topic Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup... in SmorgasBoard

For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

cws-21 — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 20:19:55 GMT

I, intentionally, have what I consider to be a minimalist, cash back lineup. At this point in time, I have a total of eight credit cards, which includes a near useless credit union card that I only keep because it is my oldest. My minimalist, cash back lineup is provided below, not as the only or best, but as an example and point of reference. There are a variety of reasons as to why I have the cards that I do, but, for the most part, I have a grocery card, a dining card, a gas card, a card with cellphone protection, an Amazon card, a no foreign transaction fee Visa card (same as Amazon card), a Target card, a (hopefully) future no foreign transaction fee Mastercard card (same as Target card), and a 2% everything card. I have been contemplating getting an Elan Max Cash Mastercard for utilities and, possibly, cellphone (5% cash back and cellphone protection), but, aside from that, I do not have any intention at this moment to add more cards to the seven that I use every month. I can still be enticed to get a new card, but it just takes more to do so for me than it does for others (of course, no judgment--to each his or her own). I may replace specific cards such as the Citi Double Cash with the AOD Visa (if possible for me to get the AOD Visa) or the Chase Amazon (especially if Chase loses it) with the Affinity Cash Rewards Visa.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred (mostly for 6% cash back on groceries, but also Amex Offers)
Citi Custom Cash Card (mostly for 5% cash back on dining, but also on groceries, to complement BCP, or gas, if ever my Ducks Unlimited goes away)
First Bankcard Ducks Unlimited Rewards Visa Card (mostly for 5% cash back on gas and in-store convenience store purchases, but also 5% cash back on sporting goods)
Wells Fargo Propel Amex Card (mostly for cellphone protection, but also 3% cash back on transit and travel as well as Amex Offers and Wells Fargo Deals)
Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card (for 5% cash back at Amazon and no foreign transaction Visa, but also Chase Offers)
Target RedCard Credit Card (for 5% cash back at Target and, hopefully, no foreign transaction fee Mastercard in the future if converted)
Citi Double Cash Card (for 2% cash back on everything else)

I am curious about who else is out there in the myFICO universe with a similar approach/strategy/philosophy. If you are like-minded, I have a few questions, in no particular order, to which I would be interested in reading folks' responses. Feel free to answer any questions, all questions, or provide any other information that you would like to share that others (and I) may find interesting. The questions are really just to get the discussion started as I am sure there are many others questions that could or may even be better to be asked.

What does a minimalist approach/strategy/philosophy mean to you?

Why have you purposefully pursued a minimalist lineup (e.g., more accounts would be too much for you to manage)?

What cards are in your minimalist lineup and why did they make the cut while others did not?

Do you have a specific number of cards that you try to stay below? An ultimate number of cards for which you are pursuing?

Do you have any other "rules," established by yourself, that you try to follow (e.g., I typically won't pursue a card that will only yield a 1% increase in cash back)?

Have you sought out particular types of cards (e.g., rotating categories, flat 2/3%, etc.)?

Do you want to cover only specific categories of spending (e.g., groceries, dining, and gas)?

Do you typically sock drawer cards or close accounts when a card's cash back is no longer beneficial to you (e.g., I closed my Sallie Mae and Uber cards)?

