What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Sadly, not a single one of my nearby gas stations yet has contactless payment at the pumps. You still have to insert the card in a slot at all of them.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Most (all?) major brand gas companies have an app where you can say which pump your using and once you process payment via app the pump unlocks. You also get a discount for using the app at most places.UpperNwGuy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:14 am Sadly, not a single one of my nearby gas stations yet has contactless payment at the pumps. You still have to insert the card in a slot at all of them.
By me I know that Shell, BP, Exxon, and Sunoco all have this capability.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
None. I am now at a financial level that the mental energy and hoopjumping of playing the credit card rewards game is of little benefit.
- billthecat
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Are you sure it has to be cash? It seems like you need $100k balance. If you don't want to have that much cash, then it seems like you could have $100k in investments at Merrill Edge - investments that you would have anyway elsewhere in another taxable account.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:01 amIt’s not that plastiq codes as travel everywhere, it just codes as travel with Bank of America on certain mortgage payments.FrugalProfessor wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:25 pmI didn't know that Plastiq coded as travel. Pretty slick! Do you have a hunch on the likelihood of this being shut down?Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 5:55 amBusiness Cash Rewards has a $50,000 annual cap vs $2500/qt cap of the personal card. Plastiq mortgage payment codes as travel means 5.25% - 2.85% fee = 2.4% cashback on mortgage payments.daw007 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 1:27 amI took a look @ the BofA Business Platinum Rewards and it didn't look super enticing to me. What am I missing?Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 01, 2021 10:36 am
What is of REAL interest to me is Bank of America Business Platinum Honors, but as far as I’m aware that actually requires holding $100k in cash so that’s too rich for my blood as the opportunity cost is too high for the benefit. If I had a business that required that much cash holdings, I’d be all over it.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred ... alculator/
Also, can the same $100k parked at ME for the personal card also work for the business card (or do I need another $100k)?
You need $100k in cash in a business account and a business cash rewards card. A very high bar.
So I guess it's get the business credit card, choose "travel" as 3% category, move money to Merrill, invest and maintain the balance, pay mortgage through Plastiq, and hope they code your mortgage as travel (is that certain?).
We cannot direct the winds but we can adjust our sails • It's later than you think • Ack! Thbbft!
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I go back and forth on how complicated I'm willing to go with this strategy, but let me throw out two examples of how it can be beneficial that keeps me coming back.Aged Maduro wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:34 am None. I am now at a financial level that the mental energy and hoopjumping of playing the credit card rewards game is of little benefit.
Example 1: Retired family that spends $100k/yr with a $2.5 million portfolio. By getting 5 new credit cards per year they essentially get 10% off on the spending of $25k which is a cash back of. $2,500. For the next $75k that they spend, they are able to maximize credit card rewards getting an additional 3% compared to a baseline 2% credit card. this gives them $2250. All together this family gets $4750 in rewards. This essentially converts their withdrawal rate from 4% down to 3.8%. I don't know about you, but I think that is a really big deal when living on a fixed income of one's portfolio.
Example 2: The exact same family, but instead of retired, they are still working with 20 more years left to retirement. They are in the 30% tax bracket when looking into state and federal income taxes. Credit card cash back and sign up bonuses are not taxed so in effect, they are making $6175. Since money is fungible and If they have additional pretax space, they can invest that into pre-tax accounts. If they do this for 20 years at 5% real return which is less than historic average of a 60/40 portfolio they would end up with an additional $204k in retirement. Not too shabby. If that same amount is invested in a taxable account, they would have $157k.
