What credit cards should you get next for travel purpose?

Updated for 2026: This post was originally published in 2022. For the latest strategies and a comprehensive guide, see Credit Card Rewards for Expats: Maximize Points, Miles & Cash Back (2026).

Alright, so this is the follow-up to my earlier post about "tips to build a credit score for expats living in the US". If you have not read that one yet, I would start there because this post assumes a few things:

• You already have a Chase Sapphire card (probably the Chase Sapphire Preferred) and an American Express Platinum card. If not, go read the previous post first. (These are my referral links, by the way.)
• You are probably buying a lot on Amazon and already signed up for an Amazon Prime credit card before you even read my blog :P
• Over the past 5-6 months, you have signed up for and been approved for at least 2-4 US credit cards.
• Your credit score is above 700.
• You mainly want to collect points and miles for travel — air tickets, hotels, car rentals, etc.

I have to admit, when I first moved from Singapore to the US, the whole credit card points game felt overwhelming. In Singapore, I had one or two cards and never thought much about it. Here, people treat credit card optimization like a second job. But after spending way too many evenings reading websites like All the Hacks, The Points Guy, Travel on Points, NerdWallet, and Upgraded Points, plus listening to various podcasts, I think I have a reasonable handle on the strategy now. Here is what I have learned:

Why Chase and Amex should be your focus

• American Express and Chase programs are the most desirable because they offer generous sign-up bonuses (SUB) and their points are generally worth more when transferred to partners. Both have extensive networks of airline and hotel transfer partners.
  • "Point transfer" means moving your Amex or Chase rewards points to the airline or hotel loyalty program of your choice.
• Having a large partner network means more choices and better deals for you as a consumer.
• You will often hear people call Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards "flexible points" — because you can transfer them to many different partners, unlike airline or hotel-specific cards where you are locked into one program.
• A typical sign-up bonus ranges from 80,000 to 100,000+ points for Chase or Amex, which can equate to $1,000+ in airline or hotel value.
• Even if you spot an amazing deal with a specific airline or hotel card, do not apply until you read the rest of this post — the order matters more than you might think.

Chase 5/24 rule and Amex "jail"

This is the part that tripped me up initially, and from my experience, it trips up most expats.

What is the Chase 5/24 rule?

Simply put: Chase will not approve your new credit card application if you have opened more than 5 credit cards across all US banks in the past 24 months. Is this an official rule on Chase's website? Nope. But it is well-documented through crowdsourced data — you can read more about it here.

This means you need to be strategic about the sequence of cards you apply for. If you burn through your 5/24 slots on random cards, you lock yourself out of Chase's best offerings. There are exceptions (I personally got an exception and was approved for another Chase card at the 5/24 cap), but I would not count on it.

Amex jail

I have read about this in a few Facebook groups but could not find reliable official sources, so take this with a grain of salt. The idea is that Amex may not approve your welcome offer if you open too many cards in a short period or close too many Amex cards. For new expats like us, this is less of a concern since we have not accumulated many Amex cards yet.

Max out Chase sign-up bonuses first

Given everything above, and assuming you are now at 3/24 or 4/24 from Chase's perspective, I think it makes sense to fill up your remaining Chase slots before moving on. This is where the Chase trifecta comes in — a combination of Chase cards designed to maximize points across different spending categories. There are plenty of articles on this (NerdWallet, The Points Guy).

The general consensus is that your next Chase card should be either Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited (or both, if your 5/24 status allows). If you can qualify for a business credit card from Chase, that is even better since business cards generally do not count toward 5/24.

Then move to the Amex trifecta

After you have collected all your Chase sign-up bonuses, shift your focus to Amex. Similar to Chase, there is an Amex trifecta — a quick Google search will show you the latest recommended combination.

As of when I wrote this, besides the American Express Platinum, the recommendations are the Amex Gold card (great for spending categories Platinum does not cover) and a business card. The Amex Gold often has a solid sign-up bonus, so search for the best current offer before applying.

Sign up for airline and hotel loyalty programs early

Here is a tip I wish I had known sooner: instead of booking through the Chase or Amex portal, it is usually better to transfer your points to airline/hotel loyalty programs and book directly. The transfer to an older loyalty account tends to process faster than to a newly created one.

So sign up for the major programs now, even if you are not transferring points yet. They are all free:

• World of Hyatt
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Hilton Honors
• IHG

I know this all sounds like a lot of planning. And honestly, it is. But the payoff is real — we have funded multiple family trips almost entirely on points since we started being intentional about this. Is it worth the effort? From my experience, absolutely.

What is your credit card strategy? Are you team Chase, team Amex, or still figuring it out?

Cheers,

Chandler

P.S. I recently created a group on Facebook called Asian Expats in the US so that we can share and discuss more tips directly. Feel free to join.