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![The 11 Best Credit Card Combinations – Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Amex-Gold-Amex-Platinum-Card-Upgraded-Points-LLC-Large.jpg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
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When it comes to credit cards, there’s rarely ever a single credit card that completely covers your needs. That’s because different credit cards have unique bonus structures, annual fees, and benefits.
So while the best strategy isn’t usually as simple as using a single card for anything and everything, you can get pretty close if you use 2 credit cards. This is known as a “credit card duo” or a “credit card combination.”
Usually, major credit card issuers offer products that complement each other, making it easy to maximize your purchases while sticking with 1 bank.
So in this guide, we’ll show you all of our favorite credit card combinations, whether you’re looking for luxury travel perks, high rewards, or just no-frills rewards.
When it comes to a credit card combination, the objective is usually to try to maximize your rewards as much as possible through consideration of your largest types of expenses.
For example, those who purchase lots of airfare will benefit from different cards than those who spend a lot of money on food would.
All in all, you should first think about where you spend the most money and then figure out what benefits you’re looking for. Lastly, budget accordingly based on how much you’re comfortable paying in annual fees — you may want to include 1 card in your combination with a lower annual fee instead of having 2 ultra-premium cards.
In this next section, we’ll show you the best combinations for credit cards, starting with personal options.
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
We’re big on luxury travel — and using points to book luxury travel for pennies on the dollar — and perhaps the biggest facilitators of luxury travel are the Amex Platinum card and Amex Gold card, our absolute favorite personal card combination.
We love having the Amex Platinum card because it offers exceptional travel benefits like no other:
It also has the unique ability to earn 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) and earn 5x on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel.
Simply put, you’re pretty much covered in terms of earning lots of rewards on flights and hotels with the Amex Platinum card — the lounge access, hotel benefits, and elite status help you feel like a rockstar when traveling.
The Amex Gold card comes in handy because it is exceptionally rewarding on your day-to-day purchases. It earns 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants, so foodies will max out their earnings here. In addition, get 4x points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year. Also, this card comes with valuable statement credits every year that effectively offset the annual fee.
Most importantly, Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable available, according to our valuations.
Chase and Amex compete fiercely in the market of rewards-bearing credit cards. In our opinion, the best personal credit card combination for Chase loyalists is the Chase Sapphire Reserve card coupled with the Freedom Unlimited card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the ultra-premium credit card offered by Chase, and it earns up to 10x points on purchases as follows:
Also, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers $300 in travel statement credits every card anniversary year, a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, and some of the best travel insurance in the world.
With this card, you also have the ability to convert rewards from cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points on eligible credit cards.
One such eligible card is the Freedom Unlimited card, an extremely useful card whose rewards are best amassed on “miscellaneous” purchases. That’s because the Freedom Unlimited card earns 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases and dining, and 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases.
This 1.5% cash-back is convertible to 1.5x points if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, allowing you to max out your rewards on travel, dining, and everything else.
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Another great credit card combo is the Amex Gold card and the Amex Green card. If you’re looking for maximum rewards from Amex without the bells and whistles of lounge access and other travel benefits, this is one of the best ways to get it.
As mentioned above, the Amex Gold card earns 4x Membership Rewards points on restaurants worldwide. It also earns 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year).
You can make use of The Hotel Collection, which offers solid perks such as a property credit and a room upgrade at eligible properties, as well as a good amount back in statement credits each year.
But the Amex Green card is fantastic because it earns 3x points at restaurants, on transit (including trains, buses, ferries, and subways), and on travel. While we’d still use the Amex Gold card at restaurants over the Amex Green card, the Amex Green card has a very broad definition of travel — it covers airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more.
You don’t need to book travel through the Amex Travel website to get 3x points on the Amex Green card, making it very attractive for travelers who don’t use the Amex Travel portal very much.
The Amex Green card even comes with a $189 CLEAR Plus credit and a $100 LoungeBuddy credit.