Keep in mind, one can do better or worse than what I described above and your millage may vary. Also, the more you spend in a year, the more cash back one would get. One can also get more than 5 credit cards per year. I simply chose 5 because it would keep a family of two within the chase 5/24 rule. Like you, I am doing pretty well financially so I eliminated as much complexity out of my strategy as I possibly could. I don't want to spend hours a year trying to convert gift cards into cash. I simply keep a few credit cards in my pocket and try to use the best one for the right expenditure and then get a new card every so often on top of that. Its pretty simple and takes almost no effort on my part.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: |
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- dodecahedron
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Strongly agree with the sentences I have bolded and underlined in the quote above, particularly "[T]he more you spend in a year, the more cash back one would get." I frequently remind myself that the avoidance of unnecessary superfluous spending that would yield me little or no utility is worth far more than bonus points.EnjoyIt wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:42 amI go back and forth on how complicated I'm willing to go with this strategy, but let me throw out two examples of how it can be beneficial that keeps me coming back.Aged Maduro wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:34 am None. I am now at a financial level that the mental energy and hoopjumping of playing the credit card rewards game is of little benefit.
Example 1: Retired family that spends $100k/yr with a $2.5 million portfolio. By getting 5 new credit cards per year they essentially get 10% off on the spending of $25k which is a cash back of. $2,500. For the next $75k that they spend, they are able to maximize credit card rewards getting an additional 3% compared to a baseline 2% credit card. this gives them $2250. All together this family gets $4750 in rewards. This essentially converts their withdrawal rate from 4% down to 3.8%. I don't know about you, but I think that is a really big deal when living on a fixed income of one's portfolio.
Example 2: The exact same family, but instead of retired, they are still working with 20 more years left to retirement. They are in the 30% tax bracket when looking into state and federal income taxes. Credit card cash back and sign up bonuses are not taxed so in effect, they are making $6175. Since money is fungible and If they have additional pretax space, they can invest that into pre-tax accounts. If they do this for 20 years at 5% real return which is less than historic average of a 60/40 portfolio they would end up with an additional $204k in retirement. Not too shabby. If that same amount is invested in a taxable account, they would have $157k.
Keep in mind, one can do better or worse than what I described above and your millage may vary. Also, the more you spend in a year, the more cash back one would get. One can also get more than 5 credit cards per year. I simply chose 5 because it would keep a family of two within the chase 5/24 rule. Like you, I am doing pretty well financially so I eliminated as much complexity out of my strategy as I possibly could. I don't want to spend hours a year trying to convert gift cards into cash. I simply keep a few credit cards in my pocket and try to use the best one for the right expenditure and then get a new card every so often on top of that. Its pretty simple and takes almost no effort on my part.
I recently got a new credit card (my first new one since 2019) after first setting my post-Pandemic vaccination priority spending plans and realizing that I had genuine value for the signup rewards my chosen new card would generate (Amtrak points) for a relatively modest spend ($1,000 in first three months) in categories I was planning to do in any case this summer.
I am not interested in coming anywhere close to bumping up against Chase 5/24 and/or BoA 2/3/4 rules or churning cards.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
My spouse and I have a strategy to not waste money. If we want something, the more expensive it is, the longer we need to wait to decide if we really want it. This keeps us from doing rash impulse purchases that purchase no value. Want a new bike for $1,500, no problem figure out what bike you want and then sit on it for 1-2 weeks. If you still want it, then let's get it, no problem. Want a slice of pizza for $2, no waiting needed just buy it. Want to upgrade cars? Choose the car and then wait 45 days. If this is really the car you want, then you'll still want it in 45 days.dodecahedron wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:55 amStrongly agree with the sentences I have bolded and underlined in the quote above, particularly "[T]he more you spend in a year, the more cash back one would get." I frequently remind myself that the avoidance of unnecessary superfluous spending that would yield me little or no utility is worth far more than bonus points.EnjoyIt wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:42 amI go back and forth on how complicated I'm willing to go with this strategy, but let me throw out two examples of how it can be beneficial that keeps me coming back.Aged Maduro wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:34 am None. I am now at a financial level that the mental energy and hoopjumping of playing the credit card rewards game is of little benefit.
Example 1: Retired family that spends $100k/yr with a $2.5 million portfolio. By getting 5 new credit cards per year they essentially get 10% off on the spending of $25k which is a cash back of. $2,500. For the next $75k that they spend, they are able to maximize credit card rewards getting an additional 3% compared to a baseline 2% credit card. this gives them $2250. All together this family gets $4750 in rewards. This essentially converts their withdrawal rate from 4% down to 3.8%. I don't know about you, but I think that is a really big deal when living on a fixed income of one's portfolio.
