Spreading yourself too thin

[UncleB]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

+1, especially on the "getting back in."

---

Yeah, for a while I thought I was the only one who had done that. 

I was pleasantly surprised to realize I wasn't alone. 

[jsucool76]

all of my spend (when I'm not working on a signup bonus) really only goes on my citi forward or citi Prestige. Marriott stays will go on the Ritz card (or Prestige if I'm doing 4th night free)

uber goes on my QS

all of my other cards are kinda just there.

[kdm31091]

---

@jsucool76 wrote:
all of my spend (when I'm not working on a signup bonus) really only goes on my citi forward or citi Prestige. Marriott stays will go on the Ritz card (or Prestige if I'm doing 4th night free)

uber goes on my QS

all of my other cards are kinda just there.

---

But a lot of your have fees (if they aren't all waived ) - so at what point do you decide that you should pare down?

[jsucool76]

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

---

@jsucool76 wrote:
all of my spend (when I'm not working on a signup bonus) really only goes on my citi forward or citi Prestige. Marriott stays will go on the Ritz card (or Prestige if I'm doing 4th night free)

uber goes on my QS

all of my other cards are kinda just there.

---

But a lot of your have fees (if they aren't all waived ) - so at what point do you decide that you should pare down?

---

I keep anything that I think is more useful than it's fee. I like the marriott card for the free annual night. I like the ritz card for the club level upgrade certs, and the automatic marriott gold status, and I like the prestige for the 4th night free. 

I haven't yet paid any fees on these cards, the marriott fee should post oct 1 and ritz maybe in january. To me both of these cards are well worth it. Prestige I'm still deciding on. 

The amex plat I ONLY got for the 100k offer. I don't find it to be that attractive of a card, especially now that the airline gift card reimbursements aren't going through. The PRG I plan on dropping as soon as the fee posts. and if I'm able to I plan on downgrading the aviator card to a red, or I'll just close it and open a citi AA card. 

I think that's all of them =] 

[TiggerDat]

I didn't read all the posts that others have written, but I believe in the maximization.  Why shouldn't I?  If I use the right cards for the right bonuses, then I will get the best return on my spending/money.  I don't worry about when I can redeem those bonuses, I just do when I reach that threshhold.  By selecting the right card for the transaction, then I get the best return.  Yeah, it does require me to have a few more cards than most, but it is a financial benefit.  5% back on groceries is always higher than 1.5%, 3% back on restaurants is always better than 1.5%, etc.  Simplifying it into just two cards and chosing from those two cards does not actually work.  I use the best gas rewards card for gas, the best restaurant card for restaurants, and the best grocery card for groceries.  Pretty much nothing else goes on those cards because I use the best everyday spending card which has the highest rewards on it for everyday spending.  The math is the math, but the key is to having the best rewards cards to maximize it out. 

BCP is for groceries at 6% and gas after I have reached the limit on my SM (5%).

Sallie Mae is for gas at 6% and groceries (5%) after I have reached the limit on the BCP..

Voice is for restaurants (3%).

Barclays rewards is for utilities (2%) and Bookstores (5%).

Discover IT is for Home Improvement(5%), Dept. Stores(5%), Amazon(5%), and General Spending (1%).  Times two for the next year! And switched out on categories.  (When I either converty my Dividends card or get a DC card, then the DC card will replace general spending.)

Target is for Target at 5%.

It might be a little bit of work to track the spending, but it does help in budgeting and insuring that you maximize out the rewards.  As far as deciding which card to use, well that becomes habit after a while or there is an app for that!  My phone reminds me which card to use when I go places. 

Your analogy of using just the BCP and USAA cards is fine, as long as you only have two choices, but then if you track your spending you can figure out which one really is the best one to use.  When you have the cards that give the highest rewards, then the maixmization works in your best interest.  For paying, no hassle there either, I just set up automatic monthly payments to pay in full and I don't have to worry about it. 

Two fundamental aspects of accounting and money management are; Don't pay more than you have to and don't pay until you must. 

If I only had or wanted 1 or 2 cards then I would use the one with the best rewards. 

[Anonymous]

---

@TiggerDat wrote:

I didn't read all the posts that others have written, but I believe in the maximization.  Why shouldn't I?  If I use the right cards for the right bonuses, then I will get the best return on my spending/money.  I don't worry about when I can redeem those bonuses, I just do when I reach that threshhold.  By selecting the right card for the transaction, then I get the best return.  Yeah, it does require me to have a few more cards than most, but it is a financial benefit.  5% back on groceries is always higher than 1.5%, 3% back on restaurants is always better than 1.5%, etc.  Simplifying it into just two cards and chosing from those two cards does not actually work.  I use the best gas rewards card for gas, the best restaurant card for restaurants, and the best grocery card for groceries.  Pretty much nothing else goes on those cards because I use the best everyday spending card which has the highest rewards on it for everyday spending.  The math is the math, but the key is to having the best rewards cards to maximize it out. 

BCP is for groceries at 6% and gas after I have reached the limit on my SM (5%).

Sallie Mae is for gas at 6% and groceries (5%) after I have reached the limit on the BCP..

Voice is for restaurants (3%).

Barclays rewards is for utilities (2%) and Bookstores (5%).

Discover IT is for Home Improvement(5%), Dept. Stores(5%), Amazon(5%), and General Spending (1%).  Times two for the next year! And switched out on categories.  (When I either converty my Dividends card or get a DC card, then the DC card will replace general spending.)

