Looking Beyond Welcome Offers | Maximizing Points & Cashback on Everyday Spend
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
- Earning credit card points & miles through welcome offers is great, but is it sustainable? We discuss strategies to maximize points with your daily spending & share a FREE tool that you can use.
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#creditcards #personalfinance #points
Are you still chasing welcome offers or are you more focused on cards that bring value in your everyday spending? 🤓
Trip Astute long term. You never know when companies will make them harder to get. I have a couple of goofs but caught on quick and have a better and more focused goal for this year.
I had discover for many years, just got trifecta chase system, the Costco and double cash, but already thinking to go back to just a few cards. It is because of you and Sebby and graham stephan that I got into it and I enjoy it, but it is more work.
Cards with welcome offers that will also help me long term. Here we go: Amex Gold, Delta Gold, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Preferred (long term it will help me maximize CFU and the CF points).
Couple cards I got just for the welcome offers (with some plans on downgrade): Citi Thank You Premier (will prob downgrade to Double Cash), and Amex Everyday card (Couldn't pass up on the rare 35k offer).
I run a 2 player system to collect UR points & AA miles. So I use those cards and re-sign up for bonuses when we're eligible.
Chasing SUBs! As many CIPs as I can get lol
Nice video. I see your rationale but here is the thing: this hobby is a balancing act between knowing when to go for sign up bonuses while keeping your daily drivers going to keep your Amex, Chase, etc. happy by being a profitable customer.
Thanks. That is definitely true. It's all about the balance. 😊
I would also add, getting cards that tie into your preferred Hotel and Airline loyalty program. That way you can maximize point collections for services you use anyways. The only exception is if you need another card to make you use of travel protections (CSR vs. AMEX Delta cards).
I love this spreadsheet and just nabbed it. I definitely agree that you need to think long term for your credit card placement. I also think too much point currency diversity can be a bad thing because you will lack the ability to mass points together to pay for certain trips. That is part of the reason why I haven't jumped over to the Citi Trifecta yet (plus they flushed the Prestige down the toilet)!
Awesome! Glad the spreadsheet was useful. 👍
I love these type of videos! I also try to preach to my viewers that you want to think about credit cards for the long term. There are such easy ways to maximize your value from credit cards by sitting down and looking at your spending habits. Love the content!!!
Thanks Nick! I appreciate the feedback. I know some people might think I'm a bit too conservative with my card strategy, but I honestly think it's the way to go in the long run. 👍
Ernest is on Fire on a Friday. Excellent video! 🔥🔥
Thanks Alvin! Glad you enjoyed the video. Hope you're having a great weekend. 😊
Great video as always. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Hannah! Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day too. 😊
After building a portfolio of AMEX Platinum. Gold, and Everyday Preferred; CSP, Freedom, and Ink Preferred; and Citi & Barclay's AAdvantage cards over the last several months I think I have most potential bonus categories fairly well covered. The sign up bonuses were pretty substantial also. Now the focus is on maximizing the return on everyday spending. I'll give the tracker a try and see how it works out.
Nice! Those are some great cards in your portfolio. 😎
I hope one credit card company will make 1 card that offers everything. Like gas, dinner and travel in one card with 3 points of more and 2 points on everything. Hopefully Amex will do something like that when they make a new card
You are describing Amex Propel minus the 2% everywhere. The metal and cell phone protection does add value tho.
Ha. That would be the dream. I'm still waiting for Chase to release an Ink Reserve card ... I keep hoping something new will be released. I had high hopes for the Amex Green revamp but was a bit disappointed. 🙁
The only card I pay an annual feel is my Delta platinum Amex. The reason being they give a companion ticket
I have a few cards as well that I don't use, but keep open and pay the annual fee due to the benefits. This is especially the case with airline and hotel cards. 🤓
I’m going for the big welcome offers although I still look at the adjusted earning rates and other card benefits as tie breakers. When I first started in this hobby, I focused on everyday spend, but later learned that was not the best option to maximize my return on spend. Just think about how much daily spend it takes to equal the points of a welcome bonus offer. The difference is huge.