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

SouthJamaica — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 21:38:05 GMT

@cws-21 wrote:
I, intentionally, have what I consider to be a minimalist, cash back lineup. At this point in time, I have a total of eight credit cards, which includes a near useless credit union card that I only keep because it is my oldest. My minimalist, cash back lineup is provided below, not as the only or best, but as an example and point of reference. There are a variety of reasons as to why I have the cards that I do, but, for the most part, I have a grocery card, a dining card, a gas card, a card with cellphone protection, an Amazon card, a no foreign transaction fee Visa card (same as Amazon card), a Target card, a (hopefully) future no foreign transaction fee Mastercard card (same as Target card), and a 2% everything card. I have been contemplating getting an Elan Max Cash Mastercard for utilities and, possibly, cellphone (5% cash back and cellphone protection), but, aside from that, I do not have any intention at this moment to add more cards to the seven that I use every month. I can still be enticed to get a new card, but it just takes more to do so for me than it does for others (of course, no judgment--to each his or her own). I may replace specific cards such as the Citi Double Cash with the AOD Visa (if possible for me to get the AOD Visa) or the Chase Amazon (especially if Chase loses it) with the Affinity Cash Rewards Visa.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred (mostly for 6% cash back on groceries, but also Amex Offers)
Citi Custom Cash Card (mostly for 5% cash back on dining, but also on groceries, to complement BCP, or gas, if ever my Ducks Unlimited goes away)
First Bankcard Ducks Unlimited Rewards Visa Card (mostly for 5% cash back on gas and in-store convenience store purchases, but also 5% cash back on sporting goods)
Wells Fargo Propel Amex Card (mostly for cellphone protection, but also 3% cash back on transit and travel as well as Amex Offers and Wells Fargo Deals)
Chase Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card (for 5% cash back at Amazon and no foreign transaction Visa, but also Chase Offers)
Target RedCard Credit Card (for 5% cash back at Target and, hopefully, no foreign transaction fee Mastercard in the future if converted)
Citi Double Cash Card (for 2% cash back on everything else)
I am curious about who else is out there in the myFICO universe with a similar approach/strategy/philosophy. If you are like-minded, I have a few questions, in no particular order, to which I would be interested in reading folks' responses. Feel free to answer any questions, all questions, or provide any other information that you would like to share that others (and I) may find interesting. The questions are really just to get the discussion started as I am sure there are many others questions that could or may even be better to be asked.

What does a minimalist approach/strategy/philosophy mean to you?

I can tell you what it does not mean to me... having 7 cash back cards. I wouldn't consider that minimalist at all.

Why have you purposefully pursued a minimalist lineup (e.g., more accounts would be too much for you to manage)?

I didn't pursue my credit card lineup in a 'purposeful' manner. I just saw things I liked and applied for them. Some I kept, some I closed.

What cards are in your minimalist lineup and why did they make the cut while others did not?

My lineup of cash back cards, which I don't consider minimalist, consists of Chase Amazon Prime, Citibank Double Cash, PenFed Power Cash, 2 Discover IT cards, and NFCU Cash Rewards. I guess they made the cut because there's nothing about them that irks me.

Do you have a specific number of cards that you try to stay below? An ultimate number of cards for which you are pursuing?

I don't have specific numbers in mind, but I like to be able to alternate the cards so they don't all become due at the same time, and I don't like to spread each too thin... i.e. I don't actually have much personal spend, so I don't like to spread it out over too many different cards.

Do you have any other "rules," established by yourself, that you try to follow (e.g., I typically won't pursue a card that will only yield a 1% increase in cash back)?

I didn't think I had any rules, but I certainly would not even consider a supposedly 'cash back' card that yielded only 1% cash back.

Have you sought out particular types of cards (e.g., rotating categories, flat 2/3%, etc.)?

I much prefer flat to categories. I don't have enough brain cells to worry about categories.

Do you want to cover only specific categories of spending (e.g., groceries, dining, and gas)?

I wish they covered more categories than they do. I don't spend much but I do pay a lot of bills, almost none of which get me anything.

Do you typically sock drawer cards or close accounts when a card's cash back is no longer beneficial to you (e.g., I closed my Sallie Mae and Uber cards)?

I typically close cards rather than sock drawer them. I don't have a single 'sock drawer' card. I'm afraid to have an open card which I don't use, both because (a) I don't like 'adverse action' and (b) I fear fraud and identity theft.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Aim_High — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:06:31 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cws-21 wrote:
I, intentionally, have what I consider to be a minimalist, cash back lineup.
At this point in time, I have a total of eight credit cards,
What does a minimalist approach/strategy/philosophy mean to you?

