Chase is starting to fall behind a bit, especially with their two Sapphire cards. A revamp should be in the works. Their saving grace with me is the elevated 5x on gas and groceries the first year with the CFU SUB I got and their ink cards. Plus Chase still dominates the travel partner game.
If Chase launched a 2% card, then I'd doubt it would be eligible for the 25% - 50% value boost in travel via the portal when combined with the CSP, CSR, or CIBP.
It depends how you value the Chase points. I value everything with Chase UR at 1.5X whatever the multiplier is. So the FU at 1.5X, is really 2.25X in my eyes towards travel. And it goes a bit higher if I put it towards Hyatt. This is with the CSR + FU combo that is. But if you're an expert and can get better value out of Transfer partners, then by all means you're better off with another system.
The most helpful video you've made, and that's saying something! I'm downsizing my setup (I was at a dozen cards at one point) and this really helped me visualize how I should determine my card setup value. Thanks Mark!
Best credit card video ever. This is such a smart way to decide which card and how many to maximize earning points as each person's needs and spends are very different ❤
You covered a lot of ground here Mark - great work man! A cpl items I'd weigh differently include: true Amex cash back setup with CS Platinum for 1.1%, not all travel partner pgms are created equal. You mentioned the intangibles like "credits" to keep track of, categories to remember, hassle factor in general. I think the customer service piece can be huge, as well as "out of portal" earnings capability.
Great video, @Mark Reese // Credit & Finance! I think it would be interesting for a Part 2 to consider more hybrid setups that are likely to surpass all of them!
Thanks for all the research you’ve done! I was about to add more cards into my wallet but then this video probably stopped my plan. The effort to squeeze every points out of the least spend categories is definitely not worth the headache.
Except chase sapphire reserve's value is multipled x 1.5 when used for travel in the chase portal. $133 worth of points now $200. Pretty huge point missed. The x 1.5 value with chase.
@MarkReese they both count. One is currency worth. The other is discount. Comparing British pound to Canadian dollar. Shoes on sale 50% does not count. It's huge. Currency worth + discount is game changer. Maybe worth another video. Good job on presentation.
@@erincavanagh6551 - The numbers shown in the video were only for average redemption values using transfer partners...not other methods. Regardless, the purpose of the video isn't to advocate for any particular setup, redemption method, or value. Rather, it shows the thought process people should go through with their own spend and the cards that interest them 👍
Wow - thanks for all the work that obviously went into this video. Always better to make financial decisions based on data, rather than by feel. I appreciate you considering + sharing this data.
This was a very well structured video that showed me how powerful a 1 card setup could be. Seems I'm only missing out on $500 with a 1 card vs multiple but it may be worth it for when I want to start simplifying things!
This was great. such an objective way of looking at the rewards. I was afraid it was going to be another Chase ad by a UA-camr. it was very objective, thank you
WOW! That is quite a complex study you have created and shared with us. I appreciate the amount of work it took to create it. Kudos to you, for this very insightful mental exercise. I use a two card setup. 1-Whatever welcome , retention or spend bonus I am working on supplemented by 2- $200 VGCs or MCGCs bought at 5X that help me meter my application velocity. It's pretty hard to beat.
If you are considering your 1 card setup at 1.7x for travel, would love to see a side by side comparison of the venture X at 1.7 and altitude reserve at 1.5. Since travel and mobile wallets will get 4.5 in that comparison I bet it will torch the venture x
@@MarkReese absolutely! For international travel for sure. If capital one had more domestic partners I’d switch in a heartbeat. I had the venture for 8 years. Just wanted more domestic options
Interesting! I loved this breakdown. I have one question, though: If you were doing a pure cash-back approach, why did you stick to cards from the same issuers? I understand that it makes for a good comparison to travel, since in travel terms they kind of have to work together. But for cash back, you could have had the Costco card as a 1-and-done card. Or you could have had the Custom Cash, Active Cash/Double Cash, SavorOne, Autograph, etc. I'm curious what things would have looked like with that. Also, the new Robinhood card at 3% on everything could change things up!
Mainly for 2 reasons: 1. To illustrate the trifectas that so many people talk about. 2. For simplicity of card management. I also did these tests for myself as I'm looking for a way to simplify every aspect of my card setup. One major pain point I have is using cards across different issuers, each of which requires separate accounts / logins to manage and separate rewards programs. The purpose of the video, however, isn't to advocate for any particular setup. Rather, it shows the thought process people should go through with their own spend and the cards that interest them 👍
Mark, many thanks for all the work that went into crunching the numbers for this video, and all the time that must have gone into explaining it all so clearly. You have a heck of a channel.
This is quality content, sir. Thank you. Also, great to know my instinct about the Venture X was correct. I've been in simplicity mode with my CC setup for a while now, and my Venture X alongside my Bilt for rent points has been a very effective combo. On top of this, it's so easy to derive full value from the $300 travel credit they offer, probably the easiest of all the higher AF cards I know of. Great product, IMHO.