One of the most intriguing credit card combinations available, especially if you’re looking to maximize rewards and are fine paying for a mild annual fee, is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card paired with the Capital One Venture card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers a terrific welcome bonus, plus up to 5x Ultimate Rewards points:
And if you pair this with the Capital One Venture card for all other purchases that don’t fall into those categories, you’ll end up earning at least 2x points/miles per dollar spent. That’s because the Capital One Venture card earns:
Because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are more valuable than Capital One miles, we’d recommend using the Capital One Venture card only for purchases that don’t belong to any of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s bonus categories.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card earns 3x points on dining, while the Capital One Venture card earns 2x miles on dining. Therefore, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card would be the most sensible option for dining.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also earns an account anniversary bonus of 10% points of your total purchases made the previous year. There’s an annual $50 Chase Ultimate Rewards hotel credit, great travel insurance, the ability to get 25% more value when redeeming points through the Chase travel portal, a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership when you activate by December 31, 2024, and awesome travel insurance.
Meanwhile, the Capital One Venture card also offers unique benefits like a $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, 2 free lounge visits per year to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium Lounges, and complimentary Hertz Five Star status.
Both of these cards have no foreign transaction fees, no additional annual fees for authorized users, and perks like extended warranty coverage.
Hot Tip: Savvy travelers should generally use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to book travel if they’re debating between the 2 cards for travel insurance coverage.
The last personal credit card combination we’ll talk about is from Citi, which is also a solid competitor in the space of rewards.
In particular, the Citi Premier card and the Double Cash card are our favorites to pair together. That’s because the Citi Premier card earns 3x ThankYou Points on an impressive list of bonus categories:
It earns 1 ThankYou Point per dollar spent on all other purchases, but we love coupling the Citi Premier card with the Double Cash card. The Double Cash card earns up to 2% on all purchases: 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay (earned as ThankYou Points). So by putting all other non-3x categories on the Double Cash card, you can earn 2x transferrable points.
When you pair a Double Cash card with a Citi Premier card, you can transfer your points to book fantastic business and first class plane tickets.
Bottom Line: Our 2 favorite credit card combinations are the Amex Platinum card paired with the Amex Gold card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card paired with the Freedom Unlimited card.
Now, let’s break down our favorite combinations of business cards for maximum rewards and benefits!
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Our favorite business card combo is the Amex Business Platinum card and the Amex Business Gold card. Simply put, between the luxury travel perks, the ability to spend more than a traditional credit card with no preset spending limit, and the extensive bonus categories covered, it’s a no-brainer.
The Amex Business Platinum card earns 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, as well as 1.5x points on these useful bonus categories (up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year):
On all other purchases, you get 1x points.
The Amex Business Platinum card confers access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection (which includes the famous Centurion Lounges), as well as statement credits every year of up to $400 with Dell Technologies, up to $360 with Indeed, up to $150 with Adobe, up to $120 on wireless services, up to $189 with CLEAR Plus, and an airline fee credit of up to $200.
Lastly, the Amex Business Platinum card enjoys a lovely 35% Pay with Points rebate for eligible flights booked through Amex Travel (~1.54 cents per point of redemption value).
This truly special card is best paired with the Amex Business Gold card, which is one of our favorites because it earns 4x points per dollar on the 2 categories where your business spends the most every month (up to $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year):
Can you imagine a credit card duo that covers you for gas, shipping, advertising, hardware, and software? And can you imagine that the same credit card duo offers phenomenal travel perks?
That’s what you get with the Amex Business Platinum card and the Amex Business Gold card!
The second business credit card duo we really like is from Chase: the Ink Business Preferred card and the Ink Business Unlimited card.
Although there are no luxury travel benefits like lounge access or airfare discounts, you’ll be in great shape from a rewards accumulation standpoint.
The Ink Business Preferred card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on up to $150,000 in combined purchases every year in these categories:
The card also earns 5x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025, and 1x points on all other purchases. You’ll enjoy cell phone insurance, solid travel protections, and purchase protections. Plus, it comes with a huge welcome bonus.
