Originally Posted by
gk17
If you want one without the annual fee, you can look into getting the Citi Forward card where it's 5x points on restaurants. Redemption for cash is not exactly great, but still not bad because of the 5x points earned. They are worth $0.005 (half a cent) per point. It's $50 cashback for 10K points.
It's 1 cent per point toward a mortgage or student loan. If you have either, it's the best cash back for restaurants but has an annual limit that's relatively low. There's also frequently deals for gift cards that are a little better than 1 cent/point. Combine it with a ThankYou Premier card and the points are worth 1.33 cents each toward retail priced flights, making it almost 7% back.
There are two versions of the Forward card on offer. Make sure yours has the 5x bonus in the T&Cs before applying.