different purchases
Money again is obtained within the type of Reward {Dollars} that may be redeemed as an announcement credit score and at amazon.com checkout.
$0 introductory provide for the primary yr, then $95 (see charges and costs)
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Sapphire Reserve stays my all-time favourite card, even after the annual payment elevated from $550 to $795.
First, this card earns my favourite reward foreign money: Chase Final Rewards factors. I really like that this foreign money is transferable, and I usually transfer factors from my Sapphire Reserve account to loyalty applications like Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt.
The truth is, earlier this yr, I used 15,000 Chase Final Rewards factors to fly again residence to Pennsylvania after a fast jaunt to Oahu, Hawaii, saving me over $300. Although this redemption was roughly on par with TPG’s October 2025 valuation of Final Rewards factors at 2.05 cents apiece, I all the time desire reserving a flight when there is a switch bonus since meaning I get to maintain extra of my factors for future travels.
Sadly, no bonuses had been accessible after I booked my flight, so I nonetheless used my factors to keep away from paying greater than $300 for a one-way ticket.
Except for providing high-value factors, the Sapphire Reserve additionally options strong incomes charges in a few of my high spend classes (Lyft, flights, inns and eating) and is the proper journey companion because of world-class insurance coverage and protections, together with major rental automotive insurance coverage and journey delay reimbursement. Plus, there are not any international transaction charges whenever you make purchases overseas.
Then there are the assertion credit, which, if used of their entirety, greater than offset the cardboard’s annual payment.
Three of my favorites embody:
A beneficiant $300 annual journey credit score (in case you’re saving this credit score for a selected buy, remember that it kicks in routinely for any buy that codes as journey)As much as $120 in annual in-app Lyft credit disbursed as as much as $10 every month (by means of Sept. 30, 2027; excludes Wait & Save, bike and scooter rides)As much as $120 for World Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus each 4 years.
Associated: 6 lesser-known Chase Sapphire Reserve advantages that repay huge
For extra info, try our overview of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Apply right here: Chase Sapphire Reserve
American Specific Gold Card
Relying on the week, the Amex Gold fluctuates between being my most-used and second-most-used card.
My Sapphire Reserve is usually my catchall card until I am looking for groceries or eating out, during which case my Amex Gold is the star of the present. I like to host and prepare dinner for family and friends, and whether or not I am holding it easy with rooster, rice and beans or zhuzhing it up with a rib-eye steak and lobster, the Amex Gold earns me one other favourite reward foreign money every time I faucet to pay: American Specific Membership Rewards factors.
I’ve transferred Membership Rewards factors to airline companions, together with Delta SkyMiles and JetBlue TrueBlue (although I usually do not use this particular companion if I can keep away from doing so, because the switch ratio is 250 Membership Rewards factors to 200 JetBlue TrueBlue factors).
I really used some Membership Rewards factors for my Oahu journey along with the Chase Final Rewards factors I beforehand talked about. The Amex factors bought my mother from New York to Seattle, the place we rendezvoused earlier than flying right down to Honolulu collectively for a beautiful mother-daughter weekend. With out transferable factors, I would not have been in a position to share this expertise with my mother.
For extra info, try our overview of the Amex Gold.
Apply right here: American Specific Gold Card
Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card
In case you’re contemplating making use of for a cobranded resort card, let or not it’s the Hilton Aspire.
Along with glorious incomes charges on Hilton resort stays, this card is loaded with advantages that offset the $550 annual payment and are straightforward to maximise.
For instance, this card provides one in every of my favourite perks: an as much as $200 annual flight credit score every calendar yr. This assertion credit score is disbursed as as much as $50 per quarter for flight purchases made instantly with an airline or by means of amextravel.com.
The Hilton Aspire can also be a terrific journey card as a result of, just like the Sapphire Reserve, it doesn’t cost international transaction charges (see charges and costs), and it comes with an as much as $209 Clear Plus assertion credit score every year whenever you join a membership and pay with this card (topic to auto-renewal; enrollment required).
The most effective perk of being a Hilton Aspire cardholder, nevertheless, is the as much as $400 Hilton resort assertion credit you get every calendar yr (as much as $200 biannually) for eligible purchases at eligible properties.
