My Wallet Credit Card Strategy
I don’t have any cards I’m trying to meet minimum spend on at the moment, so the cards I’m carrying are meant to (1) maximize return on my spending and (2) be available to swipe or show to obtain benefits.
What do I spend money on? Airfare, hotels, restaurants, and groceries. I have other spending items, but those are mostly online purchases or recurring ‘set it and forget it’ expenses that don’t require the most rewarding card to be in my wallet (we’ll get to cards I have in a drawer next).
The American Express® Gold Card is really underappreciated. It’s probably the best Membership Rewards-earning card overall: 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases), then 1X; and 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. This is my favorite card for restaurant spend (though haven’t been using it that way lately) and for grocery spend – my wife and I can maximize spending in that category.
I have been putting restaurant spend on my Bilt Mastercard because even though its 3x on dining is less than the 4x I could be earning with the Amex Gold this helps me diversify my points since I'm working with seven-figure Chase and Amex balances already. Bilt is the only card that transfers to both American AAdvantage and United MileagePlus programs including Aeroplan, Hyatt, and Turkish – so they’re valuable points – and this diversification makes sense for me even though I'm not a renter who can take advantage of earning up to 100,000 points per year paying rent at no fee (something that would cost $2850 per year using a service like Plastiq.com). Of course you must make a minimum of five purchases per month to earn points.
A majority of my hotel nights are with Hyatt so I carry The World Of Hyatt Credit Card which earns 4x on Hyatt stays. Every $5000 spent on the card earns two elite nights; it comes with an annual category 1-4 free night plus another after $15,000 spent each year making $15,000 of spending super rewarding especially when it's in bonus categories. Notably it's also one of few cards bonusing fitness/gym memberships.
For airfare The Platinum Card® from American Express is essential: 5 points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines/American Express Travel (up to $500k annually). Additionally carried for access to American Express Centurion airport lounges; Delta lounges when flying Delta same-day; Plaza Premium/Escape lounges; Hilton Honors Gold status; Marriott Titanium status currently held negates need for Marriott Gold from card use.
The economics work despite its $695 annual fee due to real usage covering statement credits such as up-to-$200 airline fee credit successfully used with Southwest Airlines; up-to-$240 Digital Entertainment Credit covering actual expenses; $200 Uber Cash spread throughout year spent anyway; CLEAR® Credit previously covering self/wife while toddler joins free through CLEAR; semi-annual $50 Saks credit buying toiletries among others without counting up-to-$200 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit offer/up-to-$155 Walmart+ Credit terms/details applicable.
For unbonused spend I'm using Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earning unlimited 10X miles hotels/rental cars booked via Capital One Travel plus unlimited 2X miles all other purchases transferring miles choice among over fifteen travel loyalty programs offering premium rewards lower annual fees compared similar class cards.
Crucial never earning just one point per dollar considering Citi Double Cash Card's no annual fee/2% cash back opportunity cost if earning just one point per dollar effectively buying point at two cents where no mileage currency worth two cents opinion-wise yet valuing each Capital One mile at approximately 1.6 cents lowest rebate achieved being around 3.2%.
Additionally carrying Priority Pass card Texas Drivers License office swipe card despite reduced office visits twice monthly DC-based.
My Desk Drawer Credit Card Strategy
These are cards held but infrequently used serving strategic purposes/having yielded value without plans retaining long-term:
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card retained long-term albeit rarely pulled out regularly due non-annual-fee offering potential seventy-five thousand-point earnings post meeting initial purchase requirements combined Ultimate Rewards transferable product facilitating varied loyalty program partner transfers ongoing five percent cashback potential transferable five-point-per-dollar first twenty-five thousand dollars combined office supply/internet/cable/phone services annually auto-pay coverage including Staples Office Depot utilization occasionally surprising Miami Marlins Credit Card zero annual fees offering inexpensive baseball experiences seeking direct product experience holiday ten-thousand-point promotion thousand-dollar spends Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card seventy-five-thousand bonus point offer initial purchase requirements met within first three months account opening AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard loyalty point threshold bonuses varying spends utilizing annual ninety-nine-dollar companion ticket subsequent twenty-thousand-dollar spends Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard Admirals Club membership Loyalty Point bonuses excluding actual spends Chase Freedom Unlimited® limited-time three times all-spend offer Special Offer Unlimited Matched Cash Back end-first-year automatic match capped unlimitedly each earned cashback dollar matched expired offer period concluding
Next Steps Needed
Not much remains pending regarding long-term strategies currently well-covered maximizing point earnings aligned expenditures valued benefits possibly considering Aeroplan® Credit Card if sub-five/twenty-four thresholds met lacking necessity Star Alliance Gold status frequent Air Canada usage alternatively new small business cards sought from American Express/Citibank awaiting next significant development!
For rates/fees American Express Gold click here For rates/fees Platinum American Express click here Information produced independently neither reviewed nor approved issuer-specifics remain applicable
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