Who Has Better Rewards: Cap One Venture, Chase Freedom or Discover IT ?

[JellyBellyGirl]

Assuming someone has all three of those cards, which one gives better rewards? I read all th einfo on their sites but the way they assign the points to dollars spent is VERY confusing. I kno wpeople on here are very good as squeezing out the rewards from these cards. Do people typically use all the cards every month or do you focus on the card that pays the most exclusively? Whats your strategy?

Also: Do balance transfers count towards rewards points? I notice all these cards charge a fee to transfer a balance. 

[-Cal-]

That depends on ones spending habits. Some people do well in the 5% categories, I personally do better
In the 2% categories because I spend more in non bonus categories.

Balance transfers do not earn rewards.

[Anonymous]

balance transfers do not count towards rewards points. the freedom is better because of the 5% categories and the ability to transfer to UR to the travel partners and get mad value that will easily overcome the 2% back from the venture.

[Callandra]

Well, Chase Freedom and Discover IT are comparable as they both feature 5% categories. As purely cashback, Discover IT is the winner. However, if you are interested in collecting UR points (and have a CSP or plan to get one or another card that allows transfers to partners), then Freedom might be better for you. The categories are often similar (and sometimes overlap) but Discover tends to have broader categories (like, they'll give 5% at home improvement stores while Freedom might be for Lowes only). Coupled with US only customer service, people tend to love their Discover cards for the most part. I have Freedom because I was interested in the checking bonus (which was nerfed like right after I got the card) and I wanted a Visa. It will soon be replaced by Cap1's Quicksilver for general spend since I'm disappointed in most of the 5% categories (at least for the second half of this year, the first half had some okay ones but not enough to justify it for me). 

Cap1 Venture on the other hand is what I call a faux-travel card. You get 2% back on your purchases if you used to redeem for travel expenses. The card doesn't really seem worth the AF outside of the sign-up bonus since there are two 2% back cards that you can use on anything (Citi's Double Cash and Fidelity Amex). If the sign-up bonus is worth it to you (Venture also seems to give generous limits as well), it might be worth it for a year. Otherwise, if you don't have a lot of overseas spend, it's probably not worth it otherwise. 

[Anonymous]

oh i forgot about discover it. discover it is 100% cash back card but with the double cash promotion it's definitely strong. that's my go-to card

[Open123]

If you had all 3, for whatever reason, I'd use them as follows:

1.  Spend first $1,500 in any 5% Freedom category.

2.  Spend first $1,500 in any 5% IT category.

3.  If the 5% overlaps, spend on IT first if you prefer GC redemptions; spend on Chase first if you have the ability to transfer UR points.

4.  After 5% maximization and any non 5% category, spend on the Venture.

That's it.  You'll maximize the rewards.

As to which is better?  If most of your spend coincides with the 5% Freedom/IT rotation, these are some of the best cards you could have in your rewards arsenal.  If not, then the Venture (or, Fid Amex) would be better.

[Anonymous]

well right now with the double cash promotion the It is at minimum at flat 2% card with no annual fee so minus the sign up bonus offered by the venture then the It is a better choice IMO

[JellyBellyGirl]

Interesting. Chase, this current quarter is doing 5% at gas stations. Who the hell can buy that much gas? Most of us fill up once a week I would think. Next quarter its at amazon. What I was hoping was to get points for paying my monthly bills with the cards like car insurance, cell phone, cable etc. Maybe some food and supermarket. then I could easily hit 2K a month in spending. 

[Anonymous]

$1,500 a month in gas is approachable. i spend around $400-$420 a month.

[Anonymous]

$1,500 a quarter*** sorry. not month haha.