What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

[Katietsu]

since Bonvoy and Hyatt points are forfeited for "inactivity" on your account.

We had a big trip to Manhattan for our anniversary booked for May 2020, staying in the Park Hyatt on points. We all know what happened to that trip.

Since then we've had another baby, and have a monster pile of Hyatt points just wasting away as we travel only to Nana's house now and nowhere near a luxury hotel.

But - you can purchase a small amount of points (I think a while back we purchased something like 1000 points for $20) to avoid forfeiting them. Kinda stinks to have to do that...but in a pinch it's a useful solution to hold onto any points that would otherwise expire.

I bought a $20 gift certificate to keep my Marriott points. Then popped in a Marriott property near my home and spent it on convenience food.

[JimmyD]

Wells Fargo Active Cash card. 2% off everything. No points, categories, gimmicks, promos, card shuffling, or thinking involved.

[boston10]

Thank you for the explanation.

It sounds like you deliberately overpay your estimated taxes using the 0% credit card?

I am not understanding #3 and #4.
#3 you are asking for the tax overpayment to be put towards iBonds?
What is #4 ?

Correct, you deliberately overpay your taxes. #4: when you get your refund check from the IRS, you use the money to buy I bonds.

If #3 where you wrote File your taxes, opt for $5k in I bonds with your taxes. = opt to use your refund to buy iBonds,
what is #4 where you write 4. When the tax return arrives, buy another 2 x $10k in I bonds ?


What is the difference between #3 and #4 ? Aren't they the same thing the refund?

.

You can directly purchase a maximum of $10k in I bonds per person per year. By law, you can purchase an additional $5k in I bonds per taxpayer via your tax refund. Using this strategy allows you to achieve $25k/year in I bond purchases for a couple that is Married Filing Jointly.

[michaeljc70]

Very simple strategy

Alliant CC : 2.5% off everything for my business.

Amazon Store Cars : 5% off all Amazon purchases. Mostly business.


Costco Card: 4% off gas. They usually have the cheapest gas by nearly 30 cents a gallon and I own a dealership.

Shop Your Way CC: Right now 10% off gas, groceries and restaurants until March 31st.

Kroger Pay: 6% off purchases which we will use for groceries from April until the end of the year.

Citi Doublecash : 2% off everything.

I do sometimes get bonus cars such as the Visa Ink card which now gives a $900 balance if you spend $6000. When I hit the limit I immediately credit part of the outstanding balance with that balance, Autopay the remainder and stop using it.

If there is an annual fee I will put a reminder to cancel on the calendar I have in front of the pantry. Putting it there forces me to take action and I can plan for several months out.

6 cards..some with shifting categories. I guess we have differing views of "simple."

[Jags4186]

Very simple strategy

Alliant CC : 2.5% off everything for my business.

Amazon Store Cars : 5% off all Amazon purchases. Mostly business.


Costco Card: 4% off gas. They usually have the cheapest gas by nearly 30 cents a gallon and I own a dealership.

Shop Your Way CC: Right now 10% off gas, groceries and restaurants until March 31st.

Kroger Pay: 6% off purchases which we will use for groceries from April until the end of the year.

Citi Doublecash : 2% off everything.

I do sometimes get bonus cars such as the Visa Ink card which now gives a $900 balance if you spend $6000. When I hit the limit I immediately credit part of the outstanding balance with that balance, Autopay the remainder and stop using it.

If there is an annual fee I will put a reminder to cancel on the calendar I have in front of the pantry. Putting it there forces me to take action and I can plan for several months out.

6 cards..some with shifting categories. I guess we have differing views of "simple."

I simply love lining my wallet with the credit card companies’ money.

[poker27]

I’ve never chased rewards before, and have just used my Costco cc for everything. However I saw a promo for 60k miles on American, which I signed up for. It looks like it would get me a RT to Dublin, which we’re talking about this summer, which was about $1400. If this works, I’m going to be investing some time into research!

[gtrplayer]

So I might be purchasing something on Facebook marketplace (you can guess what it was from my user name). Is there any strategy to get rewards from a marketplace purchase? It will be bought face-to-face, and I usually use venmo for this but I’m also chasing a bonus on a new card and this would put me over the top on it (essentially make this purchase free if I could get the points). Any strategy for this?