Example 2: The exact same family, but instead of retired, they are still working with 20 more years left to retirement. They are in the 30% tax bracket when looking into state and federal income taxes. Credit card cash back and sign up bonuses are not taxed so in effect, they are making $6175. Since money is fungible and If they have additional pretax space, they can invest that into pre-tax accounts. If they do this for 20 years at 5% real return which is less than historic average of a 60/40 portfolio they would end up with an additional $204k in retirement. Not too shabby. If that same amount is invested in a taxable account, they would have $157k.
Keep in mind, one can do better or worse than what I described above and your millage may vary. Also, the more you spend in a year, the more cash back one would get. One can also get more than 5 credit cards per year. I simply chose 5 because it would keep a family of two within the chase 5/24 rule. Like you, I am doing pretty well financially so I eliminated as much complexity out of my strategy as I possibly could. I don't want to spend hours a year trying to convert gift cards into cash. I simply keep a few credit cards in my pocket and try to use the best one for the right expenditure and then get a new card every so often on top of that. Its pretty simple and takes almost no effort on my part.
I recently got a new credit card (my first new one since 2019) after first setting my post-Pandemic vaccination priority spending plans and realizing that I had genuine value for the signup rewards my chosen new card would generate (Amtrak points) for a relatively modest spend ($1,000 in first three months) in categories I was planning to do in any case this summer.
I am not interested in coming anywhere close to bumping up against Chase 5/24 and/or BoA 2/3/4 rules or churning cards.
We still make some silly purchases, but they are far fewer once we implemented this technique.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: |
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Not bad for a dedicated card for groceries. Finally a nice replacement for the old Sallie Mae Barclaycard, but an even higher limit.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
This is also similar to the new Venmo card. If only they had a category that would include tax payments.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
It also beats Amex Blue Cash Preferred for groceries, even if you spend the $6k max.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
Wish it was more than $500 per month.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Agreed, but the limit means the card is likely to stick around. If you have a spouse you can each have one raising your throughput to $1000/mo. We typically spend about $700-$800/mo at the grocery store and I’m sure we can add in a gift card to something here or there to get to $1000/mo.fareastwarriors wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 1:36 pmJags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
I had my wife sign up today. This is going to become my new grocery card and I anticipate finally retiring my AMEX Gold unless I get a significant retention offer that outweighs the annual fee. I also think I will attempt to convert my Costco Visa to this card to double the throughput to $1000/mo. The Costco Visa serves no purpose in my wallet anymore.
Wish it was more than $500 per month.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
i sign up for 3-5 rewards card once in 2 years , 0% 15-18 months , 100k miles bonus , ... once i have used and run out of 0% promo bonus i repeat the same strategy .
my 4 cards for next round are :
0% for 15 month Bof A cash reward alonf with 200$ in rewards after 500$ spend
0% for 15 month capital one venture card along with 200$ rewards bonus
discover card 0% for 15 monnths
cahse sapphire 100k sign up bonus , 95$ annual fees
my 4 cards for next round are :
0% for 15 month Bof A cash reward alonf with 200$ in rewards after 500$ spend
0% for 15 month capital one venture card along with 200$ rewards bonus
discover card 0% for 15 monnths
cahse sapphire 100k sign up bonus , 95$ annual fees
Thanks!
- FrugalProfessor
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I was hoping to test out the Plastiq mortgage coding with one of my six (5 cash rewards + 1 premium rewards) existing BoA credit cards before doing anything drastic (another $100k to Merrill, open up new card, etc), but alas all of my existing cards are Visas. Plastiq prohibits mortgage payments with Visas. If you happened to have an existing BoA Mastercard cash rewards card, it would seem to be pretty easy to send a $1 mortgage payment via Plastiq and see how it codes. If it codes as travel, then you're seemingly good to go. If not, you abort.billthecat wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:14 am So I guess it's get the business credit card, choose "travel" as 3% category, move money to Merrill, invest and maintain the balance, pay mortgage through Plastiq, and hope they code your mortgage as travel (is that certain?).
