Credit Cards We Use At Mannings On The Move

Choosing the right credit card can feel overwhelming with so many options available. Whether you’re looking for cashback rewards, travel perks, or the largest sign-up bonus, the best credit cards can help you maximize valuable rewards and travel more! In this blog post, we’ll highlight the credit cards we are currently using.

Note: Links provided may be referral links. If you sign up using this link, we are eligible for referral bonus points (which we greatly appreciate!). 

1. Capital One Venture Rewards

This is our go to credit card for everyday spending and we have had it for years. Here is a quick overview of some of the main benefits:

• 2x points on every dollar you spend
• 5x points on every dollar you spend on hotels and rental cars on Capital One’s travel portal
• Free Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee via a $120 credit every 4 years
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 75,000 point signup bonus plus $250 credit on Capital One Travel when you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months (this is equivalent to $750 of free travel)

There is an annual fee of $95, but we feel this is well worth it for the benefits you are getting. One of those annual fees is completely repaid every four years with the Global Entry or TSA Precheck application (we highly recommend Global Entry which includes TSA Precheck). In addition, if you meet the $4,000 spend requirement in the first 3 months – you are credited with $750 of free travel right off the bat in your first year! One interesting aspect of redeeming your points is that you don’t have to redeem them on the Capital One travel portal. You can actually just go spend on travel anywhere you want and then apply for a statement credit for that travel spend and it will apply at the same redemption rate you would have gotten on Capital One’s travel portal. If you do choose to book via Capital One’s travel portal, they also protect you with price match guarantees and price drop protection to ensure you don’t overspend.

Capital One also has a number of travel partners which you can transfer your points to – Air France, British Airways, Air Canada, Choice Hotels, and Wyndham Hotels just to name a few examples. From time to time, they also have special transfer deals which means you can transfer and receive more points at these partners than you have in your Capital One account. If travel isn’t your thing, you also have the option to redeem your points for cash (at a slightly lower redemption rate), buy gift cards, or use your points to pay for Amazon purchases.

All in all – this is the card we use for the majority of our spending, except for travel spending (see Chase Sapphire card below) and it usually leads to at least one free international flight a year for both of us allowing us to travel more!

2. Chase Sapphire Preferred

This is the credit card we use for most of our travel spending. Here is a quick overview of some of the main benefits:

• 2x points on travel spend
• 3x points on dining out, certain streaming services, and online groceries
• 5x points on every dollar you spend on hotels and rental cars on Chase’s travel portal
• 1x points on all other spend
• 10% Anniversary Bonus on all points earned in the prior year
• $50 Hotel Credit each anniversary when booked through Chase Travel
• Free Trip Cancellation Insurance up to $10,000 per covered traveler and $20,000 per covered trip
• Free DoorDash DashPass Subscription (~$100 value)
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 75,000 point signup bonus when you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months (this is equivalent to $750 of free travel)

There is an annual fee of $95, but the benefits you receive pay for this many times over. For example, if you currently pay for a DashPass subscription, this card is free to you as you will no longer need to pay for that. The $50 hotel credit pays for half of the annual fee as well.  In addition, if you meet the $5,000 spend requirement in the first 3 months – you are credited with at least $750 of free travel right off the bat (and you likely can stretch this farther with great transfer partners such as United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, and Marriott Hotels just to name a few)!

But what we like most about this card is the travel benefits. Capital One offers 2x points on all spend which makes it superior, in our view, on everything but travel spend. While Chase offers the same 2x on travel spend, it also includes free trip cancellation insurance, up to $10,000 per covered traveler and $20,000 per covered trip, which is absolutely massive benefit as this insurance can easily run you $500 to $1,000 or more per trip if you were to purchase separately. The Capital One Venture card doesn’t offer this which is a key differentiator. To use this benefit, all you have to do is put your non-refundable travel on your Chase Sapphire card.

We view this card as a worthwhile compliment to our Capital One Venture card.

3. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^® Card

We use this card primarily for Marriott purchases only. If you stay at Marriott hotels frequently – this is a no brainer card. Even if you only stay one time during the year, this card is worth the small annual fee. Here is a quick overview of some of the main benefits:

• 17x points on every dollar you spend at Marriott hotels
• 3x points for every dollar you spend (up to $6,000 in spend a year) on gas, grocery stores, and dining
• 2x points for every dollar you spend on everything else
• Free Night Award on each account anniversary date which is valid for a room valued at up to 35,000 points
• Automatic Silver Elite Status plus 15 elite night credits every year towards your next level (and you can earn an additional night credit for every $5,000 you spend)
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Earn 5 Free Nights + $100 Airline Credit when you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months (up to 50,000 points for the free night)!

There is an annual fee of $95, but that is more than paid for by the free night you get on every anniversary date (starting with your first anniversary a year from your application approval date). You can usually find a ~$300 per night room for 35,000 points, so if you were going to stay a night anyway, you can save yourself ~$200 a year just by having this card. On top of that you are getting automatic silver elite status which will help you build miles even faster and you also get an outrageously good 17x spend at Marriott hotels.  If you stay at Marriott hotels frequently – you’d be crazy not to get this card.

The miles you earn will be automatically posted to your Marriott Bonvoy Rewards account, so you don’t have to worry about transferring anything.

4. Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature®

We use this card primarily for Alaska Airlines purchases only. If you are a frequent flier on Alaska – this is an absolute must have credit card as you will get far more in value than you paying as an annual fee. The new version of this card does have an annual spend requirement though to get those benefits (our card doesn’t as we are grandfathered into this program), but we still think this card is worth it if you fly Alaska even once during the year. Here is a quick overview of some of the main benefits:

• 3x miles on every dollar you spend on Alaska & Hawaiian Airlines purchases
• 2x miles for every dollar you spend on gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services, and local transit (including rideshares)
• 1x miles for every dollar you spend on everything else
• Annual $99 Companion Fare™ for $99 plus taxes and fees from $23 annually when you spend $6,000 or more in the prior year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights within North America booked on AlaskaAir.com
• Flexibility with no blackout dates on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights when booking with points or a companion fare
• Priority boarding and free checked bag on all Alaska Airlines flights
• Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all points earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America^® account.
• Enjoy 20% back on all Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines inflight purchases and get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership when you pay with your new card.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 80,000 mile signup bonus when you spend $4,000 within the first 120 days

There is an annual fee of $95, but that is more than paid for by the Companion Fare that Alaska offers. While you do need to spend $6,000 on your card each year to get that companion fare now (except the first year which comes with the signup bonus at $4,000 spend in the first 4 months), we still feel this is worth it. We use our Companion Fare every year to fly back to see our families which is typically a $500 flight for each of us. Using the Companion Fare, we are able to only spend ~$122 on the second ticket instead of the full price of $500 – a significant savings more than paying for the annual fee. You can also use the fare anywhere Alaska flies which will likely become even more valuable with the Hawaiian Airlines merger. Then on top of this benefit, you get priority boarding on every Alaska flight and can check your baggage for free. It’s simply a no brainer card if you fly Alaska – even just once to use the Companion Fare.

The miles you earn will be automatically posted to your Atmos Mileage Plan account, so you don’t have to worry about transferring anything.

5. Amazon Prime Visa Card

We use this card primarily for Amazon purchases only. If you are spending a lot on Amazon like most people are these days, you can earn back more money using this card than any other card out there. And there is no annual fee for this one! Here is a quick overview of some of the main benefits:

• 5% back on every dollar you spend at Amazon, Whole Foods, Audible, and the Chase Travel portal
• 2% back for every dollar you spend on gas, restaurants, and local transit & commuting
• 1% back for every dollar you spend on everything else
• No Annual Fee
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Earn signup bonus from time to time (at the time of this writing, you can get up to a $250 Amazon gift card just for signing up – no spend requirement)

Earning 5% back on Amazon purchases is a pretty big deal for the amount we seem to spend on Amazon each year and we are sure you are probably in the same boat. During Prime Day and Black Friday events, Amazon typically raises that to 6% which is even better! The cash you earn back (as soon as each of your transactions post – no need to wait for each monthly statement to earn) will automatically be pulled into your Amazon checkout page and you can apply it whenever you want to future purchases. You don’t have to wait for a certain number of points to apply either. For example, if you make a $10 purchase – you earn 50 cents of cash back once that purchase posts to your credit card (usually in 2-3 days). When you come in to make another purchase, you will be able to apply that 50 cents to get that purchase a little bit cheaper!