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If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

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CreditJim
Established Contributor

If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

I'm having a really tough time deciding which card to put all of my spending through next year. I'd like to put the bulk of spending in one place, I don't like having small rewards scattered all over the place, I'd rather concentrate them into one pot which is why I don't like the bonus category type cards with low spend limits.

 

This year I put most of my spending on my Venture, which was good - I ended up with almost $1000 in gift vouchers.

 

But now I have more choices. The Citi AA will be cancelled before the AF hits as the earn rate is higher on the BA card and Avios seem more valuable when redeeming for domestic flights. But then I was thinking... if I collect Membership Points on my Amex PRG I could transfer these to say, Avios, during a bonus promo and end up with a higher amount of Avios per $ than using the Chase BA card at 1.25 Avios per dollar? So I can't really see myself keeping the Chase card once the AF is due. It's funny, I've waited a long time to get in with Citi and Chase and now I don't think I have much use for the cards I have from them!

Quicksilver 51k | Discover It $45k | Bonvoy Business $38k | Lowe's $35k | Costco $33.5k | SWACU $30k | Ink Preferred $28k | USAA Rewards $25k | Ink Cash $22.5k | Ink Preferred $22k | Amex Blue Business Plus $17k | Freedom Flex $16k | Freedom $14k | CSR $10k | Amazon Store $10k | Amazon Business $3k | REI $3k
Message 1 of 28
27 REPLIES 27
Swapmeet
Valued Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

lol, not to be a cynic, but the reason why I have multiple cards is to avoid the question that you pose. Of course, the freedom/csp combination works well with UR points that are pretty universal.



My Wallet:
WalMart: ||15k|| USAA Platinum MC: ||26k|| BCE: ||9k|| Chase Freedom Siggy: ||10k|| Discover it: ||6.5k|| SG Visa: ||11k||
USAA World MC: ||23k|| US Bank Cash+ Siggy: ||7.5k|| Citi TYP World MC: ||12k|| Barclays Arrival World MC: ||13k||Citi Double Cash World MC ||25k||Sallie Mae World MC ||18.8k||Fico Scores (3 Fico Monitoring): EQ 751,TU 749, EX 743. Last app: 9-12-14 Sallie
Message 2 of 28
Danizzle
New Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

That's still 2 cards Swapmeet, but I have multiple cards for that very reason as well.

If I absolutely had to use only one, just off the top of my head, I would look at the Quicksilver for 1.5% on everything. I could use my Arrival for 2 pts, but I don't travel all that much.

I'd have to do some research to see what ONE card would work best for me.

All FICO scores as of 9.1.14: Exp 744, Eq 745, TU 764
Goal: 800+ across the board
Message 3 of 28
odd_dog
Valued Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

Fun question......Hummmmmmm   Probably Freedom - or BCE.....that is a hard one, This is why I have so many  LOL

Message 4 of 28
NotUsher
Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

one card only? Probably Fidelity Amex.

 

Of course, if you frequent in-n-out or other places that don't accept Amex cards, that might cause some issues. Still 2% on all purchase is about the best you'll find (unless you live in California or Hawaii, IIRC in which case...the one with the weird name that I can't remember). 


Message 5 of 28
JediNeo
Frequent Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

Pretty easy for me as I only have two at the moment. AMEX TE 3% on gas, 2% on travel & restaurants, 1% on everything else.

My other is the Wal-Mart Discover which gives me $10 after sending a certain amount.
NFCU Cash Rewards | CSP | Freedom Unlimited | WalMart MC | Target Red MC | Citi Costco | AMEX BCE
Message 6 of 28
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

I would pick Fidelity Amex for 2% but if you really just HAD to have just 1 card then I would do Quicksilver because it's Visa and you won't run into issues with Amex not being taken (which is rare anyway) but still.

but I shop at Costco so 1 card is just NEVER an option... so I say 2 and it's these 2.

Message 7 of 28
Swapmeet
Valued Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?


@Danizzle wrote:

That's still 2 cards Swampmeet, but I have multiple cards for that very reason as well.

If I absolutely had to use only one, just off the top of my head, I would look at the Quicksilver for 1.5% on everything. I could use my Arrival for 2 pts, but I don't travel all that much.

I'd have to do some research to see what ONE card would work best for me.


I do realize that I named two cards Danizzle, and there is only one "m" in my name. I chose a combination of two cards because they are interchangeable rewards in the same program. The OP mentioned not wanting rewards scattered all over. This combination eliminates that problem, while still opening more rewards categories--allowing one to get more rewards within the same program.



My Wallet:
WalMart: ||15k|| USAA Platinum MC: ||26k|| BCE: ||9k|| Chase Freedom Siggy: ||10k|| Discover it: ||6.5k|| SG Visa: ||11k||
USAA World MC: ||23k|| US Bank Cash+ Siggy: ||7.5k|| Citi TYP World MC: ||12k|| Barclays Arrival World MC: ||13k||Citi Double Cash World MC ||25k||Sallie Mae World MC ||18.8k||Fico Scores (3 Fico Monitoring): EQ 751,TU 749, EX 743. Last app: 9-12-14 Sallie
Message 8 of 28
lg8302ch
Senior Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

Funny topic...but if I had to select only 1 card then for me it would be 1000% Barclays Arrival ...but glad I can vary a bit and distribute my business around different lenders where it make sense ...LOL

Message 9 of 28
CreditJim
Established Contributor

Re: If you had to use ONE card for rewards?

My reason for the question is that I'm becoming a bit tired of juggling different acounts and payment dates, not to mention having statements all over the place for tax time. I'd really like to set a specific goal and work towards that. We travel a lot, so first class air travel and nice hotels would be a nice target for 2014. Also, it's worth remembering that some cards, like the PRG, do offer a bonus once you hit a certain spend in the year - another reason to TRY to concentrate spending IMHO.

Quicksilver 51k | Discover It $45k | Bonvoy Business $38k | Lowe's $35k | Costco $33.5k | SWACU $30k | Ink Preferred $28k | USAA Rewards $25k | Ink Cash $22.5k | Ink Preferred $22k | Amex Blue Business Plus $17k | Freedom Flex $16k | Freedom $14k | CSR $10k | Amazon Store $10k | Amazon Business $3k | REI $3k
Message 10 of 28
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