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Best Credit Cards Right Now: 6 Cards I Actually Spend On

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I have roughly two dozen credit cards (as one does), though only a handful actually see meaningful spending each month. Some sit in a drawer purely for the ongoing perks and statement credits that justify their annual fees, while others rotate through my wallet because they earn the best return on a specific category of spending.

After years of running this setup, the cards have sorted themselves into clear roles, and I figured it was worth sharing the full picture in one place — what I actually carry, what each card is the best at, and which ones I hold but don’t spend on. Admittedly this changes over time, which is why I think it’s time for an updated post on the topic.

For each card below, I link to the full “is it worth it” analysis I’ve written — so this post is the entry point, and you can dig into the math on any individual card from there.

My wallet at a glance

Before the details, here’s the quick version of which card I reach for in which situation:

That’s the spending side. Separately, I hold many cards purely for ongoing perks — free night awards, elite status, lounge memberships — that justify their annual fees without my needing to spend anything on them. I’ll cover those after the spending cards.

The cards I spend on

When I’m deciding which card to put a purchase on, the question is always the same: which card earns me the most value on this specific transaction? Below are the six cards that win that question for me across the categories that matter most. Each one is the best in my wallet for what it does — that’s why it earned its slot.

Bilt Palladium Card — for everyday non-bonused spending

The Bilt Palladium Card has a $495 annual fee (Rates & Fees) and is serviced by Cardless. It’s my go-to card for non-bonused spending, because the math on it is genuinely hard to beat: 2x points on all eligible purchases, plus 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash.

Bilt Cash can be redeemed in a variety of ways, including to earn points on housing payments (about $4,000 worth of rent or mortgage rewarded per $3,000 in spending) or for spending accelerators that effectively boost you to 3x points on non-housing spending, up to $25,000 per year.

Add it all up and on non-bonused categories I’m well over 3x points per dollar spent, which is the highest return on everyday spending of any card in my wallet. Bilt points are also genuinely valuable, transferable to Alaska Atmos Rewards, World of Hyatt, and other useful partners. The honest caveat I’d flag: tax payments aren’t eligible to earn points, which is a real exclusion that doesn’t apply to most major issuers, so I do have to route that spending elsewhere.

Full analysis: Is the Bilt Palladium Card worth the $495 annual fee?

I value Bilt points for World of Hyatt points transfers

Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card — for foreign spending

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has a $395 annual fee, and it’s one of those rare cards that’s worth applying for, worth holding, and worth spending on. For my purposes, it has earned its slot for one category specifically: 3x points on all foreign purchases, with no cap. This might be the single best bonus category on any card I’ve seen — we’ve never had a blanket return on foreign spending like this — so it’s my primary card whenever I’m abroad.

The other reason it sees heavy spend from me: the card offers a 100,000-point Global Companion Award when you spend $60,000 in an anniversary year. I’m aiming for that threshold, which means even some domestic spending gets routed here once foreign spending alone won’t get me there. Between the 3x points on foreign purchases and the threshold bonus, the effective return on spending can reach as high as 4.67x points per dollar (I would’t value it quite that high, but that’s the math).

If you’re going for elite status with Atmos Rewards, the card is useful as well, as you earn one status point per $2 spent. What I also appreciate so much is how the card’s annual fee is easily offset by the 25,000-point Global Companion Award, as well as waived partner award booking fees, for those of us who frequently redeem Atmos Rewards points.

Full analysis: Is the Atmos Rewards Summit Card worth the $395 annual fee?

The rewards on the Summit Card can really add up fast

American Express® Gold Card — for restaurants and U.S. supermarkets

The Amex Gold Card has a $325 annual fee (Rates & Fees), though that can largely be offset with the card’s credits. What earns it a wallet slot is the bonus categories, which are arguably the most well-rounded in the entire market for any household that eats:

  • 4x points at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1x points), including takeout and delivery
  • 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x points)

Between those two categories, my family racks up a lot of points just on food spending — and food is expensive, especially with two little kids in the equation. The 4x dining category also applies worldwide, so this card travels well for restaurants abroad (though the supermarket category is U.S.-only). One honest note from my own experience: I struggle to fully maximize all of the card’s credits, particularly the Dunkin’ credit, so the “real” value depends on how many of those you’ll actually capture.

Full analysis: Is the Amex Gold Card worth the annual fee?

Dining rewards don’t get much better than the Amex Gold

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card — for direct hotel bookings

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $795 annual fee, and while I mostly hold it for the perks (the lounge access, the travel credits, hotel credits, dining credits, the Apple Music subscription), there’s one spending category where it earns its keep, which is 4x points on direct hotel bookings.

Hotels are a big spending category for me, and 4x Ultimate Rewards points on those bookings is among the best returns available on a category that’s hard to bonus elsewhere.

Admittedly the importance of this bonus category largely reflects that I spend a lot on hotels. Others will appreciate that the card also offers 3x points on dining, but dining isn’t where I use it — that’s what the Amex Gold is for. And it offers 5x points on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027, which is genuinely useful but isn’t a huge category for me. The hotels alone, paired with the credits and lounge access, are what justify the slot.