[lakpr]

So I might be purchasing something on Facebook marketplace (you can guess what it was from my user name). Is there any strategy to get rewards from a marketplace purchase? It will be bought face-to-face, and I usually use venmo for this but I’m also chasing a bonus on a new card and this would put me over the top on it (essentially make this purchase free if I could get the points). Any strategy for this?

Unless the seller is accepting credit cards, I do not see how you can ... is the seller a business and not a private individual?

[Nyc10036]

Thank you for the explanation.

It sounds like you deliberately overpay your estimated taxes using the 0% credit card?

I am not understanding #3 and #4.
#3 you are asking for the tax overpayment to be put towards iBonds?
What is #4 ?

Correct, you deliberately overpay your taxes. #4: when you get your refund check from the IRS, you use the money to buy I bonds.

If #3 where you wrote File your taxes, opt for $5k in I bonds with your taxes. = opt to use your refund to buy iBonds,
what is #4 where you write 4. When the tax return arrives, buy another 2 x $10k in I bonds ?


What is the difference between #3 and #4 ? Aren't they the same thing the refund?

.

You can directly purchase a maximum of $10k in I bonds per person per year. By law, you can purchase an additional $5k in I bonds per taxpayer via your tax refund. Using this strategy allows you to achieve $25k/year in I bond purchases for a couple that is Married Filing Jointly.

Ah!
It appears that refund comes as a paper iBond.

Ingenious strategy of never having the $25K and using the bank's money to earn the high iBond interest.

.

[gtrplayer]

So I might be purchasing something on Facebook marketplace (you can guess what it was from my user name). Is there any strategy to get rewards from a marketplace purchase? It will be bought face-to-face, and I usually use venmo for this but I’m also chasing a bonus on a new card and this would put me over the top on it (essentially make this purchase free if I could get the points). Any strategy for this?

Unless the seller is accepting credit cards, I do not see how you can ... is the seller a business and not a private individual?

Private. I didn’t think there would be but I was hoping someone had a workaround to use their card with PayPal or Venmo or something like that, that the seller might be ok with using.

[Nyc10036]

I also derive certain pleasure from taking money from banks that are trying to lure people into credit card debt:)

I've never viewed credit unions as being the bad guys. Wouldn't the mega banks be preferable targets?

Granted. Now you made me feel a little bit guilty..

To be fair, some of the credit union BT card are deals are hard to resist if you qualify. For example, America First CU in Utah and Evergreen CU in Maine both offer 3% cash back for balance transfers up to $300 and $450, respectively. I wouldn't be surprised if similar deals are out there. Some CUs offer 0% APR with no BT fees. I like the tax overpayment concept. Works even better with 2%+ cash back cards for those fortunate owners.

The only hitch with the tax overpayment method is if somehow the IRS says that you didn't pay the tax.
Has this happened to anyone?
$20K is a lot of money to "get lost in the system".
Another thing that would give me ulcers.

[lakpr]

The only hitch with the tax overpayment method is if somehow the IRS says that you didn't pay the tax.
Has this happened to anyone?
$20K is a lot of money to "get lost in the system".
Another thing that would give me ulcers.

Pay those taxes electronically, and keep the screenshot and receipt. I used paytaxUSA in the past, and did not have issue of the payment being lost.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card

It does cut down on the potential reward amount, for a $20k estimated payment it would cost $370. After-tax. You have to subtract that amount from the potential return from the I-bonds.

[Nyc10036]

Thank you for the explanation.

It sounds like you deliberately overpay your estimated taxes using the 0% credit card?

I am not understanding #3 and #4.
#3 you are asking for the tax overpayment to be put towards iBonds?
What is #4 ?

Correct, you deliberately overpay your taxes. #4: when you get your refund check from the IRS, you use the money to buy I bonds.

If #3 where you wrote File your taxes, opt for $5k in I bonds with your taxes. = opt to use your refund to buy iBonds,
what is #4 where you write 4. When the tax return arrives, buy another 2 x $10k in I bonds ?
Where is that $20K coming from?

You've made your tax refund this year $25k larger by making an extra tax payment of $25k. $5k of those will arrive in the form of paper I bonds. $20k will arrive to your bank account (in addition to whatever you had gotten otherwise).

