The Best Premium Credit Card Right Now: 5% Back and Massive Travel Perks

To get the most bang for your buck in 2025, travelers should check out the Chase Sapphire Reserve® premium credit card (see rates and fees).

It's packed with travel credits, VIP perks, and elite protections that easily justify the $550 annual fee.

Here are all the card deets and why I love it.

Valuable, easy-to-use perks

First let's address the elephant in the room: the $550 annual fee.

That's a lot, even for a luxury card. But the high fee is quickly offset by travel credits and other benefits.

To begin with, each year the Chase Sapphire Reserve® gives you a $300 travel credit automatically applied to any travel purchase. Book a flight, grab a hotel, even pay for parking -- it all counts.

Then stack on these perks:

• Priority Pass™ Select membership (access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide)
• $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® credit every four years
• Welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points (worth up to $900 in travel) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Complimentary DashPass membership -- a value of $120 for 12 months -- which unlocks $0 DoorDash delivery fees
• Protections for trip delays, cancellations, and more

For light travelers, it's easy to justify the cost with just a few perks. But for heavy travelers, it's a true no-brainer.

Back at my old job when I traveled a lot, having lounge access was my favorite perk. I always got to the airport super early to rest, recharge, and eat a healthy meal before flying. Honestly, that perk alone was worth its weight in gold.

Apply now for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and upgrade your next trip.

Earn 5x-10x back where it counts

When it comes to earning points for spending, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was built to reward travel lovers.

Here are the ways to earn and bonus categories:

• 10x total points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 5x total points on air travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
• 3x points on other travel and dining
• 1x points on all other purchases

It gets even better. When redeemed through Chase Travel, points are boosted by 50% -- so 50,000 points = $750 toward flights, hotels, or car rentals.

Put another way: If you spend $5,000 on travel through Chase's portal, you'll rack up 50,000 points. That's $750 in travel value, just for using the right card.

When travel goes sideways, you're covered

These days, I just assume something's gonna go wrong when I travel. Delays, cancellations, bags taking a detour to Cleveland… with all our modern tech, you'd think airlines would have it figured out by now.

But hey, at least this card has your back when things go sideways.

Here are some travel protections you'll get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card:

• Trip delay reimbursement: Get up to $500 for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, if your flight's delayed six hours or more (or overnight)
• Rental car coverage: Primary insurance (up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage) is included when renting cars
• Trip cancellation/interruption coverage: Reimbursement up to $10,000 per person if illness, weather, or other covered events mess up your plans
• Lost luggage coverage, emergency evacuation, purchase protection, and more

Travel insurance is one of the most overlooked perks on travel cards. A lot of folks don't even realize they have it.

I screwed up big time once. I spent a miserable night sleeping on the airport floor because of a flight delay, only to find out the next morning my card company could have reimbursed a hotel stay. Total rookie move on my part. It really pays to know what your card covers!

See you in the VIP lounge?

If you're spending money on travel anyway, you might as well earn top rewards, breeze through security, and have real protection when things go wrong.

Apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® today and I'll catch you in the airport lounge this summer. Mimosas are on me (well, Chase).