Way too many wacky assumptions made here (without stating) for this to make sense. For example, why would you convert Savor points to miles, then cash them in for half value?
Because you cannot use the 2X earnings from the Venture X to become 2% as part of a cash back setup. For anyone who thought "2X on everything" from a Venture card would be good for a cash back setup, I wanted to illustrate how it's actually a terrible choice. The Capital One Duo that so many people talk about as an incredible setup is only good for people who like to travel. Additionally, you can only transfer rewards in 1 direction with Capital One. That is, from cash back into miles. You cannot do miles into cash back. That said, a better Capital One Duo for cash back would be the SavorOne + Quicksilver.
@@MarkReese No, I wouldn’t want to accumulate more in CO miles on the V1 than I wanted to use at 1 cent per point as a purchase eraser for travel. But the Savor One is obviously good for cash back. Why not the Savor One/Quicksilver combo? And no one who doesn’t travel at all should have the V1 in the first place.
@@robertjarrell7276 - I mentioned the SavorOne + Quicksilver in my previous reply and agree that would've been better. There are hundreds / thousands of possibilities to run through a test like this one. The purpose of the video is not to advocate for any of the limited setups I illustrated. Rather, it's to encourage people to evaluate what they're doing with their own numbers & the cards that interest them.
@@MarkReese Mark, what's your opinion on the Citi Cashback Duo with the Custom Cash and Double Cash vs the Capital One Cashback Duo with the SavorOne and Quicksilver? 🤔
Thanks for this amazing information! Right now, I’m mostly in the C1 + Chase systems, but I think over the next few years, I’ll transition to a c1 + citi system. I feel that is the long term keeper strategy that will fit my needs (cash back OR travel) over the next decade or so.
Mark, just watched your superb video again to absorb it all. In the travel 1-card category, the COVX is truly impressive, and on my wishlist, but curious why you didn’t include the CSR up against the other premium travel cards? Or maybe I missed it.
For brevity sake, I had to leave way more cards out than in. I could've run many dozens of combinations and make the video 3 hours long 😆. However, the video is not about trying to advocate for a particular card. It's also not mean to say 1 card is always better than another (that depends on how / where you spend). Rather, it's meant to be educational for others to evaluate cards on their own.
Excellent video Mark. Nothing like it so far on UA-cam. Really puts a unique perspective on high reward setups. Surprised to see Citi do so well, but I’m realizing they are a sleeper with only a $95 annual fee entry for a trifecta. Is it true that once you move points from a Custom Cash or Double Cash to the Premier they have an expiration date? Would be a negative if true. Also the power of the Venture X alone is interesting to see. I do find myself often turning to it for most of my non category purchases.
Correct. If you transfer Citi ThankYou points internally (to your other cards) or externally (to someone else's ThankYou account), then there's a 90-day expiration policy to use them once received.
Interesting. But, were someone to "build" a one card set up for cash back wouldn't they likely choose a cash back card to start? In the case of American Express, for example, would it not have made more sense to have started with the Blue Cash Everyday or Preferred card, then added the Magnet for a two card set, and finally pointed out that there really isn't a third complimentary product in the line--as opposed to, e.g., Citi's Double, Custom and Rewards + options?
Yep, that'd be the ideal path to take. However, I wanted to make a point. Too many people jump on cards like the Amex Gold, Venture X, etc. and have no idea that the value for cash is awful. In fact, the value for almost everything except via transfer partners strategically is quite subpar. Those of us who know that are in the small minority.
Thanks! That's not something I will take the time to calculate because I don't plan to use a bunch of cards any longer. My focus going forward is to simplify my strategy in a major way.
Tbh one bonus is the same with the amount of spend you could average out to 5K whale cards and do 16 of them per Chase cycle assuming a value of $800 average SUB value which would equate to $12,800. Subs are king it's a 5Xish difference.
For a single card setup, are you sure about your comment on the savor one? This is a cashback card at 1cent per point, so you are not losing any value.
Does the Citi Premier card have good transfer partners for domestic and international country travel or is it mostly good for international? I can kinda do either the capitol One duo setup or the Citi trifecta pretty easy and not sure on which if I mainly am going to do travel within United States. I could also do chase but that requires the freedom unlimited and sapphire to do and I’m over the 5/24 rule right now
Mostly good for international travel. It's possible to do domestic flights with international transfer partners, though it's not always straightforward & requires some work.
@@sol_nb7143 - I prefer Chase for domestic due to (a) the guaranteed 1.25¢ - 1.50¢ per point via the portal (while Capital One is at most 1.0¢) and (b) domestic transfer partners like United, Southwest, and JetBlue. Chase also has really useful hotel programs: Hyatt, Marriott, IHG.
