Card comparison
Which card is better between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card is the better overall pick over Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard because it leads on Madeen's weighted scorecard (67 vs 34) across categories, bonus, benefits, and fee.
Effective rate The Rakuten American Express Card
Annual fee Tie
Welcome bonus Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard
Benefits value The Rakuten American Express Card
The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger overall pick between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard because it leads on Madeen's weighted scorecard (67 vs 34) across categories, bonus, benefits, and fee. The Rakuten American Express Card (2% top effective rate) vs Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard (1%): Madeen's catalog compares fees vs fees across dining, grocery, gas, and travel — not just headline categories.
Choose A if
Choose The Rakuten American Express Card when its strongest categories, bonus, or perks match how you actually spend.
Choose B if
Choose Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard when the fee, welcome bonus, or issuer ecosystem fits better than the headline winner.
Full comparison
How do The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard compare across all spend categories?
Across all five spend categories, The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard trade wins row by row. The Rakuten American Express Card peaks at 2% effective; Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard peaks at 1%. The Rakuten American Express Card wins the headline effective-rate view in this pair.
| Category / metric | The Rakuten American Express Card | Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | 2% back (2%) | 1% back (1%) | The Rakuten American Express Card · 1 pts |
| Grocery | 2% back (2%) | 1% back (1%) | The Rakuten American Express Card · 1 pts |
| Gas | 1% back (1%) | 1% back (1%) | Tie |
| Travel | 1% back (1%) | 1% back (1%) | Tie |
| Other | 1% back (1%) | 1% back (1%) | Tie |
| Welcome bonus | $25 | $50 | Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard |
| Est. annual benefits | $10025/yr | $480/yr | The Rakuten American Express Card |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 | Tie |
| Holistic overall | 67 pts (cat 28, bonus 7, benefits 24, fee 8) | 34 pts (cat 12, bonus 13, benefits 1, fee 8) | The Rakuten American Express Card |
Madeen take
How to think about this pair
The Rakuten American Express Card (2% top effective rate) vs Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard (1%): Madeen's catalog compares fees vs fees across dining, grocery, gas, and travel — not just headline categories.
Strategy
Use The Rakuten American Express Card when Best for spenders who put meaningful volume in dining and can earn 2% back. The welcome bonus can help if you can meet the spend requirement.. Use Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard when Best for spenders who put meaningful volume in dining and can earn 1% back. The welcome bonus can help if you can meet the spend requirement.. The Rakuten American.
Hold both?
Many First Electronic Bank users can hold both cards if each covers a different spend lane and the combined annual fees still clear your break-even math.
Welcome bonus playbook
If you are chasing a welcome bonus, Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard leads on catalog bonus value. For long-term category earn after the bonus, The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger keeper in this pair — but only if its annual fee still makes sense for your spend.
Madeen analysis
Which card has stronger benefits: The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
Madeen estimates $10025 annual benefit value on The Rakuten American Express Card versus $480 on Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard. Credits only matter if you will use them.
The Rakuten American Express Card
Total est. value: $10,025/yr
Credits and perks only help if you will actually use them in a typical year.
- Extended Warranty $10,000/yr
- Retail Protection $25/yr
- Amex Experiences
Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard
Total est. value: $480/yr
Credits and perks only help if you will actually use them in a typical year.
- Mastercard Transit Benefit $200/yr
- Instacart $140/yr
- $5 Lyft credit $60/yr
- Global emergency services $10/yr
- HealthLock $10/yr
Welcome bonus
Which welcome bonus is stronger for The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
If you are chasing a welcome bonus, Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard leads on catalog bonus value. For long-term category earn after the bonus, The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger keeper in this pair — but only if its annual fee still makes sense for your spend. The Rakuten American Express Card lists $25; Holiday Inn Club.
The Rakuten American Express Card
$25
Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard
$50
Caps & conditions
Caps and earn limits
The Rakuten American Express Card has catalog caps that can change the winner on heavy category spend, while Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard looks cleaner on cap structure in this snapshot.
The Rakuten American Express Card
- Earn 2% at restaurants
- Earn 2% on groceries
Who should pick which
Scenario playbook
Cashback-first user
Pick The Rakuten American Express Card
The Rakuten American Express Card is the better cashback-style pick because it has the cleaner effective-rate and fee blend for this pair.