Thank you.
My brain finally clicked on what is happening with this.
Ingenious.
Since you can't directly buy iBonds with credit cards, you overpay on taxes.
The overpayment results in a refund.
That refund is direct deposited into your bank account.
Use $20K to buy iBonds.
The bonus is the extra $5K in iBonds you can buy with the refund.

[Nyc10036]

So I might be purchasing something on Facebook marketplace (you can guess what it was from my user name). Is there any strategy to get rewards from a marketplace purchase? It will be bought face-to-face, and I usually use venmo for this but I’m also chasing a bonus on a new card and this would put me over the top on it (essentially make this purchase free if I could get the points). Any strategy for this?

Unless the seller is accepting credit cards, I do not see how you can ... is the seller a business and not a private individual?

Private. I didn’t think there would be but I was hoping someone had a workaround to use their card with PayPal or Venmo or something like that, that the seller might be ok with using.

With Paypal, you can send payment as Friends and Family. You will be charged a fee, but the recipient in this case the seller won't be.
See if he is okay with that.
The other option is Pay for Goods. You don't pay a fee, but the seller does. And if you claim something is wrong with your purchase,
Paypal takes the money back from him.

.

[Nyc10036]

since Bonvoy and Hyatt points are forfeited for "inactivity" on your account.

We had a big trip to Manhattan for our anniversary booked for May 2020, staying in the Park Hyatt on points. We all know what happened to that trip.

Since then we've had another baby, and have a monster pile of Hyatt points just wasting away as we travel only to Nana's house now and nowhere near a luxury hotel.

But - you can purchase a small amount of points (I think a while back we purchased something like 1000 points for $20) to avoid forfeiting them. Kinda stinks to have to do that...but in a pinch it's a useful solution to hold onto any points that would otherwise expire.

I bought a $20 gift certificate to keep my Marriott points. Then popped in a Marriott property near my home and spent it on convenience food.

Ingenious!

[GuySmiley]

The only hitch with the tax overpayment method is if somehow the IRS says that you didn't pay the tax.
Has this happened to anyone?
$20K is a lot of money to "get lost in the system".
Another thing that would give me ulcers.

Not me exactly but close. I tried to get too clever and overpay for my children. Well since they had never filed previously, I now gather they had no account and the money was acknowledged as paid but in limbo. Just now getting refunded after two phone calls (and the associated time on hold) and 12 months, but as a check with interest, not the I bonds I was hoping for. Ulcers indeed but resolution is finally in sight.

[boston10]

The only hitch with the tax overpayment method is if somehow the IRS says that you didn't pay the tax.
Has this happened to anyone?
$20K is a lot of money to "get lost in the system".
Another thing that would give me ulcers.

Not me exactly but close. I tried to get too clever and overpay for my children. Well since they had never filed previously, I now gather they had no account and the money was acknowledged as paid but in limbo. Just now getting refunded after two phone calls (and the associated time on hold) and 12 months, but as a check with interest, not the I bonds I was hoping for. Ulcers indeed but resolution is finally in sight.

The statutory interest from the IRS is actually pretty good these days due to the inflation rate. I hve been thinking there is probably a way to make money on that through arbitrage. You may have discovered that way. You might actually do better over those 12 months then you would have if you had put it in a money market (and the money was as safe as FDIC insured savings except obviously totally illiquid).

[GuySmiley]

The statutory interest from the IRS is actually pretty good these days due to the inflation rate. I hve been thinking there is probably a way to make money on that through arbitrage. You may have discovered that way. You might actually do better over those 12 months then you would have if you had put it in a money market (and the money was as safe as FDIC insured savings except obviously totally illiquid).

You may be right with a cherry on top that the interest is paid to children in a 0% bracket, but the angst (or let's say unknown yet fixed duration) was not worth it for me.

[heartwood]

Sorry if I missed similar past posts on this topic; I searched quickly.

Topic: Rethinking our rewards strategy:

I got my annual notice from Citi that I'll be getting a certificate for about $250 dollars for my Costco branded card 2022 purchases, issued at the end of February. Redeemable for cash or merchandise only at the Costco warehouse, not available at costco.com. Only issued once a year.

We currently use the card mainly for the 4% gasoline credit, and the 3% restaurant/travel credits. We already use fido for our Costco purchases since there's no benefit to the Citi card there (2% v. 2%) and Fido credits monthly. Fido is better for the Citi 1% category with 2% back.