@@MarkReese yeah that’s what I hear too. Hopefully I can duck under the 5/24 rule or maybe work my way slowly to getting the other two chase cards I need. Or maybe try my luck with Citi or capital one. Thanks
Ok so maybe I missed something here, but on the 1 card setup cash part, the highest return was $860.12. Using your spend against a 2% flat cash back card, the return is $1077.26. So it seems like the flat 2% is a winner in a pure cash back single card scenario. Even with a 2 card setup. It wasn’t until you got to 3 cards that it passed the 2% and even there, it wasn’t by much. The Alliant CC would net you $1347, and the new RH Gold Card would net you $1616. You couldn’t even hit that with a 4 card setup and all that extra work to manage it (and even deducting the $60 “annual fee”). I think that should be a key takeaway in itself.
Even on the travel side, if you deduct the AF from the cash equivalent value, only the Citi stack beats it and by $500…for all that work. Thank you for doing this experiment. This is the kind of content we need in this space. It seems like if you’re going to be team cash back in 2024, there really is only one option and it’s simple. Maybe the new gold card isn’t totally overrated? 😂
@@MarkReese Oh, for sure. There are so many permutations and combinations you could have done here, but you (and us viewers) would end up with analysis paralysis if you took it to the logical conclusion. As a fellow content creator in the finance space (this is a sock account, not the one I create from) I know how challenging it is to approach this space from a quantitive perspective. I can't over state how glad I am that you did this experiment and presented the data in this manner. I think that most of us credit card "enthusiasts" get caught up in the "game" or the hobby, but we don't really present things from what I would consider the "30k foot view" - the fact is that there is a cost in terms of time and sanity to min/max this hobby. I have been doing the CC game for well over a decade and a half at this point, and where I am at in my life, I just don't have the time or energy to pursue it like I used to. I've also reached the point where time is my most valuable asset, so everything I do is based on whether or not I am "buying time" or not. Time is the one thing I cannot make/buy more of, so that really matters to me. Your experiment was awesome and I love your content in general. From one content creator to another, keep doing what you're doing man!
Agree and moreover, the RH Gold Card fee is $50 per year (not $60) if you shift to an annual membership instead of a $5 monthly fee. Notably, the RH Gold card has no foreign transaction fees whereas all of the cash back cards outlined in Marc's (great!) presentation have around a 3% foreign transaction fee, except for the Savor One. If you were to account for the foreign transaction fees, both the Capital One Cash set-ups and the RH Gold Card would will yield even a bigger advantage versus the other cash set-ups.
Great video. I wonder if you used the Charles Schwab Platinum card, how would that change the cash back results? I would assume that would put Amex in first consideration it has a $0.11 cash back rate.
Question, how would you value the travel portals? do you find that the 5/10x multipliers are better earned versus the hotel rewards points when booking directly with the hotel?
I personally don't value the portals at all because I don't use them. Others may value them highly, and still others may be in between. For that reason, there isn't a "right" answer that applies to everyone. Watch this video starting at 12 min 34 sec: ua-cam.com/video/lhyJo8yG6RE/v-deo.htmlsi=vdTzgob2Misaqh_P&t=754
@@MarkReese Hi again, I plugged in your spending numbers with my cash back set up multipliers. I used 6 cards: 3 Customized Cash Rewards cards (BOA Platinum Honors), the BOA Premier, the AAA Daily Advantage, and finally the Venture X (but I counted its miles as 1cpp). For Cash Back the above setup gets $2,112.12. It didn't beat the top travel card set up, but did well for cash back. I really thank you for putting this video together. It was so helpful.
Is it better to use one credit card system or use the best of all the available credit card system? For eg. is it better to use only Citi or should I sprinkle Chase(rotating categories), Amex BCP(grocery) and CapitalOne (2x on everything)??
Hey Mark, it seems you're really moving toward downsizing. Will you be able to show us your new downsized setup compared to your old setup? Curious to see which cards of yours don't make the cut.
Man if Southwest would move to more than just chase I would bank hardcore on Venture X. Its such a huge money saver for me cause we fly southwest all the time and have companion pass so i save so much money with that. I use the chase trifecta because of this as my mail cards. Then I have my hotel cards and I also got the Venture X for some certain bills on the side to bank points outside of chase.
I respectfully disagree with this video. It was detailed and it did encourage me to look at my yearly expenses, but the value of credit cards can not only be compared with cash or travel rewards. The money I saved thanks to the platinum Amex in free breakfast, lounge food etc is a lot more than what my capital x gives me. Also the capital x redemption should be 1 not .5 because with redeeming past travel purchases for cash it gives you 1. The tips at the end are very pertinent. Thank you
Yes thank you. Not to mention purchase protections. There's a reason for those high annual fees. If you don't see value in those types of things, or don't use them, well there you go. But with these things in mind, I think Amex more than earns their keep, especially seeing the raw data here on cash back/rewards points without those things.