Boom, Masoom!!!
That makes sense. I just worry about people who only get welcome offers then cancel their cards. I feel like the issuers seem to be getting more aware and reactive toward those taking advantage of the system. 😬
Trip Astute Hopefully people know about downgrade paths. I wouldn’t cancel after the first year unless I had a good relationship with the issuer.
this is a fantastic review!!!! whats the changes of one getting the spread sheet you were showing? That's the best spread sheet I've seen!!!
found it on your website!!
Awesome! Glad you found it. 👍
I used to run a 3 card system then recently moved to a 5 card system. My wife hates trying to always use the right card. I’ll be going back to the 3 card system later this year. She decided it’s not worth the extra $20/month in points or cash back.
Redoakranch which 3?
Ha! Fiona hates tracking the right card to use as well. She always gets self-concious whenever she is paying for anything and I happen to be with her. 😆
Ducks unlimited for gas, AMEX BCP for groceries and BOA Prem Rewards for everything else. With my exact spend it works out very well.
Can you explain a bit more about when it makes sense (from a credit card points perspective) to put your utilities on a credit card?
I think it makes sense when the rewards rate is higher than the processing fee. For example, if I can earn 5% cashback using my US Bank Cash+ and my utility company charges 2%, then I'm netting at least 3% after you deduct the fee.
I started with everyday spending cards and now that I have a solid base of long term keeper cards I'm chasing SUBs. Someone starting out should make a budget to identify where (what categories) they spend most of their money in and get their first cards based on their long term value. Then they can use the non-category spending to meet the minimum spends for cards that may not be keeper cards. I wouldn't bother with cards like the Freedom Unlimited or Citi Doublecash because meeting a minimum spend is much more lucrative return than 2%.
That's great advice. I think building your core long term keeper cards is so important. Once you have those cards, it's really not a problem to pursue welcome offers to augment your points. 👍
Good video
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. 😊
It's the convenience vs. benefits debate. Let's say I am able to spend $35,000 per year via credit cards. If I use existing cards and average 4% "net" return on that, that's $1,400. Take out a couple annual fees, you're probably looking at around $1,000-$1,200. On the other hand, if I go after 6 new cards per year, with a signup bonus of $500 each, I'm getting $3,000 + the points earned thru spend, probably netting at least $2,700. So, the extra work of "chasing bonuses" gets me and extra $1,500 per year in value (if you milk the travel, likely more). Is that worth the extra effort? Well, that's a very subjective question. But, for an average person (someone who isn't paid to travel for work, or makes over $150K per year), you're NEVER going to get the returns from natural spend that you do from signup bonuses.
It's a great point. I think a balance between welcome offers and cards that are useful for the long term is the way to go I just worry about people who only chase welcome offers, especially when it burns a relationship with an issuer. 🤓
Very similar portfolio of cards here, except i have USBank AR, Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, AmeX Delta, CIP, Citi AA, BOA Better Balance, and Arrival+ instead of your SW, Amex BB+, SW Rapid, UA MileagePlus, and Citi Dividend. I am surprised you don't have more Amex in there.
I've had a lot of Amex in the past, but right now, Chase seems to fit better with my lifestyle. Though that may change, especially if I were to get a targeted offer on the Amex Platinum. 😉
@@TripAstute Thank You for this video. Using the combination of Cash plus points is indeed the best strategy. Next year's strategy of mine would be to cancel/downgrade all Amex and Chase cards with Annual fees that earns MR and UR and just stick with Hotel cards (free nights) and extensively use the Altitude Reserve for 4.5X on everything mobile pay and travel. I am already seeing the value of this card since i got it back in August.