I can tell you what it does not mean to me... having 7 cash back cards.
I wouldn't consider that minimalist at all.

I think the problem we get into here is that the definition of "minimalist" can vary widely. And My Fico'ers who attempt to optimize cash back will by nature get MORE cards to some extent. It's just a matter of how far you want to optimize your rewards and that point where, as asked by @cws-21, additional rewards become marginalized to not further pursue. Consequently, "Minimalist Cashback Strategy" is almost an oxymoron and subject to a wide range of profiles.

I know some members who purposefully have ONE card or maybe no more than THREE cards. Those are true minimalists. But they almost certainly are not optimizing rewards even though they have a simple lineup that works for them. They may diversify between multiple lenders, may have a card that offers a lower APR, and may choose a variety of payment networks like AX/MC/VS. If they are also pursuing cash back, they probably have at least one uncapped uncategorized card that earns overall high rewards.

An excellent card for a profile like this would be the AOD FCU 3% Visa Signature. An alternative would be the Bank of America Premium Rewards card with Platinum Honors Preferred Rewards status that earns 3.5% cash-back on all dining and travel and 2.625% cash-back on everything else. If you couple the PR with a Customized Cash Rewards card (with Platinum Honors), you could also earn 3.5% on groceries and warehouse clubs and 5.25% on a selected category like gas, with a total cap of $2500 per quarter on those combined spending categories. That's a pretty good general return with a 2-card combo, and you could call it a day.

I know others who have a little more loose definition of the minimalist label who choose to slightly diversify into cash back up to about 5-10 cards. We have quite a few of those on the forums; members without travel points cards, who pay little to no AFs, and who have managed to successfully target their highest spending categories with a single card (although perhaps without a backup if categories or cards are nerfed.) For those who want "back-up" cards, it's easy to get into the low double-digits and still consider yourself a "minimalist" IMO.

Profile and lifestyle could also dictate the number of cards a "minimalist" would carry. For example, someone who spends a lot of money might need more cards.

I consider anyone who consciously limits their cards to some level as a minimalist, as opposed to a card-collector strategy who never gives it much thought. I've become more thoughtful of my card selection over the years and I think it's also natural to allow the number of cards to grow and evolve as your profile ages. So even with my 20 current cards, I consider myself somewhat of a minimalist since I'm very deliberate about adding cards and don't want to add/keep cards that are not serving a unique purpose. I have a few that I could easily cut and that, also, is a conscious focus. To me, a conscious focus on minimizing or limiting cards is one trait of a "minimalist." Recently, even @credit_is_crack had a thread about minimizing and posted a "culled-down" list of 19 cards! So it's all in the perspective.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Off-With-Their-Heads/m-p/6385444#M1787519

@cws-21and I had a PM discussion about my "less cards with higher limits" strategy and this discussion expands a little on that for cash-back cards. My strategy is more of a combination of travel points and cash back. While I never intended to be a true minimalist down to the point of three cards or less, I did have an ongoing-discussion with another member who had done just that and I considered what that would look like for me. In the end, it was a change that I just didn't feel was right or necessary for me.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Aim_High — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:15:33 GMT

Among other members, I think @Kforce might have something to contribute here based on several other postings including this recent one:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Off-With-Their-Heads/m-p/6386446#M1787776

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

cws-21 — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:16:44 GMT

@SouthJamaica, thank you for the reply. Maybe I should not have referred to a seven card cash back lineup as minimalist, but, IMHO, having 7-8 cards total is minimalist, at least, it seems so compared to the number of cards many other myFICOers have in their signatures. I think you misinterpreted my example given your comment "I certainly would not even consider a supposedly 'cash back' card that yielded only 1% cash back." I mentioned "I typically won't pursue a card that will only yield a 1% increase in cash back." I good example of what I meant is potentially replacing my Wells Fargo Propel with 3% dining for a USB AltGO with 4x points for dining, which would be a 1% increase in cash back. We are definitely in agreement regarding not loving rotating category cards and preferring to close accounts rather than sock drawer cards.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

cws-21 — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:31:26 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
Among other members, I think @Kforce might have something to contribute here based on several other postings including this recent one:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Off-With-Their-Heads/m-p/6386446#M1787776

I always appreciate your insights, @Aim_High. Interestingly, I have been thinking about recent posts from @Kforce and @credit_is_crack prior to making this post!

