topic Re: One card to rule them all... in Credit Cards

One card to rule them all...

MaisCher — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:31:33 GMT

So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use. **I just found out that I could transfer UR points to Marriott IF I had the CSP. I may have to app for that one during my next spree.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!

Re: One card to rule them all...

kdm31091 — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:33:33 GMT

@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!

Honestly, if you do not want to hassle with points/miles, there's little point in paying for an AF travel card.

You have a Quicksilver, right? Is it the no AF version? I'd just use that and your Sallie. That's a great combo that covers general spending at 1.5% and groceries/gas at 5%. A simple effective combo. You can build up the cash on the QS and use it for whatever you want, and not be restricted to just Marriott or whatever. The Freedom is not really a "necessary" card IMO; groceries and gas after all are two of the categories it will cover during the year so you don't really need it unless your dining spend is huge (and even then, really, calculate how much more you are getting out of it with your spend).

Travel cards/points etc work for a lot of people but for those who want a simpler existence that's what I'd recommend.

Re: One card to rule them all...

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:34:43 GMT

I would recommend the CSP/Freedom combo.

It utilizes both CC's rewards categories and allows you to combine them both together.

Plus its signup bonus, providing you meet the spending requirement/add AU bonus, allows you to rack up ~$600 worth of travel points in the first 3 months.

This is what is paying for my flight roundtrip to Scotland from Detroit next year. Plus, these are transferrable to Marriott and some other airlines and hotel companies etc.

It also has a metal core just like the Marriott

Re: One card to rule them all...

MaisCher — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:45:14 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!
Honestly, if you do not want to hassle with points/miles, there's little point in paying for an AF travel card.

You have a Quicksilver, right? Is it the no AF version? I'd just use that and your Sallie. That's a great combo that covers general spending at 1.5% and groceries/gas at 5%. A simple effective combo. You can build up the cash on the QS and use it for whatever you want, and not be restricted to just Marriott or whatever. The Freedom is not really a "necessary" card IMO; groceries and gas after all are two of the categories it will cover during the year so you don't really need it unless your dining spend is huge (and even then, really, calculate how much more you are getting out of it with your spend).

Travel cards/points etc work for a lot of people but for those who want a simpler existence that's what I'd recommend.

I have a crappy QS1 with a $600 thats a decade old and they refuse to up the limit. I did see a prequal for a QS1 last time I checked and I'm sure if I app'd now the limit would be better but those 3 bureaus pulls are terrible.

I don't have a problem with the points per say, I just want them all in one place lol

Re: One card to rule them all...

MaisCher — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:49:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would recommend the CSP/Freedom combo.
It utilizes both CC's rewards categories and allows you to combine them both together.

Plus its signup bonus, providing you meet the spending requirement/add AU bonus, allows you to rack up ~$600 worth of travel points in the first 3 months.
This is what is paying for my flight roundtrip to Scotland from Detroit next year. Plus, these are transferrable to Marriott and some other airlines and hotel companies etc.
It also has a metal core just like the Marriott

That's a good idea, but I think the SM needs to be in the mix somewhere. Umm, maybe a 3 card combo. So many choices. I remember the days when I just "wanted one prime card with a 5K limit for emergencies"

Re: One card to rule them all...

kdm31091 — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 02:50:05 GMT

@MaisCher wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!
Honestly, if you do not want to hassle with points/miles, there's little point in paying for an AF travel card.

You have a Quicksilver, right? Is it the no AF version? I'd just use that and your Sallie. That's a great combo that covers general spending at 1.5% and groceries/gas at 5%. A simple effective combo. You can build up the cash on the QS and use it for whatever you want, and not be restricted to just Marriott or whatever. The Freedom is not really a "necessary" card IMO; groceries and gas after all are two of the categories it will cover during the year so you don't really need it unless your dining spend is huge (and even then, really, calculate how much more you are getting out of it with your spend).