I'm rethinking our use of the Citi card v. the Fidelity 2%-back-on-everything Visa that gives us the credit every month, directly into our fido checking.

For our 2022 lifestyle we'll get an additional $19 for gas over the fido card; additional $40 for restaurants and travel; it's a wash in the 2% category; we lose $13 in the 1% all other category. Net is roughly a plus $46 for the year, less than $4/month.

DW and I have to remember which card to use when paying; no more extended warranty, etc and have to wait a year to get a certificate only valid at the warehouse

Typing this post leads me to conclude it's not worth the hassle for us to continue using the Citi card for $46 net in the future.

[TravelGeek]

Typing this post leads me to conclude it's not worth the hassle for us to continue using the Citi card for $46 net in the future.

It’s not a huge gain for sure, but I would not cancel the card if it it’s your only other credit card. Always good to have a backup. I also wonder if it is really that much of a hassle to pull out the Costco card in restaurants and gas stations and the Fido card elsewhere. Especially since it isn’t a real issue to worry about if you screw up here or there. I have a lot more cards that I juggle. Keeps my mind sharp without eating jelly fish

[sailaway]

Typing this post leads me to conclude it's not worth the hassle for us to continue using the Citi card for $46 net in the future.

It’s not a huge gain for sure, but I would not cancel the card if it it’s your only other credit card. Always good to have a backup. I also wonder if it is really that much of a hassle to pull out the Costco card in restaurants and gas stations and the Fido card elsewhere. Especially since it isn’t a real issue to worry about if you screw up here or there. I have a lot more cards that I juggle. Keeps my mind sharp without eating jelly fish

I keep them in a specific order in my wallet. If I were to max one bonus, I could switch out that spot with the next best for that category.

DH shops so rarely that he chooses the check in with me. He doesn't have to: I put a cheat sheet on our shared note app.

[atdharris]

I don't see any reason to cancel the Costco card. It's a free card assuming you intend to keep your Costco membership. My only gripe about the card is you can only redeem the cash back once a year. Because of that, I only use it for gas purchases. I wish they'd change that policy, but I understand the idea is to make you go into Costco and potentially shop when you redeem the certificate.

[Wannaretireearly]

I’ll have close to $2k coming back to me from the Costco card end of Feb. Probably a symptom of a broader issue

[jtdavid]

My main cards:

Capital One SAVOR: Dining & Streaming (4% cash back)
SAVOR: Groceries (3%)
Amazon Card: Amazon purchases (5%)
Amex Platinum: Airfare (5%)
Alliant Credit Union: Most everything else (2.5%)

Hotel and airline cards are also worth keeping if you don't mind fooling with them: Amex Hilton Surpass, Aspire, Bonvoy, Hyatt, Chase SWA Rapid Rewards, Citi AAdvantage.

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

[gurusw]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

[anon_investor]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

If you have a credit card that offers higher cash back than the CC fee, then you come out a "winner".

[JBTX]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

The fee is a tad less than 2% so if you make 2% or more cash back you end up net positive.

Tax payments are also a good way to meet spending requirements for up front credit card bonuses.

[wfgsdg]

Build up the points and at the end of the year, my wife and I invest the cash back (about $1000) in our retirement accounts. Picked up that idea from Rob Berger. Depending on the age of our technology though, we sometimes redirect those funds towards a new phone or computer.

[Leesbro63]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

The fee is a tad less than 2% so if you make 2% or more cash back you end up net positive.

Tax payments are also a good way to meet spending requirements for up front credit card bonuses.

The BofA/Merrill Premium Rewards card, with 2.625% back if you have $100,000 of assets at Merrill, is a great way to pay taxes.

[Wannaretireearly]

I’ve never chased rewards before, and have just used my Costco cc for everything. However I saw a promo for 60k miles on American, which I signed up for. It looks like it would get me a RT to Dublin, which we’re talking about this summer, which was about $1400. If this works, I’m going to be investing some time into research!

Just signed up for AA too. I’m on the hunt for Venture X, and will keep trying once my credit score goes back over 800, hopefully soon after paying off 0% debt.

[JBTX]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

The fee is a tad less than 2% so if you make 2% or more cash back you end up net positive.

Tax payments are also a good way to meet spending requirements for up front credit card bonuses.

