Best Chase credit cards for September 2023

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Best for all-around travel

• What we love about Chase Sapphire Preferred: The Chase Sapphire Preferred paves the way as a more affordable travel card with remarkable premium perks, top-notch travel protections, account anniversary bonus points and annual hotel credits.
• Who this card is good for: Both infrequent travelers and rewards aficionados (especially people who have Chase cash back cards already) who want an affordable travel card with notable perks, but also plenty of flexible redemption options.
• Alternatives: The Citi Premier® Card has a similar annual fee, but offers a more rewarding experience for travelers who want to earn on groceries, gas and general travel.  

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review.
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Ink Business Cash Credit Card: Best for everyday business purchases

• What we love about the Ink Business Cash: The Ink Business Cash is a well-rounded, easy-to-manage business card that covers some of the most popular spending categories for brick-and-mortar businesses, including office supplies and internet services.
• Who this card is good for: Small-business owners with modest budgets focused on office supplies and internet, cable and phone services, since these categories earn elevated cash back rates. If you have one or both of the other two Chase Ink cards, the Business Cash also makes for an excellent partner card.
• Alternatives: If a spending cap will hold you back in any way, the Ink Business Unlimited card offers unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases you make for your business while still skipping the annual fee. 

Read our full Ink Business Cash Credit Card review
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Chase Sapphire Reserve: Best for luxury travel

• What we love about the Chase Sapphire Reserve: The sky-high rewards value you’ll earn on travel and its variety of bonus categories is hard to beat, thanks to its quality transfer partners, stellar pairing opportunities and 50 percent rewards redemption value boost through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• Who this card is good for: Frequent travelers who invest in luxury perks. You’ll gain access to upcoming Chase Sapphire Lounge locations and a suite of other elite travel benefits, including some of the best travel insurance available plus enough privileges and statement credits to easily justify the annual fee if you prefer to travel in comfort.
• Alternatives: A $550 annual fee is nothing to sneeze at, although you’ll get several top luxury benefits available in exchange. If you’re looking to invest in extra travel benefits without breaking the bank, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card packs in a solid amount of luxury perks for a smaller annual fee.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Reserve card review or jump back to offer details.

Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card: Best for small-business owners

• What we love about the Ink Business Unlimited: The generous welcome bonus, high flat rewards rate and lack of an annual fee make this well-rounded card ideal for small startup business owners without a defined budget just yet. Whether you’re opening a brick and mortar storefront or an online product hub, all of your business expenses will be captured in the unlimited cash back rewards on all business purchases.
• Who this card is good for: Entrepreneurs and small business owners who have various expenses to cover and can benefit from the unlimited rewards on all purchases.
• Alternatives: If you’re willing to venture outside of Chase, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers 2 percent unlimited flat rewards on all purchases, but you have to foot the bill for a $150 annual fee (that could be offset by your extra earnings, depending on how much you spend).

Read our full Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card review
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Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Best for business travel

• What we love about the Ink Business Preferred: The sign-up bonus on this card is one of the best around, especially for business owners that can easily hit the spending requirement with business expenses.
• Who this card is good for: Frequent business travelers or big business spenders who want to take advantage of the low annual fee compared to other premier business travel cards. Chase cardholders with either business or personal cards will be able to use the Ink Business Preferred as a tentpole in their card pairing strategy as well.
• Alternatives: If the annual fee is what’s holding you back on this Ink business card, there are two others available from Chase, including the Ink Business Cash Credit Card and the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card — and both cards have no annual fee. Although the Business Cash card’s rewards structure is more similar to the Business Preferred’s, the Business Unlimited card’s 1.5 percent flat-rate cash back may be better for smaller startups and side hustles without specialized expenses.

Read our full Ink Business Preferred Credit Card review.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card: Best Southwest starter card

• What we love about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card: You can earn the same intro offer its higher tier Southwest sibling cards provide, along with similar rewards rates, for a much lower $69 annual fee.
• Who this card is good for: Beginner travelers who prefer Southwest Airlines but don’t fly frequently enough to chase elite status. This card is also ideal for people who mainly fly domestic and find just as much value in ground travel and internet-related services.
• Alternatives: Although the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card has the lowest annual fee of the Southwest Rapid Rewards cards, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card is technically more cost-effective. The Premier card’s marginally higher $99 annual fee is easier to justify since you also receive a higher 6,000-point account anniversary bonus.

Read our full Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card review.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card: Best Southwest value

• What we love about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card: This is Southwest's mid-level airline card, and for $99, you get more perks than the airline’s Rapid Rewards Plus card and a sample of the premium benefits found with the Rapid Rewards Priority card.
• Who this card is good for: People who periodically fly with Southwest and may travel internationally. That’s because this card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees — unlike the Rapid Rewards Plus card, which poses a 3 percent fee.
• Alternatives: If you want a similar rewards structure but aren’t worried about flying often enough to take advantage of the Premier card’s enhancements, the Rapid Rewards Plus may be a better fit. However, regular Southwest passengers may benefit more from investing in the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card for its four annual boarding upgrades, higher anniversary bonus and $75 yearly Southwest travel credit.

