What's Your Rewards Strategy?

[mgood]

I'd think this would be a common topic here. I did a quick search and didn't find this specifically, and anything remotely related looked several years old. If I'm missing something, point me in the right direction.

What is your setup for points and/or cash back? Use this card for this, that card for that, and this other one for everything else.

Discover it      5% on rotating categories
PenFed Platinum  5x on Gas, 3x on Groceries
Eddie Bauer      ~5% at Eddie Bauer
Cabela's MC      3% at Cabela's & Bass Pro
PenFed PCR       2% on everything else

Right now with SUBs, the Disco gives me 10% back on the quarterly categories for the first year.

The PenFed Platinum is pretty much everything else at the moment while I'm chasing that SUB. $100 back for $1500 spend is 6.67% back.

There are other cards I'd like to add, of course. Chase Freedom Flex for another card with 5% rotating categories and probably a Sapphire Preferred for the points multiplier. (I don't think I spend enough or travel enough to get value from the CSR, but I haven't ruled it out.) Wells Fargo Propel, and probably their Visa Siggy for that points multiplier. Amex BCE/BCP looks interesting and I don't have an Amex in the mix. C1 Savor/SavorOne looks interesting. I was actually sent a preapproval for SavorOne earlier this week, but the timing is wrong with the new accounts I've opened recently and the loan I'm about to apply for. Hope they offer me that again next year.

The other cards in my sig are basically SD. I'll keep them around to boost AAoA and lower aggregate UTL.

[mgood]

@Remedios, I started to post it in Credit Cards and wasn't sure it went here. I put it in SmorgasBoard to try to stay out of trouble and you moved it back here.

[Remedios]

@mgood  I've moved your thread from Smorg since it really isn't "Off Topic"

There are so many threads on this topic, I couldn't decide which one to merge it with, so I guess everyone gets another go at this topic. 

[Remedios]

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@mgood wrote:

@Remedios, I started to post it in Credit Cards and wasn't sure it went here. I put it in SmorgasBoard to try to stay out of trouble and you moved it back here.

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I moved it here because "here" is appropriate place for it. 

This is a brief description for contend that belongs to Smorg 

"If it doesn’t fit in the other boards, put it in the Smorgasboard! This board includes the zany, fun and social stuff: cat pictures, jokes, trivia, random thoughts, etc." 

[Anonymous]

Currently rolling with the following:

Discover It 5% (10% end of year) for groceries spending and same card for 1% (2% end of year) for everything else.  I'm hoping to upgrade / product change my CapOne Platinum to Quicksilver this week when it hits 100 days / 3 full statements and that will take over for my everything spending once Discover's 1st year is up for me.

In April, I plan to come out of the garden and either upgrade my nRewards when it (hopefully) unsecured and becomes a CashRewards to a MoreRewards so that I can get the 3% Gas/Groceries/Restuarant.  If that doesn't pan out for some reason, I'll app for a MoreRewards as I should be in a good spot to get approved by that point.

For my purposes, that about covers all of my rewards spending for the most part.  I don't travel enough to justify a dedicated travel card and I don't eat out enough to justify a dedicated restuarant card.  I am really trying to find a good 2% card that will fit my profile with a recent BK (will be 1.5 years by that point) and the only option I've seen is the PenFed PCR as I've noticed they have been a little bit more flexible these last few months, but I know that's a stretch.

So it'll ultimately probably end up being:

Discover 5% categories

Quicksilver 1.5%

MoreRewards 3% Groceries/Gas/Restuarants

[mgood]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't travel enough to justify a dedicated travel card and I don't eat out enough to justify a dedicated restuarant card.

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I may, or may not, travel enough to justify a travel card, or at least one with an annual fee. So I think maybe the $95 CSP but probably not the $550 CSR. Been doing some maths and head scratching on that topic lately.

I do eat out way too much. If they count fast food as "dining out," then I'll get good use out of those. There are multiple cards I plan to get or I'm thinking about getting that give ~3% for dining. So I don't have that covered now, I plan to in the future.

[Anonymous]

Here's my current cash back strategy:

 • Amex Blue Cash Preferred: 6% on groceries and streaming services, 3% on transit

• Affinity Cash Rewards: 5% on Amazon, 5% rotating categories

• Chase Freedom: Rotating 5% categories

• Discover It: Rotating 5% categories

• Walmart Card: 5% on Walmart

• Target RedCard: 5% on Target

• Chase Freedom Unlimited: 5% on Lyft until March 2022, free 3 month DoorDash DashPass subscription followed by 50% off for 9 months, 3% on dining (used for DoorDash orders to stack with DashPass discount)

• Capital One Savor (grandfathered in to no AF): 4% on dining and entertainment

• Verizon Card: 4% on gas, 2% on Verizon

• Apple Card: 3% on Apple

• Discover It Miles: 3% on everything else for 12 months

• Citi Double Cash: 2% on everything always, 10% off bike share membership (stacked with 2% base rewards for 12% off total)

Sock drawer cards include Wells Fargo Propel, Capital One Quicksilver, and Alliant Platinum Rewards.

Hoping to get the BofA Cash Rewards card later this year for 3% on online purchases, as well as the US Bank Cash+ for 5% on utilities and internet service. Might also replace my Double Cash card with the Fidelity card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Here's my current cash back strategy:

 • Amex Blue Cash Preferred: 6% on groceries and streaming services, 3% on transit

• Affinity Cash Rewards: 5% on Amazon, 5% rotating categories

• Chase Freedom: Rotating 5% categories

• Discover It: Rotating 5% categories

• Walmart Card: 5% on Walmart

• Target RedCard: 5% on Target

• Chase Freedom Unlimited: 5% on Lyft until March 2022, free 3 month DoorDash DashPass subscription followed by 50% off for 9 months, 3% on dining (used for DoorDash orders to stack with DashPass discount)

• Capital One Savor (grandfathered in to no AF): 4% on dining and entertainment

• Verizon Card: 4% on gas, 2% on Verizon

• Apple Card: 3% on Apple

• Discover It Miles: 3% on everything else for 12 months

• Citi Double Cash: 2% on everything always, 10% off bike share membership (stacked with 2% base rewards for 12% off total)

Sock drawer cards include Wells Fargo Propel, Capital One Quicksilver, and Alliant Platinum Rewards.

Hoping to get the BofA Cash Rewards card later this year for 3% on online purchases, as well as the US Bank Cash+ for 5% on utilities and internet service. Might also replace my Double Cash card with the Fidelity card.

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That's an amazing lineup/setup.  Am jealous!

[TSlop]

I think I'm only missing one thing from my rewards strategy, which is a free night hotel card. Other than that, I'm pretty content with my setup. Anything added in the future would most likely be for a SUB.

Discover - 5% rotating

CF - 5% rotating (might do a CFF for a SUB at some point)

BoA CR - 3+% online

BoA PR - 2+%travel/1.5+% catch all

That is what I usually use monthly. My Amex HH gets sparse use for either hotels or the Amex offers. Target Debit gets my Target purchases, which isn't used every month. Same with Best Buy.

[Kforce]

I like things simple and few.

I put 80% of my spend on a 3% cashback card.

The other 20% on two USBank Cash+ cards, spend only in 5% categories.

*  Have 3 backup cards with just enough to keep them alive *

(FNBO 2% (Open),   FNBO  Travel Elite (3% in 4 cats) , Bank/West (3% in 4 cats)

Backup if the 3% gets "Nuked".

Two other 20+ year old CU cards, just keep alive because of age.

Closing City DC, and USAlliannce over the next few months.