What Credit Cards Do You Use
Monkeys,
I know there are other articles on this but they seem to be outdated now that benefits for many credit cards have changed (Amex Gold is almost a completely different card now). What cards do you get the most value from, or use the most?
I personally just upgraded my Amex Gold to the Platinum because I received a bonus offer, and mainly have used the Chase Sapphire Reserve in the past. I have a few other no fee cards on autopay and pay my Spotify or Netflix subscriptions through them. I intend to keep both the Platinum and Reserve cards for flights / hotels and dining respectively going forward, but was curious to know which other cards are worth a look
My Sapphire Reserve is my workhorse card and I really do like it a lot. Not sure what level of personal/business travel you have, but my girlfriend is a consultant and her go to is the SPG card...typically free and priority upgrades on hotels and a great point system. They also treat us like royalty when we stay at a Marriott, if you're into that kinda thing.
Love my Reserve card, feel like it’s a no brainer to have. I still haven’t dipped below the 100k signing bonus I received when the card was first offered
I guess your girlfriend probably has insane status already, but the automatic Gold Status at Hilton and Gold Elite at Marriot from my Platinum card was a nice perk
Been trying to decide what to do with regards to credit cards given I'm traveling a lot more for work now. I currently have the Reserve but have been thinking about the Platinum either as a replacement or addition. Do you still use both, and if so, would you suggest holding both?
Mind you I don't put anywhere near as much time as some into this, but I have my credit union visa with a APR of 9% and my AmEx EveryDay Preferred. Went with the EveryDay because at the time it was offering 18 month 0 APR and I had some big purchases to make. Once that burns off I'll look at other AmEx offerings.
Any suggestions? I know some people are experts at this.
weaksaus has a great explanation below.
Essentially you want to always receive at least 2/3% back on every purchase you make. And typically this can be done with no-fee cards. The discover card is awesome because it rotates 5% back categories every three months like 5% back on amazon, home improvement stores, etc
Uber Barclaycard is a good one if you buy food all the fuckin time like I do.
4% cashback on bars and restaurants all the time
If you're too lazy to play the points game, Fidelity Retirement Rewards card is a good option. No annual fee and 2% cash back on everything into a Fidelity IRA.
Yep - I use this for everything except travel and restaurants which I use CSR.
Paired up CSR and AMEX Platinum. Really only useful if you're spending your year on an airplane and in hotels - otherwise I would just daily my CSR and drop the AMEX. The Platinum is more of an access card while the CSR has super strong rewards.
Costco Card - 4% on gas, 3% on restaurant & travel, 2% costco, 1% everything else. No fee, but Costco membership is required ($60). I use Costco card for Gas, Eating/drinking out, and travel. I live by a Costco and drive a lot so it makes sense for me.
Citi Double Cash - 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay. No fee. Card is ugly as hell but 2% across the board is tough to beat with no fee (Assuming you always pay your bill in full).
Amex Blue Cash Every Day Card - 3% Supermarkets, 2% gas and dept stores; 1% all else. No fee. Also has some good deals you can access through the app. I use this for groceries
I like no fee cards because I don't have to ever close the account. In college I opened a bunch of airline cards for the points and was closing them out when I was done. Closing accounts isn't the best for your credit and having short terms on those accounts makes it worse. I'll never close any free card out, just cut it up and you'll have a longstanding credit line which bolsters your credit score. Not a huge deal but looking to purchase RE soon and wanted to get on top of it so I switched to the free cards.
I don't like the fees associated with the premium cards. Running the numbers on some of them, you really need to spend a lot to make the annual fee back, or use the perks regularly, which many people don't. If you do, more power to you and take advantage, just wasn't right for my situation. Cash back is great to just throw at your balance and money is money vs being stuck with one airline or hotel brand. The biggest perk to staying with one brand like SPG is you get status upgrades.
If you work in consulting or travel a lot, I would recommend SPG, Amex Platinum or Chase Saphire. They're all great. SPG is personally my favorite if you travel a lot. My friend has one for his business and he gets upgraded to suites whenever he travels because of the status he receives. This may have changed since the Marriot SPG merger, not sure.
I spend roughly $3,500 a month, I put all expenses outside of rent on my cards. I've accumulated about $1400 in cash back this year.
Amex Platinum. Got it recently on a nice Bonus offer. I mainly want to use it for points on travel. Its offers on its App for travel are pretty damn nice. The bonus points will be great for an OCONUS trip and the lounge access is great for domestic trips.
Fidelity 2% rewards:Unless it makes sense to use the above card, it goes on here. 2% on everything right back into my brokerage account.
Chase Freedom: It's the card I've held the longest, so I keep it open to keep the credit score up.
Chase Freedom, Freedom Unlimited and Amazon.
Use them in whatever category offers the highest return. Will probably look into a CSR and Amex Blue Cash Everyday once my monthly spending goes up a bit more.
I just use whatever is prettiest. At the moment, this Also, I got a card with my wife's dumbass friend barbara on it. Forgot why I did that.
for real though if youre trying to fuck the cashier at the smoke shop then this is the card to pay with. of course im married so im speculating but i think im right. i can tell how everybody who lays eyes on me wants to have sex with me or at least hear what i have to say. especially when they see the discover card
goldie, how high are you right now
anybody use the Capital One Savor? Seems real solid for bachelors or those who don't often cook at home...
I do. 95$ annual fee sucks but I plan on canceling before it kicks in (first year is no fee). After that I’ll use the Uber card. It’s hard to beat 4% back on food / bars plus the $500 reward for spending 3k in the first 3 months. In the first 45 days or so I’ve already got $60 cash back.
It really helps if you’re in a role where you get expensed dinners / expensed group dinners. Sometimes I make $8 for doing nothing other than placing the postmates order for the office. Unfortunately Uber eats doesn’t get 4% back but a handful of delivery services do
Chase Sapphire Reserve for all travel and dining for the 3% bonus
Chase Freedom on the 5% bonus quarterly categories (gas stations this quarter, for example)
Chase Freedom Unlimited for anything that doesn't fall in the above for the 1.5% bonus. I'm all about racking up the Chase Ultimate Rewards points
I'm a whore for credit card signup and minimum spend bonuses and I cancel before the annual fees kick in after the first year. Right now I have the American Airlines Citi card which I'll cancel before the year anniversary
I churn credit cards. With that said I have used all of the following in the past year: Amex Plat CSR CSP IHG Card Marriot Preferred Citi Premiere Capital one Venture
Looking to open the SPG Amex within the next couple months.
I pay everything off monthly and would estimate earnings from the cards of around ~5k
I have had Amex Plat and CSR as well as Uber Visa and BoA Premium Reward
Overall, CSR has the best bang for the buck, but if you go on high-end vacations a lot, then Amex Plat's fine hotels and resorts programs will definitely offer more value due to the upgrades and hotel/resort credits you get as well as the elite status at various loyalty programs.
Uber Visa is great if you're in it for the points. It offers great cashback percentages (3% on dining and travels) and has a low annual fee.
BoA premium rewards is worth it if you're a platinum honors client, because it offers 75% extra cashback on the 1.5% cashback on all purchases, which means a ~2.5% cashback on anything you buy.
Other hotel group cards can be useful too if you travel a lot, but I haven't had any experiences with them yet.
Chase trifecta. Freedom Unlimited 5% Cash Back CSR Spend on the first 2, redeem on the CSR to maximize $value of points / $spent on card
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