The card I add to my wallet in 2021 should be ... ??

[sxa001]

I am going to agree with others, with your spend just getting 1.5% on everything not currently covered is probably worth just PCing one of the Freedoms to an Unlimited.  Though 2% cards are really easy to get these days and there are tons.  I don't know how sensitive AOD is to recent accounts, that could be an option as well for everything 3%.  

[FormerCollegeDJ]

One thing I want to add to what others have said - if you recently got a Chase Freedom Flex, you should be getting 5% cash back on groceries on that card for the first 12 months.  (For that reason if you do a product conversion, it should be on the Chase Freedom card.)

If your goal is to maximize cash back at all restaurants and want to get a card besides the Chase Freedom Flex (3% cash back on dining but also has 3% foreign transaction fees), I think there are better options than the US Bank Cash+ Visa, which is an attractive card but probably makes more sense as a card used for purchases in 1) 5% categories that aren't often bonus categories on other cards and/or 2) categories that have regularly recurring spend and/or potential for very high spend at times.   (TV/internet/streaming, cell phone providers, and furniture stores are among the 5% categories that fit those descriptions.)  The US Bank Cash+ Visa 5% cash back "dining" only appears to apply to fast food restaurants.

If you don't go the US Bank Cash+ Visa route and focus on alternative cards, you'll also want to consider what other high (3% or greater) cash back categories those other cards have and how much spend you have in those categories.  The US Bank Altitude Go Visa has 4x points/4% on dining and 2x points/2% on gas and streaming.  The Wells Fargo Propel Amex has 3X points on dining, gas, streaming, and travel (the last of which also is semi-covered by the Chase Freedom Flex; that card offers 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal).  The Capital One SavorOne has 3% cash back on dining and entertainment (an unusual category that isn't too helpful right now but could be very helpful when things get back close to "normal" after COVID-19), and 2% cash back on groceries.  All of them have no foreign transaction fees, and all of them offer cash back, though the Wells Fargo card has some cash back redemption restrictions ($25 increments required).  The question you need to ask yourself is how much spending do you have on dining (can get additional 1% with US Bank Altitude Go) vs streaming, travel, and gas (Wells Fargo Propel strongest here though US Bank Alt Go also covers most of these categories at 2%) vs entertainment (CapOne SavorOne shines here)?

One final thought - with your interest in the US Bank Cash+ Visa, you should check the active thread on Elan Max Cash vs US Bank Cash+ (see link below).  The Elan Financial cards, which are offered by many regional and local banks, have a similar structure as the US Bank Cash+ and mostly but not entirely overlapping 5% cash back categories.  Those different categories on the Elan Financial cards may make them a somewhat more attractive option than the US Bank Cash+.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Elan-quot-Max-Cash-quot-vs-US-Bank-Cash/td-p/6198795

[galahad15]

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@FormerCollegeDJ wrote:

...Those different categories on the Elan Financial cards may make them a somewhat more attractive option than the US Bank Cash+.

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The Elan Max Cash card, iirc, does not have "Ground Transportation" as one of the selectable 5% categories that Cash+ does -- for Elan, Ground Transportation is one of the 2% categories.  If like me and especially after COVID is over, things like taxis, light rail, or Amtrak purchases that to the best of my knowledge would also be covered under the Cash+ Ground Transportation 5% category would be of use to you as well, I would recommend the Cash+ over Elan Max Cash.  Just my own personal $0.02 of course 

[FormerCollegeDJ]

Of course ground transportation is a valuable category.  But one of the things I really DON'T like about the US Bank Cash+ Visa card is some of the 5% categories are what I'll call "incomplete".  You can get a 5% fast food category, but it doesn't apply to other restaurants, something untrue of most dining bonus category cards.  You can get 5% ground transportatoion category, but it doesn't apply to flights or hotels, something that doesn't apply to most travel bonus category cards.

I feel it is one thing to track quarterly bonus categories but quite another to track distinctions within categories.  When I go eat somewhere, I just want to use a card that I know will provide a dining bonus, regardless of the type of restaurant.  When I travel somewhere, and I'm not using a co-branded card (as I do with my BOA Amtrak Mastercard and Amex Hilton Honors card), I just want to use a card that I know will provide a travel bonus regardless if I'm flying, taking transit, Uber/Lyft, or taxi, or checking into a hotel (all of which I sometimes do on the same day).  IMO, sometimes specific categories get too specific and make things counterproductive to track.

[TheCreditCount]

The Nusenda  Platinum card may also interest you as it's another 5% rotating category card and you seem quite fond of them

The Cash+ will be very valuable if you see yourself spending a lot in one of the 5% categories. You do already get 3% on dining from the Flex that you have but the 4% on the Altitude Go may be worth it if you can take advantage of the streaming credit. US Bank will shine a favorable light on you if you have a relationship with them so getting the Cash+ with improve your chances to get the Altitude Go and vice versa.

Like a few people have noted getting a 2% for everything card will probably help a lot to fill in the gaps. Even if you do a modest amount of traveling one of the $95 AF hotel cards may interest you becasue usually the fee is covered by the anniversary night certificate and a lot of them offer a $0 AF downgrade path.

[Gmoney144]

None. I've added 14 cards to my account in 2 1/2 years.  That includes 4 business cards.  I might add the CS Platinum at the end of the year but my card acquisition velocity is way too fast. No  CC debt except the BBP with 0% for the first year.  770-780 Fico score average.  I might even trim a few such as Discover, Citi-Costco, one  USAA card and the Apple Card