My mortgage servicer is Mr Cooper if anyone has data on how that codes with Plastiq. I tried google but came up empty.
FYI, here's what dodecahedron says about the separate $100k in investments, consistent with your intuition:billthecat wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:14 am Are you sure it has to be cash? It seems like you need $100k balance. If you don't want to have that much cash, then it seems like you could have $100k in investments at Merrill Edge - investments that you would have anyway elsewhere in another taxable account.
dodecahedron wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:31 am No, you need $100K in a Merrill Business Investment Acct and/or BoA Business Checking Acct to qualify for Business Preferred Rewards.
I blog here: https://www.frugalprofessor.com/
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Interesting. It looks like you receive your rewards in Thank You Points, not cash. I have some Thank You Points from banking at Citi and find them annoying. I would give this card some thought if it paid straight cash back, but not for Thank You Points.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
ThankYou Points are redeemable 1 = $0.01 as a statement credit or check. This is a recent change.FedGuy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:06 pmInteresting. It looks like you receive your rewards in Thank You Points, not cash. I have some Thank You Points from banking at Citi and find them annoying. I would give this card some thought if it paid straight cash back, but not for Thank You Points.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
In the past, the exchange rate has depended on which Citi card you have.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:29 pmThankYou Points are redeemable 1 = $0.01 as a statement credit or check. This is a recent change.FedGuy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:06 pmInteresting. It looks like you receive your rewards in Thank You Points, not cash. I have some Thank You Points from banking at Citi and find them annoying. I would give this card some thought if it paid straight cash back, but not for Thank You Points.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:48 am Citi has launched a new card called Custom Cash today. It has a $200/20,000 TYP signup bonus after spending $750 in 3 months. You earn 5%/5 TYP on your top spending category up to $500/mo each month. If you also have a Rewards+ card, you can increase that redemption rate to 5.5%/5.5 TYP.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Thanks! I didn't know that. That's certainly helpful given the large number of Thank You Points I've accrued from my Citi bank account, which I'm planning to close; I figured I'd have to find something cost-ineffective to spend them on, so I'm glad I can just do straight cash at a reasonable rate.
Given that, I'll have to give this card some thought. Having said that, I'm already fairly well covered in the categories that this card covers, particularly since I'm in the process of moving funds to BoA with the plan to apply for Preferred Rewards and several Customized Cash Reward cards.
The new Citi card has categories including "Select Travel," "Select Transit," and "Select Streaming Services." Does anyone know where I can find more information about what travel, transit, and streaming services is considered "select?" I couldn't find it in their FAQs.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Are there any issues with using a business credit card for personal things like a mortgage?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
The best definition I've found is the following terms and conditions page: https://citicards.citi.com/usc/LPACA/Ci ... index.htmlFedGuy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:44 pm The new Citi card has categories including "Select Travel," "Select Transit," and "Select Streaming Services." Does anyone know where I can find more information about what travel, transit, and streaming services is considered "select?" I couldn't find it in their FAQs.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Thanks! It looks like Amtrak, which I take fairly frequently, would be "Select Transit." That might be worth considering.Mudpuppy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:11 amThe best definition I've found is the following terms and conditions page: https://citicards.citi.com/usc/LPACA/Ci ... index.html
It seems a little unusual to me that they put most ground transportation into a separate category ("select transit") from airlines and hotels, but at least they're upfront about it.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I don't do this, but if someone wanted to stay in the Citi ecosystem, they could get the Citi Double Cash (2% base), Citi Premier (3% on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels, with a $95 annual fee), and Citi Custom Cash (5% on groceries, up to $500/month). If they also have the Citi Rewards+ card, they'd get 10% back on the first 100,000 points that they redeem every year.FedGuy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:44 pmThanks! I didn't know that. That's certainly helpful given the large number of Thank You Points I've accrued from my Citi bank account, which I'm planning to close; I figured I'd have to find something cost-ineffective to spend them on, so I'm glad I can just do straight cash at a reasonable rate.
Given that, I'll have to give this card some thought. Having said that, I'm already fairly well covered in the categories that this card covers, particularly since I'm in the process of moving funds to BoA with the plan to apply for Preferred Rewards and several Customized Cash Reward cards.
The new Citi card has categories including "Select Travel," "Select Transit," and "Select Streaming Services." Does anyone know where I can find more information about what travel, transit, and streaming services is considered "select?" I couldn't find it in their FAQs.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Isn't Double Cash actually cash back and not points? How will that be included in the 10% bonus with the Citi Rewards+ ?snailderby wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:05 pmI don't do this, but if someone wanted to stay in the Citi ecosystem, they could get the Citi Double Cash (2% base), Citi Premier (3% on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels, with a $95 annual fee), and Citi Custom Cash (5% on groceries, up to $500/month). If they also have the Citi Rewards+ card, they'd get 10% back on the first 100,000 points that they redeem every year.FedGuy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:44 pmThanks! I didn't know that. That's certainly helpful given the large number of Thank You Points I've accrued from my Citi bank account, which I'm planning to close; I figured I'd have to find something cost-ineffective to spend them on, so I'm glad I can just do straight cash at a reasonable rate.
Given that, I'll have to give this card some thought. Having said that, I'm already fairly well covered in the categories that this card covers, particularly since I'm in the process of moving funds to BoA with the plan to apply for Preferred Rewards and several Customized Cash Reward cards.
The new Citi card has categories including "Select Travel," "Select Transit," and "Select Streaming Services." Does anyone know where I can find more information about what travel, transit, and streaming services is considered "select?" I couldn't find it in their FAQs.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
You have the option to convert Double Cash to ThankYou Points, although I don't know if you can stack it with the Citi Rewards+ points back feature, as I don't have a Rewards+ card and I've never looked into it.arsenal_fan wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:03 pm Isn't Double Cash actually cash back and not points? How will that be included in the 10% bonus with the Citi Rewards+ ?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
You convert your cash to ThankYou Points. Then when you redeem your ThankYou Points for cash, you’ll receive a 10% refund into your ThankYou Points balance, up to 10,000 total points a year.Mudpuppy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:11 amYou have the option to convert Double Cash to ThankYou Points, although I don't know if you can stack it with the Citi Rewards+ points back feature, as I don't have a Rewards+ card and I've never looked into it.arsenal_fan wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:03 pm Isn't Double Cash actually cash back and not points? How will that be included in the 10% bonus with the Citi Rewards+ ?
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Don't forget the chase Sapphire reserve or preferred which will multiply your UR points 1.25 or 1.5 fold on travel or pay yourself back which we have used significantly this year.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:26 am I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: |
viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I always consider dropping my Gold card too, but then I always wonder what I would use to build up MR points if I did drop it. The Citi card is only cash back/TY points which are worthless to me. I also have a Platinum which only earns 1x on everything and a Business Plus that earns 2x flat. Then again, I use both Uber and Grubhub credits for rides/pickup once a month, so I'd probably only save $10 by canceling.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:26 am I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
What are you using your MR for that you can't use TYP for? Granted, you need a Citi Premier card to transfer TYP, but you could at least snag another 60k TYP for signing up there.atdharris wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:35 amI always consider dropping my Gold card too, but then I always wonder what I would use to build up MR points if I did drop it. The Citi card is only cash back/TY points which are worthless to me. I also have a Platinum which only earns 1x on everything and a Business Plus that earns 2x flat. Then again, I use both Uber and Grubhub credits for rides/pickup once a month, so I'd probably only save $10 by canceling.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:26 am I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I don't know much about TYP, but I use MR mainly for Delta flights and Marriott properties. Booking internationally always requires more hoops to jump through. But I'm also sitting on 590k MR points, so I suppose I don't need to accumulate a lot more until I hit the skies and travel again.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:45 amWhat are you using your MR for that you can't use TYP for? Granted, you need a Citi Premier card to transfer TYP, but you could at least snag another 60k TYP for signing up there.atdharris wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:35 amI always consider dropping my Gold card too, but then I always wonder what I would use to build up MR points if I did drop it. The Citi card is only cash back/TY points which are worthless to me. I also have a Platinum which only earns 1x on everything and a Business Plus that earns 2x flat. Then again, I use both Uber and Grubhub credits for rides/pickup once a month, so I'd probably only save $10 by canceling.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:26 am I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Juggling around grocery gift cards may get tedious? Could consider the Amex Blue cash Preferred which is effectively 4.5% upto $6000.Jags4186 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:26 am I think I’m finally going to dump my AMEX Gold card come renewal time unless I get at least a 30,000 point retention offer.
