What's the best credit card to use in New York City?

The Amex Gold card is a superb choice to earn an industry-leading 4x points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide. For flights, hotels, subway rides, rideshare services, and everything travel-related, we recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

What is the best airport to fly into if you're going to New York City?

LaGuardia Airport is the closest by distance, located just 9 miles away from Midtown Manhattan. Although further away, John F. Kennedy International Airport (~18 miles) and even Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey (~16 miles) are still accessible to New York City — even with public transit.

Can you earn credit card points on rent?

Most landlords may charge an additional fee to use a credit card to pay for rent, or worse, may not accept credit cards at all. However, the no-annual-fee Bilt card is the perfect solution to earning points on rent (fee free!), as well as offering a great variety of everyday bonus categories.

Is the Amex Platinum card worth it?

It’s clear that the Amex Platinum card is geared toward city dwellers, as it offers a variety of credits for Uber, luxury hotels, and even Saks Fifth Avenue. For frequent travelers, the Amex Platinum card is well worth it as you can enter the Amex Centurion Lounges at New York-LGA and New York-JFK — and a third location is underway at Newark Airport!

My Top 3 Credit Cards in My Wallet [While Living in New York City]

It’s almost been 3 years since I made my big move to Manhattan. While that may not grant me official New Yorker status just yet, I’ve come to the point where I consider this buzzing metropolis my home.

That said, I carry nearly a dozen credit cards in my wallet that help maximize my lifestyle, whether I’m traveling somewhere new or dining at one of the many fantastic restaurants in my neighborhood.

But let’s say I wanted to make my life simple with just 3 cards and ditch the others for good. In that case, I’d pick the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card, the American Express® Gold Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express — here’s why.

Table of Contents

My Current Travel and Lifestyle Habits
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card
American Express® Gold Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Final Thoughts

My Current Travel and Lifestyle Habits

Before we dive in, I’ll give some context on my current travel and lifestyle habits.

I’ve lived in various apartments in several neighborhoods in Manhattan since I first moved here in 2020, and rent is easily my largest recurring experience. At every single apartment I’ve lived in, I’ve experienced notorious rent increases — most recently by more than 30%!

As a freelance editor and content contributor, I also spend a large chunk of my time traveling. Fortunately, many of the New York City airports have experienced a “glow-up” while I’ve lived here. LaGuardia is now my favorite airport to fly out of — it’s the closest airport by distance and offers a great range of lounge options. But even Newark‘s new Terminal A has become a great place to fly from.

When I’m not traveling, I like going on runs on the West Side Highway or exploring new fitness classes on ClassPass, dining at new restaurants every week, and seeing new Broadway shows or concerts. None of those activities (except running) are free, and I spend the vast majority of my budget on rent, food, and groceries. Based on my current lifestyle habits, these 3 cards help me outsize my rewards potential and fuel my future trips.

Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card

You can’t talk about New York without bringing up everyone’s favorite subject matter: rent.

Unsurprisingly, New York City tops the charts as the most expensive U.S. rental market. In December 2022, the median rent for a 1-bedroom home was $3,738, according to CNBC.

In the name of transparency, I pay around $2,000 per month for rent — and that’s with 1 roommate! Perhaps the only silver lining of paying an exorbitant amount of rent is that I can earn points for my most expensive recurring expense with my Bilt card.

Issued by Wells Fargo, the Bilt card is an innovative product that allows you to earn points on rent without fees (including a $0 annual fee!). Therefore, as long as you don’t miss a payment on the card — which you should be doing anyway if you have a credit card — you won’t pay fees and will earn points on rent. Here’s the ongoing rewards rate:

3x points on dining, including takeout and delivery
2x points on travel, from airfare to hotels to subway fares to bus tickets to taxis — and you can earn 5x total points on Lyft rideshares now!
1x points on rent (capped at 50,000 points earned per year) and all other eligible purchases

New York View From Brooklyn — I’m able to earn thousands of points alone from rent thanks to my Bilt card.

