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For the average American, the best way to maximize travel rewards is to make sure you are applying for the best credit cards and using the right credit cards for your daily expenses. Having the card that best suits your spending habits can mean the difference between earning a single point per dollar on a purchase and earning five points per dollar on a purchase. Over the past few years we’ve introduced so many great new cards that can really help you maximize every dollar you spend. I remember that I used to normally only earn around one point per dollar spent, whereas today I average several points per dollar spent. The best credit card bonus categoriesGiven how much the credit card landscape has changed, I thought it was worth dividing the cards I currently use for each of the major spending categories based on my card portfolio. Here are the cards I use for different categories, sorted from most points per dollar to least points per dollar: Airfare purchasesI use the American Express Platinum Card® (review) for my airline ticket purchases as the card offers 5x points on airline tickets purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel, up to $ 500,000 of those purchases per calendar year (that is certainly not meet an upper limit of I). I rate these points at 1.7 cents each, which corresponds to a return of 8.5%. In addition, the Amex Platinum offers excellent travel protection when topping up flight tickets. Learn more about the best credit cards for airline ticket purchases.
Food purchasesI use the Citi Prestige Card for my restaurant purchases as the card offers 5x Thank You Points for every dollar spent on restaurant purchases worldwide. I rate these points at 1.7 cents each, which corresponds to a return of 8.5%. Learn about the best credit cards for restaurant shopping.
Cell phone, internet and cable purchasesI use the Ink Business Preferred® credit card (verification) for my cell phone purchases as the card offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points and has a great cell phone protection plan. I now use the free Ink Business Cash® credit card for my internet and cable purchases, as the card offers 5x Ultimate Rewards points. As you can see, I forego some points with Ink Business Preferred when buying a cell phone, but I think it’s worth it for the added protection.
Purchases in the office supply storeI use the free Ink Business Cash® credit card (review) with no annual fee to buy office supplies, as the card offers 5x points. You can buy a surprising number of things from office supply stores so I find this very useful. In conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (rating), the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (rating) or the Ink Business Preferred® credit card, these points can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points. Alternating quarterly category purchasesThe Chase Freedom Flex with no annual feeSM (Review) offers 5x Points in rotating quarterly categories for up to $ 1,500 in expenses per quarter. In the third quarter of 2021, for example, the card offers 5x points for purchases in grocery stores and selected streaming services. In conjunction with selected other cards, these rewards can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points. Grocery delivery purchasesI use Postmates and Uber Eats a lot, so I think that’s worth putting in a separate category in my case. What is interesting is how different credit cards categorize food delivery services, as some see them as restaurants while others don’t. I use the Citi Prestige Card for food delivery services as the card offers 5x thank you points for these purchases as Postmates and Uber Eats are treated like a restaurant.
Shopping in the US supermarketI use the Amex EveryDay® Preferred credit card from American Express (review) for purchases in US supermarkets, as the card offers up to 4.5x Membership Rewards points for purchases in US supermarkets. Specifically, earn 3x Membership Rewards points for the first $ 6,000 spent in U.S. grocery stores each calendar year, and then receive a 50% bonus when you make 30 or more transactions per billing cycle. Find out more about the best credit cards for grocery shopping.
Other travel purchasesI use the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for most purchases without a plane ticket as the card offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points for all travel encoded purchases (this even includes things like Ubers, taxis, parking, etc.). There are only two exceptions to this:
US gas station purchasesThe Amex EveryDay® Preferred credit card offers up to 3x Membership Rewards points for purchases at US petrol stations. Specifically, you collect 2x Membership Rewards points at US petrol stations and then receive a 50% bonus if you make at least 30 transactions per billing cycle. So this is the card I use to make gas station purchases when I rent a car. Learn more about the best credit cards for gas station purchases. US drug store purchasesI use the free Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) with no annual fee for purchases in US drugstores as the card offers 3x points for these purchases. In conjunction with selected other cards, these rewards can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points. Daily non-bonus personal expensesFor personal expenses, my go-to card is the Citi® Double Cash Card with no annual fee (verification). The card offers 1% cashback when purchasing and 1% cashback when paying. What is special about this card is that, in conjunction with a card with thank you points, the cashback bonuses can be converted into thank you points at the rate of one cent per thank you point. So I basically earn two thank you points for every dollar spent, which is amazing. This is an incredible amount of flexibility, especially in these unprecedented times. Find out more about the best credit cards for everyday use. Daily, non-bonused business expensesFor business expenses, my preferred card is the American Express Blue Business® Plus credit card (verification), which offers 2x Membership Rewards points for the first $ 50,000 per calendar year (1x thereafter). In addition, I use the free Ink Business Unlimited® credit card (review), which offers an unlimited 1.5x points that can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points. Bottom lineAll in all, I make an average of over 3x points per dollar spent which is a solid return on investment in my opinion. While I’m not saying that everyone has as many credit cards as I do, I do think that strategically buying a few cards that have large bonus categories for the things that you spend the most on is very valuable. How does this compare to the cards you use to maximize your spending? Via https://globalconnekt.com/credit-cards-that-i-use-for-every-major-bonus-category/
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March 2022
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