The Custom Cash card is a legit game changer:
I typically spend $700-$800/mo on groceries. I have two Chase Freedom cards and will soon have two Custom Cash cards. The intention is as follows:
Buy $3,000 in my local grocery store gift cards this coming quarter ($1500x2) to get 5x UR points with my Freedom cards. Each month buy a $500 grocery store gift card on the Custom Cash card to get 5x TYP. Use grocery store gift cards instead of credit card going forward. This will give me $9000 total 5x grocery spend a year, all year round.
The 2nd custom cash card will be a restaurant only card. We typically only spend around $200-$300/on restaurants/coffee shops/take out so that covers me there. In the rare case where I might have a big restaurant expense I have an Altitude Go that earns an uncapped 4% at restaurants.
I’m dropping a $250 annual fee and gaining 1x on the Golds two 4x categories. I have a ton of AMEX cards so the offers are usually available on other cards. The only bad part is that I have 5 AUs on my Gold Card. Sometimes I can take advantage of the good AMEX offers 6x. I’ll lose that.
I have the Amex Gold and Green up for renewal in September and may end up closing both unless they give retention offers for each one. The Gold dining credits feel like an annoying amount of work given they don't roll over and the prices for Uber/GrubHub are marked up as well. The Green just has no business charging a $150 AF.
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Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
According to https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33317702-post2.html
"Citi will only issue one Citi Custom CashSM Card account per person. You will qualify for the bonus offer only if you have not received a bonus offer for opening a new Citi Custom CashSM Card in the past 48 months."
(of course, two spouses can each get the card and coordinate their spend)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Yes we’re playing 2 player modeTravelGeek wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 8:25 pmAccording to https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33317702-post2.html
"Citi will only issue one Citi Custom CashSM Card account per person. You will qualify for the bonus offer only if you have not received a bonus offer for opening a new Citi Custom CashSM Card in the past 48 months."
(of course, two spouses can each get the card and coordinate their spend)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I just can’t with all of these offers getting thrown at me. My wife and I 12 months ago upgraded our AMEX Everyday cards to Everyday Preferred cards for 25k points. We just downgraded back to ED cards about a week ago. We both just got emails to upgrade our new ED cards to EDP cards for 40k points each.
Also, we were each just offered 20k to add 1 authorized user to each of our AMEX Platinum cards.
Also, we were each just offered 20k to add 1 authorized user to each of our AMEX Platinum cards.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Custom Cash looks good but I think I would use it as a Restaurant card.
We spend about $1000/month on groceries, so spouse and I both have Blue Cash Preferred cards which works well with the $6000 annual reward rate limit each one has. Spouse has trouble juggling all the different rewards structures and categories for our credit cards, so I give her a simple setup. Use the Blue Cash Preferred at the grocery store and then I give her a flat rate card to use anywhere else. She does most of the grocery shopping.
I considered switching to dual Custom Cash, but the $500/month limit would be a pain vs the $6000/year. I would have to switch out the Custom Cash every month. With the BCP setup, I just switch her to the other BCP once per year around July. Much simpler to manage. Not worth it to me to maybe eke out a little more money at the expense of trying to switch her card out at the right time every single month.
