I open a decent amount of credit cards each year, but only a handful of them make it into my wallet for everyday spending. In this post, I’ll outline what cards are currently in my wallet and how I use them to maximize the rewards I earn.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
I use this card for all travel and restaurant purchases to earn 3x Chase points, unless I am working on a big spending requirement. However, I always use this card for booking travel thanks to the excellent travel insurance protection benefits.
Chase Freedom
I use this card if my purchase falls into one of the rotating 5x categories. If the categories aren’t good, there is usually some way to buy gift cards to hit the $1,500 maximum.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
When I’m not working on a sign-up bonus, I use this card or the American Express Blue Business Plus for most everyday purchases. This card earns 1.5x Chase points on all purchases.
American Express Blue Business Plus
Like with Chase Freedom Unlimited, I use this card for everyday purchases when I am not working on a sign-up bonus. This card earns 2x Amex points on all purchases.
Bank of America Better Balance Rewards
This is my oldest credit card account and unfortunately is no longer available for new cardholders. I don’t use this card often, but I make sure to complete one purchase each statement period to earn the $30 bonus each quarter.
American Express Hilton Honors
I recently downgraded my Hilton Aspire when the annual fee hit. I’m holding onto this no annual fee card in hopes that I will receive an upgrade offer to Hilton Surpass or Aspire to earn another bonus.
Barclays JetBlue Business
I’m currently working on the sign-up bonus on this card, and will likely close it next year.
Other Cards
I have a bunch of other cards that are currently sitting in a plastic bag in my drawer. The Capital One Venture One card will likely stay in the drawer forever since it’s a no annual fee card that is one of my oldest accounts. All of the others were opened within the last year, and I’m holding on to them until their annual fee is due. This includes Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card from Bank of America, American Express Hilton Honors Business, Chase Ink Unlimited, CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select, and Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business.
