3 Sets Of Credit Cards That May Appear To Be Substitutes, But Aren’t

Many times credit card issuers introduce multiple versions of a card, in hopes of going after as many types of consumers as possible. Sometimes the benefits on the cards overlap, while other times they don’t. For example:

• The $99 annual fee JetBlue Plus Card comes with all the same benefits (and much more!) as the no annual fee JetBlue Card, so there’s not much benefit to having the no annual fee version if you have the premium version
• There’s not a ton of value in having the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier® Card (review) when you have the $495 annual fee Citi Prestige® Card, since the benefits mostly overlap (though not completely)

However, in this post I figured I’d look at three sets of cards that may on the surface appear to be substitutes, but are actually complementary to one another, in my opinion. In no particular order:

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The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

The $95 annual fee Business Preferred is the premium version of the Business Cash, though the benefits are quite different. The Ink Cash offers 5x points on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services each account anniversary year. That’s a huge reward for those categories, especially for a no annual fee card.

Meanwhile the Business Preferred offers 3x on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. The card also comes with several other perks, like an amazing cell phone coverage plan and primary collision damage waiver coverage on rental cars.

So if you can get both cards, it can definitely make sense to have them, especially given that one card has no annual fee.

Get primary collision damage waiver coverage on car rentals with the Ink Preferred

American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Both of these cards have a high annual fee ($895 for the Personal Platinum (Rates & Fees) and $895 for the Business Platinum (Rates & Fees)), and the benefits largely overlap, including an up to $200 annual airline fee credit (Enrollment required), as well as access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club®, and more.

However, each card has a key benefit that potentially makes both cards worth holding onto, depending on your spend patterns:

• The Personal Platinum Card offers 5x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and then 1x
• The Business Platinum Card offers a 35% rebate when using Pay With Points, which is potentially an opportunity to redeem your points for 1.54 cents each towards the cost of a ticket on your airline of choice

Given how much I spend on airline tickets and also how many Amex points I have, this would make both cards worth holding onto for someone like me. Everyone will have to crunch the numbers for themselves, though.

The 35% off Pay With Points redemption can be great for booking discounted business class tickets

The Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited®

These are both no annual fee Chase cards that earn cash back on the surface, though in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, etc., those points can be converted into premium Ultimate Rewards points. Why do I love having both of these cards?

• The Freedom Flex offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, on up to $1,500 of spend per quarter; this is a great way to earn 7,500 points per quarter quite easily
• The Freedom Unlimited Card offers 1.5x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, so is a card I use for purchases that aren’t otherwise eligible for bonus categories, along with the The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express

The information and associated card details on this page for the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card have been collected independently by OMAAT and have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

There are many similar cards out there that are indeed substitutes and not complements. However, there are also plenty of other card pairs that appear similar on the surface — whether it’s the personal and business version of a card, basic and premium version of a card, etc. — that are worth holding onto.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees).