topic Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS? in Credit Cards

Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Broke_Triathlete — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 04:50:55 GMT

Hey guys, been a while but starting to lurk again. I realized that it's getting old pulling the good ole wallet out and trying to figure out which card to use? I don't have a ton of cards (6 or so) but I'm thinking about sock drawing all of them and getting a charge card to use.

Any of you run into this debacle? First world problems I know...

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 04:59:03 GMT

@Broke_Triathlete wrote:
Hey guys, been a while but starting to lurk again. I realized that it's getting old pulling the good ole wallet out and trying to figure out which card to use? I don't have a ton of cards (6 or so) but I'm thinking about sock drawing all of them and getting a charge card to use.

Any of you run into this debacle? First world problems I know...

Try and do an estimate of how much you gain using the "correct" card, over a generic one (e.g. 2% cashback, 1.5UR or whatever) If it is small enough to be worth losing the stress, go for it...

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

redpat — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 08:55:55 GMT

EDP is in top sleeve of my wallet and CSR is in second sleeve below for all dining and places that don’t take Amex. I reimburse myself for business meals and gas. So there isn’t much thinking in my two card approach.

Most of my point gathering and business spend is done online. When I travel I put in citi Exec, plat and Hilton.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Shadowfactor — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:48:33 GMT

This isn’t a charge card.
But if you have a Samsung phone, the Altitude Reserve is hard to beat if you truly want to carry only one card. (4.5%) on mobile pay.

As far as charge cards go.
Amex PRG
if you have a business (charge card hybrid)
Amex BBP for 2X on everything.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:25:32 GMT

Sounds like you need to consolidate cards. Hopefully by the time I'm done rebuilding, I'll have 5-6 cards max. I'm not about sub chasing or maximizing rewards, so that should be enough for me.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Loquat — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:26:27 GMT

OP I can understand the feeling. It can get a little old and tiring trying to maximize on every category. Like LTL mentioned, figure out what works best for your overall spending go from there. In a recent post I shared that my line up is SPG Business (4x for categories), EDP (grocery & fuel - hit the 30 swipes per month to make this a 3x/4.5x MR card) and Alaska Air for everything else. I'll probably lose a point or 2 in the process but not having to worry about carrying several cards makes it with it in my situation.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Broke_Triathlete — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:29:36 GMT

Thanks for the input guys. I was thinking about just getting the AMEX platinum and making that my daily driver to make things simple. I've PIF for a couple of years now so I don't really ever carry balances (except biz always has a running balance, but still payoff statement balance each month). I thought about doing the PRG/Plat combo, but I'm only really gaining 1 point in gas/groc/rest but don't really spend all that much in those areas anyways, except biz.

I'll look at the SPG biz.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

staticvoidmain — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:43:44 GMT

I have 6 cards as well, but I only really carry 2 in my wallet (PayPal 2% MC, and Costco Visa). The other 2, I only use online, and already set up as default payment (Amazon Visa, and Delta Amex). The last 2, I sock drawered because they are redundant.

Anyway, the reason I use Paypal MC (default) and Costco Visa (gas and food only) is because they are MC and Visa. I am sure that I will have at least 99% acceptance wherever I go that accepts credit card, unlike Amex. I even carry my Amazon Visa hidden in my wallet, but only as backup.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:46:33 GMT

Wells Fargo Propel is a pretty good card for simplifying. 3% on travel, restaurants & gas.

Add a grocery card and you've got a lot covered.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Loquat — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:57:03 GMT

The SPG Biz works out well in my situation because the wife and I like the Marriott properties (not to fond of how the merger is shaking out but that's another story) and with 2 monster, gas guzzling SUVs, her Civic SI, and my Scat Pack Charger, we burn through a lot of fuel and the 4x points work out well. We have no children so we dine out a lot so it works well there also. We both have cell phones and she has one for work and I've got my grandmother on our plan so we capitalize in that area to.

We accumulate a lot of Marriott Rewards points in a short period of time. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the 33% reduction in point value in the SPG-Marriott merger (and I don't blame them) but for us it was an increase as I was getting 1SPG (3Marriott points)/$ and now I'm getting 4 Marriott Points/$ and the change will easily net us an additional 1-2k points or more per month.

Most of the properties we frequent didn't have a category change with the merger and a couple actually went down in category so this has been a win-win for us...minus the hiccups of actually merging the rewards program.

ETA: the EDP also works out well because with our daily stops at QT for coffee or whatever it's not hard to hit the 30 swipes needed for the bonus. I grocery shop for my grandmother and occasionally things for our own home so the MR earnings there is 4.5/$ which gives me a .5 boost if I transfer those over to Marriott.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Broke_Triathlete — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:54:48 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
The SPG Biz works out well in my situation because the wife and I like the Marriott properties (not to fond of how the merger is shaking out but that's another story) and with 2 monster, gas guzzling SUVs, her Civic SI, and my Scat Pack Charger, we burn through a lot of fuel and the 4x points work out well. We have no children so we dine out a lot so it works well there also. We both have cell phones and she has one for work and I've got my grandmother on our plan so we capitalize in that area to.

We accumulate a lot of Marriott Rewards points in a short period of time. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the 33% reduction in point value in the SPG-Marriott merger (and I don't blame them) but for us it was an increase as I was getting 1SPG (3Marriott points)/$ and now I'm getting 4 Marriott Points/$ and the change will easily net us an additional 1-2k points or more per month.

Most of the properties we frequent didn't have a category change with the merger and a couple actually went down in category so this has been a win-win for us...minus the hiccups of actually merging the rewards program.

Question, my wife works for marriott. Any idea if I can get the point value even with her discount. We're staying at Courtyards for $39-$49 a night pretty much every where we go so not sure if we'd still get the point perk.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:58:58 GMT

@Shadowfactor wrote:
But if you have a Samsung phone, the Altitude Reserve is hard to beat if you truly want to carry only one card. (4.5%) on mobile pay.

Works with Apple Pay too. Points are worth 3% in cash or 4.5% in travel.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Loquat — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:01:53 GMT

@Broke_Triathlete wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
The SPG Biz works out well in my situation because the wife and I like the Marriott properties (not to fond of how the merger is shaking out but that's another story) and with 2 monster, gas guzzling SUVs, her Civic SI, and my Scat Pack Charger, we burn through a lot of fuel and the 4x points work out well. We have no children so we dine out a lot so it works well there also. We both have cell phones and she has one for work and I've got my grandmother on our plan so we capitalize in that area to.

We accumulate a lot of Marriott Rewards points in a short period of time. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the 33% reduction in point value in the SPG-Marriott merger (and I don't blame them) but for us it was an increase as I was getting 1SPG (3Marriott points)/$ and now I'm getting 4 Marriott Points/$ and the change will easily net us an additional 1-2k points or more per month.

Most of the properties we frequent didn't have a category change with the merger and a couple actually went down in category so this has been a win-win for us...minus the hiccups of actually merging the rewards program.
Question, my wife works for marriott. Any idea if I can get the point value even with her discount. We're staying at Courtyards for $39-$49 a night pretty much every where we go so not sure if we'd still get the point perk.

I don't see why not. With the SPG Biz you'll earn 6x points/$ in additional the 10x/points/$ for being a rewards member so you'll net 16 marriott reward points/$ with the exception of Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites where you'll earn 5x marriott points/$.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Broke_Triathlete — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:04:50 GMT

Wow.... seems like a no brainer!

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

imaximous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:06:07 GMT

@Broke_Triathlete wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
The SPG Biz works out well in my situation because the wife and I like the Marriott properties (not to fond of how the merger is shaking out but that's another story) and with 2 monster, gas guzzling SUVs, her Civic SI, and my Scat Pack Charger, we burn through a lot of fuel and the 4x points work out well. We have no children so we dine out a lot so it works well there also. We both have cell phones and she has one for work and I've got my grandmother on our plan so we capitalize in that area to.

We accumulate a lot of Marriott Rewards points in a short period of time. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the 33% reduction in point value in the SPG-Marriott merger (and I don't blame them) but for us it was an increase as I was getting 1SPG (3Marriott points)/$ and now I'm getting 4 Marriott Points/$ and the change will easily net us an additional 1-2k points or more per month.

Most of the properties we frequent didn't have a category change with the merger and a couple actually went down in category so this has been a win-win for us...minus the hiccups of actually merging the rewards program.
Question, my wife works for marriott. Any idea if I can get the point value even with her discount. We're staying at Courtyards for $39-$49 a night pretty much every where we go so not sure if we'd still get the point perk.

You get any bonus points charged on the credit card, but you already know you don't get the points for the stays. I too have family working at marriott/spg and the employee rate is great except not getting any points for staying at their properties. One thing I noticed recently at a Marriott in France is that I didn't even get credit for extra charges, like restaurant meals charged to my room. When I used to stay at SPG only because that's where family is, they always gave me the points for restaurant charges and parking, at least.

Anyway, sorry for the thread hijack.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

imaximous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:07:54 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
@Broke_Triathlete wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
The SPG Biz works out well in my situation because the wife and I like the Marriott properties (not to fond of how the merger is shaking out but that's another story) and with 2 monster, gas guzzling SUVs, her Civic SI, and my Scat Pack Charger, we burn through a lot of fuel and the 4x points work out well. We have no children so we dine out a lot so it works well there also. We both have cell phones and she has one for work and I've got my grandmother on our plan so we capitalize in that area to.

We accumulate a lot of Marriott Rewards points in a short period of time. I know a lot of folks didn't care for the 33% reduction in point value in the SPG-Marriott merger (and I don't blame them) but for us it was an increase as I was getting 1SPG (3Marriott points)/$ and now I'm getting 4 Marriott Points/$ and the change will easily net us an additional 1-2k points or more per month.

Most of the properties we frequent didn't have a category change with the merger and a couple actually went down in category so this has been a win-win for us...minus the hiccups of actually merging the rewards program.
Question, my wife works for marriott. Any idea if I can get the point value even with her discount. We're staying at Courtyards for $39-$49 a night pretty much every where we go so not sure if we'd still get the point perk.
I don't see why not. With the SPG Biz you'll earn 6x points/$ in additional the 10x/points/$ for being a rewards member so you'll net 16 marriott reward points/$ with the exception of Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites where you'll earn 5x marriott points/$.

credit card point, yes. Not any points for stays because family rate doesn't allow points earning. Rooms are already heavily discounted. Been nagging about it for 20 years, haha.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:22:28 GMT

I don't really understand why people have 6 or more cards and use one for every type of purchase. Seems like a big hassle and you would be better getting 6 or 7 sign up bonuses and you would end up with a lot more in the end.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 16:03:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Shadowfactor wrote:
But if you have a Samsung phone, the Altitude Reserve is hard to beat if you truly want to carry only one card. (4.5%) on mobile pay.

Works with Apple Pay too. Points are worth 3% in cash or 4.5% in travel.

Right, but Apple Pay only works where there are NFC terminals. Samsung Pay works (almost) everywhere as it can simulate a physical swipe.

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

K-in-Boston — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 16:12:36 GMT

@imaximous wrote:
You get any bonus points charged on the credit card, but you already know you don't get the points for the stays. I too have family working at marriott/spg and the employee rate is great except not getting any points for staying at their properties. One thing I noticed recently at a Marriott in France is that I didn't even get credit for extra charges, like restaurant meals charged to my room. When I used to stay at SPG only because that's where family is, they always gave me the points for restaurant charges and parking, at least.
Anyway, sorry for the thread hijack.

You should get points (plus any elite status multiplier) for any@ charges made to the room outside of the room rate (unless it's one of the brands that didn't earn non-room-rate points prior to the big changes in August 2018). Shoot an email to the front desk to request the points or contact @MarriottRewards on Twitter. I had a similar issue with points not automatically posting for cash upgrade and other charges made to our room in Paris this year. The Twitter team took a day to get back to me, then they forwarded my request to the hotel. The hotel got back to me with an apology and stated that they should have been credited automatically and said they would put them through again. I still didn't see the points a few weeks later and followed up; the 20k or so points were in my account the following day!

Re: Tired of figuring out what card to pull at the POS?

UpperNwGuy — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 17:07:19 GMT

One of my rules is never to carry more than 3 cards in my wallet at any one time. If you're slicing and dicing your spending onto 4 or more cards, you've probably passed the point of diminishing returns.