From rent alone, I earn 24,000 points every year. We estimate that Bilt points are worth 1.8 cents apiece, so I’m bringing home a respectable $432 worth of points from rent annually.

Hot Tip: The Bilt Rewards Alliance is made up of more than 2 million participating rental homes where you can seamlessly pay your rent through the Bilt app. Even if your apartment isn’t part of this network (mine isn’t), Bilt generates a checking and savings account number on the app that you can use to pay rent to your landlord, and it’ll charge your card the amount. It’s that easy.

The only “catch” is that you have to use this card 5x monthly (of any amount) to reap the full points on rent. But between my $2.75 subway fare or a $7 latte, hitting this monthly requirement is effortless.

Plus, on the first of every month, I look forward to Bilt Rent Day where cardholders can earn double points on all purchases (except rent). That means 6x points at restaurants, 4x points on travel, and 2x points on non-bonus purchases. For me, that’s when I like to strategically line up the monthly payment date for my hefty medical or utility bills to earn double points.

Simply put, it’s easy to amass a pile of Bilt points, which are quickly becoming my favorite loyalty currency. With 12 airline and 2 hotel transfer partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio, my favorites are American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt.

Most recently, I transferred my Bilt points to Hyatt to book the stunning Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch for 23,000 points per night. With nightly rates at over $600 per night, I scored an excellent 2.6 per point value with my Bilt points.

American Express® Gold Card

If it’s not rent, it’s everything related to food that puts a dent in my spending. In fact, I use my Amex Gold card exclusively for dining and groceries, as it earns:

4x points at restaurants worldwide
4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to the first $25,000 spent per year; then 1x points)
3x points for flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
1x points on all other eligible purchases

The 4x point multiplier is incredibly powerful and arguably one of the best earning rates for both dining and groceries. I do enjoy cooking at home most days, but I equally like exploring new restaurants and allocate a significant portion of my budget for dining.

New York Restaurant — With so many amazing restaurants in the New York area, the Amex Gold helps me earn 4x points on dining.

While this number fluctuates per month (depending if I’m in New York or traveling), let’s say that I spend around $1,000 per month on these 2 bonus categories. That’s 48,000 Membership Rewards points that I’m taking home every year, worth $1,056 according to our valuations.

These rewards earned cover the $250 annual fee (rates and fees) for me. Other ways I maximize this card is by taking advantage of monthly statement credits of up to $240 that you can enroll for on your Amex account:

$10 in monthly Uber Cash credit that can be used for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.
$10 in monthly dining credit for select partners, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations

The first credit is incredibly easy to use, and I look forward to my Uber Cash getting automatically loaded every month. Inevitably, I’ll take an Uber ride (or multiple) throughout the month, so the $10 discount adds up to $120 in automatic savings every year.

Admittedly, the second credit is harder to use and may not be as intuitive — it’s almost like it was built for New Yorkers to use. I happen to live a 5-minute walk from a Shake Shack, where I’ll treat myself to a single Shackburger and fries once a month, or I’ll use Grubhub pickup to grab lunch and avoid unnecessary delivery fees.

The Amex Membership Rewards program boasts 20 airline and hotel transfer partners, including Delta Air Lines, my preferred domestic carrier. However, the international programs are where you’ll find incredible value for your points — I just booked an Iberia business class flight for 50,000 points between Madrid (MAD) and New York (JFK) this summer by transferring points to Iberia Plus.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

The final card I’d pick is a bit of a luxury.

At the start of 2023, I finally bit the bullet and opened the Amex Platinum card. I had avoided opening one for so long, as the $695 annual fee (rates and fees) is daunting.

However, the Amex Platinum card comes with an extensive number of statement credits that the issuer claims to amount to more than $1,400 yearly. While that’s true, there are many credits I wouldn’t necessarily use at all if I didn’t hold the card.

