topic Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add? in Credit Cards

Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 03:39:49 GMT

I have an AMEX Gold and would like to add a Chase UR card. Am I foolish to consider this? Should I stick to MR ecosystem? I’m looking for something to compliment the Gold. Don’t really want the Platinum asthe perks aren’t terribly meaningful to me. I do feel the UR ecosystem might be a little better than MR.

Or, should I just apply for BPP and shut up about Chase?

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 14:56:01 GMT

Personally I think CSP/Ink Cash/Freedom/Amex BBP/Amex Plat and/or Gold will give you the best of both ecosystems and really there is little toe stepping between your MR and UR cards: Sapphire is only 2x so using the Gold card for restaurants is a no brainer and for Amex travel for 3x, while the Freedom never has restaurant as a category (Chase does this so it doesn't compete with Sapphire), it tends to have grocery only like once a year, so little to no crossover with the Gold card. Then the Ink Cash gets you 5x on tv/internet/phone/office supply stores (aka gift cards at office Depot including Amazon gift cards), and BBP gets you 2x MR for everything else. Only annual fees are for Gold card and CSP (waived for CSP in year 1 aka test run) and boom you get the lion's share of points from both ecosystems. If you value the Amex Gold's travel credit, might consider grabbing a Penfed Pathfinder as its $100 travel credit and $0 annual fee would effectively offset the CSP's fee (plus $5), and you'd get global entry.

Note: if you only have a single UR card, it has to be CSP/CSR/Ink Preferred as the no AF freedom and ink cards can only supplement the cards that actually earn UR, if you have a freedom alone it only earns cash back (unless you let it sit and get a Sapphire later). And getting a CSP or CSR alone would just put it at odds with the Gold card - the CSR even moreso since it's a bigger investment and gives you 3x over 2x (if you're gonna use Amex or Chase for restaurant/travel, might as well not even bother with CSR's 3x). But things come alive when you add Freedom and Ink Cash and get all of those 5x categories to supplant your Sapphire. Instead of thinking of these as individuals cards, think of it as a single Chase credit product/offering whose core is a CSP. The Ink and Freedom cards have no fee so basically theyre just ways to add quite a few 5x categories to your Sapphire and thus the optimal way to amass UR points. Forunately, especially with a CSP, such a setup can thrive in conjunction with Amex Gold/BBP (of course, BBP is why Freedom Unlimited and Ink Unlimited would be redundant).

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

iced — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:22:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have an AMEX Gold and would like to add a Chase UR card. Am I foolish to consider this? Should I stick to MR ecosystem? I’m looking for something to compliment the Gold. Don’t really want the Platinum asthe perks aren’t terribly meaningful to me. I do feel the UR ecosystem might be a little better than MR.

Or, should I just apply for BPP and shut up about Chase?

It's not that simple. You need to provide more specifics about what you're looking to get out of your card program beyond what you think you're supposed to have. You are off to a good start with recognizing that some cards (Platinum in this case) don't make sense for your individual profile.

Questions that are going to get asked:

- Do you travel? If yes, do you have a prefered airline? Hotel?

- Do you have status already with an airline? Hotel?

- Are you comfortable booking award travel with miles, or are you just looking for a way to convert points into cash toward bookings?

- What does your spend look like? Which categories do you tend to spend the most in?

Slightly OT here, but to you mods out there, I feel like there should be a "what info is needed to ask about X vs Y card program" sticky thread, similar to what they do over in the Mortgage section. I see a lot of threads where someone posts "should I do MR or UR?" or "which hotel card should I get?" or "do I need to get X/Y/Z cards?" without much background information, so we all end up spending 10 posts extracting this information when we could just get it all right off the bat.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 19:06:25 GMT

Great points and sorry I was so vague. You're right in that everybody's situation and goals are different so answers to the same question will vary from person to person. Anyway, here I go. Hopefully my answers to these questions will help you and others with advice and suggestions for me. Thanks...

- Do you travel?

Yes. About 4-5 times a year, all for pleasure, and almost always domestically. A couple times to visit family so hotels are not required.

If yes, do you have a prefered airline?

I'd love to fly on Jet Blue more often but either it is usually too expensive or doesn't fly into my desired destination. It ends up being mostly American, United and some Delta.

Hotel?

No preferred brand although I am more than fine with being loyal to a brand because I they are a partner of my rewards program and/or I can get better perks there because of my reward program. Not interested in the super budget hotels. Places like Hyatt Place or Marriott Courtyard would be my low end and love to stay at Four Seasons, Ritz, Mandarin, St. Regis if I can make it happen. FYI I'd love to use points towards a cruise if that's possible although I don't feel it is from what I've read about the programs.

- Do you have status already with an airline? Hotel?

Member of most airline FF programs and Hotel loyalty programs but don't have status on any of them. Might be nice though

- Are you comfortable booking award travel with miles, or are you just looking for a way to convert points into cash toward bookings?

I am comfortable doing both although I don't want a crazy amount of hoops to jump through to book stuff unless the savings is tremendoous. I'm more interested in convenience than saving a few bucks. Needs to be a lot of bucks to get me to put in significant effort and work to book stuff.

- What does your spend look like? Which categories do you tend to spend the most in?

I spend about $1,200 a month on restaurants and groceries, hence the Gold card which is amazing for me. Another $450/month in cell and cable. $400-$500/month on entertainment (movies, concerts, sports). Rent and auto lease eat up a big chunk and then lots of miscellaneous stuff like clothing, pet, insurance, and many other categories that aren't a huge part of my spend.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

iced — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 19:41:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Great points and sorry I was so vague. You're right in that everybody's situation and goals are different so answers to the same question will vary from person to person. Anyway, here I go. Hopefully my answers to these questions will help you and others with advice and suggestions for me. Thanks...

- Do you travel?
Yes. About 4-5 times a year, all for pleasure, and almost always domestically. A couple times to visit family so hotels are not required.
If yes, do you have a prefered airline?
I'd love to fly on Jet Blue more often but either it is usually too expensive or doesn't fly into my desired destination. It ends up being mostly American, United and some Delta.
Hotel?
No preferred brand although I am more than fine with being loyal to a brand because I they are a partner of my rewards program and/or I can get better perks there because of my reward program. Not interested in the super budget hotels. Places like Hyatt Place or Marriott Courtyard would be my low end and love to stay at Four Seasons, Ritz, Mandarin, St. Regis if I can make it happen. FYI I'd love to use points towards a cruise if that's possible although I don't feel it is from what I've read about the programs.
- Do you have status already with an airline? Hotel?
Member of most airline FF programs and Hotel loyalty programs but don't have status on any of them. Might be nice though
- Are you comfortable booking award travel with miles, or are you just looking for a way to convert points into cash toward bookings?
I am comfortable doing both although I don't want a crazy amount of hoops to jump through to book stuff unless the savings is tremendoous. I'm more interested in convenience than saving a few bucks. Needs to be a lot of bucks to get me to put in significant effort and work to book stuff.
- What does your spend look like? Which categories do you tend to spend the most in?
I spend about $1,200 a month on restaurants and groceries, hence the Gold card which is amazing for me. Another $450/month in cell and cable. $400-$500/month on entertainment (movies, concerts, sports). Rent and auto lease eat up a big chunk and then lots of miscellaneous stuff like clothing, pet, insurance, and many other categories that aren't a huge part of my spend.

If you focus around JetBlue, it looks like you might fall into the category where both UR and MR are equally easy to move into TrueBlue. Mileage bookings are typically quite easy - the trick is finding the flights with the better redemption values. In your case, I would say this is less of an issue as JetBlue is a domestic* airline which has simpler and generally more open award space at saver levels. Because of this equality, in your case I would say UR and MR are of equal value.

