Your Ideal Cashback/Rewards CC Lineup

[Anonymous]

Hi MyFico Fam,

Looking to gain some perspective on what you think is the ideal CC lineup to get the most out of everyday Cashback/Rewards Cards and why? How much can you earn and for what?

Thank you!

[Remedios]

That's impossible to answer without knowing what kind of spend we're talking about and on what. 

It kinda implies that there should be a card for everything, which without a large spend only dilutes rewards, especially when there are various minimum redemption threshold.

It wont do you much good if it takes 6 months to get to $25.00

[Anonymous]

I wasn't trying to imply there is one card for everything, that is why I asked for a lineup. It's a to each their own, general question.

[pinkandgrey]

Everyone's answer would be different of course, due to different spending patterns.

For me, I use my Citi DC for almost everything. But I also have the 3% for groceries on my Amex BCE and the 5% categories on the Disco It. 

[KLEXH25]

I'm pretty happy with my lineup:

• Citi Costco: 4% gas, 3% dining & travel, 2% Costco
• Discover It: 5% rotating categories (groceries, dining, & Amazon are big for me)
• Target RedCard (debit): 5% @ Target
• PPMC: 2% for everything else

Ideally, I'd like a higher return on groceries, but 2% is better than nothing. Not sure it's worth another CC to get 1-2% more. Amazon would also be nice, but I don't spend THAT much there compared to my Target or Dining spend.

[Anonymous]

Right now I have a Disco Miles that's in its first year so that's 3% on everything but here's my "regular" setup:

Amazon Store Card - 5% on Amazon and also on gift cards for other stores when I can use them

Target REDcard - 5% on Target and also on gift cards for other stores when I can use them

Discover It - 5% rotating categories - I generally only use groceries and PayPal (I can pay rent and come out ahead by 2.1%) and it doesn't get used otherwise, especially now that BT offers are gone from my card.

BBVA ClearPoints - 3X on utilities, 2X on groceries (I don't usually use it for groceries but they do targeted offers that boost that 2X to 5X so I leave that as my second category)

SavorOne - 3% dining and entertainment

Marvel - 3% on Steam and streaming services, haven't tested all of my other video game stores yet, will soon.

AMEX BCE - 3% on groceries (I have BCP right now but I'm facing a loss versus a 3% card so I'm downgrading when the AF hits in September)

Apple Card - 3% App Store, 3% Apple products

NFCU cashRewards/Capital One QS - interchangeable 1.5% cash back cards - I'll use NFCU for the Member Deals and QS for virtual cards. My spend is so optimized in general that I don't really use these much.

I have the PayPal Cashback but its going to get the axe as soon as I'm back to PIF in June. I'm not sure if I'll replace it with another 2% card or not - its not such a big difference over 1.5% that I think it will absolutely be worth it.

As Remedios points out, you have to make sure you're not dealing with a bunch of cards with minimum redemption thresholds. I only have two on the list that do - ClearPoints (takes me 4 months before I have enough to cash out although it does have a purchase eraser function that if I really wanted to liquidate my points, I could just use that on tiny purchases instead) and BCE (about 5 months to redeem) so its not too much fuss to deal with.

[Loquat]

If you're looking for a cheaper than Chase/Amex way to covering all the bases then I'd consider a Citi setup.  Sure they lack any of the most basic credit card features since September of last year but if you don't care about such things then there's value to be had with them.  

Prestige - 5x on dining, airfare, and hotels, $250 travel credit which can be used for just about anything (i.e. airfare, hotels, car rental, parking, etc) and 4th night hotel stay is free (can be used twice a year) when booking through the TYPortal $495 annual fee

Premier - 3x on travel including gas stations $95 annual fee

Double Cash - 2x Can be converted to ThankYou points or redeemed for cash in $25 increments $0 annual fee

Rewards+ - 2x at grocery stores and gas stations plus points are rounded up to the nearst 10.  Good card if one uses vending machines at work, stops for cheap gas station coffee, iTunes/Google Play app stores for small .99 cent apps  $0 annual fee

Combine all of those cards into 1 ThankYou membership number and all points can be redeemed at 1.25cpp for airfare when booking through the ThankYou Portal courtesy of the Premier card.

$550 in annual fees covers just about every category out there and Chase nor Amex can be had in such a manner for cheaper.  *** Keep in mind you'll be foregoing any travel/return protection with this setup.  

[Anonymous]

If we are talking one card, I'll just give you the one that covers the most.

Propel 

Is a 3% gas card and a 3% restaurant card. Its 3% for parking and tolls. It's also a travel card, 3%  on flights, hotels, and other travel related items. No annual fee.

It has Amex offers and Earn More Mall. $25 threshold,  but you can pay for purchases with points. The offers and cash back stack.  Pretty awesome card.

[TSlop]

My ideal lineup:

CSR/CSP: 3%/2% travel and dining

CF: 5% rotating

Discover: 5% rotating

CFU: 1.5% everything else

My current:

CSP: 2% travel/dining

CF: 5% rotating

Discover: 5% rotating

PSECU: 2% everything else

When I complete my chase roundup, I figure I'll get more value out of 1.5% URs than 2% cashback.

[issac2x]

Well if you're just starting out I'd go with Discover It miles for 3% first year for an everyday card and then PC it to the cash back version. Afterwards it'd be just mix and match to see what works and grow your portfolio from there.

For me if I was just focused on my usual spend then I'd choose UMB, Penfed, and US bank as my three main ones. Don't travel so cashback is my main thing and groceries/dining covers most of it. UMB covers groceries for me since I don't spend $60-61 to make Amex BCP worth it plus I shop at Walmart. UMB also covers dining as well. Then there's US bank for my 5% select bills and Penfed for 2% catch all.

But I have other cards as they give additional cashback, minute as they may be, plus other circumstances so that leads to my current sig