Best Credit Cards of 2024: The Ones Actually Worth a Slot

The short answer: The Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, Capital One Venture X, and Biz Plat dominated 2024 for most points-focused cardholders. Which one earns a spot in your wallet depends almost entirely on your 5/24 count, spend categories, and whether you're optimizing for transferable points or flat-rate simplicity.

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Which Chase cards should you prioritize before anything else?

If you have 5/24 headroom, Chase cards come first. Full stop. The Sapphire Preferred and Ink Cash are the two most commonly recommended starting points because once you're at 5/24, Chase is off the table indefinitely.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred carried a 60,000-point sign-up bonus through much of 2024 after meeting a $4,000 spend threshold in three months. That's worth a floor of $750 through Chase Travel, and considerably more when transferred to partners like Hyatt or United. The $95 annual fee is offset for many people by the $50 annual hotel credit and the 10% anniversary point bonus on your prior year's base spend.

The Chase Ink Cash is a no-annual-fee business card that earns 5x on office supply stores and internet, cable, and phone services up to $25,000 per year. Paired with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, those points become transferable. A common strategy is to funnel telecom bills through Ink Cash, then pool the points into a Sapphire account for partner transfers.

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Is the Amex Gold still worth it at a $250 annual fee?

For people who spend heavily on dining and U.S. supermarkets, yes. The card earns 4x Membership Rewards at restaurants worldwide and 4x at U.S. supermarkets up to $25,000 per year, then 1x.

The math works like this: if you spend $500 per month on groceries, that's 6,000 Membership Rewards points per month, or 72,000 per year from that category alone. At a conservative transfer value to Air France/KLM Flying Blue or Avianca LifeMiles, many people get well above 1.5 cents per point, making the annual grocery earn worth $1,000+ in travel value before accounting for dining.

The Amex Gold also comes with up to $120 in annual dining credits ($10/month at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys) and up to $120 in Uber Cash. Whether those credits are useful depends entirely on your lifestyle. If you order Grubhub regularly and use Uber, the effective annual fee drops to $10. If you never use either, you're paying $250 for the earn rates.

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What's the best option if you're already over 5/24?

Capital One and Amex are the two ecosystems that don't care about your Chase velocity. The Capital One Venture X is the card most frequently cited as the cleanest premium travel card for people locked out of Chase.

The Venture X has a $395 annual fee that is offset, for many cardholders, by a $300 annual travel credit applied automatically to bookings through Capital One Travel and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles each year. At Capital One's own valuation floor of 1 cent per mile, the anniversary bonus alone is worth $100, making the net effective fee $95 before you earn a single point on spend.

Transfer partners improved meaningfully in 2024. Capital One now transfers to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and Avianca LifeMiles, among others, at a 1:1 ratio. Turkish in particular has become a favorite for Star Alliance redemptions at rates that are difficult to match elsewhere.

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Are there any business cards worth adding in 2024?

Yes, the Amex Business Platinum offers significant rewards for high spenders with a 1.5x multiplier on $5,000+ purchases and select categories. Despite a hefty $695 annual fee, it provides valuable credits for Dell, Indeed, and Adobe services.

The Amex Business Platinum is a heavy hitter for high spenders, specifically because of the 1.5x multiplier on purchases of $5,000 or more and on select business categories. The $695 annual fee is steep, but the card comes with up to $400 in U.S. Dell credits, up to $360 in Indeed credits, up to $150 in Adobe credits, and a 35% Pay With Points rebate when booking through Amex Travel in a confirmed cabin. For people who already use those services, the credits can flip the effective annual fee negative.

The Ink Business Preferred remains a strong Chase business card with 3x on travel, shipping, advertising on social media and search engines, and internet/cable/phone services up to $150,000 per year. The 100,000-point welcome bonus seen periodically in 2024 is one of the highest publicly available Chase offers and transfers directly to Hyatt, United, and Southwest, among others.

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What about flat-rate cards for everything else?

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey launched in 2024 with 5x on hotels, 4x on airlines, 3x on other travel and restaurants, and 1x everywhere else, with a $95 annual fee. Wells Fargo also expanded its transfer partners to include Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, and British Airways Avios, making the points genuinely useful rather than locked into a proprietary portal.

For pure catch-all spending, many people run the Citi Double Cash at 2% back or convert those earnings to ThankYou Points if they also hold a Citi Premier or Prestige. Two percent on non-bonused spend beats most premium cards on that same spend.

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How should you sequence these applications?

A common approach is to clear out Chase first, then move to Amex and Capital One. Within Chase, business cards like the Ink suite don't count toward your 5/24 total when you apply, though they do count as new accounts for other issuers' internal models.

Many people find that spacing applications 90 days apart reduces the risk of a shutdown or adverse action, though issuer behavior varies and no spacing guarantees approval. Tracking your count at 524tracker.com before any application is the clearest way to know where you stand before you hit submit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Chase 5/24 rule and how does it affect my credit card applications?

The Chase 5/24 rule automatically denies most Chase credit card applications if you've opened 5 or more personal credit cards (from any bank) within the past 24 months. This rule is one of the most important factors in planning your credit card application strategy. Because Chase offers some of the most valuable cards and transferable points currencies available, most experts recommend prioritizing Chase cards first before applying with other issuers like American Express or Citi.

Which 2024 credit cards are worth getting if I'm under 5/24?

If you're under 5/24, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business cards should be your top priorities in 2024. These cards earn Ultimate Rewards points, which transfer to over a dozen airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. The Chase Sapphire Preferred frequently offers sign-up bonuses of 60,000–100,000 points, potentially worth $750–$1,250 or more when transferred to travel partners like Hyatt, United, or Southwest.

How do I track my 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card?

You can check your 5/24 status by pulling your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and counting every personal credit card opened in the last 24 months. Tools like 524tracker.com help you log your card applications and automatically calculate whether you're currently under or over the 5/24 threshold. Business cards from most issuers (except Chase) typically don't appear on your personal credit report and therefore don't count toward your 5/24 number.

What are the best sign-up bonuses available on credit cards in 2024?

The best 2024 sign-up bonuses include Chase Ink Business cards offering 75,000–90,000 Ultimate Rewards points, the American Express Platinum at 80,000–150,000 Membership Rewards points, and the Capital One Venture X at 75,000 miles. Sign-up bonuses represent the fastest way to accumulate points for travel. Always verify you haven't received a bonus on the same card product previously, as most issuers enforce bonus restrictions ranging from 24 to 48 months between bonuses on the same card.

Should I apply for business credit cards to avoid using up my 5/24 slots?

Yes, applying for business credit cards from issuers like American Express, Citi, Capital One, and Chase is a proven strategy to earn valuable points without consuming your precious 5/24 slots. Most small business cards report only to business credit bureaus, leaving your personal credit report—and therefore your 5/24 count—unaffected. Sole proprietors and freelancers typically qualify for business cards. Popular options include the Ink Business Preferred, Amex Business Gold, and Citi AA Business card for building points balances efficiently.