SUB Math

[Anonymous]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

But if the card with the 5% category spending is the same card for which you are seeking the signup bonus, then your logic falls apart.

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As you and fittinger argue, if say you are getting a new SUB card with its own high reward category, it obviously makes sense to use the new SUB card on that category.

Excellent point.

For all other categories outside your SUB's high reward category, my point remains.  Use the SUB spend on categories where you would otherwise earn low rewards.

[Anonymous]

In my scenario what would you suggest?

Im currently meeting SUB for Citi TY Premiere where I get 3x points on all travel, 2x on dining and entertainment, and 1x on all other. I also have the Savor that earns 4% back on Dining and Entertainment which is worth more than 2 TY points  based on how I plan to redeem. Discover is also currently 5% on restaurants this quarter. Although I do have 0% on purchases for a year, I do also have a BT on the card and I don’t like combining.

Now Im currently at the point where I could meet the SUB with just non category spend or 1x point spend (monthly bills and Insurance) on the premier. Would you still put dining and entertainment on the TY premiere or would you put it on the Savor or Discover?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

In my scenario what would you suggest?

Im currently meeting SUB for Citi TY Premiere where I get 3x points on all travel, 2x on dining and entertainment, and 1x on all other. I also have the Savor that earns 4% back on Dining and Entertainment which is worth more than 2 TY points  based on how I plan to redeem. Discover is also currently 5% on restaurants this quarter. Although I do have 0% on purchases for a year, I do also have a BT on the card and I don’t like combining.

Now Im currently at the point where I could meet the SUB with just non category spend or 1x point spend (monthly bills and Insurance) on the premier. Would you still put dining and entertainment on the TY premiere or would you put it on the Savor or Discover?

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Under those conditions, put dining and entertainment on Discover/Savor.

UNLESS you get ANOTHER new card with a SUB worth more than 4-5% where you can't meet the Premier SUB and new SUB without using one of them on dining/entertainment.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous

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You are using faulty logic.  To get optimal earnings all spending should be on sign up bonuses.  In your scenario you spent 3000 dollars and got 135 dollars back because you used category spending bonuses.  That isn't good at all.  In your scenario you have 6000 spend in 3 months. Get 2 sign up bonuses that require 3k spend and you will be a head and you won't have to remember what card to use with which spend.   

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I said in the OP it's OK to use high reward spend on SUBs if it you must do so to meet the SUB.

But most people are going to have some spend left over when trying to meet a SUB or SUBs.  It's not "overthinking" it to suggest that leftover spend needs to be in your high rewards category, not your low rewards spend.

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I understand the point you are trying to make, but I also agree that your logic is faulty.  You used two separate scenarios.  One scenario spent 3k and the other spent 6k.  You are comparing apples to oranges.  The 3k scenario netted $660, while the 6k scenario netted $735.  To get a truer picture, look at the cash back percents and not the actual dollars. 

$660 / $3000 spend = %22 cash back

$735 / $6000 spend = %12.5 % cash back. 

As frogman said, if you're going to assume that everyone spends $6000 every month, the ideal scenario is to churn two SUBS.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

In my scenario what would you suggest?

Im currently meeting SUB for Citi TY Premiere where I get 3x points on all travel, 2x on dining and entertainment, and 1x on all other. I also have the Savor that earns 4% back on Dining and Entertainment which is worth more than 2 TY points  based on how I plan to redeem. Discover is also currently 5% on restaurants this quarter. Although I do have 0% on purchases for a year, I do also have a BT on the card and I don’t like combining.

Now Im currently at the point where I could meet the SUB with just non category spend or 1x point spend (monthly bills and Insurance) on the premier. Would you still put dining and entertainment on the TY premiere or would you put it on the Savor or Discover?

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Under those conditions, put dining and entertainment on Discover/Savor.

UNLESS you get ANOTHER new card with a SUB worth more than 4-5% where you can't meet the Premier SUB and new SUB without using one of them on dining/entertainment.

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Thanks! I’ll just put it on the Savor for now on. I don’t plan on getting any new cards for at least a year. I have had my fair share of cards this year alone lol. 

So going forward I’ll just put bills on the premiere until SUB has been met obviously. Any other non category spend will be put on the Citi DC or Fidelity (leaning towards DC due to price protection and lower min redemption). Obviously, any other category spend will be put on the card that yields the best return.

sounds good? Or should all non category spend go on the premiere until SUB has been met?

[Anonymous]

This discussion seems to have become overly complex, whereas I thought the point was very simple.   But I guess it's hard to cover all the cases.

My attempt would be:  Except in cases where you need all the spending to be on the SUB card, meet the minimum using transactions with the highest-net value over using your normal cards.   (and of course make sure you DO meet the minimum)

 So if your normal non-category card is a general 2%, and non-categories on the SUB card earn 1%, the net value of putting those transactions on the SUB card is -1%.   If groceries are non-category on the SUB card, but 6% elsewhere, moving those would be -5%.   If the SUB card earns 6% on groceries as well, the net value would be 0%.   If the SUB card earns 3% on some category whereas these are non-category on your other cards (and thus earn a max of 2%), putting them on the SUB would net 1%

As I said, seems pretty obvious!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous

sounds good? 

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Sounds good.  But also make sure you use the Premier for any travel if that's your highest travel earning card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

This discussion seems to have become overly complex, whereas I thought the point was very simple.   But I guess it's hard to cover all the cases.

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Thanks.  

What got me thinking about this:  I have an IHG card coming in.  Sure, it gets great rewards on IHG hotel spend, but I am not sure I will be able to use it for that purpose in the next 90 days.

I got the card for the SUB and the annual free night (for the price of the AF).  

So I was thinking:  what's the most effective way to meet the SUB, given that I already get 4-5% back on restaurants, 5-6% back on groceries, 5% on Amazon, gas, sporting goods, home utilities & department stores, and 3% back on travel.

The answer was, as you say, obvious.  If I don't stay at an IHG hotel, meet the SUB with miscellaneous spend that would otherwise earn 2%.

Because it's a Mastercard, I will be able to meet the sub quickly with a mortgage payment, a car payment and a couple of bills.  Then I will apply for my next SUB card or two.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous

sounds good? 

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Sounds good.  But also make sure you use the Premier for any travel if that's your highest travel earning card.

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Yea will certainly do that just forgot to mention it. I will use it for Gas and all travel of course.

[Anonymous]

I apply for a new card a month before I will finish sign up bonus spend so I am never without a card to spend on.

I think your problem is you are mixing two methods people use. People tend to be either churners or people caring about cash back for categories. Churners are always working on bonuses.