Juggling Card for Rewards

[Anonymous]

I have been doing it for years (pretty much the whole time I have had credit cards) and I weirdly enjoy it.

I have no problem with juggling or whatever you want to call it. I keep most of the cards in my wallet and switch them around when I know I need one over another.

Doesn't ever cause that much hassle and I like knowing I am juicing every last % out of each card.

5% off my cell phone and 3% dining with my Amex Business, 5% right now with rotating categories @ grocery stores and home improvement stores with my Discover/Freedom. 5% @ Amazon with my Prime card. Use my Sapphire for travel and online shopping through the Chase portal which is hugely useful.

2% everywhere else with my Citi DP.

Every week or so I just flick between each credit card app on my phone and PIF on everything, treat each card like a debit card and never spend what I don't have,

I would setup autopay but I just like feeling in complete control of how much comes out and when.

My fiance constantly rolls her eyes at me when I tell her to use one card over another as she is authorized on most of them, but the eye rolling stops when I mention how much cashback I have totalled up over 6 months on each card.

[sto0pyd]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have been doing it for years (pretty much the whole time I have had credit cards) and I weirdly enjoy it.

I have no problem with juggling or whatever you want to call it. I keep most of the cards in my wallet and switch them around when I know I need one over another.

Doesn't ever cause that much hassle and I like knowing I am juicing every last % out of each card.

@5% off my cell phone and 3% dining with my Amex Business, 5% right now with rotating categories @ grocery stores and home improvement stores with my Discover/Freedom. 5% @ Amazon with my Prime card. Use my Sapphire for travel and online shopping through the Chase portal which is hugely useful.

2% everywhere else with my Citi DP.

Every week or so I just flick between each credit card app on my phone and PIF on everything, treat each card like a debit card and never spend what I don't have,

I would setup autopay but I just like feeling in complete control of how much comes out and when.

My fiance constantly rolls her eyes at me when I tell her to use one card over another as she is authorized on most of them, but the eye rolling stops when I mention how much cashback I have totalled up over 6 months on each card.

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Cool! .. who gives you 5% back for your cell phone bill I may just get another card.

[RockinRay]

I used to manage quite a few cards to max out the rewards, but it does become a real pain.

Right now, I only use 4 to 5 main cards and I really don't worry about making an extra dollar or two.  There are quite a few cards in the SD right now, and I will try and swipe those every 6 months to keep them active. A good example is my Wings Visa. We have our mortgage through Wings FCU and also have their Siggy Visa with a $25k CL. I got a letter in the mail from them last week telling me if I did not use the card once in the next 30 days, they would close the account, So I ran two small purchases on it just to keep it active.

In this case, it was nice of Wings to notify me, I'm not sure all of the other creditors would.

I guess at the end of the day, what matters most is what works for you best. 

[sto0pyd]

sorry, i didn't see it at first. 

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@sto0pyd wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

"5% off my cell phone and 3% dining with my Amex Business"

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

.... I have had to stop opening any new CCs for the next eight months (I stopped back in Feb) since it looks like I may be finally buying a house.  All the new accounts have spanked my mortgage scores, though my middle score is about 780 -- so as long as I wait until after I own a house to open any more I should be fine.

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How do you know what your mortgage scores are, without subscribing to MyFICO's paid services?

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I purchase the Ultimate 3B package once every 18 months or so.  After I download and print all my scores and reports, I cancel it.  I bought it last week.  The time before that was 20 months ago (July 2015).

Back in 2015 I had four cards and much higher mortgage scores.  Now I have 12 cards (including two I added a couple months ago) and my mortgage scores are a lot lower.   For example my EX mortgage score in 2015 was 816.  Now it is 775.  That's a 41 point drop.

I am very good about preparing properly for the rare myFICO pull -- I get almost all my cards at $0, get my utilization to around 1%, etc.  I did that both times.  So there's really no other factors at play except for adding a lot of cards in the last year and the attendant effect on AAoA, Age of Youngest Account, and several inquiries.

From a practical perspective I don't need my mortgage scores to go up (middle score is 782) but nonetheless I still think they will by the time formal underwriting begins.  Right now a slight majority of my cards are "new" (assuming FICO defines that as < 12 months old).  By the time underwriting begins, only a small minority will be new.  I am guessing that "Percentage of accounts that are new" is one of the things holding down my score.