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

SouthJamaica — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:33:33 GMT

@cws-21 wrote:
@SouthJamaica, thank you for the reply. Maybe I should not have referred to a seven card cash back lineup as minimalist, but, IMHO, having 7-8 cards total is minimalist, at least, it seems so compared to the number of cards many other myFICOers have in their signatures. I think you misinterpreted my example given your comment "I certainly would not even consider a supposedly 'cash back' card that yielded only 1% cash back." I mentioned "I typically won't pursue a card that will only yield a 1% increase in cash back." I good example of what I meant is potentially replacing my Wells Fargo Propel with 3% dining for a USB AltGO with 4x points for dining, which would be a 1% increase in cash back. We are definitely in agreement regarding not loving rotating category cards and preferring to close accounts rather than sock drawer cards.

Yes I did misunderstand what you meant by that. Sorry.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

cws-21 — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 23:40:35 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cws-21 wrote:
@SouthJamaica, thank you for the reply. Maybe I should not have referred to a seven card cash back lineup as minimalist, but, IMHO, having 7-8 cards total is minimalist, at least, it seems so compared to the number of cards many other myFICOers have in their signatures. I think you misinterpreted my example given your comment "I certainly would not even consider a supposedly 'cash back' card that yielded only 1% cash back." I mentioned "I typically won't pursue a card that will only yield a 1% increase in cash back." I good example of what I meant is potentially replacing my Wells Fargo Propel with 3% dining for a USB AltGO with 4x points for dining, which would be a 1% increase in cash back. We are definitely in agreement regarding not loving rotating category cards and preferring to close accounts rather than sock drawer cards.

Yes I did misunderstand what you meant by that. Sorry.

No worries, @SouthJamaica. I probably could have been more clear. Thanks again for the reply.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Trini88 — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 00:05:39 GMT

Each of my cards serve a purpose except for my Victoria's Secret card.

Walmart MasterCard for 5% cash back for my Walmart grocery pickup.

Target Redcard for 5% off my purchases at Target.

SavorOne for 3% cash back on dining and 3% cash back on grocery stores that are not Walmart and Target.

Americard I want to convert to cash rewards to use on 3% cash back on online shopping.

Discover It for the 5% rotating categories.

Quicksilver I use on my bills which I will be replacing with a 2% cash back card but let's all be honest, I love this card because Capital One is the ONLY credit card company I have that doesn't freeze my card if I swipe it somewhere I've never been lol. It's my go to card to use in any store I've never shopped at. So even though I'm replacing it I'll still be using it at clothing/ drugstores.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 04:49:14 GMT

@Trini88 wrote:
Quicksilver I use on my bills which I will be replacing with a 2% cash back card but let's all be honest, I love this card because Capital One is the ONLY credit card company I have that doesn't freeze my card if I swipe it somewhere I've never been lol. It's my go to card to use in any store I've never shopped at. So even though I'm replacing it I'll still be using it at clothing/ drugstores.

Wait what? I've had cards from any number of issuers over the years and I've never had a CC company that routinely froze my cards if I swiped at a new store - even across state lines.

Are you sure it isn't some kind of elevated fraud-prevention/security setting you selected on your cards?

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Trini88 — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 21:38:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Trini88 wrote:
Quicksilver I use on my bills which I will be replacing with a 2% cash back card but let's all be honest, I love this card because Capital One is the ONLY credit card company I have that doesn't freeze my card if I swipe it somewhere I've never been lol. It's my go to card to use in any store I've never shopped at. So even though I'm replacing it I'll still be using it at clothing/ drugstores.
Wait what? I've had cards from any number of issuers over the years and I've never had a CC company that routinely froze my cards if I swiped at a new store - even across state lines.