With that said, here are the statement credits that I know I would already use personally that help me justify the $695 annual fee:

Up to $200 annual hotel credit on select prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel
Up to $240 annual digital entertainment credit: Up to $20 in monthly statement credits for select digital entertainment partners — I already subscribed to Audible ($14.95/month) and The New York Times ($5/month)
Up to $200 annual Uber Cash credit: Up to $15 in monthly statement credits (plus a bonus of $20 in December) for Uber Eats or rides in the U.S.
Up to $200 annual airline fee credit for incidentals on 1 qualifying airline

Those 4 statement credits amount to $840 per year, and that’s before I consider the other statement credits that are merely nice-to-haves at this point:

Up to $189 annual CLEAR Plus membership credit
Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit: Up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually
Up to $155 annual Walmart+ credit for fast, free delivery and gas discounts

Of course, I don’t maximize every single credit. For instance, I don’t go to Equinox gyms, although there are plenty of locations in New York. If you are a member, you’ll get up to $300 in Equinox credit toward your gym membership every year.

There’s also a useful credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or up to $85 for TSA PreCheck application fees every 5 years. I already have Global Entry, but you can use this credit to pay for a family member or friend’s application — trust me, they’ll thank you later!

Hot Tip: All Amex cards get access to incredible Amex Offers, which display 100 great discounts at a time for dining, entertainment, and more. Some of these offers can be quite lucrative, like a $150 statement credit when you spend $600 more on Delta Air Lines.

But we haven’t even discussed my 2 favorite benefits on the Amex Platinum yet: access to the Global Lounge Collection and the terrific earning rate on flights and hotels.

I am constantly traveling, primarily as I can easily access 3 major airports at any point. At New York’s LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy (JFK), I can visit the Amex Centurion Lounge to grab a bite (and avoid overpaying for a lousy airport meal), charge up my devices, and even take a shower before my flight. Even better, the Newark (EWR) Centurion Lounge is slated to open sometime this year.

Centurion Lounge JFK Buffet — The Amex Centurion Lounge food beats dining at any other airport restaurant. Image Credit: James Larounis

When flying domestically, I mostly fly with Delta, so the ability to access Delta Sky Clubs on a same-day ticket is helpful, too. That said, I much prefer the gorgeous new Sky Club in LaGuardia’s Terminal C nowadays. You can also enroll in a Priority Pass membership, which grants you access to 1,300+ partner lounges worldwide.

The last point I’ll make is the fantastic earning rate on the card. You can earn 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel (up to the first $500,000 spent per calendar year; then 1x points) and 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, as well as 1x points on all other purchases. That 5x multiplier is industry-leading when it comes to earning points on flights and hotels. Combined with the points I earn from my Amex Gold card, I earn a giant balance of Membership Rewards points every year.

While I’m still working to achieve the spending minimum for the 150,000-point welcome offer, there’s a world of possibilities when those points arrive in my Membership Rewards balance. Right now, I’m eyeing another business class flight on Singapore Airlines to Southeast Asia.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to my favorite rewards cards, it boils down to 2 factors: How can I maximize my everyday spending, and how can I elevate my travel experience? Surely, if I lived in another part of the country (or the world), I may have a different approach, but these 3 cards have been valuable additions to my lifestyle in New York City.

The information regarding the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

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My Top 3 Credit Cards in My Wallet [While Living in New York City]

My Current Travel and Lifestyle Habits

Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card

American Express® Gold Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

What's the best credit card to use in New York City?

What is the best airport to fly into if you're going to New York City?

Can you earn credit card points on rent?

Is the Amex Platinum card worth it?

About Stella Shon

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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My Current Travel and Lifestyle Habits

Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card

American Express® Gold Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

What's the best credit card to use in New York City?

What is the best airport to fly into if you're going to New York City?

Can you earn credit card points on rent?

Is the Amex Platinum card worth it?

About Stella Shon

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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Advertiser Disclosure