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Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best mid-range fee credit card out there. In my opinion, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards points are the single most valuable rewards/points currency. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you get 75k Chase UR points worth atleast, $750 but easily 2x that if you transfer to Hyatt and even more if you transfer it to purchase business class flights. If you find it hard to stomach the $795 fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve and don’t want to deal with managing the various credits that Chase Sapphire Reserve provides, then this is the single best credit card you can have in your wallet for every day use.

• Annual Fee: $95
• Sign-up Bonus: 75k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth at least $750
• Required Spend: $5,000 in 3 months
• Points
  • 5x points on Chase travel, 2x points on all other travel, 3x points on restaurants, 3x points on grocery (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs ie Costco, Sams Club, BJs), 3x points on select streaming services, 1x on all other purchases
• $5k in spend within 3 months of account opening
• Other Benefits
  • Free Dash Pass for Doordash
  • $10 off Doordash non-restaurant orders a month. I usually set me account to pickup and get $10 off alcohol that costs $10-15.
  • 5x points on Lyft purchases
  • 5x points on Peloton purchases
  • $50 travel credit on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel

The Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) goes neck and neck with the American Expresss Platinum for the best premium card on the market. It has a pretty steep annual fee of $795. However the125k point sign-up bonus, the credits it provides and the other benefits it comes with make it worth holding atleast in the first year. If you are someone who can use enough of the credits to make up for the annual fee then it may be worth holding after the first year.

• Annual Fee: $795
• Sign-up Bonus: 125k Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth atleast $1,250
• Required Spend: $6,000 in 3 months
• Points
  • 8x points on Chase travel, 4x points on flights/hotels booked directly, 3x on dining, 1x on all other purchases
• Credits
  • $300 annual travel credit
  • $300 annual dining credit, $150 Jan-June, $150 Jul-December
    • You can see the list of restaurants at Doctor of Credit here
    • You can see the list of restaurants on Open Table after adding your card here
  • $300 in Stubhub credit, $150 Jan-June, $150 Jul-December
  • $500 credit for stays with The Edit collection of hotels, $250 Jan-June, $250 Jul-December
  • Complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music worth $250 annually
  • $25 a month in Doordash credit, two $10 monthly credits on non-restaurant orders and one $5 monthly credit on restaurant orders
  • $120 in annual statement credits towards Peloton membership
• Other Benefits
  • Access to the Chase Sapphire Lounges and a Priority Pass lounges
  • Auto rental insurance coverage up to $75k
  • Purchase protection on up to 120 days from the date of an item’s purchase against damage or theft up to $10k per item
  • Free roadside protection (towing or jumps within 5 miles)
  • 1 year extensions on manufacturer’s US warranty
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • After Spending $75k on the card a year
    • $500 in Southwest Airlines credit and A-List Status
    • IHG One Rewards Diamon Elite Status
    • $250 statement credit at Shops at Chase 

Whether or not the “coupon book” that the CSR has become is worth it depends on whether you use the credits and benefits it provides. For me the $300 annual travel credit is just as good as cash. The annual dining credit is definitely something I will use all of but it may not be for everyone given the restaurants it is applicable to are more date night places that are relatively expensive. If you see a lot of live events then the $150 StubHub credit can get you a ticket or two. The Edit Collection credit is tough to use, but if you stay at luxury hotels it may be useful. I usually use the Doordash credit for buying alcohol, but it would work just as well for groceries. Set the order for pickup, buy something around $10, then do another order for the same amount.

The other benefits are even more dependent on your individual circumstances. If you travel a lot to an airport with a Chase Sapphire lounge or a decent Priority Pass lounge, the lounge benefit may be worth a lot to you. If you don’t its value is negligible. With the CSR you get lounge entry for yourself, 2 guests and children under 2 free. Additional guests are $27.

Note that for any of the insurance protections and warranties, you must use the card to purchase the item or service. Also as is always the case with insurance and warranties, there are significant exclusions, so make sure you check the details on the pages below. The auto rental insurance coverage is great when you rent a car as it provides “primary coverage” meaning you file with Chase only unless the damage exceeds Chase’s $60,000 maximum. If you have your own auto insurance you can opt out of any of the collision coverages. Unlike the CSR collision auto insurance which is primary coverage, CSR’s purchase protection is secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in in excess of what your insurance will cover. CSR’s roadside protection is really easy to use, call the number in the prior link and share your location details with the operator. I have used it extensively to get free tows or to jump my battery when it dies. The one year warranty extension extends a store bought or provided warranty that is for 3 years or less for up to 1 year. I have not used this benefit, but in certain cases it could be really valuable where you have an expensive item that goes bad just after your normal warranty expires.