I'm all rewards and no cash back! If I earn $50 cash back I'll blow that in a hot minute. But, of I earn 5K points, I'll save that for a while. I'm still chasing some SUBs, but those are strategic to my patterns, I.e., Delta Business cards. Great video
Thanks! That's an interesting issue ... and one where I think a lot of us probably feel the same way. I'm also more inclined to bank points than cashback. 😄
Exactly, I won't really see the effect of a cash back situation unless I see it in YNAB. But if my 100K MR points helps offset my planned (currently on hold) flight a round the world, the rewards banking will be worth it!!!
What wallet are you using.
thanks for sharing
Thanks! I am using the Bellroy Card Pocket wallet: amzn.to/2oxfcpP
I also did a full review of the wallet (in case you're interested): ua-cam.com/video/chps2QpfZMc/v-deo.html
I'm waiting until I'm under 5/24 so I can apply for more cards from a particular issuer.
That pesky 5/24 rule is tough to get around. 😩
Thank you, Ernest. I really like these videos as I figure out what my next card(s) should be. A quick note though, at 7:48, although it's still a tempting card, that supposed 6% is quite literally impossible to reach. Once you factor in the $95 annual fee and the $6,000 spending cap, even if you hit the cap you'll be getting just about 4.4% once you offset the fee. You'll need to spend almost $1600 to overcome the fee (not a hard task) and almost $3200 to make it better than the no-fee version BCE. So there's certainly a sweet spot where this card is better than the 'Everyday' version, and the addition of the streaming services, transit, and gas makes this card tempting so long as you can stay between $3200-$6000. (disclaimer: my wife has the BCE and just received an offer to upgrade to the BCP, so I've been digging into this one quite a bit the passed few days). With how much we spend on groceries, streaming, gas/transit the BCP looks like it'll be slightly better for us than the BCE, but we just know not to expect that 6%. And there are other cards, if we can figure out how to maximize the when/where, we'd be getting 5%/5x rather than the peak 4.4% from BCP. But we're only getting 3% currently, so... there's that to consider too. It sounds like I need to schedule a free credit card consultation with you. lol
It's a good point! I think when I ran the calculation, the first year breakeven between the two cards was $3,200 per year or $267 per month. That's also accounting for the welcome offer. Though you are correct -- it's good to analyze the bonus holistically to get a more accurate percentage. 👍
Hi,
I purchased a new iPhone 11 from T-Mobile with trade-in so can get 24 month of installment credit but I plan to pay it off to cover my new credit card’s minimal spend requirement.
To the best of your knowledge, which cards are the best for this purchase?
FYI, I was shocked that Chase Ink Preferred does NOT offer 3 x UR points as this is a phone-upgrade instead of wireless services!
I hope can get extended warranty plus at least 2 x points or Cash-back.
Thank you!
That's a tricky one. I usually advise people to pay off their phone via their plan (i.e, monthly installment with their service) so it gets covered by the bonus category (rather than paying it all upfront). Otherwise, you could see if there is a cashback promotion or if there is another retailer (like an office supply store) that sells the phone and plan (i.e., it would allow you to use a card like the Ink Cash to get 5X points). Unfortunately, I can't think of any easy way to get the points for an upfront phone purchase.
Trip Astute
Thanks for the reply!
I asked the same question to almost all the experts like u but so far u r the only one with useful feedback!
For now I plan to keep the installment plan and pay using CIP so can earn 3xUR points along with the cell phone protection.
However, I may pay it off, if can find a new card with Extended Warranty and 3 x points or cash.
I will share the result. Thanks again!
Is buying merchant gift cards (non-Amex, non-visa) still considered manufactured spending?
It can be interpreted as so, which is why I recommend not overdoing it. Better safe than sorry! 🤓
Which stores sells those Disney cards?
15 cards is a lot but 50 cards 🤯
I found them at Ralph's, which I believe is under the Kroeger brand. I agree too -- 50 credits cards would make my brain explode! 😆
I've heard that Office Depot sells Disney Cards, which then is also a great time to use your Ink Business Cash for 5x points on the 'office supply stores' category.
Would be nice to have a column in your spreadsheet that shows when a card would be eligible for another signup bonus.
Yeah, that would be a useful and convenient addition.
This guy is so fine 😝