With your spend profile, I'm not seeing a lot of reason in getting into UR just yet. Around half of your spend is optimized on the Gold card (dining/groceries). The big multipliers on UR are travel/dining, of which you have a solid dining option already and you don't spend much on travel. You can put the rest of your spend on Gold as well for 1 MR/dollar, or:

1. You can get the CSP and a FU (and optionally also a Freedom) to earn 1.5 UR/dollar. I think that's a diminishing return for you, though - $95 AF plus two new cards (CSP + FU) to effectively earn an extra 5,000 - 10,000 points over putting that spend on a MR card you're already paying for. You'd break even or come out slightly ahead, but that's up to you if you think that extra value is worth the extra work over just running it all through the Gold. You'd run all non-dining/grocery through the FU, and would pay for the CSP for nothing else than the ability to transfer UR to JetBlue. Not efficient, but not the worst you can do, either.

2. Do the above and ditch the Gold. Your grocery and dining point earning will fall, but you'll shift from a $250 AF to a $95 AF to make up for it. You'd pull in around 30,000 fewer points per year for that $155 savings. This is a clear loser for your profile.

Personally, I don't see a reason to jump in to UR right now. Unless you're looking to churn the CSP for the sign-up bonus (and risk invoking the future ire of Chase), there's just not a lot of upside to going that way right now. Re-assess if your spending or travel profile changes, of course.

* - yes, yes, they fly to the Caribbean and Mexico. These are still basically domestic flights on narrowbody jets that happen to require passports. Transoceanic flights open up a different can of worms because they involve multiple classes of service, vastly different redemption costs based on continent/region, and are considerably more expensive (both in dollars and points), which are the reasons they get carved off into a different category as "international", not because they require passports.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 19:54:00 GMT

Incredibly thoughtful response. Thanks! I'll ditch the idea of UR points right now and focus on MR. Will get the BBP to up my take on points for Gold non-bonus categories. 2x on the "everything else" spend will be good. I get a 1099 for a self employment side gig so that should suffice to get the BBP.

Sticking with MR points and will see where it takes me over the next year or so. If I'm happy then awesome. If I feel I could be doing better or travel becomes more frequent for me then I will look at UR products. Wish there were something else on the MR side of things I could sign up for that would get me worthwhile signup bonuses. Ideas? BBP is zero. Thanks again!

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:04:56 GMT

I still think Gold/BBP/CSP/Freedom/Ink Cash will give you the lion's share of points in both ecosystems without having conflicts in terms of cards having the same categories. Especially since you're talking about flying JetBlue and the CSP has no fee in year 1 (between CSP, freedom, and ink cash the SUBs total at least 115k), and you're still under 5/24, I think it's still worth pursuing.

I honestly don't see a good reason not to invest in both. If anyone disagrees, please persuade me, because it hasn't happened yet.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:26:30 GMT

Definitely something to think about. Those UR points are easier to use than MR points I think. Leaning to sticking with one ecosystem for now and seeing how it goes but very possible I follow your suggestion too. Can't everybody just agree and make this easier for me!

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

mongstradamus — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:42:50 GMT

I don’t have the Amex gold , but I will substitutite the EDP which i do have in your example. EDP is usually used more for spending , and my chase cards are basically used for 5x categories and sub since there are so many cards and they don’t have life time language like Amex cards have. It’s not that hard to get 200k + ur by just signing up for cards and meeting min spend for the bonuses.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

iced — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:50:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I still think Gold/BBP/CSP/Freedom/Ink Cash will give you the lion's share of points in both ecosystems without having conflicts in terms of cards having the same categories. Especially since you're talking about flying JetBlue and the CSP has no fee in year 1 (between CSP, freedom, and ink cash the SUBs total at least 115k), and you're still under 5/24, I think it's still worth pursuing.

I honestly don't see a good reason not to invest in both. If anyone disagrees, please persuade me, because it hasn't happened yet.

The argument I would make against your plan is you've pinned most of the reason for doing so on first-year/one-time items (no AF, SUBs). If those are the only/major reasons for someone to go with one program, then that program is doomed to failure after the first year for that person. If there were no SUBs and the standard AF (if the card has one) in the first year, would you still make this recommendation?

