Learn all about the Best Credit Cards For Young Professionals To Earn Points, Cash & Miles
As a young professional, it is important to be equipped with a credit card that suites your lifestyle. There are a lot of rewards credit cards on the market that are best suited for certain bonus categories, with plenty offering more than double points on the things you tend to spend the most money on such as travel, dining, supermarkets, gas stations and more.
Best Credit Cards For Young Professionals
There a few factors to take into account when selecting the best credit cards for young professionals:
- Annual fee
- Sign-up bonus
- Rewards rate
- Travel benefits
- Transfer partners
- Other benefits
Considering the factors mentioned above, here are a few of our favorite cards:
CREDIT CARD | BONUS CATEGORIES | ANNUAL FEE |
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | Travel Dining |
$95 |
Chase Sapphire Reserve | Travel Dining |
$550 |
American Express Gold | Dining Supermarkets Airfare |
$250 |
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card | Vivid Seats Dining Entertainment Grocery stores |
$95, $0 1st year |
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | None | $95, $0 1st year |
Citi Double Cash Card | None | $0 |
Closer Look at Each Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a very fan favorite rewards card. It has an incredibly generous sign-up bonus and earns double points for travel and dining. In addition, travel and dining are both broadly defined to include a wide variety of purchases.
![]() The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM • 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries • 2x on all other travel purchases • 1x on all other purchases • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027. Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase TravelSM This card carries a $95 annual fee. |
The annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve is $550 a year, which is a lot for a credit card. However, if you take full advantage of all that this card has to offer, then you’ll be getting much more than your money’s worth. Features include a big sign-up bonus, triple points on travel and dining, $300 in travel credits every year, lounge access via Priority Pass Select and more.
![]() The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase TravelSM. You'll earn • 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. • 3x points on other travel and dining • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027. Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel. This card does carry a $550 annual fee and there are no foreign transaction fees. However, you're able to earn a $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year & up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. Member FDIC |
If you spend most of your money on food, then the American Express Gold Card could be a good fit with 4x American Express Membership Rewards® points on dining worldwide and U.S. supermarkets*, as well as $120 in dining credits every year. The card also offers triple points on flights**, $100 in airline fee credits per year and a big sign-up bonus.
![]() The American Express® Gold Card offers 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. You'll earn: • 4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. • 4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. • 3X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. • 2X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. • 1X Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. Other benefits: • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit. • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at Dunkin' locations. • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required. • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required. • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Eligible charges vary by property. This card has an annual fee of $325 with no foreign transaction fees (See Rates & Fees). Terms Apply. |
If you spend a lot in the dining and entertainment categories, then consider the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. With just $95 in annual fees (waived your first year), you’ll get 8% cash back at Vivid Seats*, 4% cash back on dining and entertainment, and 2% back at grocery stores.
For those looking for a low-cost option with simple rewards, you won’t find much better than the Citi Double Cash Card. It doesn’t come with any bells or whistles – notably, no sign-up bonus – but it does offer a generous, flat-rate on all your purchases: 2% cash back (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay). In fact, it’s one of the cards we recommend for your everyday spending.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is now turning heads, thanks to the recent addition of airline transfer partners. And if you’re into simple travel rewards, the Venture card has your name on it with a flat earning rate of double miles on all your purchases.
You’ll also enjoy a statement credit for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee, which is a rare feature for a mid-tier card.
![]() The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel. You're able to earn: • 2X Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. • 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection This card does come with a $95 annual fee. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and receive up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. |
Additional Guide
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Bottom Line
Be sure to learn all about the perks and fees when choosing which credit card to open. Making an educated decision could help you maximize your spendings and get great rewards.
We included all of our favorite cards that offer good perks and bonuses, with no annual fee. For more credit cards, see our latest list of the best credit card bonuses!
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