[Blackswizz750]

I am there myself now. most cards I see are rewarding something and the APR aint cheap. However, I am not a big spender(just our household stuff). When I added up what we spend the last few years, I will no chase. If I get a few hundred in rewards fine, if I dont, who cares. I think advertisers make consumers spend more to obtain less. Heck, if you wanted savings, just save whatever you can or save for fun stuff. I will evaluate the rewards cards I have and go from there. There are just too many for me deal with: MR, TYP, cash back, Point, and Miles

[Anonymous]

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@Blackswizz750 wrote:

I am there myself now. most cards I see are rewarding something and the APR aint cheap. However, I am not a big spender(just our household stuff). When I added up what we spend the last few years, I will no chase. If I get a few hundred in rewards fine, if I dont, who cares. I think advertisers make consumers spend more to obtain less. Heck, if you wanted savings, just save whatever you can or save for fun stuff. I will evaluate the rewards cards I have and go from there. There are just too many for me deal with: MR, TYP, cash back, Point, and Miles

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A huge amount of wisdom was just packed into that post.

"Rewards" programs are not created because CC issuers are nice.  They do it because it has been proven that ANY credit card, and far worse one attached to "rewards", tends to induce a consumer to by more stuff than he otherwise would.  On some unconscious level people feel like buying stuff is good because they are racking up "rewards" -- or they are simply buying more stuff because the immediate pain of watching actual cash leaving their wallet has been erased.

This is why people like Dave Ramsey urge people on his program to cut up all their cards and restrict all spending to cash they pull out of their wallets.  Although I have serious objections to DR's approach, he's really onto something in this respect. 

I think about this a lot when I hear people ask about the best cards for restaurant purchases.  It's almost certain that when they get such a card they will eat out more than if they used cash or even a debit card.  As a result, they will be losing money without question, even given the amazing 5% cashback they are getting using the card.

OK, given all that, I am the chief of sinners.  I do have a bunch of rewards cards and I do try to fit purchases to the right card.  But what I try to do as well -- and I have to really work at this -- is remind myself coldly, each time I am tempted to swipe: How much money will I make if I just don't buy this thing?  (Answer: not buying is the 100% cash back card.)  It's really hard for me to remember, but it's what I try to do.  And there actually can be a little frisson of pleasure associated with averting each new attempt of Madison Avenue to take my money.

[Blackswizz750]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Blackswizz750 wrote:

I am there myself now. most cards I see are rewarding something and the APR aint cheap. However, I am not a big spender(just our household stuff). When I added up what we spend the last few years, I will no chase. If I get a few hundred in rewards fine, if I dont, who cares. I think advertisers make consumers spend more to obtain less. Heck, if you wanted savings, just save whatever you can or save for fun stuff. I will evaluate the rewards cards I have and go from there. There are just too many for me deal with: MR, TYP, cash back, Point, and Miles

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A huge amount of wisdom was just packed into that post.

"Rewards" programs are not created because CC issuers are nice.  They do it because it has been proven that ANY credit card, and far worse one attached to "rewards", tends to induce a consumer to by more stuff than he otherwise would.  On some unconscious level people feel like buying stuff is good because they are racking up "rewards" -- or they are simply buying more stuff because the immediate pain of watching actual cash leaving their wallet has been erased.

This is why people like Dave Ramsey urge people on his program to cut up all their cards and restrict all spending to cash they pull out of their wallets.  Although I have serious objections to DR's approach, he's really onto something in this respect. 

I think about this a lot when I hear people ask about the best cards for restaurant purchases.  It's almost certain that when they get such a card they will eat out more than if they used cash or even a debit card.  As a result, they will be losing money without question, even given the amazing 5% cashback they are getting using the card.

OK, given all that, I am the chief of sinners.  I do have a bunch of rewards cards and I do try to fit purchases to the right card.  But what I try to do as well -- and I have to really work at this -- is remind myself coldly, each time I am tempted to swipe: How much money will I make if I just don't buy this thing?  (Answer: not buying is the 100% cash back card.)  It's really hard for me to remember, but it's what I try to do.  And there actually can be a little frisson of pleasure associated with averting each new attempt of Madison Avenue to take my money.

 DR 

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I feel ya! I need to put labels on my cards and put no purchase is true 100% cashback!!!

DR has great points that if you can use cash do so. However, you need to book a trip, rent a car, or whatever a card can help you do sometimes. so many banks are on the bandwagon and the commercials are priceless(the BOA one with the dad who coaches softball and uses his card EVERYWHERE and purchases team gear). They are very convincing and folks can get in trouble.