The BofA/Merrill Premium Rewards card, with 2.625% back if you have $100,000 of assets at Merrill, is a great way to pay taxes.

I’m actually unwinding my stuff at BOA after they froze my main bank account which caused me almost a month of hassle. What marginal benefits the preferred rewards program offers isn’t worth the hassle, at least to me anyway.

[spammagnet]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

Another thread specifically addresses the subject.

In summary, buy gift cards online from Simon.com, often at a discount off the usual per-card fee. You have to register in person once at a Simon mall to buy denominations > $500. Use those cards on the IRS web site as debit cards, paying only ~$2 flat fee per transaction.

This works for us mere mortals. Limits on the denomination of gift cards and on the number of payment transactions allowed gets into the more expensive % fee territory for higher tax amounts. Even at that, it may be profitable with some credit card reward schemes, and maybe even worthwhile.

[Leesbro63]

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

The fee is a tad less than 2% so if you make 2% or more cash back you end up net positive.

Tax payments are also a good way to meet spending requirements for up front credit card bonuses.

The BofA/Merrill Premium Rewards card, with 2.625% back if you have $100,000 of assets at Merrill, is a great way to pay taxes.

I’m actually unwinding my stuff at BOA after they froze my main bank account which caused me almost a month of hassle. What marginal benefits the preferred rewards program offers isn’t worth the hassle, at least to me anyway.

I'm into my 5th year with the BofA 2.625% card thing and it works great for me. Most financial institutions can, at times, be problematic. Don't cut your nose to spite your face. The institution is to big to "punish" by closing your account. Whoever goofed up to create your current problem doesn't care and probably doesn't even know that you are leaving. If you have investable assets over $100,000, the Merrill Edge account and BofA 2.625% credit card is almost a no-brainer.

[JBTX]

IRS charges credit card fees for quarterly tax payments, right? How is the above strategy effective?

The fee is a tad less than 2% so if you make 2% or more cash back you end up net positive.

Tax payments are also a good way to meet spending requirements for up front credit card bonuses.

The BofA/Merrill Premium Rewards card, with 2.625% back if you have $100,000 of assets at Merrill, is a great way to pay taxes.

I’m actually unwinding my stuff at BOA after they froze my main bank account which caused me almost a month of hassle. What marginal benefits the preferred rewards program offers isn’t worth the hassle, at least to me anyway.

I'm into my 5th year with the BofA 2.625% card thing and it works great for me. Most financial institutions can, at times, be problematic. Don't cut your nose to spite your face. The institution is to big to "punish" by closing your account. Whoever goofed up to create your current problem doesn't care and probably doesn't even know that you are leaving. If you have investable assets over $100,000, the Merrill Edge account and BofA 2.625% credit card is almost a no-brainer.

I’ve been a BOA customer 25 years. I understand this could in theory happen anywhere, but the follow up was so bad and painful I just can’t risk that again.

viewtopic.php?t=393776

Also I put all credit cards on autopay and their autopay is terrible, you have to do it through bill pay and ebills and it is extremely buggy.

I’ve transitioned over to capital one as my primary and so far so good. I’ll keep the boa accounts open with modest balances for manual checks and also treasury direct.

I can 2.0% on my fidelity card for everything else, and get the following on other cards:

- cap one savor 4.0% for dining, also free Uber one which I’m using a lot for my adult daughter. I was able to grandfather in before annual fee
- chase business cash - 5% for internet, phone, streaming
- US cash plus 5% traditional utilities
- citi shop your way - 5% gas
- cap one Walmart card 5% on Walmart
- target 5% target red card (rarely use)
- Amazon 5% prime card synchrony.

All other, like medical or other expenditures either goes on the fidelity 2.0% or towards a new card when chasing an up front bonus.

[Freefun]

My main cards:

Capital One SAVOR: Dining & Streaming (4% cash back)
SAVOR: Groceries (3%)
Amazon Card: Amazon purchases (5%)
Amex Platinum: Airfare (5%)
Alliant Credit Union: Most everything else (2.5%)

Hotel and airline cards are also worth keeping if you don't mind fooling with them: Amex Hilton Surpass, Aspire, Bonvoy, Hyatt, Chase SWA Rapid Rewards, Citi AAdvantage.

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

How do you get 5% off airfare with Amex plat?