Read our full Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card review.
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card: Best overall Southwest card

• What we love about the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card: It’s easier to wring more value out of your Southwest experience with this card compared to any others in the airline’s suite, thanks to its $75 annual Southwest travel credit, bigger 7,500-point anniversary bonus, fast track to A-List status and four upgraded boardings each year.
• Who this card is good for: Southwest jet-setters who fly often enough to take advantage of the annual travel credit and improved boarding benefits. Although other travelers may get a competitive value out of the Rapid Rewards Premier card compared to the cards’ respective annual fees, these perks make ponying up for the Priority card more worthwhile.
• Alternatives: The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card is the most valuable Southwest card because of its standout benefits list. However, these top-tier perks do come with a price. The Rapid Rewards Premier card offers an identical rewards structure and intro offer for a lower annual fee. If you’re not dedicated to Southwest and would prefer a less-specialized card, the Citi Premier® Card features a similar rewards balance for a variety of everyday and travel purchases that can be used toward a variety of expenses.

Read our full Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card review.
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Chase Freedom Student credit card: Best for students

• What we love about the Chase Freedom Student: One of the easiest cards to manage for people just getting started on their credit journeys, the Chase Freedom Student will cover any expense you need it for at the same cash back rate. The intro offer on the card is also one of the easiest to obtain, considering you only have to make one purchase in the first three months to gain access to an extra $50.
• Who this card is good for: Students who want to try their hand at building great credit habits early while also earning some rewards in the process. This card’s $20 Good Standing Rewards (for up to five years on each account anniversary) reinforces good credit habits, and its ongoing APR can be lower than many other student cards’ in case you need to carry a balance in a pinch.
• Alternatives: Though the Chase Freedom Student is pretty hassle-free, there are many student cards on the market that offer stronger rewards rates — such as the Discover it® Student Cash Back card — if you’re willing to track bonus categories. The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a higher flat rewards rate, but you’ll need to be wary of the card’s potentially sky-high ongoing APR if you carry a balance.

Read our full Chase Freedom Student credit card review.

*The information about the Chase Freedom® Student credit card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.  

Chase Bank is the largest consumer bank with assets worth about $3.38 trillion. Chase Bank is the consumer banking division of the brand, JPMorgan Chase, which is headquartered in New York. Chase has more than 4,700 branches and 16,000 ATMs, and it continues to actively expand across the country and beyond. Because Chase’s reach is so wide, branch and ATM locations are fairly accessible for a lot of consumers.

According to the 2022 J.D Power U.S Credit card Satisfaction study, Chase ranks fifth in overall customer satisfaction among national issuers with a score of 813, outranking other well-known credit card issuers like Capital One and Citi. Despite its middle-ground ranking, there is plenty to love about Chase and what its credit cards have to offer, especially when it comes to Chase Ultimate Rewards and some premier benefits the issuer offers on several cards.

Types of Chase credit cards

Chase has more than one card on the market that could be considered one of the best travel credit cards. Their business credit card options are also significant, catering to plenty of spending categories and business sizes. Finally, Chase has a few stellar co-branded card options that may be ideal for certain brand loyalists.

Travel credit cards from Chase

Chase’s travel credit card offerings top the charts, partly because of the cards’ stellar perks, benefits packages and high rewards rates. Its travel cards also rank highly because of its Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, which can boost your earnings significantly. Chase has an extensive list of travel partners and a 1:1 redemption rate, which can take your rewards value even further.

Editor’s choice: The Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Business credit cards from Chase

Chase business credit cards check a lot of boxes when it comes to value, earning opportunity and covered spending categories. Small businesses and established businesses alike will find something to like in a Chase credit card, whether the business’ largest expense is travel, employee dining or office supplies.

Editor’s choice: The Ink Business Unlimited credit card.

Co-branded credit cards from Chase

Chase has more than a few co-branded credit cards with a number of brands, including Southwest Airlines, Amazon and United Airlines to name a few. This type of credit card in this case is issued by Chase and rewards purchases that you can then use for perks at whatever brand the card is tied with. For example, Chase’s suite of Southwest Airlines cards reward purchases made with Southwest, then cardholders can use those earnings to get more from Southwest like discounts, statement credits or upgrades. If you have some strong brand loyalty, a co-branded card could make earning big rather easy.

Editor’s choice: The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card.

Chase issues a suite of cards that will benefit plenty of people, but here are a few key consumers that may get the most value out of a Chase card.

In addition to the benefits and accessibility, Chase offers cardholders one of the industry’s signature rewards programs: Chase Ultimate Rewards. With Ultimate Rewards, cardholders can earn and redeem points for cash back, statement credits, gift cards or travel rewards.

When you redeem rewards for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you can add significantly more value to your earnings depending on the card you're using. Chase’s Sapphire cards get you this boost, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred offering 25 percent more value and the Chase Sapphire Reserve offering 50 percent more value.

The Chase trifecta refers to a group of Chase card families — Chase Freedom cards, Sapphire cards and Ink Business cards — that when used together can boost rewards earnings and rack up points. For example, if you use the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Ink Business Preferred, you can pool all the points earned from the cards in one account and save up thousands of points. If you don’t have a business, you can use two Freedom cards and one Sapphire card together to complete the trifecta.

If you want to transfer your Chase points to one of its partner airlines, you can do so through its travel portal when you log into your account. Once you choose the partner, you can transfer points in increments of 1,000 points and typically at a 1:1 ratio, so 1 point equals 1 mile.

Most Chase cards earn reward points and each point has a monetary value. Bankrate’s current points and miles valuations have three average point values set for the Ultimate Rewards program, with Chase’s most premier cards tending to have a higher average point valuation.

Yes. Chase credit cards offer plenty of value to consumers and businesses. The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is one of the most notable credit card rewards programs around, and the variety of perks, protections and benefits you could get with many of Chase credit cards make these cards worth a look. But when deciding on any credit card and whether it’s worth it for you, you’ll need to evaluate your own financial needs and desires when it comes to making a final decision.

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