We spend about $1000/month on groceries, so spouse and I both have Blue Cash Preferred cards which works well with the $6000 annual reward rate limit each one has. Spouse has trouble juggling all the different rewards structures and categories for our credit cards, so I give her a simple setup. Use the Blue Cash Preferred at the grocery store and then I give her a flat rate card to use anywhere else. She does most of the grocery shopping.
I considered switching to dual Custom Cash, but the $500/month limit would be a pain vs the $6000/year. I would have to switch out the Custom Cash every month. With the BCP setup, I just switch her to the other BCP once per year around July. Much simpler to manage. Not worth it to me to maybe eke out a little more money at the expense of trying to switch her card out at the right time every single month.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I received a new contactless Chase Freedom card in the mail today, so I can now use that part of the rotating 5% categories for the gas fill-up next week and get at least one gas fill-up out of this quarter's gas bonus. I wonder if Chase is replacing all Freedom cards with the contactless version, or if my frequent use of the CSR for contactless payments triggered sending it out for my account specifically.Mudpuppy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:38 pmThanks for the list. I'll look into those.snailderby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:27 amThe following cards appear to have a contactless NFC symbol:Mudpuppy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:27 am Gas rewards is one thing I've given up chasing, simply due to the number of credit card skimmers installed on gas pumps in my area. I've switched over to the CSR since it has an NFC chip and I get gas at a station with NFC payment terminals at the pump.
If there's a good gas rewards card that comes with an NFC chip, I'd be interested in hearing about it, but for now the costs and hassles of getting my card skimmed are far above the benefits of getting a few extra percentage points of rewards from the transaction.
Bank of America Cash Rewards (up to 5.25% on gas if you have Platinum Honors status with BoA/Merrill)
PenFed Platinum Rewards (5x points on gas, worth 0.85c a point for an effective rate of 4.25%)
PNC Cash Rewards (4% on gas)
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I only do cash back cards
discover it 5% rotating categories
chase freedom flex 5% off rotating categories 3% of restaurants
chase amazon prime 5% off
us back cash+ 5% off 2 categories you can choose. I chose utilities and internet/streaming
then citi double cash for 2% of stuff that doesn't met a 5% off category
I do a couple sign up bonuses a year too then downgrade the card if it has an annual bonus. I have a blue cash preferred right now to because of sign up bonus and no annual fee from a promotional offer so im getting 6% of groceries for a year.
its a little bit of work but its fun to me to maximize free money.
discover it 5% rotating categories
chase freedom flex 5% off rotating categories 3% of restaurants
chase amazon prime 5% off
us back cash+ 5% off 2 categories you can choose. I chose utilities and internet/streaming
then citi double cash for 2% of stuff that doesn't met a 5% off category
I do a couple sign up bonuses a year too then downgrade the card if it has an annual bonus. I have a blue cash preferred right now to because of sign up bonus and no annual fee from a promotional offer so im getting 6% of groceries for a year.
its a little bit of work but its fun to me to maximize free money.
Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
I use 4 cards:
Chase Sapphire is my primary card. We use UR points to stay at Hyatt hotels. We really enjoy having them for the Andaz in Savannah and when doing other weekend trips. Just wish there were a few more Hyatt's around the Fernandina/St. Augustine area.
Hyatt card. I pay the annual fee and keep the card just for the free night at a category 4 which is usually a 250 dollar or more stay for 95 dollars.
Delta Amex. I use this card for the free companion ticket and free bags and to build skymiles. Usually use our free ticket for a ski trip out west. I hate the fee keeps climbing.
American airlines card. Use this card for free bags and have been flying American a couple times each year.
Wish I could find another good hotel program but not sure yet which card to add for the best bang
Chase Sapphire is my primary card. We use UR points to stay at Hyatt hotels. We really enjoy having them for the Andaz in Savannah and when doing other weekend trips. Just wish there were a few more Hyatt's around the Fernandina/St. Augustine area.