Sign-up bonus: 175k IHG rewards points

Annual Fee: $99

Requirements: $5k in purchases on the card within 90 days of account opening

Earnings: 26 points per $1 spent on IHG properties (10x from card and 15x from status), 5 points on travel/dining/gas, 3 on all other purchases   

Annual benefit: One free 40k point per night stay that you can combine with points if the night is more expensive. For example, if a night cost 50k points you can use your certificate for 40k and then 10k points from your balance.

Other benefits: 20% discount when buying points, 4^th night free on stays of 4 nights or more, United Travel bank credit each 6 months (must register card here), platinum elite status which isn’t worth much although you get a small number of points or a gift each time you stay, and a Global Entry or TSA precheck fee credit.

IHG has a wide range of properties from fairly luxurious Intercontinental Hotels to some Holiday Inns that haven’t been updated since Reagen was president. 175k points will get you 3-4 nights in a decent $200-400 hotel. Usually you can get half a cent to .7 cents per IHG point. What makes this card worth keeping around is the 40k annual certificate. Its more versatile than other free night awards because it can be combined with points to get higher end hotels. Even at half a cent a point you get at least 2x the value per year by holding the card.

The Chase Ink cards are arguably the best business cards on the market relative to their cost. The fees on inks are low: the Ink Business Cash and Business Unlimited cards both have no annual fees, the Ink Business Preferred a $95 fee, and the Ink Business Premier a $195 fee. Compare these fees with the American Express Business Gold ($325) and American Express Business Platinum ($895) and you can see the incredible value these cards provide. Chase UR points are an incredibly valuable currency so each one of these offers is for a minimum of $900 and could be worth several times that if used for Hyatt or business class redemptions. Each one of the cards also has unique category bonuses detailed below. Another major benefit is that Chase often allows you to hold multiple Ink cards at once. That does not mean they will approve you for all 4 but 2-3 cards is usually feasible, just make sure you follow Chase rules about applications namely that you can only be approved for two Chase cards in a month. As business cards, the Chase Inks also do not count against Chase’s 5/24 rule, which allegedly is no longer employed.

Ink Business Cash

• Annual fee: No annual fee
• Sign-up Bonus: 75k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth at least $750
• Required Spend: $6k in 3 months
• 5% back on office supply stores; internet, cable, and phone services on the first $25k in spend
• 2% cash back on gas and restaurants on the first $25k in spend

Ink Business Unlimited

• Annual fee: No annual fee
• Sign-up Bonus: 75k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth at least $750
• Required Spend: $6k in 3 months
• Points: 1.5% cash back on every $1 in spending

Ink Business Preferred

• Annual fee: $95
• Sign-up Bonus: 90k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth at least $900
• Required Spend: $6k in spend within 3 months of account opening
• Points: 3% back on shipping; social media and search engine advertising; travel; internet, cable, and phone services on the first $150k in spend

Ink Business Premier

• Annual Fee: $195
• Sign-up Bonus: 100k Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth at least $1,000
• Required Spend: $10k in spend within 3 months of account opening
• Points: 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5k or more. 5% back on purchases through the Chase travel portal.

The American Express Business Platinum card provides a massive sign-up bonus of 175-250k miles but with an equally hefty $20,000 in 3 months spending requirement and an $895 annual fee. Like its counterpart the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business has a number of credits and benefits that may offset the annual fee after the first year, if you use them.

• Annual Fee: $895
• Sign-up Bonus: Varies, between 175-250k miles.
• Required Spend: $20,000 in 3 monhts
• Points
  • 5x on flights and prepaid hotels thorugh Amex’s travel portal, 2x on purchases of $5k or more, 2x on business categories including: construction materials, electronic goods, software and shipping; 1x on everything else
• Credits
  • $120 a year in wireless credits paid out as $10 monthly
  • $150 annual credit on Dell products and an additional $1,000 if you spend over $5,000
  • $200annual airline fee credit
  • $200 Hilton credit available as $50 quarterly credits
  • $250 Adobe credit after spending $600
  • $600 hotel credit available as a $300 credit twice per calendar year once, in the first half of the year through June 30th and the other from July 1st to December 31st
  • Up to $209 in Clear Plus credit
  • $120 for Global Entry or $85 for TSA precheck
• Other benefits
  • Centurion and Priority Pass lounge access
  • 10 Delta Sky Club visits
  • Hilton and Marriott Gold status
  • Secondary collission damage insurance on car rentals
  • Trip delay and cancellation insurance
  • Baggage insurance
  • No foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Spark 2% Cash card is a great mid-range business credit card without an annual fee the first year ($95 thereafter), 2% on all spending, and a $1,000 bonus after spending $10,000 in 3 months. After spending the $10,000 you will receive roughly $1,200 or the $1,000 bonus plus 2% of $10,000 or $200.

