@wasCB14 wrote:I've been using just a few cards in the last year. I plan to close some. Please let me know about any changes to these cards that may affect my decisions.
Most of my travel involves me going to places where I stay:
1. With family
2. At a small, independent hotel
3. At a moderately priced (but still high-category) place in a high-cost area.
...so I'm not too attached to hotel cards' annual nights. I have a lot of points with Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. I may eventually want to close these cards but don't want to risk my points expiring from account inactivity.
Most of my flights are out of LAX so cash prices are usually pretty competitive. As a usually bottom-status traveler, I do like Delta Skyclubs for the ability to skip long lines to rebook in the event of a cancellation.
My CLs are adequate for my spend and utilization is not a concern.
Green = Likely to keep
Black = Somewhat indifferent
Red: Thinking of closing
Amex:
Schwab Platinum: Keep. I will be flying more again and use Delta lounges. The weird credits actually kind of fit my spending.
Amex Platinum (regular personal): I got this a year and a few days ago for the SUB and supermarket promo. I plan to PC to Gold when the AF posts in a few days. This will be my main dining and non-Costco grocery card.
BBP: I use this for my expenses as an accountant.
Lowes Business AU: I use this for expenses in property management.
Delta Platinum: I use this for free checked bags and the companion pass.
EDP and BCP: I play upgrade/downgrade games with these for SUBs.
Amex "Old SPG" Bonvoy card: I've kept it mainly to keep my points active and use the monthly dining credit.
Barclays:
Arrival: As contactless payments become more and more common, is a backup PIN card really relevant?
Jetblue: Got it for the SUB. I may close this soon.
(Side Note: I got the Jetblue card a year and a few days ago with a two-part SUB. I applied on 11/4/20, was approved on 11/8/20, met the first part of the spend requirement quickly, forgot about the card for a while, then spent the remaining requirement on 11/5/21 and it posted 11/7/21. The second part of the SUB has not posted yet. The language is that I had to spend it within 12 months. Did I have to spend it a few weeks earlier to get it into the 12th billing cycle? Should I call? Give it a few more days or until the end of the cycle to see if it posts? Or am I out of luck? Can I at least get the 5k renewal points and them dump it for an AF refund?)
Chase:
Freedom Flex: My oldest card (2013), though I have come to dislike rotating categories.
Freedom: Again, not a fan of rotating categories.
Hyatt: Mostly for the annual night and to keep points active.
IHG: Mostly for the annual night and to keep points active.
CFU: An old CSP downgrade from when I was really into URs. I want to close this to avoid confusion with the other CFU.
CFU AU: A new card for property management expenses.
Bank of America (Platinum Honors):
WWF Cash Rewards: Online shopping and Costco.
Premum Rewards: Estimated taxes, utilities, and insurance.
Citi:
Costco Visa: Convenient for gas and good for extended warranty purchases. Customer service isn't great so I wouldn't use it anywhere outside of Costco.
Double Cash: I've read could PC this to a Rewards+ and then a Custom Cash to use for dining, but it doesn't seem worth carrying for 5x/5% if most restaurants will take Amex and give me 4x MRs with Gold.
Discover:
5% It: I haven't used it in ages. My second-oldest card (2014). A joint card with DM. Various card shipping address mixups (my replacement card to her address) and false fraud alarms. And I don't like tracking rotating categories anymore. Have they added anything useful?
I'm not a points and miles card aficionado, but my 2 cents are:
I agree with you on getting rid of the Discover card
I found the Jet Blue card to be pretty good
I would not use a personal card like the CFU for business expenses
I would not get rid of the Double Cash card which is so good for non-category payments
Since you have BBP and are going to PC to Gold, would it make sense to swap out your Schwab Platinum for Business Platinum, or just add the latter if the coupon book works in your favor already? If you are ultimately using MRs for flights and you mentioned cash fares out of LAX, unless you are doing better by transferring to a partner it's simple to effectively get 2.1666% per MR through Amex Travel for your selected airline (or J/F on any airline) from the lifecycle of redeem-rebate-redeem-rebate. That's been my primary strategy since last year.
This is the most detail I think I've ever seen about your lineup, @wasCB14. While we have some major differences, we also share some similarities. I have a far less AMEX presence and am unsure about my long-term MR valuation. Like you, I have BofA Platinum Honors with a Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards. I also have Discover, Citi Costco, and Chase cards. I like many of your suggested changes, including migrating away from most hotel cards (although I'm planning to keep just my new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.) I have also always disliked rotating categories, merchant catergory code restrictions, and spending caps. My Discover card dates back to the original version which got less than 1% net; then the true 1% Discover More; and later the Chrome and IT versions.
That AMEX combo of CS Platinum - Gold - BBP in particular is quite powerful and works well together. I like it. While I have the Gold, the Gold and BBP are a combination I've considered. (Platinum doesn't appeal to me for the credits, high AF, and my travel patterns.)
