Soon I will be closing 3 of my credit cards. I would like to maximize my cash back rewards. Currently I use my CFU as my catch-all credit card, and I don't really have any other credit card with cash back rewards.
I aim to get the Chase Freedom Rise due to its quarterly categories, but besides that card, and these are some cards I've had an eye on:
- Citi Double Cash.
- Citi Custom Cash.
I have also been looking at some Discover cards, but I am not familiar with the Discover network.
@Anonymous wrote:If you are strictly cashback, the CFU makes little sense as it is basically a 1.5% card for cashback and there are lots of 2% cards out there. The Double Cash that you mention is one example. The CFU does have 3% categories but other cards give more, at least on dining. So adding the DC and the Custom Cash would certainly improve your cashback strategy
True, a 2% catch-all and then product change the CFU to a CFF down the road (DC being only one of several options out there).
The Discover It card is similar to a CFF, btw, they're both rotating quarterly categori s cards. The CFF gets the additional Dining and Drugstore categories year round, however. Discover loves mid-range score users btw. It was the first card I was able to pick up in "fixing" my credit (which for me meant BTs off of full cards... funny how when you need a BT to lower your utilization %, cards don't want YOU because you have too high a utilization %), though I outgrew them.
Citi Custom Cash, the CCC, is an excellent hole-filler in any lineup.
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@UncleB wrote:
@Rodagave wrote:Soon I will be closing 3 of my credit cards. I would like to maximize my cash back rewards. Currently I use my CFU as my catch-all credit card, and I don't really have any other credit card with cash back rewards.
I aim to get the Chase Freedom Rise due to its quarterly categories, but besides that card, and these are some cards I've had an eye on:
- Citi Double Cash.
- Citi Custom Cash.
I have also been looking at some Discover cards, but I am not familiar with the Discover network.
Did you perhaps mean the Chase Freedom Flex? That's the one with the categories.
The Chase Freedom Rise is a 1.5% card targeted towards those new to credit.
https://creditcards.chase.com/cash-back-credit-cards/freedom/rise
After posting this thread I did realize I meant CFF. Thanks!
The Custom Cash is definitely a must-have, despite the $500 a month cap, it's a supremely versatile card. The Double Cash is also good, but what I would do with that is PC it after a year into a second Custom Cash. Adding a Rewards+ to the mix would make them 5.5% cards, or you could PC the Rewards+ into a third Custom Cash. The Citi ecosystem has amazing earning potential, but it takes a while (years) to fully setup.
The AAA Daily or Travel Advantage are also worth looking into. The issuing bank sucks, but they are 5% on groceries or gas.
PCing your Freedom Unlimited to a Freedom Flex would be an excellent move.
Then there's the US Bank Cash+ or Max Cash sister card for 5% in 2 categories, although those categories are narrower than many other cards. These options have a lot of uncommon categories like utilites and internet that could be nice earners.
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@Anonymous wrote:If you are strictly cashback, the CFU makes little sense as it is basically a 1.5% card for cashback and there are lots of 2% cards out there. The Double Cash that you mention is one example. The CFU does have 3% categories but other cards give more, at least on dining. So adding the DC and the Custom Cash would certainly improve your cashback strategy
+1. A flat 2%er is a good card for those with very few cards...and especially if you have a lot of random purchases.
My spending has changed so now I know that 50% or more of my transactions are on restaurants/gas, and so I have those covered. Basically, if you can predict your largest spend categories, then the Freedom Flex and Custom Cash are good gets. But to minimize cards, get Double Cash that you can switch to CCC later. I think Citi TYP can be used with their transfer partners too, if you'd want to try the points game L8r.
@Windchill92 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:If you are strictly cashback, the CFU makes little sense as it is basically a 1.5% card for cashback and there are lots of 2% cards out there. The Double Cash that you mention is one example. The CFU does have 3% categories but other cards give more, at least on dining. So adding the DC and the Custom Cash would certainly improve your cashback strategy
+1. A flat 2%er is a good card for those with very few cards...and especially if you have a lot of random purchases.
My spending has changed so now I know that 50% or more of my transactions are on restaurants/gas, and so I have those covered. Basically, if you can predict your largest spend categories, then the Freedom Flex and Custom Cash are good gets. But to minimize cards, get Double Cash that you can switch to CCC later. I think Citi TYP can be used with their transfer partners too, if you'd want to try the points game L8r.
That makes sense. I'll aim to get the DC and CFF in a near future. In some months I also might be traveling more constantly, so I might hold back on getting more than one card so I can get the CSP hopefully.