The Ultimate Credit Card For 2023

by Daniel | Last Updated Jun 22nd, 2023

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When it comes to top-tier credit cards there are 3 different cards that are almost always mentioned.
The Amex Platinum Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and the Capital One Venture X card.
And there’s a good reason for this, all of these credit cards have good sign-up bonuses, offer a ton of different benefits and perks, and plenty of insurance-related coverage that can potentially save you a ton of money if any ever goes wrong.

So in this article, I’m going to review and compare these 3 credit cards and break down in detail what strengths and weaknesses each card has then at the end of the video I’ll give you my opinion on which card I think is the best value.

https://youtu.be/32gc3Jq9q_w

Are These Cards Good For You? 

Now if you don’t already have one of these credit cards it’s worth considering if either one of them might be a good fit for you and your situation.

So the first thing you should know is that all of these cards have a relatively high annual fee, starting with the cheapest of the 3 cards, the Capital One Venture X card you are looking at an annual fee of $395, then the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is slightly more expensive coming in at $550 and then finally the most expensive card of the 3 is the Amex Platinum Card which has an annual fee of $695.

Now these high annual fees might instantly turn your off even considering having either one of these cards, but as I will show you in this video if you just follow some simple steps it is actually possible to easily cover the cost of the annual fee for all of these cards and still be left with a huge amount value.

The other thing to know about these credit cards is that the most value to be had is from travel-related experiences.
So if you like to stay at nice hotels and travel up the front of the plane, keep watching this video as I’ll show you a few examples of how you can actually do this. 

How Much Is The Signup Bonus Worth?

So let’s first start by looking at how much the sign-up bonus is worth with each card and then look at a few ways you could use these sign-up bonuses to receive a ton of value.

Along with this, each anniversary year you will actually receive an additional 10,000 bonus miles once you have paid the annual fee.

So these miles are worth 1 cent per mile, which values the sign-up bonus at $750, but as I will show you in the next part of this video, it is actually possible to receive quite a lot more value than this. 

Now as with all of these cards, you will receive the most value by transferring the miles (or points) to one of the related travel partners.

And currently, the Capital One Venture X card has 15 different airline partners which presents a transfer value of 1:1, and then 2 hotel partners which have a slightly lower transfer value of 2:1.5 for Accor Live Limitless and then 2:1 to Choice hotels.

So an example of using your miles to get more than 1 cent per mile in value would be heading over to the Qantas website here, and as you can see I have found a flight from LA to Sydney Australia that cost $1,233, but it is actually possible to book the flight with Qantas Points for just 41,900 points (+89 in fees).

And seeing that you can transfer Capital One Points to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio, means you would be getting a value of about 2.7 cents per mile, which is really good value!
If you calculate the 75,000-mile sign-up bonus at a 2.7 miles valuation, this works out to be a value of $2,025

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Now the nice thing with the Reserve card is that the points are worth 1.5 cents per point when redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, this provides you with a value of $900.

And similar to the Venture X card you will find the most value from your points when you transfer them to one of the hotel or airline partners of which the Reserve card currently has 11 different airlines partners and 3 different hotel partners and it is possible to transfer points at a value of 1:1.
And at the time of writing this article, there is a special running with Air Canada where you can actually receive an additional 20% bonus points. 

So now let’s take a look at how you can redeem these points for a much higher valuation.

And from my own personal experience, it Is possible to find some fantastic deals through The World Of Hyatt.
A good example of this would be to book a room at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme which for the dates I selected costs $1,705 which is really quite expensive, but it is possible to use just 35,000 World of Hyatt points.

And seeing that you can transfer Chase Sapphire Reserve points to The World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, means you would be getting a value of about 4.8 cents per point, which is insanely good value!

If you calculate the 60,000-point sign-up bonus at a 4.8 cent per point valuation, this works out to be a value of $2,880.

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But if you want to get an even better sign-up bonus, it is possible to earn 100,000 Points by using my referral link.

Now the spend requirement is $2,000 more than both the other cards, but you have an additional 3 months to meet it.
This works out to be a spend of approximately $33 a day, which is actually less than the other two cards on a daily basis, it just takes twice as long to meet the spend requirement.