Are you sure it isn't some kind of elevated fraud-prevention/security setting you selected on your cards?

No clue, probably.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Horseshoez — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 12:26:03 GMT

@cws-21 wrote:
I, intentionally, have what I consider to be a minimalist, cash back lineup. At this point in time, I have a total of eight credit cards, which includes a near useless credit union card that I only keep because it is my oldest.

LOL, I need to echo a sentiment written above, eight cards doesn't even remotely qualify as "minimalist"; to my way of thinking, the three cards I have doesn't even qualify for the minimalist tag. So, what would? I'm thinking one, and only one card, something like a CapOne Savor and call it a day.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Schwartzinator — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:20:10 GMT

I feel like I don't even qualify as a minimalist with 3 cards...but to each their own!

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Aim_High — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 20:36:38 GMT

@Schwartzinator wrote:
I feel like I don't even qualify as a minimalist with 3 cards...but to each their own!

Well, I would call that minimalist, @Schwartzinator! I tried envisioning three cards and while the simplification was appealing on some levels, that was a bridge too far for the Aim-Meister! I guess minimalism is not only relative but also a process instead of a destination.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

digitek — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 21:19:07 GMT

I am liking the idea of using less cards, but am at a level that I am OK with managing. I have 9 cards, but only 6 lenders. It made a lot more sense to juggle more cards when the non-category norm was 2%, but lately when I look at the raw numbers from my spend it is getting harder to justify.

I want to point out that when it comes to rewards and cards I think for most people it will be a sharp exponential curve in the number of cards added and their actual return in relation to overall spend. If you can just use one 3% card you get a lot of cash back from just one card. If you consider total CC spend and total rewards, any card you add after that will only add maybe .1% or .2%, and maybe not even that if your total CC spend is high enough and/or category spend not high enough.

I've thought about which I would keep of the ones I have and it would rank them in the order of which I would keep first:

Altitude Reserve

USAlliance

Vantage West

The rest of them really don't save me that much money. The math is just really tough for the other cards/categories if you are up against either 4.5% with Altitude Reserve if I can use Samsung Pay, 3% with USAlliance if I can't, or 5% if it is restaurant/fast food/bars.

SDFCU is solid and hard to get so I keep around as backup, USAA is oldest and 5% gas but that only really saves me $20/year, Cash+ is kind of pain to use for utilities and I don't even bother so it just does streaming/internet and only saves me $20/year, Lowe's is kind of fun to have but maybe saves $100/year, Amazon is easy to get/use and pretty much pays for Prime subscription each year, Delta is for companion pass/free checked bags and I use them a lot anyway.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

cws-21 — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 04:42:09 GMT

For me, minimalist, regardless of what we are talking about, is a matter of degree, not an issue of either/or. For example, I would agree that an individual with one outfit would be a minimalist when it comes to clothing, but I would consider someone with two outfits or five to similarly be minimalists. The person with one outfit would undoubtedly be more minimalist than the person with five, but, to me, they would both be minimalists. Back to cash back credit cards, a total of seven cards seems to be relatively minimal compared to the total number of cards of many, or maybe even most, people on myFICO.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Taurus22 — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 21:40:02 GMT

I think I fall into the category @Aim_High referred to as Optimizer. I try to maximize the amount of cashback I earn on organic spend from the least amount of cards possible. Which, to some degree I guess is a minimalist approach. I don't have back-up cards, or backups for my backups. I am guided by a self-imposed strategy that I've adopted simply from my time being involved in credit-building.

