@Anonymous wrote:Echo what Aim High said on Alliant. No bueno with an AF ...
If you want to increase your overall Return on Spend (ROS) from 2-3% to 5-8%, it's going to get a lot more complicated.
You are going to have to do your research and
1) optimize specific categories (such as 5% on utility spend with US Bank Cash+ and 5% on gas with Ducks Unlimited)
2) start earning points in addition to simple cash back
3) learn about transfer partners (that make sense for your location) where you can maximize point values
4) start earning SUBs
If you don't have time for all that, stick with the simple plan and be happy with the 2-3% ROS.
+1 Getting the highest returns takes a lot of work.
And optimizing across-the-board adds a lot of complexity for a diminishing reward value.
At some point, what is the cost of managing multiple cards and payments?
And when it gets to points, finding places you'd be spending money anyway is important. If you're buying hotel rooms or flights or cabin-class upgrades that you wouldn't be buying otherwise, you might be better off with a more simple strategy. Plus, with points, if you're in more than one system, you may find your spend won't support reasonable redemptions among them all. Sure, you might be able to get 5-8% with points, but those calculations take much more work and YMMV. And of course, more to manage in terms of watching for point devaluations or AF increases that change valuation. Cash is cash.
With a rock-bottom minimum of 2% and overall 2-3% counting a few higher-paying categories, you're actually doing reasonably well while keeping things simple.