As somebody who maximizes all three of those assertion credit — at properties like Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World in August 2024 and Hilton Waikiki Seashore Resort & Spa in August 2025— the Hilton Aspire has confirmed its price and greater than earned its spot in my pockets.
I’ve absolutely maxed out the resort credit score at each properties, and it made an enormous distinction in each journey budgets since I used the credit score to cowl dinners, plus afternoon espresso pick-me-ups after busy morning excursions. Eating out is among the pricier facets of touring, so anytime I can get a break because of an announcement credit score, I reap the benefits of it.
Associated: The right way to use the as much as $400 Hilton Aspire resort credit score every year
For extra info, try our overview of the Hilton Aspire card.
Apply right here: Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card
Blue Money Most popular Card from American Specific
In case you’re a fan of a multipurpose card, you may simply love the Amex Blue Money Most popular as a lot as I do.
The truth is, this is among the playing cards I most frequently suggest to these trying to get into bank card rewards in the event that they’re keen to pay an annual payment. It helps that the Blue Money Most popular options an introductory $0 payment for the primary yr, which supplies you loads of time to determine if this card is an effective match for you earlier than you incur its $95 annual payment in yr two.
Moreover incomes strong reward charges in in style classes like U.S. streaming (6% money again), transit (3% money again) and U.S. fuel fill-ups (3% money again), this card earns a whopping 6% money again at U.S. supermarkets till you hit a $6,000 spend cap every year. If this occurs, you go from 6% to a 1% cash-back charge for subsequent purchases.
This was one in every of my first playing cards and stays one in every of my oldest bank card accounts. I initially bought it after I realized I might earn greater than a flat 1% cash-back charge on grocery retailer runs.
I nonetheless use this card for smaller grocery store purchases, and yearly, because of the elevated reward charges talked about above, it nets me about $200 in money again. When this was my grocery retailer go-to (earlier than my Amex Gold), I simply earned at the very least $400 in money again with this card.
Notice: Money again is obtained within the type of Reward {Dollars} that may be redeemed as an announcement credit score and at amazon.com checkout.
Associated: 2 grocery playing cards, twice the rewards: Why I double up at supermarkets
And that is not even the perfect half. The cherry on high is the as much as $120 Disney Streaming assertion credit score every calendar yr (as much as $10 every month; legitimate for U.S. web sites solely; enrollment is required; topic to auto-renewal). This contains Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
In case you max this credit score out, it utterly offsets the cardboard’s annual payment after which some. That is an enormous win in my e book, particularly in case you already pay a subscription to stream content material on any of those platforms, like I do.
For extra info, try our overview of the Blue Money Most popular.
Apply right here: Blue Money Most popular Card from American Specific
How I selected my high playing cards
This checklist contains the playing cards I take advantage of most frequently. I take advantage of my Sapphire Reserve and Amex Gold day by day, whereas I take advantage of my Hilton Aspire and Blue Money Most popular with barely much less frequency however nonetheless sufficient to earn me my most well-liked reward currencies.
These 4 playing cards present unimaginable worth for my kind of spending — particularly within the journey and eating classes. To study extra about how I compiled this checklist and the way TPG applies rigorous tips to every card we overview and charge, try our methodology.
Backside line
For me, the perfect bank cards work double-time, netting me transferable factors or money again, and provide perks similar to assertion credit I can simply use. I wish to diversify my bank card rewards to have numerous redemption choices after I’m able to e book a visit (utilizing factors) or full a web based order (utilizing money again).
Whereas the 4 playing cards featured on this checklist are my present favorites as a result of they supply terrific worth, I do have further playing cards — with zero annual charges — that see much less motion however nonetheless provide advantages I take advantage of typically sufficient to make them price holding. Whether or not you are beginning out in your bank card journey or are in your tenth software, do not forget that the perfect playing cards are all the time those that offer you perks that fit your spending and funds.
For charges and costs of the Bilt Mastercard, click on right here.For rewards and advantages of the Bilt Mastercard, click on right here.For charges and costs of the Amex Gold, click on right here.For charges and costs of the Hilton Aspire Card, click on right here.For charges and costs of the Amex Blue Money Most popular, click on right here.
Associated: The most effective rewards bank cards so as to add to your pockets