This took a lot of work. Great job. My takeaway is this. Cut your expenses on worthless purchases. Take the money that you saved and put that money directly in an index fund within an IRA. You will make more money and be able to retire with a million dollars. If you use the cards to get points then you will be able to travel, while you are going to the point of bankruptcy.
...And for those who plan to travel anyway with cash, then using points / miles to save hundreds or thousands on a trip means having those funds left over to invest as well 📈
@@MarkReese agreed. I use those points as I like to travel more than I want/need the cash back. My point is if you are going to spend and get points, spend wisely and not on junk! 👍😀
At the time, I had the CSP, so it was probably just what was on my mind. This video is meant to show the process behind making a decision. You can do the analysis with whichever cards you like.
If suggest the 4 card set up for Citi having the rewards+ card which effectively boosts your overall earning by 10% would make the 4 card travel set up be an effective $2,449 instead of $2,227
Nothing ever changes the axiomatic soundness of the 80/20 rule. Even more so when it comes to credit cards. Though of course the hobbyists aren't really doing this to earn the most rewards in the most efficient ways that are practicable, despite what they may say.
@@MarkReese on one of the charts freedom flex gave more cash back. I just realized why. Because, while they both have 5% back, some categories on freedom flex paying back more than the “other categories - 1% back) on citi CC
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This might be your best video I've seen
Appreciate hearing that!
As someone who is pursuing a degree in data analytics and uses credit cards, this video puts me in a happy place. Thanks Mark!
What this tells me is, Chase needs a 2% card and Amex is overrated.
Chase is starting to fall behind a bit, especially with their two Sapphire cards. A revamp should be in the works.
Their saving grace with me is the elevated 5x on gas and groceries the first year with the CFU SUB I got and their ink cards.
Plus Chase still dominates the travel partner game.
If Chase launched a 2% card, then I'd doubt it would be eligible for the 25% - 50% value boost in travel via the portal when combined with the CSP, CSR, or CIBP.
It depends how you value the Chase points.
I value everything with Chase UR at 1.5X whatever the multiplier is. So the FU at 1.5X, is really 2.25X in my eyes towards travel. And it goes a bit higher if I put it towards Hyatt. This is with the CSR + FU combo that is.
But if you're an expert and can get better value out of Transfer partners, then by all means you're better off with another system.
Facts!!!
Oh wow - this a huge change in quality. I hope the change in quality reflects well for you!
Thank you!
The most helpful video you've made, and that's saying something! I'm downsizing my setup (I was at a dozen cards at one point) and this really helped me visualize how I should determine my card setup value. Thanks Mark!
You're welcome! I'm downsizing too. Can hardly wait to get it done 😬
@@MarkReese I'm planning to downsize too. Are you doing a video about you're new setup?
@@ramon__olivero - Likely so 👍
Huge project, well done
Thank you!
Always consider the opportunity cost of your time
A side hustle will always earn more than credit card points
💯👍
Outstanding analysis both in explanation and graphics presented. Your level of detail is insane with appropriate disclaimers. Thanks!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Wow this is the best CC consideration video. No one isolates point earning and breaks it down as well as you have here
Thank you!
Do you work in IT by any chance ? Your presentation using bar charts with all calculations is very detail. Your videos are always great to watch.
Thank you! No, I don't work in IT.
whoa great break down and the visuals were great thanks for another thought process, keep that content coming thank you
Thank you! 🏆
The schwab plat my be the game changer for an Amex setup
Best credit card video ever. This is such a smart way to decide which card and how many to maximize earning points as each person's needs and spends are very different ❤
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Outstanding video that confirms my newly obtained Citi trifecta, with the Premier being the best card to use while outside the US.
🏆💳💳💳
Great visual aids for the cash back setups!
Glad you found them helpful!
Great video Mark! This is one of the most comprehensive breakdowns on YT
Appreciate it, Jake!
You covered a lot of ground here Mark - great work man! A cpl items I'd weigh differently include: true Amex cash back setup with CS Platinum for 1.1%, not all travel partner pgms are created equal. You mentioned the intangibles like "credits" to keep track of, categories to remember, hassle factor in general. I think the customer service piece can be huge, as well as "out of portal" earnings capability.
💯👍
Great video, @Mark Reese // Credit & Finance! I think it would be interesting for a Part 2 to consider more hybrid setups that are likely to surpass all of them!
Glad you enjoyed it!
best cost benefit analysis of credit card value relative to personal spend out there
Thanks for all the research you’ve done! I was about to add more cards into my wallet but then this video probably stopped my plan. The effort to squeeze every points out of the least spend categories is definitely not worth the headache.
Glad it helped!
Except chase sapphire reserve's value is multipled x 1.5 when used for travel in the chase portal. $133 worth of points now $200. Pretty huge point missed. The x 1.5 value with chase.
That irrelevant for this video as I used an even higher value of 1.7¢ per point for travel with Chase.
