I spend most on the resturant category which is usually always a part of one quarter of the categories and since I have both Chase Freedom and Discover IT usually I can get at least half the year with both of them. I do spend a considerable amount in them then, but usually have to revert back to my general Rewards cards which you might find more beneficial if you get them.
4% gas and 3% restaurant are of course going be better than any 2% general card which then for me at least the difference between 4% gas and 5% isn't enough for me to care about carrying the Chase or Discover.
If it wasn't for me paying my rent with the discover it miles 3% back It would be halfway in the sock drawer until a big purchase comes up. I don't spend much outside of categories but I do have some big purchases coming at the end of the year.
@Anonymous wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:All things considered, my wife has a hard time keeping up with what card to use where sometimes and it's just easier to tell her "Put it on AOD..."
She's got grocery (BCP) and gas (Discover) and Home Depot (Freedom) figured out for now, but otherwise my AOD account is still getting a lot of use!
I'm curious why you're using Disco for gas when the BCP gets a higher return?
I think for the most part a person doesn't need every card on their person to maximize rewards, just the ones that earn daily cats like food/grocey and gas/transit. Most of tehe other ones like Utilties/Bills would tend be autopay or at least be fine as SD'd card. I means I too used to struggle with "what card to carry and when", so much so that my wallet and phone caer were full. Now I only need Gold(dining), BCP/Freedom(grocery) and a third general spend.
Disco is currently 5% (if his wife has the rotating cat Disco), which beats BCP's 3%
When the rotating cat cards do not have gas as a 5% option, my BCP definitely gets the spend, but otherwise, I hope to stick it on the Disco or Chase.
If my Quicksilver didnt have such a low limit I wouldn't feel motivated to get a 2% card just for a 25% increase in cashback . I would just wait and apply for the AOD when my DTI goes down but since the limit on quicksilver is so low I feel like I need a 2% card to cover big purchases until I can grab the AOD.
@Beast26 wrote:If my Quicksilver didnt have such a low limit I wouldn't feel motivated to get a 2% card just for a 25% increase in cashback . I would just wait and apply for the AOD when my DTI goes down but since the limit on quicksilver is so low I feel like I need a 2% card to cover big purchases until I can grab the AOD.
Not to split hairs on this as I generally agree with your comments, however, a 2% card yields a 33.3% increase in cash rewards over the 1.5% Quicksilver.
@Horseshoez wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:As always, it really depends on your spend, and to some extent terminology. While a lot of my usual spend is covered by 5% cards, occasional big spends aren't, and there are enough of these, and expensive enough, to end up being a big fraction of total spend. For me, these include dentist, vet, car repairs and labor costs for appliance work. Where terminology comes in is that I am able to use the Altitude Reserve (not strictly a general spend card!) on dentist and car, but the others need a true general spend. So this type of card is still very useful for me
I cheat, I pay the dentist from my HSA card with pre-tax income.
Strictly from a rewards perspective, a better option would be to pay your dentist using your highest rewards card and then transfer the amount of the bill from your HSA to your checking account. You'd have to do the math to see if the extra rewards are worth the extra effort. To me, they are.
Waaay too much work for a few dollars.
I use AR and then get some paid from my pretax FSA, which takes less than a minute
I don't know what AR is, but with my HSA I'd need to apply for reimbursement, and the only way to do that for a payment which didn't come in directly from a health care provider is to photograph/scan in the invoice and proof of payment, send them in to the HSA company, and then wait for them to review and reimburse. I mean "REALLY", all that for a few dollars? No thanks, I've got better (and more productive) things to do with my time.
I keep a file for paid medical and pharmacy receipts and just send a total over to my tax guy at the end of the year. He doesn't care what card I use 
@ChargedUp wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:As always, it really depends on your spend, and to some extent terminology. While a lot of my usual spend is covered by 5% cards, occasional big spends aren't, and there are enough of these, and expensive enough, to end up being a big fraction of total spend. For me, these include dentist, vet, car repairs and labor costs for appliance work. Where terminology comes in is that I am able to use the Altitude Reserve (not strictly a general spend card!) on dentist and car, but the others need a true general spend. So this type of card is still very useful for me
I cheat, I pay the dentist from my HSA card with pre-tax income.
Strictly from a rewards perspective, a better option would be to pay your dentist using your highest rewards card and then transfer the amount of the bill from your HSA to your checking account. You'd have to do the math to see if the extra rewards are worth the extra effort. To me, they are.
Waaay too much work for a few dollars.
I use AR and then get some paid from my pretax FSA, which takes less than a minute
I don't know what AR is, but with my HSA I'd need to apply for reimbursement, and the only way to do that for a payment which didn't come in directly from a health care provider is to photograph/scan in the invoice and proof of payment, send them in to the HSA company, and then wait for them to review and reimburse. I mean "REALLY", all that for a few dollars? No thanks, I've got better (and more productive) things to do with my time.
I keep a file for paid medical and pharmacy receipts and just send a total over to my tax guy at the end of the year. He doesn't care what card I use
Are your medical and pharmacy expenses such that you get to pay them in pre-tax income? As a general rule, my understanding is the only way to do that is to use either an HSA or FSA card for the payment (unless you want to play the aforementioned game of applying for reimbursements from your medical savings accounts).
@calyx wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@ChargedUp wrote:All things considered, my wife has a hard time keeping up with what card to use where sometimes and it's just easier to tell her "Put it on AOD..."
She's got grocery (BCP) and gas (Discover) and Home Depot (Freedom) figured out for now, but otherwise my AOD account is still getting a lot of use!
I'm curious why you're using Disco for gas when the BCP gets a higher return?
I think for the most part a person doesn't need every card on their person to maximize rewards, just the ones that earn daily cats like food/grocey and gas/transit. Most of tehe other ones like Utilties/Bills would tend be autopay or at least be fine as SD'd card. I means I too used to struggle with "what card to carry and when", so much so that my wallet and phone caer were full. Now I only need Gold(dining), BCP/Freedom(grocery) and a third general spend.
Disco is currently 5% (if his wife has the rotating cat Disco), which beats BCP's 3%
When the rotating cat cards do not have gas as a 5% option, my BCP definitely gets the spend, but otherwise, I hope to stick it on the Disco or Chase.
^^^ This... Even though both Discover and Freedom are 5% on gas right now, we've done enough spend at Home Depot this quarter to almost max out the $1500 limit, so we're keeping gas on Discover for now. Once the quarters change, PNC Cash Rewards comes out of the sock drawer for 4% until the $8K limit is hit (I've already used $2500 of it on gas! 
By the end of the year, I'm going to grab USB Cash+ and/or Elan Max Cash for more 5% categories. Even then, AOD will come in for things that will never fall under specific categories like my wifes art suppies, doctor visits, shopping mall visits, etc.