If someone is ok with churning cards, the first-year benefits take on more weight since that person will be doing nothing but taking advantage of first-year benefits. Most outside of that niche circle are more interested in long-term value-add from a program rather than those first-year perks.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 21:12:29 GMT

Quick questions...Is the main reason for you suggesting I also do CSP/Freedom/Ink Cash signup bonuses? CSP is 50K, Freedom is $150 (or 15,000 points?) and Ink Cash is $500 (or 50,000 points?)? Then predominantly use AMEX Gold for dining, groceries (both 4x) and airline travel (3x) then use Ink Cash for Cable/Internet/Cell?

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

MrDisco99 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 21:25:21 GMT

There are lots of good MR point signup bonus offers if you know how to look. Use an incognito browser to look for 25K on ED and 25K on Green. On the business side there’s 50K on Business Gold and you can get 10K on BBP via referral. All those cards cost nothing the first year.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 22:12:56 GMT

Iced, I outlined that between the Amex Gold/BPP/Chase Sapphire Preferred/Freedom/Ink Cash, one will be getting the lion's share of points out of both programs. There is very little conflict between the two systems, and they both contain all of the major point earning cards in their respective systems. The OP doesn't see benefit in Amex Platinum, and BPP means no need for Freedom Unlimited. Furthermore, since the Ink Cash and Freedom add 5x categories to the UR earning pool (note that the OP listed spend in the Ink Cash's categories), the Freedom Unlimited is a relatively moot addition to a UR scheme with the Freedom and Ink Cash. Moreover, since the MR cards don't really have a 5x earner besides the Platinum's travel categories, the Freedom and Ink Cash don't conflict with MR earning, and the BPP is an excellent card for this situation: it not only provided 2x to the Freedom Unlimited's 1.5x, it also provided you with a succinct Amex pairing that incidentally represents the majority of what you could get out of the program anyway. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred pretty much is just to utilize the 5x categories from Freedom and Ink Cash. The Amex Gold outdoes the CSP in dining and travel (as long as Amex travel accommodates you), and the Freedom card never has dining/restaurants (chase did this so as not to compete with the Sapphire). Since Freedom gets grocery about once a year, there will only be like one quarter per year where there's a crossover between the Freedom and Amex Gold card (and even then, the Freedom will likely have other categories too), never a crossover with the Ink Cash (which has categories that the OP uses), and the BPP is there to ensure at least 2x in everything else: the Freedom and Ink Cash ensure the lion's share of points in a UR setup without conflicting with a MR setup. Think about it, what would go on Freedom and Ink Cash would otherwise go on BPP, so you're getting 5x UR over 2x MR plus the 115k in SUBs and extra card benefits visa acceptance etc.

*Incidentally* the waived annual fee in year 1 on the CSP and 115 in sign up bonuses makes this course risk-free regardless, and at least they'd be locking in chase cards while they're under 5/24, and the CSP can always be downgraded to a second freedom. No reason to close them, what if Amex goes to crap and/or Chase resurges in a couple of years? Either way, everything in this paragraph is ancillary. Everything before it is the core of my reasoning, which has not been addressed.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

iced — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 22:39:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Iced, I outlined that between the Amex Gold/BPP/Chase Sapphire Preferred/Freedom/Ink Cash, one will be getting the lion's share of points out of both programs. There is very little conflict between the two systems, and they both contain all of the major point earning cards in their respective systems. The OP doesn't see benefit in Amex Platinum, and BPP means no need for Freedom Unlimited. Furthermore, since the Ink Cash and Freedom add 5x categories to the UR earning pool (note that the OP listed spend in the Ink Cash's categories), the Freedom Unlimited is a relatively moot addition to a UR scheme with the Freedom and Ink Cash. Moreover, since the MR cards don't really have a 5x earner besides the Platinum's travel categories, the Freedom and Ink Cash don't conflict with MR earning, and the BPP is an excellent card for this situation: it not only provided 2x to the Freedom Unlimited's 1.5x, it also provided you with a succinct Amex pairing that incidentally represents the majority of what you could get out of the program anyway. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred pretty much is just to utilize the 5x categories from Freedom and Ink Cash. The Amex Gold outdoes the CSP in dining and travel (as long as Amex travel accommodates you), and the Freedom card never has dining/restaurants (chase did this so as not to compete with the Sapphire). Since Freedom gets grocery about once a year, there will only be like one quarter per year where there's a crossover between the Freedom and Amex Gold card (and even then, the Freedom will likely have other categories too), never a crossover with the Ink Cash (which has categories that the OP uses), and the BPP is there to ensure at least 2x in everything else: the Freedom and Ink Cash ensure the lion's share of points in a UR setup without conflicting with a MR setup. Think about it, what would go on Freedom and Ink Cash would otherwise go on BPP, so you're getting 5x UR over 2x MR plus the 115k in SUBs and extra card benefits visa acceptance etc.

