The 5 Best Credit Cards You Need In 2022

by Daniel | Last Updated December 25th, 2021

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With so many different credit cards to choose from it can be hard to make a decision on which one to get.

Do you pay an annual fee? What APR is most suitable for your situation? There really are so many questions.
For this reason, I have decided to put together this list of some of my favorite credit cards for 2022. 

In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the best credit cards available right now that are worth considering for 2022.
They all have a great sign-up bonus and offer quite a lot of benefits and user perks.

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1. Chase Sapphire Preferred

Read my full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred here.

So the first card on this list is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and this card is one of the best travel credit cards under $100 available now.

Sign-up Bonus
For starters, it has a generous sign-up bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of card ownership.
And one thing that is really good about this card is that you can redeem these points through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
This means that each point is worth 1.25 cents, so just the signup alone bonus is worth $750.

Now the only negative thing that I can think about this card is the $95 annual fee, which to be honest, is not really that much considering the sign-up bonus and all of the benefits and user perks that come with this card.

Earning Points
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you will have a ton of options when it comes to earning points.
First of all, you will get 5x points on travel-related purchases that are made through Chase Ultimate Rewards and with Lyft until March 2022.
Then you will get 3x points on dining, takeout, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services.

Travel purchases will receive 2x points and then any other purchases will receive 1 point per dollar spent. 

So it’s safe to say that if you use this card for most purchases throughout the year, you should be able to earn quite a lot of points.

Benefits and Perks
Now the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has some really nice perks and fantastic travel protection.
First of all, you will receive a $50 statement credit each year that can be used towards hotel stays.
You will also receive a free 12-month DashPass that is worth almost $120.
It is also possible to transfer your points 1:1 to 11 different airline partners and 3 different hotel partners, which really helps to give this card even more flexibility when redeeming your points.

Then there is the travel-related protections which include trip cancellation of up to $20,000 per trip.
Baggage delay insurance of up to $100 per day for 5 days.
Trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket.
And auto rental collision damage waiver which basically covers your rental car against theft or damage.

Finally, you will get purchase protection of up to $50,000 per account and extended warranty protection of one extra year on eligible warranties.

2. American Express Gold Card

Read my full review of the American Express Gold Card here.

The next card on this list is the American Express Gold Card, and this is a great mid-level credit card that is geared toward travelers and foodies.
And you have the choice of either the standard Gold card or Rose Gold card.

Sign-up Bonus
Now the sign-up bonus for the Amex Gold card is similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
After you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of card ownership you will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points, and with points being worth up to 1 cent per point, this sign-up bonus is worth $600.

So although is not as much as what you get with the Sapphire Preferred card, it is still pretty generous, but keep in mind that this card does come with more perks.

Now the only downside is that it has an annual fee of $250, which is a fair amount, but it is pretty easy to offset if you take full advantage of what the card has to offer.

Earning Points
Earning points with the Amex Gold card is pretty good and is as follows.
You will earn 4x points at restaurants and takeout.
Then you will receive 4x points at supermarkets up to a total of $25,000 per year.

You will earn 3x points on flights through amextravel.com or directly with airlines, and finally, all other purchases will earn 1 point per dollar spent.
So there is a wide variety of options for earning points, specifically if you like to dine out, but also at grocery stores, which most people can take advantage of.

Benefits and Perks
Now the benefits that come with the Amex Gold card are really good, and it also has plenty of insurance-related coverage.

The first notable benefit that comes with this card is the $120 Uber credit that you get each year.
Basically, you will get $10 each month that can be spent on either Uber Rides or Uber Eats.

And the second benefit that I like with this card is the $120 dining credit that you get each year.
And similar to the Uber credit, you can earn up to $10 in statement credit each month when you make purchases through participating partners such as Seamless, Grubhub, and Boxed.

Finally, you will be part of the Hotel Collection which gives you a $100 credit that can be used at participating properties that are booked through American Express Travel. 

As for insurance, you will be covered by a baggage insurance plan for up to $1,250 for carry-on and $500 for checked baggage.

You will get trip delay insurance that can cover up to $300 per covered trip 2 times in a given year.

There is also car rental loss and damage insurance that covers up to $50,000 in case of damage or theft of a rental car.

You will get purchase protection that covers up to a total of $50,000 per card per year.

And finally, you can get an extended warranty of 1 extra year on purchases made in the US that are 5 years or less.

3. Capital One Venture X

Read my full review of the Capital One Venture X Card here.

The next card on this list is the Capital One Venture X card, and this is a relatively new card having only been introduced in October of 2021.

It is one of the best travel rewards credit cards on this list and has a very generous sign-up bonus. 

Sign-up Bonus
So this card has the most valuable sign-up bonus on this list, basically, you will receive 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $10,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of card ownership.

And with miles being worth about 1 cent per mile, this sign-up bonus is worth approximately $1,000.

Now you will have to spend a fair amount to receive the sign-up bonus (just over $1,666 each month for 6 months) 

And whilst it does have the most valuable sign-up bonus on this list, it also has the highest annual fee which is $395, which is a fair bit, but it has a lot of other worthwhile benefits that can easily cover the cost of the annual fee.

Earning Miles
Now there are plenty of ways to earn miles with the Venture X card.

The first and highest miles earning potential with this card is 10x miles at hotels and rental cars that are booked through Capital One Travel. 

