Deciphering confusing credit card names

3 weeks ago 7

Many travel rewards credit cards have superlative-laced names that include words like Plus, Preferred, Premier and Reserve that can make it hard to differentiate them. On top of that, sometimes issuers don't vary the names very much between cards in the same family, so it can be hard to know which is the no-annual-fee version and which is the premium version, for instance.

This guide will cover some cards that often seem to confuse most people and how to differentiate them.

What's in a name?

At least with cards like the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, consumers can infer that the Platinum version will be more expensive and theoretically have more perks than the Gold version. After all, platinum is more valuable than gold in the real world.

Another easily discernible difference? The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express versus the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express. Something that's preferred is going to be more exclusive.

The information for the Amex EveryDay, Amex EveryDay Preferred has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

But how is the average traveler supposed to figure out the difference between the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card? Which is higher-end — something that surpasses or something aspirational?

The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Those are just a few examples, but they're far from the only ones. Here are some of the most confusing naming schemes among the major travel rewards credit cards and the differences you should know about.

Marriott Bonvoy credit cards

Marriott Bonvoy is a unique hotel loyalty program because it teams up with two issuers for credit cards, Chase and American Express —both of which offer three different Bonvoy cards. Not only can this be confusing when deciding which card to choose, but all of Marriott's cobranded card names start with the letter B.

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Here is a current list of all Marriott Bonvoy credit cards in order from least to most premium:

The easiest way to decipher cards based on the issuer is that the Bonvoy cards issued by American Express include the term American Express as part of the card's full name. Another interesting way to differentiate the cards by their names rather than looking up their annual fees or benefits is that the lower-tier Bonvoy cards have short names (i.e. Bold & Bevy), and the higher-tier cards have longer names (i.e. Boundless, Bountiful, & Brilliant).

If you're a Marriott loyalist, you can have multiple Bonvoy credit cards in your wallet. You'd benefit from elite night credits, statement credits and other perks that are split between the family of Bonvoy cards.

Read our comparison of the Boundless and Brilliant to see how they stack up.

The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Hilton Honors Surpass to Aspire

What sounds better, to Surpass or to Aspire? American Express issues Hilton credit cards, and there are four cards available. Among the four, two of them are easy to discern: the Hilton Honors American Express Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. The former has a no-frills moniker, and it's safe to assume it will be a lower-tier card, whereas the latter uses the term business to help distinguish it.

The Aspire card is more expensive and richer in benefits than the Surpass, so you'd have to Surpass to the Aspire.

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has a $550 annual fee (see rates and fees), earns up to 14 points per dollar, and comes with perks like Hilton Honors Diamond status, a free night reward at almost any Hilton worldwide, up to $400 Hilton Resort statement credit each cardmember year, up to $200 annual airline credit, and up to $100 Hilton on-property credits. Enrollment required for select benefits.

As the younger sibling, the Hilton Amex Surpass comes with a modest $150 annual fee (see rates and fees), earns up to 12 points per dollar and offers perks such as Hilton Honors Gold Status, up to $200 Hilton credit, a pathway to Diamond Status and the ability to earn a free night reward based on annual spending.

To learn more about how each Hilton card stacks up against one another, check out our Surpass and Aspire showdown guide.

Capital One and Venture

Why Capital One ever named a card, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is beyond me. It's a nonsensical compound word that tells you nothing about the card and its earning structure.

The two key differences between it and the similarly named Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is that the Venture card earns 2 miles per dollar on every purchase and has a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees), as well as perks like Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement. The VentureOne, on the other hand, earns 1.25 miles per dollar and has no annual fee or available statement credits.

Capital One is not consistent with its card names, though. Based on the Venture cards, you'd assume that any Capital One card with One as part of the card name would be the lower-end version of the non-One card. That's true of the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card with a $95 annual fee versus the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card with no annual fee (see rates and fees).

But it's not the case with the Quicksilver cards. The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card both earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

The Quicksilver has a sign-up bonus of $200 cash bonus after spending $500 in the first three months of account opening but no annual fee (see rates and fees), while the QuicksilverOne has no sign-up bonus and a $39 annual fee (see rates and fees). You need better credit for the Quicksilver, so in that respect it does follow the Card versus CardOne rule, but it's mystifying nonetheless.

To learn more, read our showdown of the Capital One Savor and Quicksilver.

The information for the Capital One Savor has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Is Plus or Premier a Priority with Southwest?

Plus and Premier are some of the most used monikers on credit cards, and Southwest is one of the worst offenders since two of its personal cobranded cards are the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card.

The highest-tier card is a bit easier to identify because it's called the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card.

Instead of getting into the granular details here, you can check out this post with a direct comparison of all three personal Southwest cards. The one standout fact you should take away is that the Priority comes with more perks than the other two cards, such as a higher anniversary bonus of 7,500 Rapid Rewards points, a $75 annual Southwest travel credit, four annual upgraded boardings and 25% back on inflight drinks and Wi-Fi. It also has the highest annual fee of $149.

The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Is your Business Preferred or Premier according to Chase?

Chase introduced a whole new level of bafflement to its business cards with names such as Ink Business Premier® Credit Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

The Ink Business Preferred has a $95 annual fee, and cardholders earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.

The Ink Business Premier has a $195 annual fee and earns 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more.

What's interesting is despite the hefty annual fee, the Ink Business Premier earns rewards that can only be redeemed for cash back or travel through the Chase portal but, unlike Chase's other cards, cannot be transferred to airline or hotel partners, including the inability to move points to other Chase cards. The Preferred, on the other hand, has a lower annual fee and allows cardholders to transfer their points to Chase's full range of hotel and airline partners.

In this case, it's better to be a Preferred business Premier business. There are some other significant differences, but you can check out our full review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred.

For more details on all the Ink Business cards, check out our full guide on the Ink cards.

Unlimited Freedom Redundancies

While the Chase Freedom card (no longer open to new applicants) has been around for years and years, Chase unveiled a different version called the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Freedom Flex® a few years ago. The three cards are quite similar beyond just sharing a name.

All three cards have no annual fee. They all earn cash-back Ultimate Rewards points that can be combined with transferable Ultimate Rewards points if you have another card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

However, the Unlimited version earns 1.5% cash back on purchases while the Freedom Flex earns one point per dollar on most purchases but 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter on rotating merchant categories. Which card is right for you depends on your spending habits.

Bottom line

Credit cards are confusing enough without issuers and rewards programs introducing several similar cards with all kinds of bombastic modifiers in their names, like Bonvoy Brilliant.

That's why it pays to stay on top of loyalty programs. Every update and revamp will likely mean new and improved — or at least additional and different—cards to choose from. At the very least, you should know which options are available for your specific loyalty programs of choice so that you can be sure to pick the best card or cards for your needs.

For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Surpass Card, please click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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