Travel & points user
Pick The Rakuten American Express Card
The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger travel-style pick because it combines better reward value with more travel-friendly positioning.
No annual fee priority
Pick The Rakuten American Express Card
The Rakuten American Express Card is easier to keep for no-fee users because it has the lighter annual-fee burden in this pair.
Heavy dining spend
Pick The Rakuten American Express Card
For restaurant and dining-coded spend, the winner is whoever posts the stronger dining effective rate after caps and exclusions — see the category matrix for the current snapshot.
Heavy grocery spend
Pick The Rakuten American Express Card
Supermarket and grocery coding can differ from superstores and delivery, so compare the grocery row before you optimize a weekly shopping basket.
Welcome bonus chaser
Pick Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard
If you are chasing a welcome bonus, Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard leads on catalog bonus value. For long-term category earn after the bonus, The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger keeper in this pair — but only if its annual fee still makes sense for your spend.
Fee-sensitive keeper
Pick Tie
When you want the card that is easiest to keep year two, annual fee often matters more than a narrow category edge.
Decision guide
Which card is better between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card is the better overall pick because it leads on Madeen's weighted scorecard (67 vs 34) across categories, bonus, benefits, and fee. The Rakuten American Express Card (2% top effective rate) vs Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard (1%): Madeen's catalog compares fees vs fees across dining, grocery, gas, and travel — not just headline categories.
When should you pick The Rakuten American Express Card over Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
Choose The Rakuten American Express Card if Best for spenders who put meaningful volume in dining and can earn 2% back. The welcome bonus can help if you can meet the spend requirement.. Best for dining-heavy spend when you want to avoid an annual fee; confirm issuer terms before applying.
Strengths
- Strongest Madeen category is dining at about 2% effective (2% back).
- No annual fee in our catalog snapshot.
- No foreign transaction fee listed.
Tradeoffs
- Compare simpler no-fee cards if you want minimum complexity.
When should you pick Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard over The Rakuten American Express Card?
Choose Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard if Best for spenders who put meaningful volume in dining and can earn 1% back. The welcome bonus can help if you can meet the spend requirement.. Best for dining-heavy spend when you want to avoid an annual fee; confirm issuer terms before applying.
Strengths
- Strongest Madeen category is dining at about 1% effective (1% back).
- No annual fee in our catalog snapshot.
- No foreign transaction fee listed.
Tradeoffs
- Compare simpler no-fee cards if you want minimum complexity.
Common questions about The Rakuten American Express Card vs Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard
Which card is better between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger overall fit because it leads on Madeen's weighted scorecard (67 vs 34) across categories, bonus, benefits, and fee. The overall winner depends on your spend mix — use the scorecard rows and scenario playbook to see where each card actually wins.
Which card wins on dining: The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card leads dining at 2% effective versus 1%.
Which card is better for cashback users: The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card is the better cashback-style pick between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard.
Which welcome bonus is stronger between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
If you are chasing a welcome bonus, Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard leads on catalog bonus value. For long-term category earn after the bonus, The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger keeper in this pair — but only if its annual fee still makes sense for your spend.
Which card has stronger benefits: The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
The Rakuten American Express Card leads on estimated annual benefit value in the Madeen snapshot.
Which card has the lower annual fee: The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard?
Tie has the simpler fee story in this pair ($0 vs $0). Annual fee only wins if you use the rewards and credits that justify it.
Is The Rakuten American Express Card or Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard better for travel spend?
The Rakuten American Express Card is the stronger travel-style pick between The Rakuten American Express Card and Holiday Inn Club Vacations™ World Mastercard in this snapshot.
Can you hold both First Electronic Bank cards?
Yes, many people can hold both First Electronic Bank cards when each covers a different spend lane and the combined fees still make sense.
Compare
Related comparisons
Related topics
Explore the related pages
Reviewed by Madeen editorial review
Catalog snapshot 2026-05-01
Updated 2026-06-25
Content tier Standard
First Electronic Bank and First Electronic Bank (and related product names) are trademarks of their respective owners. Madeen is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by either issuer. Madeen is an independent credit-card comparison and education service.
Madeen compares cards you add to your wallet using published catalog rules — no bank login required. Issuer pages control current fees, caps, exclusions, and eligibility; Madeen does not issue cards, make approval decisions, or provide financial advice. Apply links are temporarily hidden on madeen.app. Affiliate disclosure