Start here: your first card application plan

Step one: programme fit

Start with who holds the rewards account. American Express requires at least one eligible and enrolled product before a Membership Rewards account can exist, and additional card members on consumer and business accounts do not get rewards accounts of their own. [1] Two cards in one household therefore do not create two separate Membership Rewards balances owned by different people. [1]

Chase's Ultimate Rewards agreement for the Ink Business Preferred is written around a business: the "company" is the business entity that applied for the account, and the agreement requires points to be used for the company's business purposes only, not for the personal benefit of an individual. [2] Points can be moved between Chase cards with Ultimate Rewards belonging to the cardholder, one member of the household, or the owner of the company. [2] Redemption values differ by route: cash, gift cards and travel booked through Chase Travel are stated at one cent per point, while other options may be worth more or less. [2]

Then match the card to the credit tier the issuer attaches to it. Capital One labels its products Fair Credit, Good Credit, Good-Excellent Credit, Excellent Credit and Rebuilding Credit, and presents an eligibility check as a way to see whether an applicant would be approved before accepting, with no credit score impact and a result in as little as 90 seconds. [4]

Step two: the bonus terms

Read the welcome-bonus terms line by line, because on one issuer's site they are not uniform. Among the Capital One cards listed on 18 October 2026, Venture Rewards was advertised at 75,000 bonus miles after $4,000 of purchases in the first three months, Quicksilver Rewards at a $200 cash bonus after $500 in the first three months, and the two student cards at $50 after $100 in the first three months. [4] Each was described as a one-time bonus applied to the rewards balance within two billing cycles of qualifying. [4] The Venture offer also carried a $300 Capital One Travel stays credit that expires one year after account opening and earns no rewards. [4]

Two conditions recur and are easy to miss. The bonus was stated to be available by applying through that page and might not be available to someone who navigated away from or closed it. [4] Each card also carried a 48-month lookback: Venture excluded anyone who had received a new cardmember bonus for Venture or Venture X in that period, while VentureOne excluded anyone with a VentureOne, Venture or Venture X bonus. [4] Offers seen after an eligibility check may carry different terms, including introductory rates and bonuses, from those on the public site. [4]

Other issuers handle bonus offers differently. Chase says it may offer bonus-point opportunities and that the number of points, the duration and any expiration date are set out at the time of the offer. [2] American Express reserves the right to change the number of points earned per eligible purchase, the points required for a reward, and to impose caps or fees on earning and using points. [1]

Step three: spending limits

Compare the minimum spend with what you already put on a card. Base earning is modest: American Express awards one point on eligible purchases, and eligible purchases exclude cash advances and cash equivalents including gift cards, person-to-person transactions, balance transfers, traveller's cheques, prepaid card purchases or reloads, fees and interest, and foreign exchange fees. [1] The Ink Business Preferred earns one point, plus two additional points on the first portion of combined purchases each account anniversary year in shipping, social media and search engine advertising, travel, and internet, cable and phone services, reverting to one point with no maximum after that threshold. [2] Its exclusions include balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions such as money orders and wire transfers, lottery tickets, interest, fees of any kind including the annual fee, and unauthorised or fraudulent charges. [2]

Missing a payment affects the reward itself. American Express awards points only if it receives the minimum amount due by the payment due date; if it does not, points from that billing period are not earned, and they can later be claimed on request for a fee for each billing period and each card account, within 12 months. [1] Chase lists failure to make the minimum payment when due as an example of misuse and says it may temporarily stop a cardholder earning or using points. [2] It also names repeatedly opening accounts to generate rewards and manufacturing spend as misuse. [2]

Step four: fee checks

Add up the annual fee before the bonus. On the Capital One site the annual fee ran from $0 on Platinum, Quicksilver Rewards, Savor Rewards, VentureOne Rewards and the student cards, to $95 on Venture Rewards and $395 on Venture X Rewards. [4] Fees normally earn nothing: Chase excludes fees of any kind, including an annual fee, from purchases that earn points, and American Express excludes fees, interest charges, foreign exchange fees and account service fees from eligible purchases. [2] [1]

Transfer costs belong in the same calculation. American Express charges an excise tax offset fee per point, capped at $99, when points move to a U.S. airline frequent flyer programme, and in most cases transfers must be at least 1,000 points in multiples of 1,000. [1] Chase says a point transfer fee may apply and that the amount is disclosed before the transfer. [2] A secured card swaps the fee for a deposit: Quicksilver Secured Rewards requires a minimum refundable deposit of $200, while Platinum Secured requires a refundable deposit of $49, $99 or $200 depending on creditworthiness, returned and the account made unsecured once the cardholder qualifies. [4]

Exceptions and limits

• Bonus rules differ card by card within one issuer, so the 48-month window on Venture does not describe Quicksilver, Savor or the student cards, whose exclusions name their own product. [4]
• Points can disappear on closure. American Express says a cardholder loses all points if the last linked product is cancelled or unenrolled, and that New York Card Members can keep using points for 90 days when a product is in restricted status, cancelled, past due or has a returned payment outstanding. [1]
• Chase points do not expire while the account is open, but are lost immediately if the account is closed for misuse, fraud or the other reasons listed in the agreement, and a closed account otherwise gives at least 30 days to use them. [2]
• Points are not property in either programme: American Express states that points do not belong to the cardholder and cannot be transferred or sold, and Chase states that points are not the cardholder's property and have no value until redeemed. [1] [2]

Related pages

Background: card selection framework, co-branded cards versus transferable points, start here: cards and transfers. Terms: welcome bonus, flexible points, foreign transaction fee.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. Airline and hotel co-branded cards, non-US issuers and the terms of issuers other than the three below are not covered here.

1. American Express Membership Rewards program terms and conditions, checked 18 October 2026
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred with Ultimate Rewards program agreement, checked 18 October 2026
3. Capital One credit card offers with rate and fee information, checked 18 October 2026