I have decided there is only one credit card you really need

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I know I’m gonna get :poop: for this given this particular audience but hear me out about my new thoughts on cards and points. If you want to simplify your life while still being rewarded for using a CC, you only need 1 card.

Here is why:
Unless you fly business or higher it’s getting harder and harder to get more than 2% value out of points. The better redemptions happen for example for international business/first class seats but the majority of flyers don’t travel like that.

Points are devaluing faster and faster. I’m going to take Marriott for example.
Over time they added higher categories then moved the hotels to the higher category requiring more points for the same hotel. In addition they then added off peak, standard and peak times requiring even more points for the same hotel. So now you gotta get the Marriott credit card so you can try to earn more points for the same spend to keep up with the higher cost which you never can all while paying a high annual fee for the card. It’s a hamster wheel and you can never win. Devaluation happens more frequently now too even on airlines who play the same game. Yes cash devalues also but not at the rate these programs do.

You are restricted to staying within a certain program or their partners who might not be the best choice for a particular stay or flight and because you want to use your points you then end up taking a flight at a worse time or with a stop or stay at a hotel that’s further away from where you really want to be staying etc.

Wasting time. I just spent so much time trying to figure out my summer travels out of the country using Amex points. Now you gotta research the partner airlines, sign up for their points accounts just to see points requirements for a particular flight, if/how I can get my Amex points transferred to their program etc etc. How long it takes to transfer points because it’s not always instant, whether it’s better to pay with points rather than transfer points etc etc. an absolute time suck.

I’m gonna say this because of this particular audience who like to maximize value. Yes you can do all that and squeeze out a little extra juice but it comes at the expense of what I described above. For me, the time component is the biggest factor.

So for that reason I am arguing that an unlimited 2% cash back card is the best middle ground.

You still earn a good return on spend
No more wasting a lot of time
Freedom to use on any airline or hotel
Less devaluation
Less annual fees on cards

You don’t have to go extreme either if you don’t want to:

You can still do the occasional sign up bonus here and there and use those points in one shot for a particular upcoming trip.
If 2% doesn’t cut it for you, you can get a secondary cash back card that gives you up to 4% on particular categories like groceries, gas, etc.

I know many of you will disagree and I get it. This is just a view contrary to what the industry holds that works for me. The great thing is the choice is yours.

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This has always been my approach, but the cash back cards are getting trimmed back as well. Just lost my 2.5% card.

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I agree completely. I still have like 200k miles and a companion pass from my Alaskan card promotion that is probably expired now. We switched back to our Southwest card because the flights are just more convenient. We split our expenses evenly between the southwest card and the Costco card. We get a few extra flights from the southwest card, but we get about $1500 from the Costco card every year. I just take that certificate to Costco, and they give me cash which is what we use for petty cash throughout the year. I haven’t had to withdraw cash from an atm or the bank since before the pandemic.

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Having 100s of cards, I am entirely against this idea but just a 2% card is doing better than 90% of the regular population. I would supplement it with a 5% Amazon card if you shop a lot with them.

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I would consider a CC that paid rewards in satoshis.

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That’s right. If you churn for fun and like spending your time on this to squeeze every possible value out of a card then there are better options than a 2% card. But for most that’s not the case.

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That was my point about getting a second card if you shop a lot at certain places. Amazon card is a great in addition to a 2% cash back card if you shop primarily at Amazon to get the 5%.

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brb grabbing pitchfork

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Agree 100%.

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I am no credit card hacker, but due to laziness I think I’ve basically been doing this for years. I use basically two credit cards that have 2% cashback and then everything on Amazon was the 5% back card. But, I canceled the Amazon card six months ago because the account got hacked.

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you don’t count, you’re not the average points/CC user and traveler :rofl:

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Did you lose an Alliant card? That’s what I have at 2.5

If you use the right cards in the right categories you can certainly pull more than 2% but it is work.

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For 99% of people out there, you only need 2 max. Chase Freedom Unlimited and maybe an American Express or Amazon. For the 1%? Well… I’ve paid 38k in Annual fees for 4 people over the last 6 years lol. My returns are still amazing so it’s still worth it. The only thing that beats this risk adjusted return is a Chinese take out place in Camden, Baltimore, South Chicago, and (insert bad neighborhood of your choice).

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you’re clearly not the average user…lol.
I’d love to know how much time you spend managing all those cards for all those people and to make sure you get the benefits out of those cards to exceed $38k in fees? That’s not something on auto-pilot.

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$38k over 6 years, so about $6k in annual fees each year (not $38k each year, if that’s what you were thinking)

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Last year, I had approximately $15k in fees across three players, which I find to be fairly reasonable.

All the Ink cards are fee-free, so most of the fees were associated with AMEX. I don’t really track these fees, as I’m confident that I come out ahead by maximizing all the credits available. I generally close the cards after a year, unless there’s a juicy retention offer.

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Yeah, I really don’t even keep track. Plus with retention offers largely offsetting some of those fees, I have no idea where I net out.

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Yea I know I am always in the green so stopped keeping track. I remember when I first started I had like a massive spreadsheet keeping track of everything.

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You’ve decided that there is only one credit card you really need.

Could you please leave me out of this? :stuck_out_tongue:

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I have to ask, how much are you all charging on these things to make thousands and thousands of fees worthwhile? I assume these are used for business expenses?

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