[atdharris]

My main cards:

Capital One SAVOR: Dining & Streaming (4% cash back)
SAVOR: Groceries (3%)
Amazon Card: Amazon purchases (5%)
Amex Platinum: Airfare (5%)
Alliant Credit Union: Most everything else (2.5%)

Hotel and airline cards are also worth keeping if you don't mind fooling with them: Amex Hilton Surpass, Aspire, Bonvoy, Hyatt, Chase SWA Rapid Rewards, Citi AAdvantage.

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

How do you get 5% off airfare with Amex plat?

You get 5x points when booking through Amex or directly with the airline. Not 5% cash back unless you have a Schwab Plat

[Freefun]

My main cards:

Capital One SAVOR: Dining & Streaming (4% cash back)
SAVOR: Groceries (3%)
Amazon Card: Amazon purchases (5%)
Amex Platinum: Airfare (5%)
Alliant Credit Union: Most everything else (2.5%)

Hotel and airline cards are also worth keeping if you don't mind fooling with them: Amex Hilton Surpass, Aspire, Bonvoy, Hyatt, Chase SWA Rapid Rewards, Citi AAdvantage.

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

How do you get 5% off airfare with Amex plat?

You get 5x points when booking through Amex or directly with the airline. Not 5% cash back unless you have a Schwab Plat

I have this card (Schwab plat) and I don’t understand “Not 5% cash back unless you have a Schwab Plat”

Unless you mean 5x points which isn’t the same thing.

[atdharris]

My main cards:

Capital One SAVOR: Dining & Streaming (4% cash back)
SAVOR: Groceries (3%)
Amazon Card: Amazon purchases (5%)
Amex Platinum: Airfare (5%)
Alliant Credit Union: Most everything else (2.5%)

Hotel and airline cards are also worth keeping if you don't mind fooling with them: Amex Hilton Surpass, Aspire, Bonvoy, Hyatt, Chase SWA Rapid Rewards, Citi AAdvantage.

Put over $200k/year on the cards, including quarterly tax payments. It is definitely worth it if you are organized. Set up all your payment due dates to be similar and set everything on autopay.

How do you get 5% off airfare with Amex plat?

You get 5x points when booking through Amex or directly with the airline. Not 5% cash back unless you have a Schwab Plat

I have this card (Schwab plat) and I don’t understand “Not 5% cash back unless you have a Schwab Plat”

Unless you mean 5x points which isn’t the same thing.

The normal Plat gives you 5x points. Amex only lets you redeem points for 0.6 points per dollar. The Schwab version let you redeem points for 1.1 points per dollar. So yeah, if you have Schwab's version, you are getting 5.5% back on flights if you redeem into a Schwab account.

[EnjoyIt]

Edit: the below post is crossed out because I am mistaken.

Chase has a new business card out. It is the chase ink premier.
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/inkpre ... lsrc=aw.ds

Currently running a 100,000 points for $10k in spend.
Cost: $195/yr
2.5 points per dollar on $5k or more purchases
2 points per dollar on everything else
When paired with a chase sapphire reserve card which I already have those points are worth
3.75% cash back on $5k purchases and 3% cash back on all other purchases.

Compared to the BOA 2.62% cash back, this wins out by a slight amount but comes with the $195 fee. If you spend enough it will negate the fee.
The math:
$17,333.33 at the 2.5 points category will get you there.
or
$52,000 at the 2 points category will negate the fee.

For those who value Chase UR points at more than 1.5 cents per point will have even better results such as transferring to Hyatt or some other travel partners.

[EnjoyIt]

I got the chase ink premier for the bonus. Currently using it for most of my spend that I don't have a better card for. I am pretty sure I can squeeze out $15k in the 2.5 point category just by paying taxes in 2023 so I may keep the card once the renewal is due.

[ZinCO]

Chase has a new business card out. It is the chase ink premier.
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/inkpre ... lsrc=aw.ds

Currently running a 100,000 points for $10k in spend.
Cost: $195/yr
2.5 points per dollar on $5k or more purchases
2 points per dollar on everything else
When paired with a chase sapphire reserve card which I already have those points are worth
3.75% cash back on $5k purchases and 3% cash back on all other purchases.

Compared to the BOA 2.62% cash back, this wins out by a slight amount but comes with the $195 fee. If you spend enough it will negate the fee.
The math:
$17,333.33 at the 2.5 points category will get you there.
or
$52,000 at the 2 points category will negate the fee.