Now Membership Rewards Points are generally worth 1 cent per point which means this sign-up bonus is worth around $1,000.

And currently, the Amex Platinum card has 17 different airline partners which presents a minimum transfer value of 1:1, and then 3 hotel partners which have a transfer value of 1:1 for both Marriott Bonvoy and Choice Privileges and then Hilton hotels that provide you with a transfer value of 1:2 (1 Amex point for 2 Hilton points)

So now let’s take a look at how you can redeem these points for a much higher valuation.
And by looking at the Hilton website it is possible to book a night at the Oceana Santa Monica for $950, and if you use Hilton points it will cost 105,000 points.

Now as I mentioned before it is actually possible to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points to Hilton points at a rate of 1:2, so that means it will cost just 52,500 points.
This provides you with a value of approximately 1.8 cents per point.

If you calculate the 100,000-point sign-up bonus at a 1.8 cent per point valuation, this works out to be a value of $1,800.

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So as you can just from the 3 examples I showed you here it is possible to find some really valuable deals with all there of these cards. 

Benefits And Perks Of Each Card 

Now besides the ability to earn a decent-sized sign-up bonus each one of these cards also offers a whole range of different benefits and perks that if used correctly can provide you with a huge amount of value.

Now it’s worth keeping in mind that each year you also receive 10,000 bonus miles that are worth $100, This means that between these two benefits alone you actually receive $5 to have the card!

Along with this the card also offers you a Priority Pass Select membership that is worth $469.
This provides you the ability to access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, which is a fantastic benefit to have if you do travel a fair amount. 

I personally use my Priority Pass membership all the time as I travel a lot and I must say that it really does make my time traveling a lot more enjoyable.

Now if you already have a Priority Pass Membership, make sure to check this article here where I go through a complete tutorial on how to set up a Priority Pass account and what benefit you receive with each version of Priority Pass.

Along with this, there is also access to a Capital One Lounge at Dallas Fort Worth.
Then there is a $100 credit that can be used towards other TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry.
And finally, it is possible to receive a $100 credit when booking hotel stays through the ‘Premier Collection’  

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Basically with the Venture X card, you can only receive the credit for bookings that are made through Capital One Travel, whereas with the Reserve card, you will automatically receive the credit when using the card on related travel expenses, and from my experience using this card, it is really very easy to receive this travel credit.

Now as with all three of these cards, you will also receive a Priority Pass Select Membership that is worth $469, the main difference between the Reserve card over both other cards with this benefit is that you will also have the ability to use Priority Pass at over 30 different restaurant locations just in the US.
This is a really nice benefit to have as it allows you to receive a credit of $28 for you and then another $28 credit for 1 guest, so a total of $56 in credit.
This is specifically useful if you happen to be at an airport that doesn’t have any lounges but does allow you to use the credit at one of the Restaurants.

Along with Priority Pass lounge access, there is also access to the new Chase Sapphire Lounges which have already opened at the following location:

• Hong Kong International Airport
• Boston Logan International Airport
• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

And apparently, there are another 6 locations to open in the US in the near future.

Then there is also a $100 credit that can be used on either Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.
So you will have one extra option here to choose from over the Venture X card.

With access to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection its s possible to receive a $100 property credit, this is very similar to what you can receive with the Venture X card.

And then finally you will receive the following benefits:

• A 2-year Lyft Pink All Access membership
• A $10 Monthly Statement Credit at Gopuff
• A DashPass subscription
• And then one year of complimentary Instacart+ membership 

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And these are:

• A $300 Equinox credit
• 240 Digital Entertainment credit
• $200 Hotel credit
• $200 Airline fee credit
• $200 Uber Cash credit 
• $189 CLEAR credit
• $155 Walmart+ credit 
• $100 Saks credit 
• $100 credit for TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry 
  

So just these benefits alone are worth $1,684, so if you can take advantage of just half of them, the annual fee of the card will be covered.

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Then the following credits can be redeemed each time you make a qualifying booking.