You will then be able to earn 5x miles for flights that are booked through Capital One travel.
And finally, all other purchases will receive 2x miles.

So assuming you travel a fair bit, this card can prove to be really quite good at earning reward miles.

Benefits and Perks
Now the benefits and perks that come with this card are definitely the best on this list.
It also has some pretty decent insurance-related coverage.

The first one is a $300 annual travel credit that can be used for bookings through Capital One Travel.

You will also receive a $200 vacation rental credit that can be used within the first year of car ownership. 
Next up, you will receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus worth $100 each year.
You will have unlimited access to well over a thousand airport lounges with Priority Pass and Capital One lounges.

And finally, you will receive up to $100 credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Now with when it comes to insurance coverage you get quite a bit.

To begin with, you will get trip cancellation/interruption insurance that will cover up to $2,000 per insured person in the event of injury, disease, or death.
You will also get trip delay reimbursement that provides up to $500 per ticket in the event your trip is delayed for more than 6 hours.

There is lost luggage reimbursement that can cover up to $3,000 per trip.  
You will get cell phone protection that will cover up to $800 if your phone is damaged or stolen.
There is return protection for 90 days for purchases up to the value of $300.
Like the other credit cards on this list, you will also get extended warranty protection of 1 extra year on eligible US warranties that are 3 years or less.

And finally, you will get an auto rental damage waiver that covers rental cars for damage or theft.

4. Chase Freedom Flex

Read my full review of the Chase Freedom Flex Card here.

Now the next card on the list is the Chase Freedom Flex card, which just happens to be the only card on this list that has no annual fee and offers a 0% introductory APR.

Sign-up Bonus
So the sign-up bonus that comes with this card is pretty good considering it has no annual fee.
After you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months you will receive a $200 bonus.  

Earning Cash Back
Now with the Cash Freedom Flex card, you will get some pretty generous cash back earning opportunities.
To begin with, you will earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases up to a total of $12,000 for the first year, which is worth up to $600 if utilized in full.
All travel purchases that are made through Chase Ultimate rewards will also receive 5% cash-back.

Eating out at restaurants, delivery services, takeout, and drugstore purchases will receive 3% cash-back.
And then all other purchases will receive 1% cash-back.

Benefits and Perks
Now for a credit card that has no annual fee, it actually has some really good benefits and insurance coverage.

Besides being free on an annual basis, you will also get a 0% introductory APR for 15 months.
You also get a free 3-month DashPass that is worth almost $30.

If you ride with Lyft more than 3 times in a given month you will get a $5 Lyft credit.
When you spend $20 at Fandango you will also get a $5 Fandango reward.

You will get a 1-year ShopRunner membership that gives you free 2-day shipping and free returns from a number of different stores across the US.

As for insurance, there is quite a fair bit of coverage.

First of all, you will get trip cancellation/ interruption insurance that covers up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip if your trip just happens to be canceled or cut short.

You will also get an auto rental collision damage waiver that covers you for theft or collision damage of a rental car. 

Next up, a very useful benefit is the cell phone protection that covers up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per year if your cell phone is damaged or lost.

You will then get purchases protection that covers new purchases for up to 120 days up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account if it is damaged or stolen.

And just like all of the other cards on this list you will get extended warranty protection that’s gives you an extra 1 year of warranty on eligible warranties that are 3 years or less. 

5. United Quest Card

Read my review of the United Quest Card here.

Now the last card on this list is the United Quest card from Chase.
And this travel credit card has a great sign-up bonus, a generous set of benefits, and great insurance coverage. 

Sign-up Bonus
So the sign-up bonus with this card is currently 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months of card ownership.

And with miles being worth about 1.2 cents per mile, this sign-up bonus is worth approximately $960.
So this is the second-best sign-up bonus on this list and easily covers the cost of the annual fee which is $250. 

Earning Miles
Now earning miles with the United Quest card is pretty good.

To begin with, you will earn 3x miles on United Airlines purchases.
You will then earn 2x miles on other travel purchases such as airfares, cruise lines, car rentals, and hotels. 

Then dining, delivery services, and select streaming services will also receive 2x miles.
And finally, all other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent. 

Benefits and Perks
Now the United Quest card has some really good benefits and insurance coverage.

The first is a $125 annual United purchase credit, and this is basically a reimbursement for any United purchases that are made to your card during the year.

You will also get the ability to earn two 5,000 mile anniversary award flight credits each anniversary year after you take a United-operated flight that is booked with your own miles.
And this itself is worth $120.

Both you the cardmember and one companion that travels with you will receive their first and second checked bags for free, which is worth up to $320 per round trip.

You will get a $100 credit to cover either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. 

On United flights, you will get priority boarding and 25% back in the way of a statement credit for food, beverages, and WiFi.

Now the insurance benefits that come with this card are equally impressive.

First of all, you will get trip cancellation/ interruption insurance of up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip.

There is baggage delay insurance of up to $100 a day for 3 days, and you also get lost luggage reimbursement that covers up to $3,000 per passenger. 

Next up, you will be covered by trip delay reimbursement that covers up to $500 per ticket.
You will get an auto rental collision damage waiver that covers rental cars for either damage or theft.
Then you will be covered by purchases protection for up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.

And finally, you will get extended warranty protection that gives you an extra 1 year of coverage on eligible warranties that are 3 years or less.