Full analysis: Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth the annual fee?

Earning 4x points on hotel spending with the Sapphire Reserve really adds up

American Express Platinum Card® — for airfare

The Amex Platinum Card has an $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees). Like the Sapphire Reserve, this is primarily a hold-for-perks card for me (the lounge access, the four credits I max with minimal effort, the hotel and rental car status). But it has one bonus category where it’s unambiguously the best card available: 5x points on airfare booked directly with airlines, on up to $500,000 in flight purchases per calendar year.

I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so that’s an 8.5% return on airfare spending — better than any other airfare-earning card I’ve seen. I spend meaningfully on airfare, and the card also offers solid travel protection on top of the earning rate, so this is one of those decisions that essentially makes itself: airfare goes on the Platinum, full stop.

Full analysis: Is the Amex Platinum Card worth it after the refresh?

The Amex Gold offers up to 5x points on airfare purchases

World of Hyatt Credit Card — $15,000 of spending for the second free night

The World of Hyatt Credit Card has a $95 annual fee, and it’s the unusual case where the card isn’t my best earner in any single category but still earns a deliberate $15,000 of spending from me each year. Here’s why: that $15,000 threshold unlocks a second Category 1-4 free night certificate plus six additional elite nights toward status — and I’ve consistently redeemed those certificates at hotels worth well over $200 per night. Effectively that’s better than two points per dollar on otherwise-unbonused spending.

I’ve held this card since 2018 and hit $15,000 every year for exactly this reason. Beyond the spending sweet spot, the card already justifies its $95 fee through the anniversary free night alone, plus Discoverist status and five elite nights toward status with no spending required. It’s the cleanest “worth it” call in my wallet for a hotel card.

Full analysis: Is the World of Hyatt Credit Card worth it?

I consistently get outsized value from the free night awards

The cards I hold but don’t regularly spend on

These are the cards that earn their keep without seeing meaningful spending from me. The model is straightforward: each one offers ongoing benefits — a free night certificate, elite status, lounge access — that more than cover the annual fee on their own.

Spending meaningfully on these cards would be a waste based on my own goals, because better options exist for that, but holding them is essentially free value. Here are some of those cards:

To me, the perks on these cards more than justify the annual fee on an ongoing basis, so they stay in the drawer, get used for the credits and statuses, and don’t see much purchase spending. That’s a perfectly valid card-management strategy, and one that I think is underused.

Credit card free night awards can be really valuable

What’s not in my wallet (and why)

Just as useful as knowing what I carry is knowing what I deliberately don’t. A few categories of cards I’ve considered, tried, or actively avoid:

  • Most “everyday spending” 2% cashback cards. These would replace the Bilt Palladium in my wallet for non-bonused spending, but the Bilt math (2x points plus 4% Bilt Cash that translates into housing rewards or 3x accelerators) consistently beats them for me, so they don’t earn a slot (though for those looking for a simple strategy, I think this is the way to go).
  • Single-airline co-brand cards beyond what I already hold. Outside of products like the Citi AAdvantage Executive (held purely for the Admirals Club membership) and the Atmos Summit (held for perks and used for foreign spending), I generally don’t carry airline co-brands — the bonus categories tend to be limited and the perks are too narrow for non-loyalists.
  • Hotel co-brands for chains I don’t stay at regularly. I hold the Hilton Honors Aspire Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, IHG Premier Card, and World of Hyatt Card — four hotel cards aligned with chains I genuinely use. Adding more would mean paying annual fees for free nights I’d struggle to redeem at properties I’d actually want to stay at.

I also have several cards that I’ve picked up in recent times for the great welcome offers, where I’m deciding what to do with them in the long run. For example, these include the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (learn more), Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more), etc.

Bottom line

I’d like to think I have a pretty well-tuned credit card setup. Across the six cards I spend most on, I’m earning anywhere from 2x to 5x points per dollar in their best categories, and when you blend it all together I’m averaging well over 3x points per dollar on my overall spending — a return I’d value at over 5%. To recap:

  • My favorite card for everyday non-bonused spending is the Bilt Palladium Card (for the 2x points and 4% Bilt Cash)
  • The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is unbeatable for foreign spending (3x points, no cap), plus the $60,000 spend threshold unlocks a 100,000-point Global Companion Award
  • The Amex Gold Card gets all of my food spending — restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
  • The Chase Sapphire Reserve handles my direct hotel bookings, and the Amex Platinum Card handles my airfare
  • I deliberately spend at least $15,000 on the World of Hyatt Credit Card every year for the second Category 1-4 free night certificate and six additional elite nights toward status
  • Several cards (Hilton Aspire, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, IHG Premier, Citi AAdvantage Executive) stay in the drawer purely for the ongoing perks, which more than justify the annual fees on their own

For the deep “is it worth it” analysis on any of these cards — the credits I actually capture, the math after fees, where the value breaks down — follow the linked worth-it post in each card’s section above. This post is the wallet snapshot, and each of these posts has a lot more details.

What are the primary credit cards you use for spending? Has your setup evolved recently, and which card has surprised you most — for better or worse?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).

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