• $300 credit to use through the  Cruise Privileges Program 
• $100 credit for use through either the Fine Hotels & Resorts Program or The Hotel Collection

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Now along with this, you will also receive a Priority Pass Select Membership that is worth $469

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Then there is access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes access to the following lounges:

• Amex Centurion Lounges
• Delta SkyClub
• Escape Lounges
• Plaza Premium Lounges
• Airspace Lounges
• Lufthansa Lounges
  

So the Amex Platinum Card clearly offers a lot more in the way of overall benefits and lounge access than both of the other cards.

How Can You Earn Points?

Now all 3 of these cards offer some pretty decent points (and miles) earning potential from a wide range of different categories.

• 10x miles on Hotel and rental car bookings that are made through Capital One Travel.
• 5x miles on flights that are booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles on all other purchases

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• 10x points on hotel and car rental bookings that are made through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 10x points on Chase Dining Purchases with Ultimate Rewards
• 10x points on all Lyft Rides
• 5x points on flights that are booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3x points on all other travel that is not purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3x points on dining at restaurants and takeaway services.
• 1 point per dollar spent on all the purchases.

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• 5x points on flights that are booked directly with airlines or that are booked through American Express Travel and this is limited to a total spend of $500k each year.
• 5x points on pre-paid hotels that are booked on Amextravel.com
• 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. 

So in terms of points earning potential and the variety of options to earn points from, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes out on top. 

What Insurance Coverage Do You Receive?

Now all three of these cards come with quite a lot of insurance coverage, most of which covers travel or purchase-related insurance.

There is up to $75,000 in coverage with all 3 cards on rental cars, this covers things like theft or damage of the car.

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All three cards also offer Trip Delay insurance that covers up to $500 per trip if it happens to be delayed for more than 6 hours.

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With Trip Cancellation both the Reserve card and the Platinum card covers up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per card per year.
Whereas the Venture X card offers just $2,000 per person.

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Both the Venture X card and the Platinum card offer Cell phone protection of up to $800, and this can be redeemed up to 2 times in a 12-month period.
The Reserve card unfortunately doesn’t not have this coverage.

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All three cards offer a form of Luggage protection that covers up to $3,000 per person.

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Both the Amex Platinum and the Reserve card offer Purchase Protection that provides you with up to $10,000 per claim and a total of $50,000 per card per year. 

And the Platinum card allows for 90 days of coverage whereas the Reserve card allows for 120 days of coverage.
The Venture X card, however, does not provide this coverage.

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All three cards offer Return Protection.

• The Platinum card allows for 90 days of coverage and up to $300 per item and a maximum of $1,000 per card per year.
• The Reserve card allows for 90 days of coverage as well but allows for a slightly higher $500 per item than the same $1,000 per year.
• Then the Venture X card allows up to $300 per item.
  

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All three cards also offer an extended warranty of 1 extra year.
With both the Venture X and Reserve card it is available on Warranties that a 3 years or less.
And with the Platinum, card it is available on warranties that a 5 years or less.

Final Thoughts

Ok so that covers pretty much everything there is to know about all 3 of these cards, and as you can see there are plenty of perks and benefits available with each card.

Now choosing the best card is more of a personal opinion as all 3 of these cards are somewhat unique in what they offer, so what might be good for me, might not necessarily be good for you.

And just a disclaimer, I actually have both an Amex Platinum Card and a Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

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It’s $155 more than the Venture X card and $145 less than the Amex Platinum Card on an annual basis.
And at least for me, the benefits are easier to use than the Venture X Card, specifically the $300 annual travel credit.
And then this card offers better points earning potential than both the other cards, which leads to the ability to redeem more value.

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Also, the Priority Pass that comes with both this card and the Amex Platinum Card doesn’t allow you to get credit at select airport restaurants, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve card does.
And I know this is not really much of an issue, but I actually use the quite a few times a year so it makes sense for me.

Now if you’ve ever wondered why the Amex Centurion costs $15,000 just to get the card for the first year, check out this article here, where I talk you through every there is to know about the American Express Centurion card.