Travel cards/points etc work for a lot of people but for those who want a simpler existence that's what I'd recommend.
I have a crappy QS1 with a $600 thats a decade old and they refuse to up the limit. I did see a prequal for a QS1 last time I checked and I'm sure if I app'd now the limit would be better but those 3 bureaus pulls are terrible.

I don't have a problem with the points per say, I just want them all in one place lol

Gotcha. As the poster above said you could consider the CSP/Freedom combo, but be careful. The CSP takes a pretty decent amount of spend to justify after the bonus year with the AF and the fact that you only get 2% on dining/travel, the rest 1%.

Re: One card to rule them all...

ddemari — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 03:54:26 GMT

I have lots of points/ miles cards and cash back cards. The points/ miles ones as others have said dont work for everyone. I like the quicksilver visa, easy structure no af. A lot of my other mile points cards require hefty spend to equal out in value. Sallliemae is good too. Ive found chase amazon the most lucrative for even though its points im getting at least 2% on all my daily spends and no af.

Re: One card to rule them all...

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 03:56:14 GMT

Well, yes, you do need to spend a fair amount to justify the AF on travel cards.

But that is why it is marketed towards people who travel, and travel is not usually cheap; so it never makes much sense to me why people apply for these sort of cards that don't actually travel or at least dine out a lot...

I fly to back to England/Europe at least once a year to visit family, so for myself, along with dining out (includes starbucks) and the 'Shop Through Chase' portal it makes more than enough sense. You just have to work out if what you spend your money on/how much you spend makes it all worth it.

If not, apply and close before the first year...

Re: One card to rule them all...

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 04:09:34 GMT

@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use. **I just found out that I could transfer UR points to Marriott IF I had the CSP. I may have to app for that one during my next spree.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!

No offense here seriously, and yes I would gladly take one, but Sallie Mae is not that great. Annoying caps for rewards. Geared for students.

Why not a discover card for the double cash back?

Seems to me the SPG has the highest point value....

Re: One card to rule them all...

MaisCher — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 04:32:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use. **I just found out that I could transfer UR points to Marriott IF I had the CSP. I may have to app for that one during my next spree.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!
No offense here seriously, and yes I would gladly take one, but Sallie Mae is not that great. Annoying caps for rewards. Geared for students.

Why not a discover card for the double cash back?

Seems to me the SPG has the highest point value....

No offense taken, I don't own the company Sallie Mae works for me, for now...

I want a discover, but they denied me twice earlier this year. I'm salty but I might try again next year. Right now CSP and Discover are the two on my want to have list.

Re: One card to rule them all...

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 05:19:53 GMT

Until you can nail a citi 2% its probably 3 card thing. Get that wallaby app and load your cards in use on there. It's not perfect but it's good for "What do i use today?" aspect. Obviously if you are going to travel and rent and eat out you are reading up on their respective deals, doingthe research and have the plan, but the day to day spends are what build your cash back/points/miles.

Re: One card to rule them all...

happypill — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 05:31:34 GMT

Sallie Mae & Venture among the cards that you have make the most sense. It's all cash back so you don't need to worry about accumulating points or going through any booking frustrations. The points post pretty much immediately for both of those cards and the redemption minimum limits are $25 with no increments (meaning you could redeem $34.72 if that's what you have) so no points go to waste. The Venture is superior to the QS if your spend on it is over $12k per year to offset the AF.

So, given your priorities if ease of redemption, combining rewards over several cards, not wasting rewards due to redemption limits and not going nuts over booking sillyness, the answer is pretty simple.

Re: One card to rule them all...

NRB525 — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 05:59:42 GMT

@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use. **I just found out that I could transfer UR points to Marriott IF I had the CSP. I may have to app for that one during my next spree.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!

Consider the AMEX Hilton no AF HHonors card. 3 Hilton points for general spend (considered worth 0.5 cents per point, similar to the Marriott point) and 5 points on groceries, gas, and dining, but you have to watch the grocery store is really coded as groceries with AMEX, several bigger stores may not be. But, it can work out to a 2.5% card in many situations. More points for a direct Hilton stay, of course.