1) Maximize cashback with as few cards as possible (5%+ Chaser) for organic spending (10-12 cards)

(4-5 cards) would ever be in my wallet (Grocery, Gas, Restaurants, General Non-Category)

The rest would be at home for Bill Pay, Online Shopping, and Specialized Category

2) Have cards from all 4 major issuers (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover) so all are reporting

3) Try to restrict myself to one card per lender if possible (if AA occurs with any lender, it affects only 1 card)

4) Stick to Prime lenders and CU's (no store cards, no SYNCB, no Comenity, not a fan of CapOne)

5) Cards which have category versatility are highly valued (USB Cash+, Elan Max Cash, Citi CustomCash, etc)

6) Prefer CC's with Cashback option as opposed to Statement Credits if possible

7) Highly prefer no AF, no FTF

8) Rules can be broken for the right cards.

I've posted this list before, but for the sake of this conversation I'll use it again....I almost have all of my major organic spend covered....and that is with 7 cards, 2 of which (red) I am planning to add very soon. (As you can see from my siggy) Discover helps to fill some occasional gaps, BoA I'm holding onto for the relationship (as I'm convinced they have a 5% monster on the horizon, if they are going to keep up with other major lenders in the 5% market), and of course Uber is going away.

Annual Spend.PNG

And I do have potential replacements in mind, should any of these go away. But I'm not going to app for them until it is necessary to do so, keeping in that minimalist mindset. So for me, this works.

If I could somehow add my two Unicorn cards (Vantage West and PCMCU) I think I would officially be done for quite a while. But since I don't have a backdoor for these, I do have some 5% gaps to fill...

(General Walmart, Costco, Travel, Home Improvement) are still not consistently covered @ 5%+

So, yeah.....I'm an Optimizer, with a minimalist approach.

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Kforce — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 21:16:04 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
Among other members, I think @Kforce might have something to contribute here based on several other postings including this recent one:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Off-With-Their-Heads/m-p/6386446#M1787776

I would be content with just two cards a MC and a Visa each with good rewards. --- Except for --->

knowing how Fico Scores are calculated.

Having very aged accounts helps AAOA's and Fico wants 3 or more cards for best scores. I have two just for age. I have another two as backup because my favorite cards have often been closed aka "Nerfed" many time thru my credit journey. Keeping them alive again is better for scoring because of age, inquiries and resetting new account age. Less of scoring hit than closing them and maybe next year getting them again. I would not care but Fico does.

{ Use 2, Have 2 for age, and 2 more for rewards backup set.}

4 unnecessary cards except Fico scoring.

If I could only not care

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Kforce — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 21:41:06 GMT

@Taurus22 wrote:
I think I fall into the category @Aim_High referred to as Optimizer. I try to maximize the amount of cashback I earn on organic spend from the least amount of cards possible. Which, to some degree I guess is a minimalist approach. I don't have back-up cards, or backups for my backups. I am guided by a self-imposed strategy that I've adopted simply from my time being involved in credit-building.

1) Maximize cashback with as few cards as possible (5%+ Chaser) for organic spending (10-12 cards)
(4-5 cards) would ever be in my wallet (Grocery, Gas, Restaurants, General Non-Category)
The rest would be at home for Bill Pay, Online Shopping, and Specialized Category
2) Have cards from all 4 major issuers (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover) so all are reporting
3) Try to restrict myself to one card per lender if possible (if AA occurs with any lender, it affects only 1 card)
4) Stick to Prime lenders and CU's (no store cards, no SYNCB, no Comenity, not a fan of CapOne)
5) Cards which have category versatility are highly valued (USB Cash+, Elan Max Cash, Citi CustomCash, etc)
6) Prefer CC's with Cashback option as opposed to Statement Credits if possible
7) Highly prefer no AF, no FTF
8) Rules can be broken for the right cards.

I've posted this list before, but for the sake of this conversation I'll use it again....I almost have all of my major organic spend covered....and that is with 7 cards, 2 of which (red) I am planning to add very soon. (As you can see from my siggy) Discover helps to fill some occasional gaps, BoA I'm holding onto for the relationship (as I'm convinced they have a 5% monster on the horizon, if they are going to keep up with other major lenders in the 5% market), and of course Uber is going away.

