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If you have more than one credit card in your wallet — and I hope you do — one of the best ways to maximize your points earning is to be intentional about which card you swipe for which purchase.

I promise I’m not trying to make this more complicated. More like making sure you’re not leaving points on the table. Especially those high spend categories for your family. (Currently mine is groceries, can you relate?)

If you’re not working on a sign up bonus, these are our favorite cards to use for popular purchase categories.

Important note: This post is focused on cards that earn transferable points: Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Points. Those are the most flexible (and most common) points for travel.

The Category Guide

Find your spending category below. The top pick is always the card I’d reach for first. The runner up is a solid alternative if you don’t have the top pick or if you’ve hit any annual caps.

🛒  Groceries

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	American Express® Gold Card	4x at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25K/year).
🥈 Runner Up	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	3x on online groceries. Great option if you buy groceries through Instacart, Amazon Fresh, etc
💡  The Amex Gold grocery category is limited to U.S. supermarkets — it won’t work at Costco, Target, or Walmart. For those, you’d use your catch-all card.

🍽️  Dining, Restaurants & Delivery

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	American Express® Gold Card	4x at restaurants worldwide (up to $50K/year). Delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats typically count.
🥈 Runner Up	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	3x on dining worldwide.
💡  The Citi Strata Elite has a unique 6x dining bonus on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm – 6am EST — worth knowing if you dine out heavily on weekends.

⛽  Gas & EV Charging

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	3x on gas and EV charging (including Costco gas!) — a new category as of June 2026.
🥈 Runner Up	Citi Strata Premier® Card	3x gas and EV charging
💡  The Citi Custom Cash® earns 5x ThankYou points up to $500/mo in your top spending category (gas included) but is no longer available to new applicants. If you currently hold this card or can product change to it, this is a great option to pair with a Citi Strata card.

✈️  Flights (Booked Directly with Airlines)

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Chase Sapphire Reserve®	4x on flights booked directly with airlines but also carries best in class travel protections
🥈 Runner Up	American Express Platinum Card®	5x on flights booked directly with airlines.
💡When booking travel, it’s worth considering travel protections that come with the card in addition to points earning ability.

🖥️  Travel Booked Through Card Portals

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Chase Sapphire Reserve®	8x on all travel booked through Chase Travel℠
🥈 Runner Up	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	5x on travel booked through Chase Travel℠. A great option at $95/year vs. $795 for the Reserve.
💡  Portal bookings can sometimes restrict your ability to earn hotel points or use elite status benefits. Weigh the extra earning against any perks you might lose.

🏨  Hotels

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Chase Sapphire Reserve®	4x on hotels booked direct
🥈 Runner Up	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	2x on hotels booked direct
💡  If you’re planning to book a hotel stay, consider whether you’re better off booking with the hotel’s cobranded credit card for additional benefits.

🏠  Vacation Rentals (Airbnb & VRBO)

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	3x on Airbnb/vacation rental bookings – new as of June 2026!
🥈 Runner Up	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	2x on all purchases plus ability to use the Purchase Eraser to cover purchases made with Airbnb or other vacation rentals!
💡 This is one of my favorite new additions to the Chase Sapphire Preferred! If your family vacations in rentals regularly, this card just got an upgrade!

📱Internet, Cable and Phone Bills

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	Ink Business Cash® Credit Card	5x on internet, cable, and phone services. One of the highest earning rates available for this category.
🥈 Runner Up	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	3x on phone, internet, and cable (up to $150K/year).
💡  These categories are often overlooked but consistent points earners! Your internet and phone bill hit every single month without fail. A great place to earn passive points.

💳  Everything Else (Catch-All)

	Card	Why
🥇 Top Pick	The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express	2x on all purchases (up to $50K/year). Great no annual fee card to preserve Membership Rewards points and ability to earn American Express points with Rakuten
🥈 Runner Up	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	2x on all purchases. Plain and simple.
💡  Having a strong catch-all card is essential. Every purchase that doesn’t fit a bonus category can still earn more than 1x.

What about Cobranded Cards?

Have a co-branded hotel or airline card? (Yeah, me too!) There’s a lot of them and I’m not going to bore you with all the cards. But here’s how some of the more popular cobranded cards can fit in to your strategy:

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card: worth using at gas/grocery if you’re actively building Hilton points but know that Hilton points are worth less per point than transferable currencies. The 6x seems big but the value per point is lower.

World of Hyatt Credit Card: worth using if you have paid stays at Hyatt properties for the additional 4x or if you value the associated card perks.

Airline Cards: use your airline card when buying tickets if it triggers checked bag benefits or elite qualifying miles. Typically not a card for daily spend.

Conclusion

Obviously you don’t need every single one of these cards to have a strong points-earning strategy. My recommendation is to pick the flexibile currencies that are most valuable to you and the cards that align most with your spending patterns.

For most people, starting with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you solid earning across dining, groceries, gas, vacation rentals, and streaming — all in one card. That’s a great beginning strategy with just one card.

Questions about where to start? Looking for a link to a card? Contact Team Amber On Points!

-Jenn from @pointingthewaytomemories