Which credit cards should you use for which spend? TravelSort reader Ann writes “I've read many of your previous travel credit card posts, but I'm curious about which credit cards you're using most now, and why. My husband and I are starting to earn miles and points for future award travel, and are wondering which cards to get next.”
Let me put my current credit cards in context. I've already had many of the AMEX Membership Rewards cards, both business and personal, so I can't earn signup bonuses for these cards again. Since unfortunately Chase Private Client no longer works to bypass Chase 5/24, I also will have to wait to successfully apply for Chase cards. That makes category spend bonuses all the more important to me, to maximize our miles and points earning.
Here are our major spend categories, and which card I use for them and why:
Airfare and Award Ticket Taxes: 3X Ultimate Rewards points using my Chase Sapphire Reserve, except for American Airlines, where I have AA e-gift cards bought using the $200 airline credit of my AMEX Business Platinum.
Amazon Spend: 5X Ultimate Rewards points via gift cards bought at Staples using an Ink Plus card, + 3X JetBlue TrueBlue points. See 3X JetBlue TrueBlue Points for Amazon Spend
Internet and Phone: 5X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar using an Ink Plus card
Groceries: 5X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar at Whole Foods via gift cards bought at Staples using an Ink Plus card. In Q2 2017, I'll leverage our 3 Chase Freedom cards to purchase $4500 in Trader Joe's gift cards at 5X, to earn a total of 22,500 Ultimate Rewards points, since Grocery Stores are a Chase Freedom 5X category in Q2.
Restaurants: 10X Membership Rewards points using my AMEX Blue for Business card (U.S. restaurants only); 3X at international restaurants using my Chase Sapphire Reserve
Subway Fare, Taxis (U.S.): 5X Ultimate Rewards points through end of March 2017 via the Chase Freedom, since commuter transportation is a Q1 2017 5X category.
Transportation While Abroad: 3X Ultimate Rewards points using my Chase Sapphire Reserve
Otherwise Unbonused Spend: We'll be using my husband's Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select since he's still working on minimum spend to earn the 60K signup bonus. After that, I'll switch to my AMEX Blue for Business, which earns 2X Membership Rewards points on all spend up to $50,000 in the first year.
Which credit cards are you using the most, and why?
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