Interactive Brokers allows you to invest in a broader number of assets and geographies than any of the main stream brokers. For example, if you want to buy stock in the UK you can easily buy British Pounds, then buy UK stock. It also typically has the cheapest margin rates of any major broker. The downside is that everything is very automated and the interface can be very clunky at times.

$1 for every $300 deposited. Must maintain funds for 1 year. IRAs and other tax advantaged accounts are not eligible.
More details available here.

Moomoo is a brokerage that has a more gamified look and feel that is similar to Robinhood. I find it somewhat difficult to use, but unlike most other brokerages it has periodic promotions for existing users that can be lucrative.

Must deposit a minimum of $100. It is not clear how long the funds need to be maintained, but other bonuses appear to have a 90 day minimum holding period.

Rakuten is a shopping portal where you get cash back when you buy at selected companies through their portal. For example, 1% back on Nike. Rakuten is the most reputable of the portals (it is a public company in Japan) and I generally have not had an issue getting paid cash back. They also have great deals for financial products. You can get paid in Amex points, Bilt Rewards or via Paypal. Rakuten can “stack” or be combined with other discounts to get an even larger discount.

Capital One Shopping is a shopping portal where you get cash back at retailers/service providers. It has some of the most lucrative shopping deals and frequent promotions that are worth doing. The downside of this portal is that sometimes deals don’t track.

Swagbucks is a shopping portal where you get cash back when you buy at selected companies through their portal. For example, 8% back at Bestbuy. The site also offers surveys and games where you can also earn Swagbucks, but they are time consuming and generally not worth it. You can redeem Swagbucks for giftcards or Paypal.  The number one reason to sign up for Swagbucks is that there are bank and brokerage bonuses through Swagbucks that are often the best available deal. In other cases, Swagbucks can “stack” or be combined with other discounts to get an even larger discount.

InKind is a dining app. The app allows a user to get discounts at a select group of restaurants. You can buy discounted gift cards for example $300 in credit for $249 or purchase an annual membership for $100 that gets you a 20% discount on all spending and $50 per month credit on bills over $150.

The app is worth doing if you frequent the restaurants in their network. Relatively popular LA spots like Edgemar, Shirube, and Gjusta are on the app. NY, LA, San Francisco and other major cities have a large number of restaurants in their network, but they are not as well covered in the suburbs.

How to pay: When using the app simply hit Pay, load a credit card, then select the restaurant and enter your check number which is on the bill. Then put on your tip and show your waiter that you completed the payment. It is really easy.

Sparrow is an app that aggregates and simplifies the process of filing class action lawsuits. They charge $7 per month, but you will likely get multiples of the cost in class actions. Make sure that you only apply to class actions for products/services that you actually used and are therefore eligible to file.

Bluehost is a great and inexpensive place to host and build a website. This site is hosted at Bluehost. I find their tools to be relatively straight forward and easy to use.

Instacart is the premier grocery delivery service. Many Chase cards also have $10 or $20 per month Instacart credits

Deposit one of the amounts below within 20 days of account opening and hold for 90 days. The account earns 3.5% as of 11/7/25. According to Doctor of Credit you only need the balance on day 90, but its probably not worth moving it around to save a fraction of a point in interest. Overall you get the highest annualized interest rate (7.5%) by depositing $5k, but a $30k deposit still yields a roughly 6.16% yield which isn’t bad either.

• $30k+ : $200 bonus  (.66% added yield or 2.66% annualized at $15k)
• $5k-14.999k : $50 (1% added yield or 4% annualized at $5k)
• $15k-29.99k : $100 (.66% added yield or 2.66% annualized at $15k)

OKX has a straightforward platform. The $150 bonus is easy to trigger, deposit $200 and trade $200 in any crypto, then hold it for 90 days. Some people have reported not getting the bonus if you only buy USDC or USDG, but it worked when I did it.

Coinbase is the most prominent and legitimate cypto exchange. Its interface is simple and easy to use. To get the bonus simply deposit $20 into your account and buy any crypto currency.