Target is for Target at 5%.

It might be a little bit of work to track the spending, but it does help in budgeting and insuring that you maximize out the rewards.  As far as deciding which card to use, well that becomes habit after a while or there is an app for that!  My phone reminds me which card to use when I go places. 

Your analogy of using just the BCP and USAA cards is fine, as long as you only have two choices, but then if you track your spending you can figure out which one really is the best one to use.  When you have the cards that give the highest rewards, then the maixmization works in your best interest.  For paying, no hassle there either, I just set up automatic monthly payments to pay in full and I don't have to worry about it. 

Two fundamental aspects of accounting and money management are; Don't pay more than you have to and don't pay until you must. 

If I only had or wanted 1 or 2 cards then I would use the one with the best rewards. 

---

This is ignoring the time value of money to some extent.    An extreme case would be where you have lots of cards with say $50 minimum redemption, and points/miles cards with minimum transfers requirements , and each card has best-in-class rewards for different things, but you don't spend enough in any of these categories each year.    Then while you are maximizing rewards, you are actually not able to use them for at least a year.    It might have been better to divert some spending from say a 2% card to a 1.75% card to make sure that you could cash out.

[Broke_Triathlete]

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

I find myself missing the days when I just spent pretty much everything on Discover and QS. It was simpler, and didn't take up as much time mentally (or as much wallet space lol).

---

Very good post...as usual. I miss it too. Just a month ago all I had to worry about was my QS and Rewards MC. It was so simple and could hit the cards harder each month for potential CLI down the road. Now I opened up a few more accounts and already hate it. But I knew I needed them for when my last baddies fall off in 2017 and I can get the cards I REALLY want. When it's all said and done I'll probably have 3 cards that I use regularly, and everything else will be used once every 6 months or so to keep active. At this point I need to find a new wallet because my current one has space for only 3 cards. It must have been made by someone in Bankruptcy...haha.

I don't understand the chasing the rewards game or some other acts that aren't allowed to be spoken of by here. Rewards is not a way to make money. Other methods to make rewards is a waste of time. When you average it out you're "working" for pennies on the dollar. Hardly worth it considering the time, gas, and alarming you going to do to your creditors and bank when they see the transactions you're doing.

As you've pointed out a .5% difference in savings is not going to make or break the bank. If it does, you shouldn't have a credit card to begin with. Then you have rewards chasers who spend extra money than they normally would just to make rewards, then can't afford to PIF and they get hit with the interest that erases all the rewards you earned, plus now you owe, on things you would have never bought to begin with. 

Be frugal people, and use rewards when in line with your NORMAL spending. Banks are hoping you tempted to spend out of the norm to get rewards, then pay on the interest to make up for the rewards they give you.

[Anonymous]

If you are collecting rewards on stuff you would spend money on anyways then you are coming out ahead or better.  After all if you buy 200 dollars of gas a month 200 dollars at 5% is better than 200 dollars at 0%. 

However when you start spending more than you would have or making bad deals to spend in places you wouldn't (i.e. buying an overpriced two liter because it is at a gas station and you get 5% on that but only have a 3% grocery card or something) normally then you are playing a game and losing at it.  If rewards on credit cards are convincing you to spend money you do not have or on things you do not need then you are coming out behind even if you are getting "amazing" deals like 15% cash back. 

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

If you are collecting rewards on stuff you would spend money on anyways then you are coming out ahead or better.  After all if you buy 200 dollars of gas a month 200 dollars at 5% is better than 200 dollars at 0%. 

However when you start spending more than you would have or making bad deals to spend in places you wouldn't (i.e. buying an overpriced two liter because it is at a gas station and you get 5% on that but only have a 3% grocery card or something) normally then you are playing a game and losing at it.  If rewards on credit cards are convincing you to spend money you do not have or on things you do not need then you are coming out behind even if you are getting "amazing" deals like 15% cash back. 

---

I think the bolded part is the diffcult trick.   It's not always too hard to convince yourself that this is  stuff you would spend money on anyway, even if it really isn't!   ("My cell phone is 3 months old, and so it's time fo a new one, and I would buy the iPhone 15 (with the 36 inch screen and 15TB storage) anyway, even if I didn't get 3% off with this card")

[jsucool76]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

If you are collecting rewards on stuff you would spend money on anyways then you are coming out ahead or better.  After all if you buy 200 dollars of gas a month 200 dollars at 5% is better than 200 dollars at 0%. 

However when you start spending more than you would have or making bad deals to spend in places you wouldn't (i.e. buying an overpriced two liter because it is at a gas station and you get 5% on that but only have a 3% grocery card or something) normally then you are playing a game and losing at it.  If rewards on credit cards are convincing you to spend money you do not have or on things you do not need then you are coming out behind even if you are getting "amazing" deals like 15% cash back. 

---

I think the bolded part is the diffcult trick.   It's not always too hard to convince yourself that this is  stuff you would spend money on anyway, even if it really isn't!   ("My cell phone is 3 months old, and so it's time fo a new one, and I would buy the iPhone 15 (with the 36 inch screen and 15TB storage) anyway, even if I didn't get 3% off with this card")

---

That is why the secret is to spend OTHER people's money. I pay everyone else's bills. I also like to go out to eat a lot which my citi forward helps with. lol.