🏆 CreditPoints Top 5 — Best Credit Cards Right Now (July 2026)

Updated July 17, 2026. This is the July edition of CreditPoints Top 5 — the monthly ranking of the strongest credit card offers live right now, based on the actual welcome bonus, the annual fee, transfer partners, and travel benefits. Not a review. Not a generic "best cards" list recycled from last year. Five cards, ranked, with the real math behind each one.

This is a point-in-time snapshot of July 2026. Welcome offers change constantly — one of the five below is officially confirmed to be ending soon. Check the offers page for daily updates if you're reading this later.

Quick answer

#1 this month is Sapphire Preferred — 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for $5,000 spend, just a $95 annual fee, and Chase has confirmed this elevated offer is ending soon. #2 is the no-annual-fee Ink Cash-family card, Ink Unlimited — $1,000 cash back for $8,000 spend, free forever, and worth 100,000 transferable points if you pair it with a Sapphire or Ink Preferred card. Rounding out the list: Ink Preferred (#3), Amex Platinum (#4), and Venture X (#5).

🏆 #1 — Sapphire Preferred

The offer: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $5,000 spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee.

Why it's #1 this month: This is a genuinely elevated offer — Chase's typical Sapphire Preferred bonus runs 60,000-75,000 points, and 100K at only a $5,000 spend threshold is one of the most accessible high-value offers on the market right now. Chase has officially confirmed this offer is "ending soon" — no exact date has been published, but based on how this offer has run before (it launched June 15, 2026, and the last time it hit 100K it lasted about six weeks), the window is closing. If this card is on your list at all, this is not the month to wait.

The math: ⚠️ Since June 15, 2026, new Sapphire Preferred cardholders transfer to World of Hyatt at 4:3, not 1:1 — Chase quietly devalued this specific transfer for new applicants (a 25% cut; only Sapphire Reserve still gets the full 1:1). 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points become 75,000 Hyatt points, worth roughly $1,500 in hotel value at a realistic ~2¢/point redemption — net $1,405 after the $95 fee, in your first year, before you've earned a single point from spending.

Long-term value: 3x on dining, 3x on online groceries, 3x on select streaming, 25% more value when booking travel through Chase Travel, and full access to Chase's transfer partner list — World of Hyatt (now at 4:3 on this card, still 1:1 on Sapphire Reserve), United, Southwest, Air France/KLM, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus, Iberia, JetBlue. Trip cancellation/interruption coverage up to $10,000, primary rental car coverage, and Purchase Protection are included at no extra cost.

Who should get it: Anyone new to the Chase ecosystem who isn't at 5/24 (5+ new cards in 24 months triggers an automatic Chase denial — check your count first). The best single entry point into transferable points.

Who should skip it: If you're at 5/24, Chase will deny you regardless of how good the offer is. If you don't travel at all, a flat-rate cashback card will out-earn this on pure math.

🥈 #2 — Ink Unlimited

The offer: $1,000 cash back after $8,000 spend in 4 months. $0 annual fee — forever.

Why it's #2 this month: This is the highest bonus Chase has ever offered on its no-annual-fee Ink cards. $1,000 in pure cash back with zero ongoing cost is rare on its own. What makes it genuinely powerful is what happens if you already hold (or open) a Chase points-earning card like the Sapphire Preferred above: the cash back on this card can convert into transferable Ultimate Rewards points instead of a statement credit — turning a $1,000 cashback card into the same 100,000-point pool that's worth roughly $1,500 in travel through the Sapphire Preferred's transfer partners (at the current 4:3 Hyatt ratio — see the #1 entry above).

The math: $1,000 cash back on its own, on a card that costs nothing to hold, is a pure $1,000 profit day one. Paired with a UR-earning card, that same bonus is worth up to double as travel.

Long-term value: 1.5% cash back on every purchase, no categories to track, no caps. Also carries the same Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty as Chase's premium cards, at $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year — a $0-fee card matching benefits usually reserved for $550+ cards.

Who should get it: Any small business owner, freelancer, or sole proprietor — eligibility is broader than people assume; a simple side business qualifies. Especially strong if you already hold or plan to open a Sapphire or Ink Preferred card.

Who should skip it: Chase limits you to one welcome bonus across Ink Cash and Ink Business Unlimited combined — you can't get this bonus on both. Pick whichever's ongoing earning structure fits your spending better.

🥉 #3 — Ink Preferred

The offer: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $8,000 spend in 3 months. $95 annual fee.

Why it's #3 this month: Unlike the Ink Unlimited above, this card earns Ultimate Rewards points natively — no pairing required. It's the business-card equivalent of the Sapphire Preferred, and it's the card that makes Ink Cash/Unlimited's cash back convertible to points in the first place.

The math: Same 100,000-point math as Sapphire Preferred, and the same catch: Ink Business Preferred transfers to World of Hyatt at 4:3, not 1:1, as of the same June 2026 change. 100,000 points become 75,000 Hyatt points — roughly $1,500 in travel value, net $1,405 after the fee.