Go ahead and leverage this card alongside the Ink Business Unlimited card, which offers 1.5% cash-back on all purchases. In this case, you can convert your cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points if you have the Ink Business Preferred card, which effectively translates to 1.5x points on all purchases.
Bottom Line: Simply put, go ahead and max out the 3x categories from the Ink Business Preferred card and put everything else on the Ink Business Unlimited card to rack up tons of rewards quickly.
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 110,000 points with the Amex Business Gold card! The current public offer is 70,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Another great credit card combo is the Amex Business Gold card coupled with the Amex Blue Business Plus card.
As we mentioned, the Amex Business Gold card earns 4x points on up to $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year on the 2 categories where your business spends the most (adjusted automatically every billing statement):
So whether you spend a lot on advertising and gas or shipping and restaurants, you can earn the most rewards — it’s automatically done from Amex.
Since the Amex Business Gold card earns 1x points for all other purchases, we recommend using the Amex Blue Business Plus card instead since it earns 2x points per dollar spent on all purchases (up to $50,000 in purchases every calendar year).
This strategy maxes out your rewards as a business owner with Amex, especially if you don’t see yourself being able to spend that much on annual fees.
Our last business credit card combination is for maximum cash-back. If your business expenses are generally pretty small and you are averse to annual fees, you’ll want to pay close attention to this section.
The Amex Blue Business Cash card earns 2% cash-back on all eligible purchases (up to $50,000 per calendar year, 1% after). The best part is that cash-back is automatically credited to your statement, which puts your rewards on autopilot.
After that, the Ink Business Unlimited card is your other best friend, since it earns an unlimited 1.5% cash-back with no limits or caps.
What if you have a business but want to keep personal and business transactions separate? This next section is devoted to showing you the best personal and business credit card combinations!
All of these combinations consist of 1 personal card and 1 business card. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
The Amex Platinum card and the Amex Business Gold card combine the best of both worlds. Namely, the ability to separate purchases while maintaining travel benefits and excellent rewards.
As we mentioned before, the Amex Platinum card has fantastic lounge access perks, hotel, and car rental elite status, plus 5x points on airfare booked through Amex Travel or directly with the airline (up to $500,000 per calendar year). It also earns 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel.
Couple this with the Amex Business Gold card, which earns 4x points on the 2 categories where your business spends the most (adjusted automatically every billing statement):
With this in mind, you have a recipe for optimizing your credit card portfolio while keeping personal and business transactions separate!
The best Chase personal and business combination is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Ink Business Unlimited card.
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can earn 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries. You can even get 5x points on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, as well as 2x points on all other travel purchases.
Every cardmember anniversary year, you’ll even get a 10% bonus of points based on the total dollar amount spent to earn even more rewards!
With this card, you can flexibly transfer points to airline and hotel partners or book travel through the Chase travel portal for 1.25 cents per point.
The Ink Business Unlimited card comes in handy because you can earn 1.5% cash-back with no caps, which can then be converted to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points, thanks to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Picking the right credit cards can mean the difference between getting back thousands of dollars in rewards per year and leaving a bunch of money on the table.
In this guide, we’ve identified 10 of the best credit card combinations, whether you’re looking for personal cards only, business cards only, or a mix.
Be sure to examine your spending habits to see if you’re frequently paying for travel, spending a lot on food, or other categories.
Happy earning!
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Green Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, click here.
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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
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1 comments
Earl B.
April 02, 2022
After much thought, I decided to pair my Amex Platinum with an Amex Green card, and I have loved the combination. In my case, my wife and I just would never buy groceries on a credit card, which means the Amex Gold really only adds value for me on 4x dining. But the Green gets 3x on worldwide dining (just a point less than Gold), and then adds 3x on a wide range of “travel” costs: Hotels (including those NOT booked through Amex Travel, which means I get 3x MR points, plus all hotel loyalty points), car rental, Uber/Lyft, trains, ferries, airport parking, taxis, buses, etc…). We obtained and started using our Amex Platinum to expand and enhance our travels, and the Green card has been an amazing complement for those who make travel the focus of their points and miles experience.
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