For those who value Chase UR points at more than 1.5 cents per point will have even better results such as transferring to Hyatt or some other travel partners.

Card is not new, and unless things have changed, these are not UR points. You cannot combine them with Sapphires nor transfer to travel partners.

[Rainier]

Current cards

Chase:
Reserve
Freedom Unlimited
Freedom Flex

Capital One Venture X

Amex Blue Cash Preferred

I was hoping the Venture X could replace the Reserve but it’s not even close. The travel insurance is virtually worthless and 3x points on travel beats 2x on everything. I got 75k points for the Venture X but I doubt I will keep for more than a year.

[EnjoyIt]

Chase has a new business card out. It is the chase ink premier.
https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/inkpre ... lsrc=aw.ds

Currently running a 100,000 points for $10k in spend.
Cost: $195/yr
2.5 points per dollar on $5k or more purchases
2 points per dollar on everything else
When paired with a chase sapphire reserve card which I already have those points are worth
3.75% cash back on $5k purchases and 3% cash back on all other purchases.

Compared to the BOA 2.62% cash back, this wins out by a slight amount but comes with the $195 fee. If you spend enough it will negate the fee.
The math:
$17,333.33 at the 2.5 points category will get you there.
or
$52,000 at the 2 points category will negate the fee.

For those who value Chase UR points at more than 1.5 cents per point will have even better results such as transferring to Hyatt or some other travel partners.

Card is not new, and unless things have changed, these are not UR points. You cannot combine them with Sapphires nor transfer to travel partners.

Doh!!!!!

You are right and I’m disappointed.
I still got 1200 cash back for 10,000 spend so, not underworld. Just not as good as I thought.

[lakpr]

Current cards

Chase:
Reserve
Freedom Unlimited
Freedom Flex

Capital One Venture X

Amex Blue Cash Preferred

I was hoping the Venture X could replace the Reserve but it’s not even close. The travel insurance is virtually worthless and 3x points on travel beats 2x on everything. I got 75k points for the Venture X but I doubt I will keep for more than a year.

Why would anyone want to pay annual fee for a 2% cash back card when there are alternatives that are free? Citi double cash; or Penfed card if you hold their checking account and agree to redeem there; Alliant Credit Union 2.5% cash back card if you have direct deposit of your paycheck with them, etc.

About the ONLY advantage with Venture X is that you would be able to transfer those points to travel partners. Which in turn assumes that such transfers will fetch you more than 1cpp.

[Rainier]

Current cards

Chase:
Reserve
Freedom Unlimited
Freedom Flex

Capital One Venture X

Amex Blue Cash Preferred

I was hoping the Venture X could replace the Reserve but it’s not even close. The travel insurance is virtually worthless and 3x points on travel beats 2x on everything. I got 75k points for the Venture X but I doubt I will keep for more than a year.

Why would anyone want to pay annual fee for a 2% cash back card when there are alternatives that are free? Citi double cash; or Penfed card if you hold their checking account and agree to redeem there; Alliant Credit Union 2.5% cash back card if you have direct deposit of your paycheck with them, etc.

About the ONLY advantage with Venture X is that you would be able to transfer those points to travel partners. Which in turn assumes that such transfers will fetch you more than 1cpp.

Venture X doesn't really have an annual fee. At least not for the way I spend and purchase travel. It kind of does the first year, but not after that.

Year 1: $300 cash back on travel purchases using their portal plus $100 Global Entry Fee credit which offsets the $395 fee.
Year 2 and beyond: $300 cash back on travel purchases using their portal plus 10,000 rewards points (good to offset $100 in travel charges)

For me it is break even on the fee plus I get:

75,000 point signup bonus. Of which, I just used 53,000 of them by transferring to Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) to buy a flight to Geneva, Switzerland this summer on Delta that currently costs $1,700. Transfer was instant and very easy.

Free additional card members. Which gets my wife a Priority Pass card for no fee versus the $75 I pay each year for her on the Chase Reserve card.

[jco]

Why would anyone want to pay annual fee for a 2% cash back card when there are alternatives that are free? Citi double cash; or Penfed card if you hold their checking account and agree to redeem there; Alliant Credit Union 2.5% cash back card if you have direct deposit of your paycheck with them, etc.

