Best metal credit cards to own

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Metal cards aren’t new but they sure can add a little flash to your wallet.

Banks are always looking for new ways to attract customers and metal cards have a wow factor that plastic cards just don’t have. Some card companies also use metal because folks are more likely to reach for the thick metal in their wallet.

let before they grab the plastic. Metal cards are more expensive to make but also much more durable than plastic cards. If you’re likely to wear out plastic cards quickly, a metal card could come in handy. Here are some of our favorite metal credit cards which also earn miles, points or cash back.

Best metal credit card options

• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best metal credit card for dining and entertainment
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best metal credit card for rewards that are easy to earn and redeem
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card: Best metal credit card for Marriott stays
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best metal credit card for miles-and-points beginners
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best metal card for airport lounge access
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best metal credit card for frequent travelers
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Best metal card for small-business owners

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

Bonus

With the Capital One Savor, you’ll earn $300 cash back after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Benefits

In addition to the cash bonus, you’ll earn bonus cash back in certain categories:

• 4% cash back on dining
• 4% cash back on entertainment
• 4% cash back on popular streaming services
• 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target)
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

The Capital One Savor card also comes with a few other interesting perks. For example, through January 2023 you’ll get 8% back on tickets purchased with Vivid Seats, an online marketplace for buying and selling tickets to concerts, sporting events and more.

Annual fee

$95

Our take

The Capital One Savor is one of the best credit cards for restaurants.

Choose this card: If you spend a lot on dining or entertainment purchases and like earning cash-back rewards. Read our Capital One Savor Card review.

The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus

The Capital One Venture welcome bonus 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening. These points are worth at least $750 toward travel expenses, but Capital One miles value can potentially be higher if redeem them with Capital One transfer partners (read our Capital One Rewards review).

To use Capital One miles for travel, use your Capital One Venture card to pay for your travel purchase. Once it’s posted to your account, you can “erase” the cost with miles. However, you must redeem the miles within 90 days of your purchase.

Benefits

The card comes with

• 2 Capital One miles per dollar you spend on all purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit once every four years (worth up to $100)
• Visa Signature benefits — including secondary rental car insurance, travel accident insurance and lost luggage insurance

Annual fee

$95

Our take

The metal Capital One Venture Rewards card is designed for travelers who like to earn and redeem miles without having spending bonuses tied to certain categories.  Some of the best ways to use Capital One miles are for hotels (even boutique hotels), flights, trains, cruises, Airbnb, Uber rides and more.

The Capital One Venture is a bit heavier than the Chase Sapphire Preferred (described below) and has a silver metallic finish. If you need some help deciding between these two, check out our post about the Capital One Venture vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Choose this card: If you want a simple rewards program, miles that are easy to redeem and the ability to transfer miles to airlines. And read our Capital One Venture review.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card

Bonus

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card comes with 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first three months.

Benefits

In addition to the welcome bonus, you’ll get:

• Annual statement credit of up to $300 at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program including room charges
• Automatic Gold Elite status (25% bonus points on paid stays, guaranteed late checkout, room upgrades when available)
• Annual free night (at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program worth up to 50,000 points) after you renew your card. (Some hotels have resort fees)
• Up to $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties when you use your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card to book direct with a special rate for a two-night minimum stay
• Priority Pass membership for airport lounges (you can bring up to two guests) (enrollment required)
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit (a value of up to $100) every four years
• Terms apply

Annual fee

The card has a $450 annual fee (see rates and fees). Here’s why the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant annual fee is worth it.

Our take

If you stay at a Marriott hotel at least once a year, this card is worth it for the annual free night and annual statement credit of up to $300. If you use the free night at an otherwise expensive hotel and add in the value you’ll get from the annual statement credit, the annual fee is well worth it. And Marriott is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a hotel where you want to go.

But Marriott points are also the best hotel points to earn for booking flights — yes, you can transfer Marriott points to airlines. Marriott’s transfer partners include airlines that don’t partner with any other major transferable currency, including Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines and American Airlines.

This can actually be the best way to use Marriott points. For example, Alaska Airlines allows a free stopover on one-way award flights. MMS team member Jason has taken advantage of this rule to book a flight back to the U.S. from Japan in Cathay Pacific business class with a free four-day visit to Hong Kong. So there is no shortage of options for maximizing the value of your Marriott points.

Choose this card: If you love earning Marriott points. Read our Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex review.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Bonus

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s worth $750 in travel when you redeem points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

Benefits

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits and perks include the ability to earn 2 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel and dining and one point per dollar on all other purchases. Plus, you’ll get:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Primary car rental insurance – covers damage from theft or collision, when you pay for the rental with your card
• Trip delay reimbursement – compensation of up to $500 per ticket when your trip is delayed more than 12 hours (for incidentals like transportation, meals and lodging)
• Baggage delay insurance — Reimbursement of up to $100 per day for up to five days for incidental expenses like toiletries and clothing if your checked bags are delayed by six hours or more

Annual fee

$95

Our take

Many of us on the MMS team started out with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and it’s still our pick for #1 best first credit card. Not only does it look slick with a blue metallic finish but it also offers incredible value and flexibility.

The value of Chase points skyrockets when you transfer them to travel partners like Hyatt or United Airlines.

Jasmin’s children refer to the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the “fancy” blue card, so it even impresses kids.

