There’s nothing wrong with spending on plastic, but if putting it on credit is a staple of your spending habits, shopping for a new credit card might be worth bumping up a few spots on your New Year’s resolutions — and could be worth its weight in metal.

Used responsibly, credit cards can provide spenders with cashback. Some might take out cards from their favorite retailers or airlines. But some credit cards have earned a spot in people’s wallets for more than that — turning keys to unlock travel benefits, lounge access, and credits. With so many options, what’s the right way to spend it? To start 2025, we seek the answer.

Clash of cards: As far as premium cards go, three major creditors eat up the discussion — Chase, Capital One, and American Express. All three offer top-of-the-line cards boasting high cashback, access to lounges and benefits, and other useful credits. However, they come at a cost, too — annual fees (AF). For many coming from cashback cards, the initial costs and points systems can be steep or confusing. But with handsome sign-up bonuses and thoughtful use, these cards can pay for themselves in spades.

• Capital One’s Venture X ($395 AF) offers a hefty first-year sign-up bonus, $300 in travel credits, and $100 in annual credits on the card’s anniversary — it pays for itself even before the blanket 2x points on purchases.
• Chase’s Sapphire Reserve ($550 AF) offers an acceptable sign-up bonus, $300 in travel credits, and even more categories to spend in — 3x points on dining and travel, plus a 50% bonus on points redeemed in Chase’s travel portal.
• American Express’s Platinum Card ($695 AF) offers a beefy sign-up bonus, credits for travel, streaming, and other lifestyle spending — plus 5x points on flights and 1x points on all other purchases.

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All three of these travel cards are formidable options for your wallet — and are generally preferable to branded credit cards from airlines like Delta, United, or American. There are a number of factors you might consider before deciding which one is right for you:

• Simplicity: Some cardholders find premium cards complex due to all the spending categories — you might shop for a card based on what you spend on most.
• Credits: Premium cards can be like coupon books, making it hard to make the most of all of the benefits of your card — like TSA PreCheck/Global Entry, streaming credits, or travel perks. If that feels like too much, simpler cards like the Venture X or Chase’s cheaper Sapphire Preferred can cut down on complexity.
• Lounge access: If you travel a lot, consider where you travel a lot — each issuer has its own lounge collection, but it’s not much use if the lounges aren’t in cities you visit.
• Redemptions: Points ≠ cashback. Getting the most bang for your buck might require transferring points to airline partners or redeeming them through travel portals or against travel purchases, adding complexity.
• Sign-Up Bonus (SUBs): SUBs can vary from card-to-card, as well as on your credit profile — and getting a good one might make up for that otherwise ugly annual fee. FrequentMiler compiles a list of the best credit card offers.

Finding balance: Many cardholders choose premium cards based on their location, lifestyle, and spending habits. You might open a Venture X to be your main spending card, the Chase Sapphire for specific categories, or the Amex Platinum exclusively for lounge access and credits. Ultimately, it’s about what works best for you — even if that means stacking multiple cards for different kinds of spend. Just don’t make it too complicated… and don’t forget to pay your bill on time.