Meet the Contenders
Strongest in travel at 5% via portal.
5x points on travel through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and online groceries, 2x on other travel.
Annual fee: $95
Sign-up bonus: 100,000 points after $5,000 spend in 3 months
Foreign fees: 0%
Perfect if: You're comfortable booking through the issuer's portal for the best rate.
Apply Now
Show cardHide card
Strongest in travel at 3%.
2x points (≈3% value) on airfare/hotels via Luxury Card Travel; up to $320 in annual credits ($200 airline + $100 dining + $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck) plus unlimited-guest lounge access.
Earns a solid 1.5% on everything else.
Annual fee: $699
Foreign fees: 0%
Perfect if: You spend enough in bonus categories to easily offset the annual fee.
Beyond the points: Up to $300 in annual statement credits ($200 airline + $100 dining), plus a $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, offset a large share of the $699 fee before any points are counted — then add Priority Pass Select with unlimited guest visits and 24/7 concierge.
Apply Now
The Verdict
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card pulls ahead for
travel, dining, groceries spending.
Luxury Card Mastercard Black Card wins on
gas.
The $604/year fee difference means
Luxury Card Mastercard Black Card needs to earn about that much more in rewards to justify its cost.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card carries $100/year in credits (mostly tied to specific merchants or bookings), while Luxury Card Mastercard Black Card carries $420/year in credits (mostly unlocked by everyday bonus-category spending).
Those only count if you’d actually use them — worth checking against your own habits before treating them as a discount on the fee.
Rewards rates aren’t the whole story here. Lounge access, concierge service, travel protections, and statement credits can be worth more than a fraction of a percent in earn rate — see the key benefits above and weigh them against how you travel and spend.
Not sure which fits your life? Enter your spending below and we’ll do the math — the calculator ranks purely on rewards minus the full annual fee, so credits and perks are yours to judge.