Annual Spend.PNG

And I do have potential replacements in mind, should any of these go away. But I'm not going to app for them until it is necessary to do so, keeping in that minimalist mindset. So for me, this works.
If I could somehow add my two Unicorn cards (Vantage West and PCMCU) I think I would officially be done for quite a while. But since I don't have a backdoor for these, I do have some 5% gaps to fill...
(General Walmart, Costco, Travel, Home Improvement) are still not consistently covered @ 5%+

So, yeah.....I'm an Optimizer, with a minimalist approach.

I was playing today and did some math with you cards.

Depending on point of view one could call your set as over kill.

Using minimum wage and 6 minutes per card each month to manage, pay, etc.

I calculated each cards value after your time (lowercase m-s)

Total net rewards of $75.75/mo

With just one 3% (AOD) you could net $55/mo

That is 73% of the amount with seven cards, and only ~$21 gain over a single card.

You could put the spend of your low 3 cards on the AOD and with the higher 4 cards get

~$72 which is 95% the value of the 7 current cards.

You have 3 cards that I would cut.

CC_Play_t1.jpg

Re: For those with a minimalist, cash back lineup...

Taurus22 — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 02:02:12 GMT

@Kforce

I appreciate the time you've taken to work up this comparison. Trust me, I've done the math many times over.

But in regards to your proposal of dropping my 3 low cards....according to my chart, this would be referring to these 3 cards:

1) Elan Max Cash MC

2) FNBO Ducks UNL

3) Affinity CR Visa

The problem is, my chart is just a basic, simplified representation of my "estimated annual spend" according to my primary spending. This doesn't include other spending those cards receive and/or other benefits.

1) Elan Max Cash MC - I have not yet applied for this, but it's coming. This would not only provide 5% cashback for cell phone providers, but also provide cell phone insurance of $600/per claim w $50/deductible. Hopefully, I never have to use it, but it sure does give me peace of mind. Also, this card would be providing a 2nd category @ 5% which I can change as needed. Like....Electronics, Furniture.....both of which are usually higher spend when they do occur.

2) FNBO Ducks UNL - Not only does this provide 5% of Gas purchases, (Usually at Costco, as it is Visa) but it also applies to any other purchases inside a convenience store which applies to cigarettes, snacks, drinks, etc. You would be surprised how much cigarettes alone add to that monthly spend. In addition, Sporting Goods is the additional 5% category for this card.....I spend a lot at Academy Sports and other sporting stores for ammo, shoes, and sometimes clothing.

3) Affinity CR Visa - This is the monster. Not only does it provide 5% at Amazon (and my estimated spend above is probably lower than my actual spend) ....it also usually provides 10% Amazon in QTR 4. It also provides 7% for Restaurants, Grocery, and Gas on months where it stacks with its 2% categories. It is also one of my highest limit cards for TCL. This card is going nowhere.

But like I mentioned before, I'm more of an Optimizer, than a pure minimalist. And although a single 3% card would be easier to manage, that's not my goal. I have no problem managing 10 cards, at all. It has actually become rather routine for me. I know many here have many reasons to have 20, 30, 50, 70 cards.....too many reasons to list here. I also know that recently several who have been major contributors to this forum are now, or have recently, started closing many of those cards. I can see how over time, that would be very cumbersome and time-consuming to manage. For me, having ~10 cards is more than manageable, especially given that only 4-5 would ever actually be carried with me for normal daily spend. This is why I have consciously limited myself to the number of cards I have, and have meticulously chosen the cards which I use. In that respect, I do consider it to be minimalist behavior.

It in no way diminishes your point, but the chart doesn't really tell the whole story, so you were basing it off of the information available to you. One of these days I may become burdened with ~10 and figure out a way to reduce it, just as others have been doing. But for now, this totally works for me.