Long-term value: 3x on travel, shipping, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases (up to $150,000 combined per year, then 1x), plus the full Chase transfer partner list. Cell phone protection on business lines when you pay the bill with the card.

Who should get it: Business owners who want their Ink Cash/Unlimited cash back to become transferable points — this card is the "engine" that makes that conversion possible, plus it earns its own bonus points on business categories most side businesses already spend on.

Who should skip it: If you don't spend $8,000 in 3 months on a business, or don't have a business at all — this specific offer isn't accessible.

#4 — Amex Platinum

The offer: Up to 175,000 Membership Rewards points after $12,000 spend in 6 months. $895 annual fee.

Why it's #4 this month: The highest single welcome bonus among personal cards on this list, and the deepest travel-benefit stack — but the $12,000 spend requirement and $895 fee put it out of reach for a lot of people, which is why it sits at #4 rather than #1 despite the bigger number.

The math: 175,000 Membership Rewards points, transferred to a sweet-spot airline partner at a realistic ~2¢/point, is worth roughly $3,500 in travel value — the single biggest bonus on this list by dollar value, before counting the card's credits.

Long-term value: Centurion Lounge access, Priority Pass, Delta Sky Club access on same-day Delta flights, up to $200 in annual airline incidental credits, $200 Uber Cash, hotel elite status (Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold) via Fine Hotels+Resorts and status match, and Extended Warranty covering manufacturer warranties up to 5 years — the widest eligibility window of any card on this list.

Who should get it: Frequent flyers who will actually use the lounge access and travel credits — the credits are real money, but only if you spend on the specific things they're tied to (Uber, specific airline incidentals, Saks).

Who should skip it: If you won't use at least $500+ of the annual credits, or don't fly enough to justify $895/year, the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred above deliver similar per-point value at a fraction of the fee.

#5 — Venture X

The offer: 75,000 miles after $4,000 spend in 3 months. $395 annual fee.

Why it's #5 this month: The smallest welcome bonus on this list in raw numbers, but the annual fee math is the best of any premium card here. A $300 annual travel credit (through Capital One Travel) plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles (worth ~$100) effectively refunds $400 of the $395 fee — the card pays for itself before you spend a dollar on purchases.

The math: 75,000 miles at a baseline 1¢/mile (redeemable as a statement credit against any travel purchase) is worth $750. Transferred to a partner like Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles or Virgin Atlantic for a sweet-spot redemption, the same miles can be worth $1,000-1,500.

Long-term value: Priority Pass lounge access plus Capital One's own growing lounge network, primary rental car collision coverage, and — notably — no Chase-style application restrictions, so it's the strongest alternative for anyone at 5/24 who's locked out of the Sapphire Preferred or Ink cards above.

Who should get it: Anyone who wants premium travel benefits without Chase's 5/24 restriction, or who wants the simplest "flat value" premium travel card — 2x miles on everything, no categories.

Who should skip it: If you're not at 5/24 and want the deepest single benefit stack, Amex Platinum's credits and lounge network go further at a higher fee. If you don't travel, the annual fee doesn't pay for itself no matter how you redeem the miles.

Not sure which one is right for you?

There's no universal "best card" on this list — the right pick depends on your current cards, your Chase 5/24 status, your spending categories, whether you have any business income, and your actual travel goals. This is exactly what our free Facebook community is for. Post your situation — current cards, 5/24 status, spending habits, travel goals — and get a real, personalized answer, not a generic recommendation. Join the CreditPoints Facebook Group.

Things to know before applying

1. Chase 5/24 blocks three of the top five this month. Sapphire Preferred, Ink Business Unlimited, and Ink Business Preferred are all Chase cards — if you've opened 5+ cards (any issuer) in the last 24 months, Chase will deny you automatically regardless of how strong the offer is. Check your count first.

2. The #1 offer is confirmed ending soon. Chase has stated the Sapphire Preferred's 100K offer is ending soon without giving an exact date. Don't assume it'll still be here next week.

3. You can only get one Ink Cash/Ink Business Unlimited bonus. Chase treats these as the same bonus pool — pick one, not both.

4. Run the math for your own spending before applying for anything over $250 in annual fee. A great welcome bonus doesn't automatically mean the ongoing card is right for you long-term.

Updated monthly

This ranking changes every month as offers shift. We publish a fresh CreditPoints Top 5 in the first week of every month — bookmark this page, or check the offers page for daily updates on what's currently elevated.

Affiliate disclosure: CreditPoints earns referral commissions when readers apply through our links. This doesn't change which cards we rank — we only feature offers we've verified are genuinely live and worth considering.

Related content

• Full monthly roundup: Best Credit Cards Right Now
• The sibling benefits: Best credit cards for Purchase Protection · Best credit cards for Extended Warranty
• Chase business cards: Chase Ink Business Cards guide