@MarkReese they both count. One is currency worth. The other is discount. Comparing British pound to Canadian dollar. Shoes on sale 50% does not count. It's huge. Currency worth + discount is game changer. Maybe worth another video. Good job on presentation.
@@erincavanagh6551 - The numbers shown in the video were only for average redemption values using transfer partners...not other methods. Regardless, the purpose of the video isn't to advocate for any particular setup, redemption method, or value. Rather, it shows the thought process people should go through with their own spend and the cards that interest them 👍
I like this! I’d be curious, especially for the cash back side, to see how multi-card setups that don’t stick to one ecosystem would compare.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Wow - thanks for all the work that obviously went into this video. Always better to make financial decisions based on data, rather than by feel. I appreciate you considering + sharing this data.
Glad you enjoyed it! Agreed. Data / numbers are important to look at when making financial decisions.
Wow! There is so much in making this video. Hats off for the effort!! 🎉❤
Thank you!
I have 6 but really only use 4. If you want to maximize cash back you’re gonna need at least 3.
I think active cash and autograph journey would've done well
💯👍
This was a very well structured video that showed me how powerful a 1 card setup could be. Seems I'm only missing out on $500 with a 1 card vs multiple but it may be worth it for when I want to start simplifying things!
Glad it shined some light on the topic for you!
This was great. such an objective way of looking at the rewards. I was afraid it was going to be another Chase ad by a UA-camr. it was very objective, thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
WOW! That is quite a complex study you have created and shared with us. I appreciate the amount of work it took to create it. Kudos to you, for this very insightful mental exercise. I use a two card setup. 1-Whatever welcome , retention or spend bonus I am working on supplemented by 2- $200 VGCs or MCGCs bought at 5X that help me meter my application velocity. It's pretty hard to beat.
Glad you found a strategy that works well for ya!
If you are considering your 1 card setup at 1.7x for travel, would love to see a side by side comparison of the venture X at 1.7 and altitude reserve at 1.5.
Since travel and mobile wallets will get 4.5 in that comparison I bet it will torch the venture x
The 1.7¢ is an average figure. It's very possible to get 3¢, 4¢, 5¢, and beyond.
@@MarkReese absolutely! For international travel for sure. If capital one had more domestic partners I’d switch in a heartbeat. I had the venture for 8 years. Just wanted more domestic options
Interesting! I loved this breakdown. I have one question, though: If you were doing a pure cash-back approach, why did you stick to cards from the same issuers? I understand that it makes for a good comparison to travel, since in travel terms they kind of have to work together. But for cash back, you could have had the Costco card as a 1-and-done card. Or you could have had the Custom Cash, Active Cash/Double Cash, SavorOne, Autograph, etc. I'm curious what things would have looked like with that. Also, the new Robinhood card at 3% on everything could change things up!
Mainly for 2 reasons:
1. To illustrate the trifectas that so many people talk about.
2. For simplicity of card management. I also did these tests for myself as I'm looking for a way to simplify every aspect of my card setup. One major pain point I have is using cards across different issuers, each of which requires separate accounts / logins to manage and separate rewards programs.
The purpose of the video, however, isn't to advocate for any particular setup. Rather, it shows the thought process people should go through with their own spend and the cards that interest them 👍
Mark, many thanks for all the work that went into crunching the numbers for this video, and all the time that must have gone into explaining it all so clearly. You have a heck of a channel.
Thanks Bruce!
Dude, excellent video! Very impressed. I would like you to do a part 2 of this video and run it agains US Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America setups!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very thorough as usual. 👍🏾
💯👍
very helpful! and different from the rest of the crowd, great value!
Thank you!
Mark this is the best credit card related video I've ever seen! You're the best!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh hell yeah a long video drop let’s go!
👊💥
This is quality content, sir. Thank you. Also, great to know my instinct about the Venture X was correct. I've been in simplicity mode with my CC setup for a while now, and my Venture X alongside my Bilt for rent points has been a very effective combo. On top of this, it's so easy to derive full value from the $300 travel credit they offer, probably the easiest of all the higher AF cards I know of. Great product, IMHO.
🏆👍
Way too many wacky assumptions made here (without stating) for this to make sense. For example, why would you convert Savor points to miles, then cash them in for half value?
Because you cannot use the 2X earnings from the Venture X to become 2% as part of a cash back setup.
For anyone who thought "2X on everything" from a Venture card would be good for a cash back setup, I wanted to illustrate how it's actually a terrible choice.
The Capital One Duo that so many people talk about as an incredible setup is only good for people who like to travel.
Additionally, you can only transfer rewards in 1 direction with Capital One. That is, from cash back into miles. You cannot do miles into cash back.
That said, a better Capital One Duo for cash back would be the SavorOne + Quicksilver.