My understanding is that both the BPP and Ink Cash are business cards. If the OP is comfortable with this (and there's some evidence in this thread to suggest he/she is), this is a tenable approach. It's similar to the first option I suggested in that the CSP is being used as nothing more than a way to funnel UR from the Freedom and Ink into airline partners. The spend is pretty low, but 5x earning would render it worthwhile in the end.

The OP must to be willing and able to provide proof of business, should either bank ask. If the OP isn't a business and doesn't do any business, impersonating one to get access to cards can end badly.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:27:44 GMT

OP first suggested applying for a business card in the OP, so I assume that's a non-issue. Your original suggestion if I understood was a CSP and a FU and perhaps a Freedom. CSP/FU is weak and counterproductive when paired with Amex Gold and BPP. But if you have CSP/Ink Cash/Freedom, the amount of UR points you'll earn won't be affected significantly if you also had an Amex Gold and BBP - any lost UR points would be traded for twice as many MR points, and those cards would also be totally unaffected in their MR earning potential whether you had the CSP/Ink Cash/Freedom or not. Like I've been saying the whole time, it's very possible to get the lion's share of points out of both systems, but it seems like you now understand that.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:27:50 GMT

@iced wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Iced, I outlined that between the Amex Gold/BPP/Chase Sapphire Preferred/Freedom/Ink Cash, one will be getting the lion's share of points out of both programs. There is very little conflict between the two systems, and they both contain all of the major point earning cards in their respective systems. The OP doesn't see benefit in Amex Platinum, and BPP means no need for Freedom Unlimited. Furthermore, since the Ink Cash and Freedom add 5x categories to the UR earning pool (note that the OP listed spend in the Ink Cash's categories), the Freedom Unlimited is a relatively moot addition to a UR scheme with the Freedom and Ink Cash. Moreover, since the MR cards don't really have a 5x earner besides the Platinum's travel categories, the Freedom and Ink Cash don't conflict with MR earning, and the BPP is an excellent card for this situation: it not only provided 2x to the Freedom Unlimited's 1.5x, it also provided you with a succinct Amex pairing that incidentally represents the majority of what you could get out of the program anyway. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred pretty much is just to utilize the 5x categories from Freedom and Ink Cash. The Amex Gold outdoes the CSP in dining and travel (as long as Amex travel accommodates you), and the Freedom card never has dining/restaurants (chase did this so as not to compete with the Sapphire). Since Freedom gets grocery about once a year, there will only be like one quarter per year where there's a crossover between the Freedom and Amex Gold card (and even then, the Freedom will likely have other categories too), never a crossover with the Ink Cash (which has categories that the OP uses), and the BPP is there to ensure at least 2x in everything else: the Freedom and Ink Cash ensure the lion's share of points in a UR setup without conflicting with a MR setup. Think about it, what would go on Freedom and Ink Cash would otherwise go on BPP, so you're getting 5x UR over 2x MR plus the 115k in SUBs and extra card benefits visa acceptance etc.

My understanding is that both the BPP and Ink Cash are business cards. If the OP is comfortable with this (and there's some evidence in this thread to suggest he/she is), this is a tenable approach. It's similar to the first option I suggested in that the CSP is being used as nothing more than a way to funnel UR from the Freedom and Ink into airline partners. The spend is pretty low, but 5x earning would render it worthwhile in the end.

The OP must to be willing and able to provide proof of business, should either bank ask. If the OP isn't a business and doesn't do any business, impersonating one to get access to cards can end badly.

