There are a lot of great cards out there to earn you miles and reward points right out of the gate but here are a few that would be a great start to a collection and would earn you free flights and hotel stays right away. The Delta Gold card from AmEx just raised its sign-up bonus to 30k miles so that would be a good place to start. The Chase card offers the most freedom but they all offer great rewards.
US Airways Premier MasterCard- 40,000 Miles
- 40,000 bonus sign-up miles
- 2 $99 companion tickets annually
- US Airways club pass
Chase Sapphire Preferred – 50,000 points
- 1:1 point transfers
- Item Four50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months*
- Redeem for nights at Hyatt starting at 5k/night.
- Accumulate unlimited points that never expire
- Redeem for cash, airline tickets, hotels, car rental, cruise, or gift cards
- No black out dates
- Travel Insurance
- 24/7 Human customer reps
Chase Sapphire Card (not Preferred)- 25,000 points
- Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months*2 points per dollar spent on dining
- Earn an additional point per dollar spent when you book airfare & hotel accommodations online through Ultimate RewardsSM*
- Points never expire and there are no limits on how many points you can earnRedeem points for travel, gift cards, merchandise, cash back and more24/7 direct access to expert service advisors (No voice recording)
- No annual fee!*
Delta Gold AmEx- Now with 30k bonus sing-up miles
- 30k bonus miles upon approval
- First checked bag free
- Priority boarding
- 20% in-flight savings
- Discounted upgrades
- $95 annual fee waived first year
Chase Marriott Premier Visa- 50,000 points
- Free night upon approval
- $85 annual fee waived
- Free night annually upon renewal
- 5 points for every $1 spent at over 3,400 Marriott locations
- 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible dining, airline and rental car purchases1 point for every $1 spent on purchases anywhere else
- Unlimited Point Accumulation
