Travel Card Recommendations - Explain it to me like I am 5.

Hi all. I am looking for a travel rewards card. I travel a few times a year for leisure and will be doing a lot of international travel (2-3x/year) over the next 4 years. I am specifically looking for a card that gets me the best bang for my buck. I don't care too much about lounge access and would rather focus on perks like earning points/mileage quickly. I have been looking at the Venture/Venture X and Sapphire Preferred as they seem to be the most widely recommended travel cards but I am not super familiar with all the information. My credit card history is simple...

Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)

• Bank of America Rewards Matercard $5,500.00 limit, Jan 2006
• CitiBank Best Buy Card 5,500.00 limit, Jan 2014
• FICO Score: 849 (checked 2/14/26 via Bank of America site)
• Oldest account age: 20 years 1 month
• Chase 5/24 status: 0/24
• Income: $60,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $50
  • groceries: $300
  • gas: $100
  • travel: $0
  • other: $100
• Open to Business Cards: No
• What's the purpose of your next card? Travel
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Capitol One Venture/Venture X Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? Probably general but am open