@@MarkReese No, I wouldn’t want to accumulate more in CO miles on the V1 than I wanted to use at 1 cent per point as a purchase eraser for travel. But the Savor One is obviously good for cash back. Why not the Savor One/Quicksilver combo? And no one who doesn’t travel at all should have the V1 in the first place.
@@robertjarrell7276 - I mentioned the SavorOne + Quicksilver in my previous reply and agree that would've been better.
There are hundreds / thousands of possibilities to run through a test like this one.
The purpose of the video is not to advocate for any of the limited setups I illustrated. Rather, it's to encourage people to evaluate what they're doing with their own numbers & the cards that interest them.
@@MarkReese Mark, what's your opinion on the Citi Cashback Duo with the Custom Cash and Double Cash vs the Capital One Cashback Duo with the SavorOne and Quicksilver? 🤔
@@caribdude8151 - Perhaps another video at some point. I don't do comparisons via UA-cam comments 😄
Thanks for this amazing information!
Right now, I’m mostly in the C1 + Chase systems, but I think over the next few years, I’ll transition to a c1 + citi system.
I feel that is the long term keeper strategy that will fit my needs (cash back OR travel) over the next decade or so.
Phd level breakdown. Well done sir! Love the new editing as well.
Thank you x 2!
Wow - incredible project! Great concept for a video. Kudos!
Thank you!
One of the most useful credit card videos on UA-cam. Chase has such terrible customer service the rewards are irrelevant.
Interesting. My experience w/ Chase's customer service has been great for years. Was that not the case for you?
Chase is extremely dishonest.
Well done Mark
Thank you!
Mark, just watched your superb video again to absorb it all. In the travel 1-card category, the COVX is truly impressive, and on my wishlist, but curious why you didn’t include the CSR up against the other premium travel cards? Or maybe I missed it.
For brevity sake, I had to leave way more cards out than in. I could've run many dozens of combinations and make the video 3 hours long 😆. However, the video is not about trying to advocate for a particular card. It's also not mean to say 1 card is always better than another (that depends on how / where you spend). Rather, it's meant to be educational for others to evaluate cards on their own.
This was such an amazing presentation. Wow! Amazing work 🎉
Thank you! Cheers!
Great job on this, easy to follow graphs
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome analysis
Impressive Professor Reese! Thank you!!
You bet!
Excellent video Mark. Nothing like it so far on UA-cam. Really puts a unique perspective on high reward setups.
Surprised to see Citi do so well, but I’m realizing they are a sleeper with only a $95 annual fee entry for a trifecta.
Is it true that once you move points from a Custom Cash or Double Cash to the Premier they have an expiration date? Would be a negative if true.
Also the power of the Venture X alone is interesting to see. I do find myself often turning to it for most of my non category purchases.
Correct. If you transfer Citi ThankYou points internally (to your other cards) or externally (to someone else's ThankYou account), then there's a 90-day expiration policy to use them once received.
@@MarkReese bummer. I assume they do that so you don’t transfer to the Premier and cancel the other cards.
Great video! I enjoyed this breakdown! I definitely have noticed how I get those diminished rewards as I’ve added more and more cards.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for a super helpful video!
You're welcome!
A new bar has been set sir! Great job on this one. You should challenge the other CC creators to match. 👍🏾
Thank you! 🏆
Such an informative video. Thanks for all your great videos!
Glad it was helpful!
Would be interesting to do this with the altitude reserve
For sure 👍
Thanks for this interesting breakdown mark!
You bet!
Great breakdown! Capital One Venture X + SavorOne/Savor duo. Thanks for the info + video!
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If you could somehow make this spreadsheet available for general public use that would be monumental
Agreed, but I don't have plans for that at this time.
The BEST video yet!❤
Glad you think so! 🏆
Interesting. But, were someone to "build" a one card set up for cash back wouldn't they likely choose a cash back card to start? In the case of American Express, for example, would it not have made more sense to have started with the Blue Cash Everyday or Preferred card, then added the Magnet for a two card set, and finally pointed out that there really isn't a third complimentary product in the line--as opposed to, e.g., Citi's Double, Custom and Rewards + options?
Yep, that'd be the ideal path to take. However, I wanted to make a point. Too many people jump on cards like the Amex Gold, Venture X, etc. and have no idea that the value for cash is awful. In fact, the value for almost everything except via transfer partners strategically is quite subpar. Those of us who know that are in the small minority.
@@MarkReese That's true. Point taken. I learned the hard way too. Thank you for the courtesy of your response.
53 here it takes time to keep track of them all but I have a solid method in place!
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Awesome Review , Thank you!
You bet!
Wow, great analysis Mark! Thanks for the effort to educate us all!
Thank you + you're welcome!
I’ve done a similar analysis but I subtract out the annual fees to get a net amount.
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Wow! Great job on doing all this
Thanks! 🙏
Great video Mark!! Can you tell the number if you use all of the cards in their respective best categories? I wonder what the difference would be
Thanks! That's not something I will take the time to calculate because I don't plan to use a bunch of cards any longer. My focus going forward is to simplify my strategy in a major way.
