@Saleen099, you said "... And Why?" I'm assuming those are cards you have but you didn't say why they were your top five? Extra kudos to those who explained the "Why?"
I recently private-messaged another member discussing this type of topic. My list isn't about just optimizing rewards but taking into consideration factors such as lender diversity, account age, credit limits, perks, and payment network diversity. With BofA Premium Rewards Elite and Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors, my baseline earnings would be 2.625% on anything with no caps. While four out of five of these cards have significant annual fees, there are enough credits and/or perks to easily offset those fees in my estimation.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: $141.4K (all Chase personal limits)
- Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite: $99.9K (all BofA personal limits + recoup $200 lost in account changes)
- AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: $75K (all AMEX personal limits)
- Discover IT: $52K (oldest card at 30+ years and network diversity)
- CITI AAdvantage Executive: $49.5K++ (Potentially a fast growing card at $14K annually.)
That would give me (5) cards with $417.8K in total credit limits; all 4 processing networks; oldest card 30 years; 4 premium metal cards with exceptional perks; Average CL $83,560; lender diversity with 5 major national lenders. I doubt I would do it to this extent but it's very clean. I like it. I just wouldn't want to trash the lender diversity I've worked so hard to achieve and the potential back-ups as my needs change. Plus the loss of some rewards such as the CSR+CFU and PRE+CCR.
@Aim_High wrote:That would give me (5) cards with $417.8K in total credit limits; all 4 processing networks; oldest card 30 years; 4 premium metal cards with exceptional perks; Average CL $83,560; lender diversity with 5 major national lenders. I doubt I would do it to this extent but it's very clean. I like it. I just wouldn't want to trash the lender diversity I've worked so hard to achieve and the potential back-ups as my needs change. Plus the loss of some rewards such as the CSR+CFU and PRE+CCR.
This is exactly why I divided my earlier response into my top 5 for rewards/perks and top 5 for FICO scoring. If I had to limit myself to ONLY 5 cards, it would look like this:
1. Chase Freedom Flex (ancient account, consolidate all my Chase credit limits and use for 5% and 3% categories)
2. Discover It (ancient account, use for 5% categories)
3. Amex Platinum (semi-ancient account, use for coupon book credits and travel perks, no FTF)
4. US Bank Altitude Reserve (use for 3x categories and car rental insurance, no FTF)
5. Citi Double Cash (2% flat rate)
This would provide me with 5 major banks, 4 processing networks, 20 years of average age, $200k in credit limits, and heaps of rewards/perks.
1.) Amex Gold. Have to put this one at #1 because dining and grocery at 4x adds up fast.
2.) Amex Business Platinum - 35% rebate on Delta and J/F flights on any airline more than covers the annual fee on its own without the other credits, and I've booked a number of business class flights in Europe that used fewer points than I would have otherwise paid for Y.
3.) Amex Blue Business Plus. 2x on all purchases beats most 3-5% cards for me.
4.) Amex Business Delta Reserve - helps with status and keeps me comfy.
5.) BoA Učitaje Cash Rewards - nearly $100k limit with never-ending balance transfer offers.
Honorable mentions would be US Bank Altitude Reserve for the 4.5% effective rewards on mobile purchases, Amex Bonvoy Brilliant and Business combo for the head start on status each year, and BECU Visa and NFCU Flagship for large limits and low/no APR BTs with no fees.
@cws-21 wrote:This was more painful than I anticipated. Below are my five choices and the specific reasons for them in addition to the variety of benefits that follow. I would have five different cards from five different issuers. I would have two Mastercards, two Visas, and an American Express. I would have mostly 5% cash back on all major spending categories. I would benefit from Citi Merchant Offers, Amex Offers, and Chase Offers. I would have some flexibility with the Custom Cash and the Max Cash Preferred. I would have a total credit limit of over $100k and an average credit limit of over $20k. I would have purchase protections from two cards and travel protections from one. I would have one no FTF Visa and one no FTF Mastercard.
- Amex Blue Cash Preferred: mostly for 6% (4.4% after annual fee subtracted) cash back on groceries up to $6,000 yearly cap, Disney Bundle Credit, and 6% on streaming, but also for Amex Offers and purchase protections
- Target RedCard Mastercard: mostly for 5% discount at Target, but also for no foreign transaction fee Mastercard
- Citi Custom Cash: mostly for 5% cash back on dining up to $500 monthly cap, but also for occasional month of 5% on travel, 5% on home improvement stores, or 5% on live entertainment as well as Citi Merchant Offers
- Elan Max Cash Preferred: mostly for 5% cash back on home utilities and Internet, but also for occasional quarter of 5% on entertainment or 5% on recreation
- Chase World of Hyatt: mostly for annual free night award at any Category 1-4 Hyatt after cardmember anniversary, annual extra free night award at any Category 1-4 Hyatt after $15k in purchases, 4x points at Hyatt, and 2x points on transit, but also for Chase Offers, purchase protections, travel protections, and no foreign transaction fee Visa
Not to further rock your boat, @cws-21, but doesn't this list neglect the all-important "catch-all" everything uncapped rewards card (baseline maybe 2%)? ... unless your catch-all is World of Hyatt at 1 point per dollar, which could be worth maybe 1.7 cpp? Everything else you listed would be 1 cpp out of special category, correct? Just wondered, although this is more of a hypothetical exercise.
