Expanding. Which Cards, and Why?

[Anonymous]

Yea, I didn't have enough work credits for SSDI so I'm just on SSI and Medicaid... The Propel seems to be the most interesting no AF card I've been able to find. But even so, it's only about 1% more in reward value than the 2% CB the Amazon Prime and Citi DC cards give.

I looked at the Deserve Pro too, it does 3% back on travel and entertainment... I'd assume that means gas, but I'd have to look more into it.

I'm wondering if I should get the Freedom or Discover It instead of the Propel and just try to use those categories to fill in the gaps. Looks like the Freedom does 5% back at gas stations Jan-Mar and Jul-Sept. 🤔 I can then worry about more specific travel-related cards if/when I find myself traveling more frequently.

[digitek]

Honestly you are looking pretty solid. You have cards that are useful to your spend. The Cash+ is a good new addition. Some people like Discover but I'm not a fan of rotating categories and their other cards are beat by other cards.

The one category you are missing that people generally have a lot of spend on is groceries. If you look at your monthly spend it is likely one of your highest single spend categories.

Since it seems you have 4 cards and are looking for 5 I would recommend the Amex BCE as your last. Amex is solid issuer and they offer Amex Offers that you can just add to your card that are basically coupons. They offer a lot of them and they change, most are garbage, but every once in a while you can snag a good one that can save you some bucks.

Your profile looks good and you know what you want and already have some really good cards that fit your spend. Nice job man 👍

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yea, I didn't have enough work credits for SSDI so I'm just on SSI and Medicaid... but yea, the Propel seems to be the most interesting no AF card I've been able to find. But even so, it's only about 1% more in reward value than the 2% CB the Amazon Prime and Citi DC cards give.

I looked at the Deserve Pro too, it does 3% back on travel and entertainment... I'd assume that means gas, but I'd have to look more into it.

I'm wondering if I should get the Freedom or Discover It instead of the Propel and just try to use those categories to fill in the gaps. Looks like the Freedom does 5% back at gas stations Jan-Mar and Jul-Sept. 🤔 I can then worry about more specific travel-related cards if/when I find myself traveling more frequently.

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The Freedom and Discover IT are solid cards. 5% is amazing and the Discover IT would be 10% for the first year. If you can work the categories, you can get $150 a quarter for the first year. 

I personally went for the IT Miles. Sure it's only 1 year at 3% but that's still an extra $100+ in my pocket over a 2% card. Like half a month of groceries. Never know when that can come in handy. I don't want to have to spend money to file taxes because of interest income so I don't keep money in my savings accounts. My credit card float is what I rely on. 

ETA: Totally agreed with digitek that a grocery card is worth looking into. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yea, I didn't have enough work credits for SSDI so I'm just on SSI and Medicaid... The Propel seems to be the most interesting no AF card I've been able to find. But even so, it's only about 1% more in reward value than the 2% CB the Amazon Prime and Citi DC cards give.

I looked at the Deserve Pro too, it does 3% back on travel and entertainment... I'd assume that means gas, but I'd have to look more into it.

I'm wondering if I should get the Freedom or Discover It instead of the Propel and just try to use those categories to fill in the gaps. Looks like the Freedom does 5% back at gas stations Jan-Mar and Jul-Sept. 🤔 I can then worry about more specific travel-related cards if/when I find myself traveling more frequently.

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Thing about propel, is when you combine it with WF visa signature, its 4.5% from dining, travel, gas, when you redeem for flights.

However, I do think your best bet is still 5% rotating category card.

Regarding grocery card, here are a few things to consider:

1. grocery cards typically don't count walmart or target as geocry purchases (amex counts walmart neighberhood market and online grocery)

2. you can buy giftcards (google, amazon, delta, american, southwest, subway, shell) at grocery stores, which essentially allows you to earn those spending at grocery reward rate

3. amex cards have access to "amex offers", which can net $100+ savings per year.

4. if you use points for travel, no AF amex everyday, citi AA milesup card can get you 3-4% back on purchases.

e.g., I have been using IT/freedom's 5% bonus paypal category, and amex Gold's geocery earning to get 8-14% on delta/american/play/amazon gift cards.

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't do much grocery shopping, my housemates do... I normally just pay them back in cash for whatever I need, which is probably less than $150/mo. I also tend to buy things like meal replacement drinks and stuff on Amazon, where I'm already getting 5% off by subscribing, 5% CB on my Prime Rewards, and free shipping.

But the BCE does look like a good card, I'll bookmark that to look into when my grocery spending increases. 👍🏼

[Anonymous]

I do want to caution you that Amazon doesn't always have the best price on the food and medicine category, it is always worth checking walmart when you make those purchases.

And go ahead with freedom and IT.

[Anonymous]

Both? How many cards is the max that one should apply for at a time? I've already applied for the Cash+ and kinda felt like 2 was already kinda pushing it. 🤔

And yea, I always look around to ensure Amazon prices are good. I tend to buy a lot of tech and discontinued items often skyrocket in price, so I'm pretty used to it. But thanks for lookin' out. 🙂

CCT seems to be working again for me today, and looking at my scores:

EXF8: 762, EQF8: 769, TUF8: 792

TU looks to have my credit utilization at 4% whereas the others are a bit behind and still show 10%.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the one to ask about how many cards to grab at once (I spree like crazy - 2-4 every few months) but if you do go for Freedom, I would stop at Cash+ and Freedom so that Chase doesn't shut you down. 

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you mean shut me down while applying for too many new accounts/HPs?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm assuming you mean shut me down while applying for too many new accounts/HPs?

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Yeah. Chase tends to get grumpy if you go on a spree and include one of their cards in the mix. 2 is generally recognized to be safe but I wouldn't push past that.