Choose this card: If you’re new to miles and points and are looking for your first travel credit card. Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

With The Platinum Card® from American Express, you can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening. We estimate the value of Amex points to be as high as 5 cents each, if you know the best ways to use Amex points. You can get great value from this bonus when you redeem your points with Amex transfer partners like Air Canada and Singapore Airlines.

Benefits

You’ll also get:

• 5 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on airline tickets purchased directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Starting Jan. 1, 2021, earn 5x points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
• 5 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on prepaid hotel bookings via the Amex Travel Portal.
• An annual credit of up to $200 for airline-incidental fees*
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash per calendar year (but there are restrictions)*
• Airport lounge access to Priority Pass, Centurion, Delta, Escape and AirSpace lounges*
• Statement credit every five years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85)
• Hotel elite status with Hilton and Marriott*
• Terms apply

*Enrollment required for select benefits.

The card has a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). Here’s why that big price tag for the American Express Platinum Card is worth it.

Our take

The Amex Platinum card is designed for frequent travelers, especially those who appreciate lounge access. This card was around a long time as a plastic card, but in 2017 the design was refreshed and with it came a change to thick metal.

With the Amex Platinum card you’ll get exceptional airport lounge access, including access to Amex Centurion Lounges which are some of the best because of their meals, buffets, premium alcoholic beverages, showers, conference spaces and fast Wi-Fi.

Choose this card: If you are a frequent traveler and enjoy luxurious airport lounges. Read our Amex Platinum review.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Bonus

When you sign up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.  That bonus is worth at least $750 in travel when you redeem through the Chase Travel Portal.

Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include the ability to earn 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel (excluding your annual $300 travel credit) and dining worldwide and one Chase point on all other purchases.

You’ll also get:

• 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on travel (excluding $300 travel credit) and dining worldwide
• 1 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on all other purchases
• $300 annual credit every cardmember anniversary for travel purchases such as airfare and hotels
• Up to $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Priority Pass Select membership  for access to airport lounges
• No foreign transaction fees
• Visa Infinite benefits like $25 food and beverage credit at the Luxury Hotel Collection and complimentary car rental elite status with Silvercar
• Rental car discounts with National Car Rental and Avis

Annual fee

The card’s annual fee is $550. Here’s why the Chase Sapphire Reserve is worth it.

Our take

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best premium travel rewards credit card. If you spend a lot on travel and dining and enjoy airport lounges, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a good pick. In fact, we rate it the top premium travel credit card. Just like the Sapphire Preferred, this one is also made of metal with a deeper blue/black design.

Chase has these restrictions for their Sapphire-branded credit cards. You cannot have more than one Sapphire-branded credit card open at the same time.

Again, the sign-up bonus is worth $750 in free travel, and you’ll get an annual credit of up to $300 for travel purchases — a total value of $1,050 in travel in the first year. Going forward, the annual travel credit, airport lounge access and other perks can more than offset the annual fee.

Choose this card: If you travel frequently and spend a lot on travel and dining, especially abroad. Read our Chase Sapphire Reserve review.

The Business Platinum Card from American Express

Bonus

The current best way to earn Amex points is with the Amex Business Platinum. You’ll earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

Benefits

Here is a card truly worthy of the name “platinum.” This uber-premium card comes with:

• 1.5x Amex Membership Rewards points on single purchases of $5,000+ on eligible purchases in key business categories (on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year)
• 5x Amex Membership Rewards points when you book airfare and hotels with American Express Travel
• 35% of your points back for all first-class or business-class flights booked through the Amex travel portal using Pay With Points
• 35% of your points back for all flights, including coach tickets, booked with your selected airline through the Amex travel portal using Pay With Points
• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, inflight food and drink, etc.)*
• Ability to book hotel stays through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass, Airspace, Escape and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Bonus points or statement credits when taking advantage of an Amex Offer*
• Elite car rental status with Avis, Executive status with National Car Rental, and Gold Plus Rewards with Hertz
• Free Hilton Honors Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available) *
• Free Gold Marriott status*
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Terms apply

*Enrollment required for select benefits.

The Amex Business Platinum Card is a card for small businesses, but don’t ignore it. It’s easier than you might realize to qualify for a business card. Plus, Amex business cards do not appear on your personal credit report. So they’re useful if you want to stay under the Chase “5/24” rule.

Annual fee

The Amex Business Platinum annual fee is $695 (see rates and fees). Here’s why the Amex Business Platinum annual fee is worth it.

Our take

The most frequent travelers can take advantage of huge rewards with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, which also sports a beautiful metal design. Although the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees) scares some people away, frequent travelers can more than earn back the Amex Business Platinum annual fee through the card’s value and perks.

Choose this card:  If you run a small business and you travel frequently. Read our Amex Business Platinum review.

How do you dispose of a metal credit card?

Although metal credit cards have their perks, including increased durability, metal can be a hassle when it comes time to dispose of an expired card. Do not try to shred your metal credit card (unless you’re in the market for a new shredder). Instead, contact the bank and ask how to dispose of the card. Most companies have procedures for disposal.

With Chase cards, for example, call the customer service number on the back of the card. Chase will send you a package in the mail with return postage attached which you can use to return the card for disposal.

The above cards aren’t the only metal credit cards on the market. Let us know if we missed your favorite! And subscribe to our newsletter for more credit card info and reviews.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, please click here.