My Citi 12-card setup is the best!
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Tbh one bonus is the same with the amount of spend you could average out to 5K whale cards and do 16 of them per Chase cycle assuming a value of $800 average SUB value which would equate to $12,800. Subs are king it's a 5Xish difference.
Yes, a consistent flow of signup bonuses will almost always beat using multipliers alone.
What about Wells Fargo Active Cash?
A good card worth considering 👍
For a single card setup, are you sure about your comment on the savor one? This is a cashback card at 1cent per point, so you are not losing any value.
Which comment are you referring to?
Does the Citi Premier card have good transfer partners for domestic and international country travel or is it mostly good for international? I can kinda do either the capitol One duo setup or the Citi trifecta pretty easy and not sure on which if I mainly am going to do travel within United States. I could also do chase but that requires the freedom unlimited and sapphire to do and I’m over the 5/24 rule right now
Mostly good for international travel. It's possible to do domestic flights with international transfer partners, though it's not always straightforward & requires some work.
@@MarkReese are the chase and or capital one strategy better for domestic flights or about the same?
@@sol_nb7143 - I prefer Chase for domestic due to (a) the guaranteed 1.25¢ - 1.50¢ per point via the portal (while Capital One is at most 1.0¢) and (b) domestic transfer partners like United, Southwest, and JetBlue. Chase also has really useful hotel programs: Hyatt, Marriott, IHG.
@@MarkReese yeah that’s what I hear too. Hopefully I can duck under the 5/24 rule or maybe work my way slowly to getting the other two chase cards I need. Or maybe try my luck with Citi or capital one. Thanks
Ok so maybe I missed something here, but on the 1 card setup cash part, the highest return was $860.12. Using your spend against a 2% flat cash back card, the return is $1077.26. So it seems like the flat 2% is a winner in a pure cash back single card scenario. Even with a 2 card setup. It wasn’t until you got to 3 cards that it passed the 2% and even there, it wasn’t by much. The Alliant CC would net you $1347, and the new RH Gold Card would net you $1616. You couldn’t even hit that with a 4 card setup and all that extra work to manage it (and even deducting the $60 “annual fee”). I think that should be a key takeaway in itself.
Even on the travel side, if you deduct the AF from the cash equivalent value, only the Citi stack beats it and by $500…for all that work. Thank you for doing this experiment. This is the kind of content we need in this space. It seems like if you’re going to be team cash back in 2024, there really is only one option and it’s simple. Maybe the new gold card isn’t totally overrated? 😂
Great point! I should've included a flat 2% card in the 1-card setup for cash back. Clearly, there are many combinations we could evaluate.
@@MarkReese Oh, for sure. There are so many permutations and combinations you could have done here, but you (and us viewers) would end up with analysis paralysis if you took it to the logical conclusion. As a fellow content creator in the finance space (this is a sock account, not the one I create from) I know how challenging it is to approach this space from a quantitive perspective. I can't over state how glad I am that you did this experiment and presented the data in this manner. I think that most of us credit card "enthusiasts" get caught up in the "game" or the hobby, but we don't really present things from what I would consider the "30k foot view" - the fact is that there is a cost in terms of time and sanity to min/max this hobby. I have been doing the CC game for well over a decade and a half at this point, and where I am at in my life, I just don't have the time or energy to pursue it like I used to. I've also reached the point where time is my most valuable asset, so everything I do is based on whether or not I am "buying time" or not. Time is the one thing I cannot make/buy more of, so that really matters to me. Your experiment was awesome and I love your content in general. From one content creator to another, keep doing what you're doing man!
Agree and moreover, the RH Gold Card fee is $50 per year (not $60) if you shift to an annual membership instead of a $5 monthly fee. Notably, the RH Gold card has no foreign transaction fees whereas all of the cash back cards outlined in Marc's (great!) presentation have around a 3% foreign transaction fee, except for the Savor One. If you were to account for the foreign transaction fees, both the Capital One Cash set-ups and the RH Gold Card would will yield even a bigger advantage versus the other cash set-ups.
@@TechYodaSV - I hear ya!
Great video. I wonder if you used the Charles Schwab Platinum card, how would that change the cash back results? I would assume that would put Amex in first consideration it has a $0.11 cash back rate.
There are clearly many ways to run these tests! The video was just about showing the thought process with a few setups without being 10 hours long 😁
Question, how would you value the travel portals? do you find that the 5/10x multipliers are better earned versus the hotel rewards points when booking directly with the hotel?
I personally don't value the portals at all because I don't use them. Others may value them highly, and still others may be in between. For that reason, there isn't a "right" answer that applies to everyone.
Watch this video starting at 12 min 34 sec: ua-cam.com/video/lhyJo8yG6RE/v-deo.htmlsi=vdTzgob2Misaqh_P&t=754
You stay giving out gems! Great video!