About the ONLY advantage with Venture X is that you would be able to transfer those points to travel partners. Which in turn assumes that such transfers will fetch you more than 1cpp.

I can understand your reasoning. And you can't even get the cash back at a 2% rate unless you use it for something like travel. So you're more limited than other 2% cards. And I also have the Alliant 2.5% card, which made it an even tougher decision. However, I did get the Venture X recently. If I decide it's not worth it, I can always downgrade or cancel the card.

Here was my reasoning:

1. The signup bonus is pretty large for a moderate spend (75,000 points for $4,000 in 3 months).
2. The travel credit ($300) and global entry credit ($100) make up for the annual fee of $395. In future years, the travel credit + 10,000 point anniversary bonus will make up for the annual fee.
3. I will have access to the Capital One Lounge at my local airport and Priority Pass lounge access in general. I travel a few times a year, which has real value for me. And this applies to any authorized user (you can have 3 for free). And each cardholder can have a guest. This holds a lot of potential value for our family.
4. It comes with Primary rental car insurance and various kinds of travel protection. Hopefully, I won't need to use them, but they're there if I need it!
5. It still has extended warranty protection. The Alliant 2.5% card and some of my Chase cards also have this, but it's nice to have this for a daily driver.
6. No Foreign Transaction Fee. The Alliant 2.5% card also has not Foreign Transaction Fee.
7. It comes with cell phone protection if you use it to pay for your cell phone bill. The Alliant 2.5% card doesn't have that. We have many phones, so this also has real value for us.
8. It comes with Hertz President Circle Status. We only need to rent a car maybe once a year, so this doesn't have a ton of value, but it's nice to have.
9. It earns 10x points on Hotels and Rental Cards and 5x on Flights, which is a good rate of return.

Is this enough to offset the potential "additional" earnings I could get from the Alliant 2.5% card? Maybe not for some. But it's close enough for me that I'm going to test it out for a year or two. And the Venture X could potentially hold a lot more value if I can find a good transfer partner, have to make an expensive cell phone repair, take my family on a trip and use the lounge, etc. If I decide it's not worth it, then I'll go back to my Alliant 2.5% Visa, which is still a fantastic card.

One thing I might do is use the Venture X only for the travel credit each year, use it for travel purchases because of all the protections, use it for the cell phone protections, and then use my Alliant 2.5% card for everything else. Kind of the best of both worlds.

[billthecat]

I like the Apple Card. Cash back is immediate, and all activity and other info is available on my phone without having to login. And of course no fees.

[jco]

I like the Apple Card. Cash back is immediate, and all activity and other info is available on my phone without having to login. And of course no fees.

If you're not interested in cashback, then the Apple card is an interesting choice.
- There's some cool tech.
- Instant rewards.
- Interest-free loans on Apple products.

But its cashback earning potential is pretty limited. You get 3% on Apple purchases, 2% on mobile pay purchases, and 1% on everything else. I can earn a lot more with a basic 2% card. Most credit card phone apps can utilize Face ID or Fingerprint to access your account, which is a lower barrier to entry for potentially much better earnings.

But obviously, every person has to choose what works best for them. The Apple card isn't a great option for me but could be great for someone else depending on their preferences.

[unmesh]

The normal Plat gives you 5x points. Amex only lets you redeem points for 0.6 points per dollar. The Schwab version let you redeem points for 1.1 points per dollar. So yeah, if you have Schwab's version, you are getting 5.5% back on flights if you redeem into a Schwab account.

I have had a Schwab Amex Platinum for several years and did not know about the 1.1 redemption rate option!

Thanks!

[LoveAllDogs]

Fidelity - 2.25% main card when not a specific category, our preschool doesn't charge a fee for using credit cards surprisingly
Citi Double cash - 2% used for a few bills
Citi Costco - We are executive members so we get an extra 2% back on top of 4% gas, etc
Bank of America - We were platinum preferred, but I lost track of how much we were dumping into 4 week Treasuries so we will be downgraded to gold for a few months. Two cards. One is dining and one is online shopping. Platinum preferred pays 5.25%. Gold drops it to 4.5%.
Amazon - 3% cash back since we cancelled Amazon Prime
Target - 5%
Chase Sapphire Reserve - we are new to this, got the 80000 point bonus then will decide if we keep it, we will travel more starting this year since the pandemic started