A proper card acquisition strategy can help you maximize your reward miles. In this post we will outline a general strategy for collecting cards.

First Card: Chase Sapphire Preferred

I recommend starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it unlocks Chase transfer partners, has a low fee, and builds a relationship with Chase which can help for acquiring business cards. See this post for an in depth guide to the Sapphire Preferred.

Every 3 Months: Chase Business Ink

Hands down the best cards to prioritize are the Chase Business Ink Unlimited and Cash due to their massive sign up bonuses and no annual fees. See this post for more details.

2.5 Personal Cards Per Year

Next you should prioritize personal cards that are useful to you based on your goals such as specific hotel or airline redemptions, lounge access, or other perks. Due to the Chase 5/24 rule you should not get 5 or more personal cards in 24 months in order to remain eligible for cards from Chase hence 2.5 personal cards per year.

Additional Business Cards

Finally, pick up any additional business cards you might want, especially when the bonuses are at all time highs.

Recommendations

Here’s some recommendations of good cards with some specific offers to look out for.

Personal:

• Hilton Aspire:
  • Any time of year, but can triple dip in December
  • Great value with the free night certificate and other annual credits
• Southwest personal card with Companion Pass offer:
  • Typically offered in the Spring
  • Great for doubling the value of miles or cash spent on Southwest
• Marriott Boundless 5 Free Night Certificate offer:
  • Bonus easily worth $1000-1500
  • Need to plan ahead as you won’t be eligible for the Amex Marriott cards for the next 2 years
• Amex Platinum 150k offer (full review):
  • Any time of year, but can triple dip in December
  • Expensive cards, but lots of value
• VentureX:
  • Solid premium card that pays for itself
• Alaska Personal 75k offer with Companion Pass:
  • Typically offered in the Spring
  • Easily $1000-$2000 in value

Business:

• Hilton Business Free Night Certificate Offer:
  • Free night alone can be worth $500-1000+
  • Goes well with the Aspire to get an additional free night
• Alaska Business 75k offer with Companion Pass:
  • Typically offered in the Spring
  • Great way to get basically get the Alaska Personal without burning a 5/24 slot
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business 120k offer:
  • Typically late in the year
  • If you can get your points to all hit early in the following year you can earn a Southwest Companion pass with a single card and not burn a 5/24 slot
• Amex Business Platinum:
  • Ideally triple dip in December to help offset the fee
  • High spending, but lots of value from credits and sign up bonus
• Marriott Business:
  • Stack with Marriott Brilliant for lots of Marriott points
  • Need to plan ahead as you won’t be eligible for the Chase Marriott cards for the next 2 years
• Citi American Airlines and Barclays American Airlines:
  • Great way to pick up a lot of American Airlines points
  • You won’t be able to get these for 2 years after picking them up so good to get them in the first year