@K-in-Boston wrote:1.) Amex Gold. Have to put this one at #1 because dining and grocery at 4x adds up fast.
2.) Amex Business Platinum - 35% rebate on Delta and J/F flights on any airline more than covers the annual fee on its own without the other credits, and I've booked a number of business class flights in Europe that used fewer points than I would have otherwise paid for Y.
3.) Amex Blue Business Plus. 2x on all purchases beats most 3-5% cards for me.
4.) Amex Business Delta Reserve - helps with status and keeps me comfy.
5.) BoA Učitaje Cash Rewards - nearly $100k limit with never-ending balance transfer offers.
Honorable mentions would be US Bank Altitude Reserve for the 4.5% effective rewards on mobile purchases, Amex Bonvoy Brilliant and Business combo for the head start on status each year, and BECU Visa and NFCU Flagship for large limits and low/no APR BTs with no fees.
That's an interesting list, @K-in-Boston. Just wondered about your thoughts about a few observations, purely for discussion.
- No concerns about 4/5 cards with the same lender and diversity with only two?
- No concerns about only two personal cards that would report to the CRBs and potential affect on FICO?
- No concerns that one of your two cards reporting to personal credit report would be a charge card, so you'd only have one credit limit reporting (although a high one) ?
Five cards - Revisted.
My list above was very heavy in high-AF travel cards*, assumes I'd continue to highly value travel and perks, and depends upon my Merrill Lynch investments to retain the high-earning 2.625% baseline on the Premium Rewards Elite. So .... what if I was unable or uninterested to travel, the high AFs no longer made sense, and I withdrew my BofA investments? That could substantially shake things up. I would want to shift to a no-AF cash-back only scenario, similar to how some of our other members approach card rewards.
*My current fees on those five cards are: $650 (AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant); $595 (CITI AAdvantage Executive); $550 (Chase Sapphire Reserve); $550 (BofA Premium Rewards Elite); and $0 on Discover. Total AFs on those five = $2,345. 
My revised list in that scenario would be:
- AOD FCU Visa Signature for 3% back on everything for a baseline.
- Oddly enough, Synchrony Verizon Visa, which would give me uncapped 4% on gas and groceries. (In Verizon Dollars, which would just lower my monthly bill.)
- Discover: For 5% in rotating categories. $1500/qtr; $6K annually. And my oldest card.
Then, I'm actually at a point where none of my other cards outearn the above in cash, except perhaps my Chase INK Cash for 5% on office supplies and 5% on tv/internet/cellphone. But the practical choice would be a couple of product-changes. Now, as much as I've advocated against rotating category cards for the added complexity, if I only had five cards and was focused on optimizing rewards, having three rotating cards and two fixed cards would be manageable.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited (one of my four oldest cards) product changed to Chase Freedom Flex. That would give me a Mastercard and additional 5% categories for better rewards. 5% on up to $1500/qtr; $6K annually.
- CITI AAdvantage Executive - which I believe CITI allows PC to their core cards - product changed to CITI Custom Cash. If PC not available, this would be a new application. The CCC has the "pinch-hitter" ability to adapt to whichever category is best needed for that month, so the flexibility would be quite useful in a cash rewards lineup. 5% on up to $500 monthly; $6K annually.
So I'd have five cards with the lender-diversity of five different lenders, cash back (or equivalent) of 3% - 4% - 5% on anything I purchase, no AF, network diversity with all four payment networks. The existing credit limits would be $297.9K if consolidated, for an average of $59,580 per card. (Although it's doubtful some lenders would allow high unused credit lines to stay intact over time on no-AF cash back cards. But the loss of some credit limits would still be acceptable.) Retaining the AOD FCU Visa also allows a lower-APR card since the 7.49% APR is fixed. I wouldn't keep the Chase INK Cash for the top five since my planned 5% spend would always be less than the $1500/qtr potential on the Freedom Flex. My only other consideration would be if a US Bank Cash Plus for the 5% on utilities would out-earn the 5% on CITI Custom Cash or Chase Freedom Flex over time.