@coreysw12 wrote:You only spend $350 a year on "other"? Why aren't you charging groceries, insurance, etc. to that card?
Anyways, I too am curious what everyone's breakdown is. I'm still waiting on my points cards to arrive in the mail, and I've been trying to work out how to best manage them. Mine are -
Chase Sapphire Prefered 2% travel and dining
Varies between $20k-$50k/year
Chase Freedom Unlimited 3% first year, 1.5% after
Everything that isn't travel or dining will go on here, including rent. Probably $30-40k/year
After 1 year with the Chase FU card, I'll probably switch to a Citi DC 2% card or Alliant Signature 2.5% card. I'm not keen on "catergory" type rewards cards, but the Sapphire works well because I charge a TON of travel and dining expenses for work. Free points, because I get reimbursed for all those charges by my work!
You seriously need to be in a CSR with 20k+ in travel and dining it isn't even close.
CSR: 20k * 3x = 60k UR which is a minimum of $900 redemption (CSR 1.5x via travel portal aka Expedia)
CSP: 20k * 2x = 40k UR which is $500 redemption minimum same analysis as above except at 1.25x as I understand it.
$400 > $55 (AF difference after travel reimbursement which you hit). Seriously PC like today, take the additional $345 a year and go on with life 
.
My own setup is basically identical under normal circumstances:
CSR - Travel / Restaurants: $8595 YTD
CFU - almost everything else, including arbitrage tax payments
Chase Amazon: well, Amazon
Chase Freedom: if Chase releases a restaurant category ever again it gets the money, if not, newp.
The one glaring exception to this is the Chase Ink Preferred, which still nets me 3x UR for travel but at some point I'm going to have a fight with my current pimp about my expenses (which are not reimbursed today), and I want to be able to just throw a credit card statement at them and say this is what you cost me post-tax: Fix it.
That's easier if I have my work travel expenses broken out over any personal travel that I do which isn't admittedly that much currently.
@coreysw12 wrote:For what it's worth, here is my FUTURE plan for this. Of course, by the time I'm able to get most of these cards, I'm sure things will change, but if I could apply for them all today, here's what I'd do:
As for those who say it's too much trouble to keep track of which cards are for what, I really don't think it's that difficult. The Amazon and Lowes cards are obvious, they're for Amazon and Lowes. Sapphires (the heavy metal cards) are for travel. For Chase Ink and US Bank Cash+, I don't have to remember because they're only for autopaying bills, so they'll be sock drawered after that's set up. I'll write "gas and sporting goods stores" on my Ducks Unlimited card, and "restaurants and bars" on my Uber card with a sharpie. That only leaves the rotating category cards (I'll just stick a new post-it note on each one quarterly), and the "everything else" cards that will be easy to remember because I'll be using them daily for, well, everything else.
Anyways, all those cards would be worth 207,000 sign up bonus points, and only add up to $249 in annual fees ($344 if I don't cancel the Sapphire Preferred after getting the Reserve).
I travel a TON (mostly for work), so these cards are kind of tailored to my lifestyle, your mileage may vary.
You can only have one card in Sapphire family.
That's fine - I only listed both because I already have SP, but plan to get SR someday. I'll probab;y product-change the SP to a Freedom and then apply for a new SR. Or if I'm ineligible for the SUB when I'm ready for the SR (due to the 48mo wait between Sapphire-family SUBs), then I'll try to PC the SP to an SR.
Total Loan Balance: $43k / $65k
Total SL: $78k
@coreysw12 wrote:That's fine - I only listed both because I already have SP, but plan to get SR someday. I'll probab;y product-change the SP to a Freedom and then apply for a new SR. Or if I'm ineligible for the SUB when I'm ready for the SR (due to the 48mo wait between Sapphire-family SUBs), then I'll try to PC the SP to an SR.
You are leaving 20k UR on the floor each YEAR.
20k x 4 = 80K > 60K SUB.
Seriously PC.
@calyx wrote:"And the sales guy muttered...
"You people with your rewards""
Mine annual breakdown is
Chase Amazon Visa $4500 @5% back exclusively for amazon.
Uber Visa $2500 @4% back for travel and eat out
BoA Cash Rewards 3% back on online shopping.
Citi DC for everything else @ 2% back
Citi Premier for travel. Newly inducted.
Cap one QS1 "for the bucket" edition for bills just so I can see all bills separately in one place.
.
Chase Amazon Visa $4500 @5% back exclusively for amazon.
Uber Visa $2500 @4% back for travel and eat out
BoA Cash Rewards 3% back on online shopping.
Citi DC for everything else @ 2% back
Citi Premier for travel. Newly inducted.
Cap one QS1 "for the bucket" edition for bills just so I can see all bills separately in one place.
.
