For HENRYs (High Earnings, Not Rich Yet) and high-net-worth individuals (investable assets over $2 million), credit cards can be extremely rewarding with minimal effort.
At high incomes and high net worth, time is usually your limiting factor, rather than trying to extract the maximum value from a credit card rewards system or a cash back program.
The principle of simplicity should usually guide you when it comes to selecting a credit card. Your time is far too valuable to be worrying about earning 3 cents vs 5 cents of points or cash back on a purchase at the grocery store.
Unless you have a strong desire to dive into travel hacking as a hobby, I highly recommend picking just 1 or 2 cash back and travel rewards cards and focusing on only 1 or 2 travel rewards programs.
By concentrating your spending in 1 or 2 credit card travel rewards ecosystems, you can ensure that you receive a large portion of your natural, everyday spending back in the form of flights, hotels, and resort stays.
Personally, I enjoy travel hacking and using points and miles to secure ultra-long haul $10,000 first class flights. But for many families and individuals, there is simply no time to become a travel hacking expert.
That’s when using a simple cash back card for all purchases or a simple travel rewards card.
By switching to just 1 or 2 carefully selected card, you can usually capture 60% of the value of credit card rewards system. By using 3 or 4 cards and focusing on just 1 or 2 credit card rewards system, you can capture 80-90% of the value of credit cards while keeping your time investment to an absolute minimum.
Remember to set up auto payment on your card as soon as you activate the card online. That way you can ensure you will never miss a payment accidently.
Travel Rewards Credit Cards for the Rich
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site
- Earn 80,000 Amex Membership Reward Points welcome bonus (valued at $1600+) after you spend $6000 in the first 6 months
- Earn 5x points on airfare booked directly with airline or on amextravel.com up to $500,000 per calendar year
- Earn 5x points on prepaid hotels at amextravel.com
- $200 annual Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credits: Up to $20 in monthly statement credits when you use your Platinum card to pay for: Peacock, Audible, Sirius, and the New York Times. Enrollment Required.
- $200 Uber Cash: Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on Uber Eats and rides
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at 1 qualifying airline
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
- $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back each year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Learn more.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax..
- $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, can be used for gift cards, enrollment required
- 40+ Centurion Lounges and 1200+ Priority Pass airport lounge access for free
- No foreign transaction fees
- Heavy metal card that looks and feels really cool
- Annual fee of $695, terms apply
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
- 3x Points on other Travel (airfare, hotels) after earning the $300 travel credit
- 3x Dining restaurants, takeouts, delivery
- Chase Ultimate Reward Points redeemed through the Chase travel portal are worth 1.5 cents, a 50% bonus.
- Priority Pass lounge and restaurant access with over 1300+ airport lounges worldwide
- Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry every 4 years
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Primary coverage with Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
- No foreign transaction fees
- $550 annual fee
American Express® Gold Card
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site
- Earn 60,000 Membership Reward® Points after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new card in the first 6 months of Card Membership
- Earn 4x points at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the US
- Earn 4x points on US supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1x points)
- Earn 3x points on flights booked directly with the airline or on amextravel.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Amex Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 annually.
- $120 per year Dining Credit: Earn up to $10 per month in statement credits when you use your Amex Gold at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.
- Choose between the Gold or Rose Gold version when you apply.
- $250 Annual Fee, Terms Apply
Simple Cash Back for Wealthy
Bank of America® Premium Rewards®
- New Offer: 60,000 online bonus points offer — a $600 value
- Low $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- Earn unlimited points, that don’t expire – 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points per $1 on all other purchases.
- Get up to $200 in combined Airline Incidental and TSA PreCheck®/Global Entry Statement Credits. Plus, access to world class travel benefits: travel and purchase protections, luxury hotel collection and concierge service.
- Redeem for cash back as a deposit into Bank of America® checking or savings accounts, for credit to eligible Merrill® accounts including 529 accounts, as a statement credit to your credit card, or for gift cards and purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center
- Preferred Rewards members earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase. That means you could earn 2.5 to 3.5 points on travel and dining purchases and 1.87 to 2.62 points on all other purchases, for every $1 you spend. Not enrolled? Learn more about Preferred RewardsPremium Rewards
Platinum Honors tier $100,000 3 month combined average daily balance yields a 75% rewards bonus. The card pays 1.5 points per $1, so 1.5 x 75% = 2.625% cash back.
Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card
Learn how to apply
- Earn unlimited 2% cash back on everyday spending.
- $0 annual fee
- Rewards points never expire
- Deposit your rewards into any eligible Fidelity account, such as a brokerage account, Cash Management Account, or a 529 college savings plan.
- Shop with confidence with card protections, such as zero fraud liability, purchase security and emergency card replacement.
Invitation Only Credit Cards
The Centurion Card from American Express
The Amex Centurion Card or “Amex Black Card” is an invitation only card from American Express for high annual spenders.
JP Morgan Reserve
The JP Morgan Reserve card, known as the “Palladium Card” for the material it’s made from, is a invitation only card from Chase bank.
