Best Travel Card for Infrequent Travel from San Diego (Domestic & Int’l)

I'm hoping to add a card that optimizes Travel to our mix. We're a family of 3 and take an annual summer trip on Alaska Airlines (SAN to PDX), which involves flights and rental car.

This year we'll also be taking a holiday season trip to see extended family in Peru, which will involve flights (most likely Delta/LATAM) and possibly hotel/AirBnB. We're also planning for a big Euro Trip in 2029. And will probably do another trip to Mexico (fly out of TJ) and/or Peru between now and then.

We fly 1-2 times a year on average and would love to optimize comfort/perks and minimize out of pocket costs as much as possible. (Isn't that always the goal?)

*CREDIT PROFILE\*

Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:

• Player 1: Wells Fargo 2% Active Cashback, $13k limit, 12/2025
• Player 2: Citi Costco, $18k limit, 6/2021

FICO scores with source:

• Player 1: Experian 818 (thru WF)
• Player 2: Equifax 859 (thru Citi)

Oldest credit card account age: 13 years 11 months

Cards approved in the past 6 months: 1

Cards approved in the past 12 months: 0

Cards approved in the past 24 months: 0

Annual income $: $160k

*CATEGORIES\*

Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes

Ok with rotating category cards?: No

Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.

• Dining $: 600
• Groceries $: 400 (Ralph's, Vons, Walmart), 550 (Costco)
• Gas $: 250 (Costco)
• Travel $: 600
• Using abroad?: Possibly. We can use our Citi Costco for no FTF

Other categories or stores: No

Other spend: No

Pay rent by card? No

*MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS\*

Costco or Sam's Club member: Costco

Open to business cards: Yes

*PURPOSE\*

Purpose of next card: Travel Rewards

Travel rewards preferences: Unsure, we're not committed to one airline as it's more about the deals and ease of travel that we can get. We fly once annually on Alaska, and we'll likely fly Delta/LATAM at the end of this year.

Cards being considered: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Atmos Rewards Ascent

*ADDITIONAL INFO\*

Whenever possible we elect extra legroom seats, and we're new to navigating flying with a toddler, which currently requires traveling with at least one checked bag.