Hi,

So I am in a similar situation as the OP. My international travel is also limited for now but will travel internationally at least once a year starting end of next year. However I have a different question about optimizing the use/choice of CCs. I currently have the Amex Gold and the Cash magnet. I don't have a business and I don't wanna take the risk of doing a fake sole proprietorship so no 2% with the amex BBP for me.

My question is about the cash back program and the MR program. Would you say that putting the non category spend on the cash magnet for 1.5% cash back makes more sense than putting it on the 1x MR on the gold card. I mean my non category spend is about $500 a month, sometimes a bit more to about $1000 but very rarely I reach that amount which would yield to about 7 to $10 cash back monthly versus 500 to 1000 MR points monthly added to my points from my bonus category spend.

I am pretty knowledgeable about booking award flight tickets and such, so redemption is not an issue for me. It seems that 1000 MR points monthly would be worth more than just $10 cash back, given that I am already getting cash back from my spend at amazon with the Chase Amazon prme card. I am just wondering if I should switch my spend strategy until I get into UR ecosystem later next year after I close with my mortgage application. I am gardening until I'm done with the mortgage stuff.

The only thing is my Magnet will become useless with a 6K SL with no option for business CCs. Any advice?

PS: I really value Iced opinion in this thread. Your reasoning makes more sense to me.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:33:04 GMT

Honestly if you use transfer partners for maximizing MR point value, it's hardly worth using a 1.5% cash back card. For general spend your best bet would be either a 2% card like Citi double cash, getting the PayPal cashback MasterCard/PayPal business debit card set up for 3% cash back (business debit doesn't require a business, anyone with a PayPal acct can get it), or the Chase Freedom Unlimited for 1.5x UR on all purchases, then also you'd need a Sapphire to take advantage of that and you can refer to the earlier part of this thread about utilizing MR with UR just get the Freedom Unlimited instead of the BBP. Basically you'd have only the Amex gold maybe also platinum so mostly perk cards but hey 4x on gold is reasonable for a single card.

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:35:38 GMT

Ok guys. No worries here. I appreciate both of your suggestions. Everything said has been helpful and definitely clarified some things for me.
Yes, I have a 1099 (and tax returns) as proof I receive self employment income. So, that part of it isn’t an issue for me.
For now I’m going to go with the Gold I already have and pick up a BBP to supplement it for MR. I will then strongly consider the CSP/Ink Cash/Freed I’m tri if I decide I want to wade into the UR waters. Makes sense but just don’t know if I want to juggle five cards.
Thanks for your advice. All of it spot on!!

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:51:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Honestly if you use transfer partners for maximizing MR point value, it's hardly worth using a 1.5% cash back card. For general spend your best bet would be either a 2% card like Citi double cash, getting the PayPal cashback MasterCard/PayPal business debit card set up for 3% cash back (business debit doesn't require a business, anyone with a PayPal acct can get it), or the Chase Freedom Unlimited for 1.5x UR on all purchases, then also you'd need a Sapphire to take advantage of that and you can refer to the earlier part of this thread about utilizing MR with UR just get the Freedom Unlimited instead of the BBP. Basically you'd have only the Amex gold maybe also platinum so mostly perk cards but hey 4x on gold is reasonable for a single card.

Yeah these are interesting cards and you're right about the 1.5% not worth it. I think I'll just switch all my automatic bill payments on the Gold for now and put my general spend there until I'm done gardening, so all in for the Gold besides amazon purchases and occasional amex non acceptance. Then I'll jump in the UR ecosystem to boost my general spend with the FU ( and maybe Freedom) and Sapphire Card (probalby the reserve for the lounge access and travel credit) especially for international spend. Platinum is just a headache to maximize the credits you get with it.

Thanks again for the valuable input!

Re: Got AMEX Gold, what Chase UR card should I add?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 01:30:50 GMT

I’m curious, how do you find me Amazon prime card? Do you use it exclusively for Amazon purchases and basically nothing else? It’s a good supplemental card I think for the single bonus category of Amazon.
Anything else about the car you think I should know?