However, of concern, the first thing that stands out to me is how your changes further consolidate your cards and rewards with AMEX and MRs. It's a heavy investment and would not leave you a lot of options if your lender relationship changed or MRs became devalued to you. I've spend some time in recent years diversifying myself among rewards cards for that very reason. While I agree it's fine to focus the majority of spending on a system where you can best utilize the rewards structure, my personal opinion is that lender diversity, network diversity, and rewards diversity is a valuable asset to keep in the wings. In terms of this, you've only got one well-developed backup for AMEX and that is your BofA PR+CCR. Your rewards cards with Chase and Citi aren't well-optimized. If you were to close all the cards except for the definite keepers, here is what the new lineup would look like:
AMEX:
- Schwab Platinum
- Gold (PC from personal Platinum)
- Blue Business Plus
- Delta Platinum
- Lowes Business AU
Chase:
- Freedom Flex
- CFU AU
Bank of America (Platinum Honors):
- WWF Customized Cash Rewards
- Premum Rewards
Citi:
- Costco Visa
I do like your thoughts of:
- Downgrading personal AMEX Platinum to Gold
- Closing AMEX Everyday Preferred
- Closing AMEX Blue Cash Preferred
- Closing old AMEX "SPG" Bonvoy
- Closing Barclay Arrival
- Closing Barclay JetBlue
- Closing Chase Hyatt
- Closing Chase IHG
Keeping the Bank of America cards as-is is important since it's your best rewards strategy after AMEX/MRs.
I would consider keeping and/or bulking up a little on both Chase and Citi as alternate points earning machines. It sounds like you do enough travel and value points enough to diversify into more than one ecosystem. With Chase, since you dislike the rotating categories, have a bunch of cards you'd like to close, and are using the Freedom Unlimited for property management, I would suggest a simple two or three Chase card lineup. Upgrade the Freedom to the Sapphire Preferred where you'll get 1.25x UR on all your business Freedom Unlimited spending. You could use a single Freedom Unlimited and call it a day. Or, if you'd like to keep personal versus business spending separate, keep a 2nd Freedom Unlimited but just keep it in a different area of your wallet, use it from the sock drawer with some smaller recurring charges, or put a mark on it with a sharpie to distinguish them apart. Chase will allow you to roll those credit limits over onto one or two cards, so that preserves them. If you decided to later focus on URs again, upgrading the Sapphire Preferred to the Sapphire Reserve would be easy and would net you at least 2.25% in travel on everything you buy with the CFU. And it also preserves the transfer partner option. Transferring points is one way to keep your Hyatt, Marriott, and/or IHG bonus pools alive. While YMMV with Marriott and IHG in terms of redemption value, the transfer to Hyatt can be attractive this way. CSP gives you another good Visa Signature card for network diversity, plus primary rental car insurance, trip protections, and a one-year extended warranty bonus everywhere you shop. Chase recently upgraded the benefits on CSP while keeping the AF at $95. There's a $50 annual hotel credit and also a 10% annual UR bonus on purchases.
With Citi, I would not only consider keeping the Double Cash but also pairing it with the Premier as a new card. Transferring TY points from DC to the Premier allows you to use them up to 1.7 ccp, turning DC into potentially a ~3.4% rewards card. And Premier earns 3x TY points on gas, restaurants, groceries, flights and hotels, effectively up to about 5.1%. The $95 AF can be completely reimbursed ($100 credit) with one annual hotel stay of $500 or more. As with my CSP suggestion, the Premier allows you to retain the option of points transfer to partners. And Citi gives you that network diversity with Mastercards on both Double Cash and Premier.
I would keep the Discover card but that's just me. I've had good experiences with them with customer service, IT support (mobile app/website), and fraud prevention. I like the free TU Score 8 monitoring and dark web monitoring, since I don't pay for those services elsewhere. They continue to offer me regular Balance Transfers if I were to need that. It adds the 4th (although minor) payment network to my lineup. Discover is one of the eight largest US card issuers. In my case, my Discover is my oldest currently-open account and has a great credit limit. I've found it needs little attention to keep it open. As one of the largest card issuers, there's a chance they will innovate and offer something more compeitive, and keeping a card open with them allows the option of a PC. Finally, it is your second-oldest card.
With Bank of America, Chase, and Citi being three of the top five banks and with all of them offering superior travel rewards programs, I think having that diversity as a backup against your AMEX strategy could be a wise move.
I'm counting that you have about 21 cards now total. If you following all these suggestions, you would have:
AMEX:
- Schwab Platinum
- Gold
- Blue Business Plus
- Delta Platinum
- Lowes Business (AU)
Chase:
- Sapphire Preferred
- Freedom Unlimited (personal)
- Freedom Unlimited (AU)
Bank of America (Platinum Honors):
- WWF Customized Cash Rewards
- Premum Rewards
Citi:
- Costco Visa
- Premier Mastercard
- Double Cash Mastercard
... and possibly ...
Discover
- Discover IT
That would leave you with ten (or eleven) personal cards on which you are primary and reporting to the CRBs. That's still a nice mix. You would be diversified with five of the eight largest card issuers in the US. You would be diversified with three of the five largest banks and have your pick of some of the best travel rewards programs and travel partners available. You would be diversifed by payment networks among not only AMEX but also Visa, Mastercard, and possibly Discover. And, you would have two business cards (AMEX Lowe's and Blue Business Plus) as well as two Authorized User cards (AMEX Lowe's and the second CFU.)
Of course, this is a longer-term plan. I would close and/or open cards in stages as I moved in this direction.
@wasCB14 wrote:I just closed the old CFU and the DC. Those were easy ones.
... You posted this while I was composing a response so guess I didn't catch you quickly enough.
Did you preserve your credit limits with Chase by transferring the limits to another card?
While you did close the DC and I imagine that can't be undone, it's still possible to product change other cards around so that you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a personal Chase Freedom Unlimited along with the one for business spend.