The update I’d make to each my 12 credit cards

After adding the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® card to my portfolio of credit cards (thanks to an 80,000-mile sign-up bonus), I’m now up to 12 credit cards in my wallet.

I’ve recently been contemplating which cards to keep and which to get rid of, which had me thinking: what’s the one update I’d make to each card if I could?

For this thought experiment, I’m only including updates which I think are reasonable in light of competitive products (for instance, I’m not going to suggest that a $0 annual fee American Express card offer Centurion Lounge access or that a premium card offer 5 points for every $1 spent on everything).

Though I doubt that the powers-that-be at Chase, Capital One, Bank of America, or American Express are reading this, here are the updates that I’d make to each of my 12 current credit cards.

American Express Hilton Honors Business

The update: Free Reward Night after $30,000 in spend.

This used to be one of my favorite credit cards, but after Amex/Hilton removed the ability to earn a Hilton Free Reward Night after $15,000 in spend, it’s likely my first card on the chopping block when it comes up for renewal later this year. Instead of having the benefit disappear completely, the update I’d make to this card is to bring the benefit back, but at double the cost (so that you’d need to spend $30,000 on the card to get a Hilton Free Reward Night, same as the Amex Aspire).

American Express Business Gold

The update: Replace the $155 Walmart+ membership with a $120 Uber One membership.

Usually I take advantage of all the “free” money I can get on my credit cards, but I haven’t signed up for the Walmart+ membership because it’s unlikely I’d ever use it (and so it’s not worth me having a $12.95/month recurring fee that I might forget to cancel on my card).

That said, if the card offered a $120 credit for Uber One (which bills at $9.99/month), I’d be a happy camper and would likely hold onto the card.

American Express Business Platinum

The update: Earn 5 points for every $1 spent on flights purchased directly with an airline.

The Amex Business Platinum card is one of my least favorite — and least used — cards and I’m surprised I still have it. That said, there’s one update that Amex could make to the card which would make me hold onto it for the foreseeable future: earning 5 points for every $1 spent on flights purchased directly with an airline, a benefit the consumer Platinum card already offers.

American Express Business Plus

The update: Increase the maximum spend for 2 points for every $1 spent to $100,000 per calendar year.

This is already a near perfect $0 annual fee card, earning 2 points for every $1 spent and is my go-to card for unbonused spend (including my quarterly taxes). The downside is that the 2x points ends after hitting $50,000 per calendar year, making it so I have to keep track of spending on the card each year to ensure that I don’t go over that amount. If the limit was doubled, I’d put more spend on the card and wouldn’t need to track my spend.

American Express Hilton Honors Aspire

The update: Change the $400 Hilton Resort Credit to a $400 Hilton credit.

It’s hard enough to earn the full $400 Hilton Resort Credit, as Amex/Hilton recently changed this benefit to be two $200 semi-annual credits (sigh). While I am a big Hilton fan and generally stay at one Hilton resort each year, given the change to a semi-annual credit, I wish the card would axe the “resort” requirement and make this a $400 credit at any Hilton property.

Chase United Explorer

The update: Increase the maximum amount of PQPs you can earn with the card from 1,000 to 5,000.

The main reason I have this card is that it’s my oldest credit card and if I got rid of it, my credit score would suffer. Other than that, I pretty much only use this card to help me obtain United status — but the card provides very limited help here, with cardholders only able to earn a maximum of 1,000 PQP on the card.

That said, if I could earn up to 5,000 PQP on the card (the United Quest℠ card has a 9,000 PQP maximum, for example), I’d use this card much more frequently.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

The update: Increase unbonused spend to 2 points for every $1 spent.

This $0 annual fee card is one of my favorite credit cards, which I mostly use to earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent on unbonused categories and 3 points for every $1 spent at drugs stores.

That said, I know that earning 2 points for every $1 spent on a $0 annual fee card is possible thanks to the American Express Business Plus card, and if this feature was added to the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, I’d use it much, much more.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

The update: Make 5 points for every $1 spent on Lyft permanent.

Deciding which update to add to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card was difficult for me, as I’m already a very happy Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholder and use it often, particularly for 3 points for every $1 spent on Instacart, Factor, and restaurants and 5 points for every $1 spent on Lyft.

Right now, the 5x points on Lyft benefit is set to expire on March 30, 2025, so the update I’d make to the card would be to make the Lyft 5x benefit permanent.

Chase Ink Business Preferred (have two of these cards)

The update: Revert the recent updates to the travel insurance policy.

This used to be one of my favorite cards, as it earns 3 points for every $1 spent on travel and a included a fairly comprehensive travel insurance policy that basically worked like this: if you put any travel spend on the card for a trip, your entire trip was covered under the travel insurance policy. However, Chase recently updated the travel insurance policy and it’s not nearly as valuable — now, you’re only covered up to the amount spent on the card (meaning if I spent $500 on flights using my Chase Ink Business Preferred and spent $2,000 on hotel using my Amex Aspire card, I’d only receive travel insurance of up to $500).

With this change, I’m seriously considering giving up this card. So if I had one wish, it would be for Chase to revert its travel insurance policy back to the good old days.

Capital One Venture X

The update: Have the $300 Capital One travel credit apply to any travel paid for with the card, not just travel booked through Capital One Travel.

While I understand that Capital One is trying to get cardholders to use the Capital One Travel portal, I’d place more value on the annual $300 credit if it was similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit and applied to any travel paid for with the card. As I prefer to book flights directly with airlines (since it’s easier to work directly with an airline if something goes wrong) and a lot my hotel stays are booked directly with hotels to take advantage of status benefits, I sometimes find myself straining to use the Capital One $300 travel credit as-is.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature

The update: Add the ability to earn Alaska elite qualifying miles with credit card spend.

This one was a tough one for me as well, as I know the update I want but I’m also afraid of the consequences (i.e., Alaska changing from a miles-flown to a money-spent loyalty program). While I think Alaska’s loyalty program will eventually become this anyway — especially since the Alaska premium card being released this summer will have an accelerated path towards elite status — I’d like for that change to be delayed for as long as possible.

That said, probably the only benefit that would have me keep my Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card would be if they added the ability to earn status through spend — for instance, earning 1 elite qualifying mile for every $20 spent, similar to the Chase United Explorer card.

I wouldn’t use the card exclusively to earn status, but it would be great if I could use the card if I was close to obtaining to status and needed some extra elite qualifying miles.

What change would you make to your favorite credit cards? Let me know in the comments.