I also use my Blue Cash the most for groceries, and really have rarely used the Chase card for the same purpose. I must admit though, that at times I am not quite as aware of what card I am using for the spending. Only in the instance of Gas am I that particular. I should probably pay more attention to get the most of the rewards.
Same issue here.
Chase not having any grocery spend is difficult.
Atm I use my CFU for groceries, but I've been tempted to get the BCP for a while now.
@Anonymous wrote:
If you're talking about Ink cards I assume you're comfortable with Amex business cards.
Imo the best setup to utilize both UR and MR with minimal overlap to optimize your return on spend:
Amex:
Platinum and/or Gold, whichever makes sense for you. I'd value 4x MR over 6% cash back. Considering the effective fee of the Gold card after credits is $30 and the BCP has no credits to offset its $95 fee, Imo it'd make more sense to downgrade the BCP and open the Gold card for groceries/restaurant.
Blue Business Plus (2x MR on all purchases)
Chase:
Sapphire Preferred (or Reserve if you want)
Freedom
Ink Cash
Freedom and Ink Cash are the only cards between both ecosystems that offer 5x categories, and by and large those categories don't overlap with any other card here (about once a year the Freedom gets grocery so there's that overlap with the Gold card but that's moot).
Amex Gold for 4x on restaurants and groceries, Platinum for benefits, BBP for 2x on all purchases, Chase Sapphire to utilize the 5x rates of Freedom and Ink Cash for tv/phone/internet/office supply (including gift cards like Amazon at office Depot) and rotating categories. This setup will give you the lion's share of points in both ecosystems.
I am using a variation of yours, I am still debating on whether i want to go all in on amex with BBP or not. Right now its Gold for amex MR restaurants and groceries. UR i am using CF, CFU for 1.5x , ink cash for gas and CIP for 3x travel and cell phone insurance and redemptions. I bring my ink cash as a back up if restaurant doesn't take Amex
@Anonymous wrote:
The Amex Gold Card is tempting with the 4x dining and grocery spend.
I am have been debating using Amex for personal and Chase for business but from what I have seen Amex MR are not as valuable as Chase UR. I will likely use my BCP to the $6k max on groceries which will get me $465 (spend minus AF plus SUB) this year and $265 in year two. This will take a nice chunk out of my car insurance payment as I will not use UR for cash back. It also would not make sense to use the Gold Card for a groceries only for a card with a $250 AF as I can barely find MR points worth more than a penny each even with transfer partners. When transferring to Delta I can get about 1.5 cents per MR based on my research which is nice but Delta points overall has been about less than a cent for me. So the 6% CB makes sense for in regards to the BCP. I am 3/24 now so even if I get the Gold I am still covered.
For the Amex Gold credits I can take advantage of the $120 a year ($10 a month) dining credit as I use grub hub at least once a week. So I would use grub hub once a month to save ~50% off my order and the rest with the CSP. The $100 airline incedental credit I can try the gift card game or use it for JetBlue or Delta. So the AF minus the credits would be $30. But still, If I spent exactly $6000 on groceries in a year I would get the following value:
BCP: ($6000 x 0.06) - $95(AF) = $265
Amex Gold ($6000 x 0.04) - $30(Net AF) = $210
I can get $55 more by using the BCP if I spend exactly $6000 on groceries each year.
Now if I spent $8000 on groceries (regular spend plus gift cards)
BCP: ($6000 x .06) + ($2000 x - .01) - $95(AF) = $285
Amex Gold ($8000 x 0.04) - $30(Net AF) = $290
The Gold Card makes sense by $5 (LOL) if you spend $8000 on groceries in a year as the BCP has a cap of $6000. If you book one flight with the Gold Card at 3X back you can get more value than the BCP. Sometimes I find the flights purchased directly can be the same value as if you booked it elsewhere. The value I placed of a cent per point on Amex MR can be greater if you find a good deal in transfer partners. The $6000 cap on groceries for BCP is the key for me and I have to see if I will spend more than that in a year to justify getting the Gold Card which I can do by purchasing gift cards. I can also pair that with the Blue Business card for 2x back on non cats but I have not been able to see more value for MR than UR. I live in NYC so there are enough transfer partners I can utilize both systems.
Alternatively I can get apply for a Freedom Card then PC my Freedom Unlimited to another Freedom Card. I would get the Ink Unlimited for non catagory spends at the same rate as the CFU. So I would hit the $1500 quarterly max on Groceries just on regular spend but get a $100 gift card to the grocery store I use each time I buy groceries so I can essentially max out the bonus twice. $3000 on groceries would get me 15,000 UR which I can redeem for $225 through the CSR travel portal. More if I use transfer partners. That is only one quarter. Gas is a wash because my job pays for it and I have to use their fleet card so the only thing I would buy from gas stations would be coffee and gift cards if they had it. Maybe beer LOL Not to mention the other quarterly catagories I would get 5x back on. To use the Freedom Cards in one quarter would mean getting enough gift cards for three months so essentially making the Amex Gold not profitable along with the BCP. There are no downgrade paths that lead to a no AF card for the Gold but the BCP does.
I kind of want to see what the Freedom catagories will be for 2019 to make a decision on this one. I got the CSP, BCP, and CFU within the last three months so getting a Freedom Card will have to wait until January. Then I will either get the Ink Cash or Preferred in June then PC my CFU to a Freedom card in September 2019 and my CSP to a CSR in November 2019. I will then PC my BCP to the no AF card and use it for Amex offers and online subs. I do not count signup bonuses when calculating value as this is for the long game.
I kind of fear putting all of my eggs in Chase's basket and if I get too many cards too soon they can shut me down which I hear is more common. As stated I got the CFU on September 25, 2018, the CSP and BCP on November 1, 2018. My strategy would be:
Chase Freedom - January 1, 2019
Chase Ink Cash or Preferred - June 1, 2019
Chase Ink Preferred October 1, 2019
I am at 3/24 so the above will put me at 4/24. Business cards do not count against 5/24 but if you are at or over 5/24 you cannot get them from what I understand. Think this is spread out enough to not raise flags?
After rambling and figuring stuff out living in two ecosystems makes sense but if I want to pool my spend in UR I have to get a little more creative using the CF. I think for the long game for me is to have the above Chase cards and use the Amex Plat for purchase flights directly and the perks. Essentially I would have $1000 in AF between the CSR and Amex Plat but I can get a lot more value than what I pay with the perks and credits alone. Plus my Global Entry is up next year so it can be even more profitable.
This is what I like and hate about points crunching. It is exciting and a great hobby but making the wrong decision is hard to recover from which is why so much thought and research is put into it.
The one thing i would note if you are spending mr the way you should be aka not for cash redemptions, then 1mr=~2cpp, so for your original calculation vs BCP it would be close to ~400 dollar value for travel vs 265 for BCP.