Readers: What Are the Cards You’re Using Most?

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I’ve shared with you what’s in my wallet and why.

I think that Chase Sapphire Reserve is best for travel and dining spend. Then I use a no annual fee Ink Cash card for 5x earning on office supplies and telecommunications spend an a Chase Freedom Unlimited for 1.5x earning on otherwise-unbonused spend, and combine points so that they all transfer to airline miles and hotel points.

I don’t think you need both a Chase Sapphire Reserve and a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Preferred has the lower annual fee so if you don’t spend much on travel and dining you’d want to keep that one instead — but have one of them so that your Chase points transfer to airline miles and hotel points.

In this way I earn various category bonuses, but in no case less than 1.5 transferable points per dollar spent.

Etihad First Apartment

The only spend I put on my Platinum Card from American Express is airfare to earn 5 points per dollar, but I split my airfare between this and the Chase Sapphire Reserve as I’ve separately discussed. I keep the Platinum card for the benefits, not primarily for spending.

And I do still put some unbonused spend on my Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express even though it’s perhaps a bit suboptimal to earn 1 Starwood point instead of 1.5 Chase points, but I want to build that account balance.

Starwood’s Al Maha Desert Resort

Finally I put $40,000 spend on my Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard and $50,000 on the American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Silver Card to reduce the heavy lift necessary to retain my American Airlines Executive Platinum status.

This is your opportunity to take shots at my strategy, or to offer your own an explain why it makes sense for you. What cards are you using for the most spend?

Source : viewfromthewing