What is the best credit card for rewards?
I have a Capital One no hassle miles. I really like it, it’s real easy to redeem. Their best program is 2% rewards but they have a small annual fee of $35. Is there any better program with a higher amount of miles? I spend about $150,000 a year on my credit card
The Escape card from Discover offers a better reward for over two years. It’s also a 2% card, but with a bonus 1,000 miles each month you make purchase, for the first 25 months. So, you get 12,000 extra “miles” (each worth 1 cent, so $120.00 extra in rewards) each year for the first two years. The annual fee is $60. So for an extra $25 fee you get an extra $120 in rewards. So, a little better, but it is a Discover card, which may not be accepted everywhere you normally spend.
One other consideration is that with your Capital One card, you really only get the full 2% reward if you purchase airline tickets that cost $600+ or close to $350 (due to the tiered redemption structure). However, with the Escape card from Discover, you always get the full 2% reward, since 10,000 points always convert to a $100 travel credit (no tiering).
Depending on what you spend your $150K on each year, you might also consider other cards with higher category-specific rewards that line up with the bulk of your spending. You could try the rewards calculator at http://www.creditcardtuneup.com/ to see what it comes up with.