Hyatt card. I pay the annual fee and keep the card just for the free night at a category 4 which is usually a 250 dollar or more stay for 95 dollars.
Delta Amex. I use this card for the free companion ticket and free bags and to build skymiles. Usually use our free ticket for a ski trip out west. I hate the fee keeps climbing.
American airlines card. Use this card for free bags and have been flying American a couple times each year.
Wish I could find another good hotel program but not sure yet which card to add for the best bang
Credit Card Recommendations
[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]
Hello,
Right now I only have 1 credit card (Chase Freedom Unlimited) which I use for everything. I'm thinking of getting another one to help build credit, but there's so many options out there.
I'm interested in hearing which credit cards this community recommends.
Hello,
Right now I only have 1 credit card (Chase Freedom Unlimited) which I use for everything. I'm thinking of getting another one to help build credit, but there's so many options out there.
I'm interested in hearing which credit cards this community recommends.
Re: Credit Card Recommendations
If you are in the Chase universe already, login to the Chase portal and see if there is a pre-approved offer for you? For me there are preapproval offers for Sapphire Preferred (which I accepted) and for the Chase Freedom Flex (which I did not want).rickyj wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:14 am Hello,
Right now I only have 1 credit card (Chase Freedom Unlimited) which I use for everything. I'm thinking of getting another one to help build credit, but there's so many options out there.
I'm interested in hearing which credit cards this community recommends.
Other than that, it really depends on what your goals are for the credit cards. Do you prefer cash back? travel rewards? Are you ok to pay annual fee in order to get higher rewards? etc. There is a mega thread here: What is your Credit Rewards Strategy?
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Re: Credit Card Recommendations
Fidelity 2% Cash Back Visa
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Re: Credit Card Recommendations
Citi Double cash mastercard
Re: Credit Card Recommendations
Thanks for that link.lakpr wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:20 am If you are in the Chase universe already, login to the Chase portal and see if there is a pre-approved offer for you? For me there are preapproval offers for Sapphire Preferred (which I accepted) and for the Chase Freedom Flex (which I did not want).
Other than that, it really depends on what your goals are for the credit cards. Do you prefer cash back? travel rewards? Are you ok to pay annual fee in order to get higher rewards? etc. There is a mega thread here: What is your Credit Rewards Strategy?
Also I prefer cash back and no annual fee. The latter is why I'm hesitant on accepting the pre-approved Sapphire Preferred offer. Usually it's a trap to get you to spend more than you otherwise would've while making you think you're "saving yourself money".
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Re: Credit Card Recommendations
This one. My everyday card.
Re: Credit Card Recommendations
Do you live near a Chase branch? If you do, you can apply for the Sapphire Preferred offer in branch, and your first year would be annual fee free. I suppose it is the 100k points offer, which is easily $1000 in rewards if you can meet the $4k spending in 90 days. You may cancel the card at the first year anniversary, or downgrade at that time to Chase Freedom Flex.
Re: Credit Card Recommendations
Interesting! Never knew it was possible to do a credit card downgrade.lakpr wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:35 am Do you live near a Chase branch? If you do, you can apply for the Sapphire Preferred offer in branch, and your first year would be annual fee free. I suppose it is the 100k points offer, which is easily $1000 in rewards if you can meet the $4k spending in 90 days. You may cancel the card at the first year anniversary, or downgrade at that time to Chase Freedom Flex.
Re: Credit Card Recommendations
The in-branch CSP sign up bonus is completely unrivaled right now (100,000 points worth $1000 cashback or more for other types of redemptions + $50 grocery credit + annual fee waived first year). I also recommend the CSP and then product change to Freedom Flex right after the fee posts next year (you will be refunded the fee if you change within 30 days after posting).
Last edited by MrJedi on Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Credit Card Recommendations
As an update, I just got the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa.
Reasons I chose this one:
- offered by Chase so I can manage my cards in the same place
- no annual fee
- I shop at Whole Foods
Reasons I chose this one:
- offered by Chase so I can manage my cards in the same place
- no annual fee
- I shop at Whole Foods