Re: One card to rule them all...

Revelate — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 15:21:29 GMT

Just my experience as someone who went Cashback and a comparitively simple outlay for my admittedly simple personal expenses:

Sallie Mae: 5% goodness across the board for me

Fidelity Amex: 2% everything else (which in my world was restaurants, tax payments, and miscellaneous)

Freedom: rotating 5%, why not had the card and I haven't found it irritating to use.

Everything else gets some behind the scenes auto transactions or rarely gets trotted out, like I'll drop reimbursible expenses from my employer (usually lunches or I'm footing the AWS bill at the moment given our awkward contract status) on the Ink.

I never really wound up with the grocery spend to make better use of the BCP (and the AF was irrelevant to me in a pre-mortgage world, may PC it to BCE within the year), I agree with another poster that the grocery cap on the Sallie could be irritating but if it is for you, get a better card specifically for groceries in excess of either the $250 cap or 5% rewards: I have a pretty long commute and I'm only over their cap by $10 in a given month, not bad.

Anyway I'm looking at swapping over to points for a couple of reasons which is going to complicate it but not by much, basically I pick up the CSP and move my restaurant, small travel, and possibly some miscellaneous spending depending on needs at the time. If my rewards wind up being near 2cpp which seems doable, then I simply drop Fidelity altogether.

Re: One card to rule them all...

jbsea — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 15:26:21 GMT

Your NFCU cash rewards also gives you 1.5% back, you can use that instead of your QS1

@MaisCher wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
@MaisCher wrote:
So the last few weeks I've been trying to plan our family vacation and this points game is driving me nuts. If I can combine all my cards/rewards we're good but I can't book the entire trip with rewards from any one card. That's frustrating for me. I want to maximize my rewards but trying to remember what card to use when and for what is not working well for me.

I'm thinking I'd really like to just get to the point of using just 1 or 2 cards. Here is what I'm weighing...

Sallie Mae - I use this card for all my Amazon purchase, Gas, and groceries. I'm good with keeping this as a regular because of the 5%

Venture - I rarely use this one but when I visited the travel/rewards site I realized the resort in Destin we vacation in every year was an option. That's a huge expense and if we can book that whole stay on point that would be awesome. Not to mention I liked not being limited to one type of hotel. * Really considering making it my main card.

Marriott - This is my main card right now. I llove the look, Marriott hotels aren't terrible, and Chase just gave me another CLI. That being said, 1 pt per dollar (2 for restaurants) isn't exciting and being limited to just Marriott isn't as feasible as I thought it would be. My sons bball team travels and it now seems some tournaments assign you a hotel. It isn't always the Marriott. Last weekend it was Hilton and I feel like I missed out on earning lots of points for that $500 dollar weekend had it been a Marriott.

Freedom - I try to use it for the 5% catagories but unless it's restaurants like now, I don't see it getting much use.

Amex Delta/ Green/ NFCU - Don't really use

I'm thinking I'd get more bang for my buck with the Sallie Mae/Venture combo. Opinions please!!
Honestly, if you do not want to hassle with points/miles, there's little point in paying for an AF travel card.

You have a Quicksilver, right? Is it the no AF version? I'd just use that and your Sallie. That's a great combo that covers general spending at 1.5% and groceries/gas at 5%. A simple effective combo. You can build up the cash on the QS and use it for whatever you want, and not be restricted to just Marriott or whatever. The Freedom is not really a "necessary" card IMO; groceries and gas after all are two of the categories it will cover during the year so you don't really need it unless your dining spend is huge (and even then, really, calculate how much more you are getting out of it with your spend).

Travel cards/points etc work for a lot of people but for those who want a simpler existence that's what I'd recommend.
I have a crappy QS1 with a $600 thats a decade old and they refuse to up the limit. I did see a prequal for a QS1 last time I checked and I'm sure if I app'd now the limit would be better but those 3 bureaus pulls are terrible.

I don't have a problem with the points per say, I just want them all in one place lol