More to come!
Excellent video! Very original. I'm going to run my cc set up using you spending rates to get an 🍏 to 🍏 comparison.
Make it happen!
@@MarkReese Hi again, I plugged in your spending numbers with my cash back set up multipliers. I used 6 cards: 3 Customized Cash Rewards cards (BOA Platinum Honors), the BOA Premier, the AAA Daily Advantage, and finally the Venture X (but I counted its miles as 1cpp).
For Cash Back the above setup gets $2,112.12. It didn't beat the top travel card set up, but did well for cash back.
I really thank you for putting this video together. It was so helpful.
@@siumaka 💯💯💯
Great video earn the thumbs up and comment thank you
Thank you! 💯
Is it better to use one credit card system or use the best of all the available credit card system? For eg. is it better to use only Citi or should I sprinkle Chase(rotating categories), Amex BCP(grocery) and CapitalOne (2x on everything)??
Go with whichever one gives you the greatest value for your spend.
Hey Mark, it seems you're really moving toward downsizing. Will you be able to show us your new downsized setup compared to your old setup? Curious to see which cards of yours don't make the cut.
I do plan to make a video on the new setup.
Question. Wouldn’t it be best to use the Citi Double cash card for your 1 card setup graph?
From a pure rewards perspective, probably so 👍
@@MarkReese that’s what I was thinking based on what you showed in your awesome video
Man if Southwest would move to more than just chase I would bank hardcore on Venture X. Its such a huge money saver for me cause we fly southwest all the time and have companion pass so i save so much money with that. I use the chase trifecta because of this as my mail cards. Then I have my hotel cards and I also got the Venture X for some certain bills on the side to bank points outside of chase.
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Love this
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Citi is the best! And this is without Sears card!
I think you're going to like my next video 😁
Wouldn’t the best one card setup be the double cash based on your math of the venture x?
Yep likely so. I should've included that one in the 1-card cashback setup.
I respectfully disagree with this video. It was detailed and it did encourage me to look at my yearly expenses, but the value of credit cards can not only be compared with cash or travel rewards. The money I saved thanks to the platinum Amex in free breakfast, lounge food etc is a lot more than what my capital x gives me. Also the capital x redemption should be 1 not .5 because with redeeming past travel purchases for cash it gives you 1. The tips at the end are very pertinent. Thank you
Yes thank you. Not to mention purchase protections. There's a reason for those high annual fees.
If you don't see value in those types of things, or don't use them, well there you go.
But with these things in mind, I think Amex more than earns their keep, especially seeing the raw data here on cash back/rewards points without those things.
Totally valid perspective!
This took a lot of work. Great job.
My takeaway is this.
Cut your expenses on worthless purchases. Take the money that you saved and put that money directly in an index fund within an IRA. You will make more money and be able to retire with a million dollars.
If you use the cards to get points then you will be able to travel, while you are going to the point of bankruptcy.
You do you but tomorrow is not promised.
...And for those who plan to travel anyway with cash, then using points / miles to save hundreds or thousands on a trip means having those funds left over to invest as well 📈
@@MarkReese agreed. I use those points as I like to travel more than I want/need the cash back. My point is if you are going to spend and get points, spend wisely and not on junk! 👍😀
would you live entertainment qualify fully for Savor's 8x ?
Most of it would not.
Yep
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Nice, now do this with business cards
Nope 😬
Why didn’t you use CSR instead of CSP
At the time, I had the CSP, so it was probably just what was on my mind. This video is meant to show the process behind making a decision. You can do the analysis with whichever cards you like.
Mark do you think that if Chase Unlimited (another card) went to 2% base, like Venture X, would place them higher on the lists?
Maybe so. However, I don't base projections on what may / may not happen in the future. All I've got to work with is what actually exists.
If suggest the 4 card set up for Citi having the rewards+ card which effectively boosts your overall earning by 10% would make the 4 card travel set up be an effective $2,449 instead of $2,227
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What binder do you use?
I use this as my main one: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YJGR732/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Does Amex points expire or do they roll over
Amex points do not expire as long as you have 1 card open that earns those points.
Nothing ever changes the axiomatic soundness of the 80/20 rule. Even more so when it comes to credit cards. Though of course the hobbyists aren't really doing this to earn the most rewards in the most efficient ways that are practicable, despite what they may say.
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A straight 2% card would have better than all of the options presented for the single card scenario
Yep I should've included that in the comparison 👊
Did you Run USB setups?
Nope.
why does citi CC give less cash than chase ff? thank you.
Per year, they're the same.
Citi CC = $500 per billing cycle
CFF = $1,500 per quarter
@@MarkReese on one of the charts freedom flex gave more cash back. I just realized why. Because, while they both have 5% back, some categories on freedom flex paying back more than the “other categories - 1% back) on citi CC
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