I hate dealing with the Amex gold credits they are terrible, Uber eats and GrubHub both overcharge for the food and I feel like I'm just being scammed out of money I paid them.
The same meal I pay $15 cash for is $20 through GrubHub, so I’m effectively only getting $5/mo. That might be different in a sit down restaurant, but I haven’t had the chance to find out, yet.
I usually wait for a local restaurant to have a by one get one free offer plus I check my emails from Uber that have promos codes like 20% off orders and then choose pick up. The prices are usually the same at a lot of locations but then again I live in Los Ángeles.
Current Setup 💳: Primary: AMEX Gold Specialist: Chase Freedom Flex Everyday: Citi Double Cash Travel: Chase Sapphire Preferred Perks: Ritz-Carlton Card (may switch to or add Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant depending on how much I like staying at the high-end Marriott properties this year) Staying with the basketball analogy, AMEX Platinum is on my bench for particular events that benefit from having the Platinum on top of the perks everyone already know.
💳I have JetBlue Plus, Delta Gold and United Explorer primarily for the luggage benefit when we travel. United Explorer is definitely an underrated card, offers free first checked bag, 2 one time United Club passes per year, $100 Global Entry/TSA Precheck every 4 years and primary CDW for a $95 annual fee.
💳 My fab five: 1. Capital One Venture X (the GOAT 🐐) 2. Amex Gold (the defensive muscle 💪) 3. Amex Platinum (the flashy all-star 💃) 4. BILT Mastercard (the benchwarmer 🪑) 5. United Explorer (the pragmatic one 🫡)
💳 💳 I could just be weird for this lol but as a basketball fan sometimes I think of my five card set up like this similar to a starting 5 for my basketball team: -Power Forward (Heavy-hitting workhouse): AMEX Gold -Shooting Guard (especially if you see a category you spend heavy on and if it’s hot, you feed it): CFF -Small Forward (versatile and does everything) CFU -Point Guard (travel card and the one that makes my Chase Trifecta operate) CSP -Center (the big boy card with perks lol) Amex Platinum
I love the pow sticks in the background! As a big skier myself who also happens to live near a United hub, I think the United Explorer card really makes a lot of sense for my setup. I’ve never really considered an airline specific card but the perks far outweigh the fee for this card. I plan on adding it as the mid tier travel card to my setup to go along with a Venture X card for my premium card. Thanks for breaking down all of the perks, I’m excited to take advantage of the free ski baggage on United!
💳 This setup is basically identical to what I recommend to people which is great to see. However, as you said, everyone's setups will be different. Although these cards serve a lot of us really well, they may not make sense for everyone! Great video Sebby. I always love these kinds of videos.
You can use the Citi Custom Cash to book travel thru BILT Rewards, and get your 5% from Citi and also 1X from BILT for 6X diversified points! Then you can get another 1.25X multiplier when you book with your BILT Rewards points. And of course use Citi Premier to transfer Custom Cash ThankYou points for 2X - 3X more. Do the math! 😄😄😄😄😄
My 5 card (💳) setup is: 1. Amex GOLD (food) 2. Amex Platinum (travel perks / flights) 3. Chase Sap. Preferred (travel protections on flights and rental primary CDW) - +UR Transfer partner access for my hoard on UR pts from past cards and INK bonuses 4. AMEX BBP for everything else 5. BofA Premium Rewards (in case no Amex accepted and 2.625% cash back w/ Platinum honors level) ++ I also keep the Barclays Aviator for American Airlines perks on boarding and baggage since PHL is an AA hub ++ Amazon card to maximize 5% cash back + Target Red Debit for 5% off
CSR, CFF, CIC, CIU and CCC. 3 personal and 2 business is good. 1.5 from chase unlimited is better than 2x from double cash if you have sapphire reserve.
Note that I fly non-rev on United so that affected a couple of my 💳picks 1. US Bank Altitude Reserve 2. US Bank Cash+ 3. Chase Freedom Unlimited 4. Chase Sapphire Reserve (Going to downgrade to the Preferred) 5. Chase United Club Infinite
My 5 card set up is; AmEx Platinum (Centurion access, status, fine hotels upgrades) Venture X (catch-all at 2x) Savor (dining and groceries) World of Hyatt (free night annually) Alaska Airlines (free checked bags for whole family and companion fare) Looking to add a Delta card since we’ve been using them more than Alaska lately.
💳 My 4 I carry with me: 1. Amex Gold - groceries, dining out 2. Amex BBP - catch all 3. Venture X - catch all when Amex isn’t accepted and travel card 4. CFF - 5x, dining when Amex isn’t accepted, 3x drugstores Extra I would have, but bring occasionally would be CSP for Transfer partners, back up international travel card. Amex Platinum large purchase items and lounge access.
My setup is geared towards more aspirational travel 💳 Primary: Amex Gold Specialist: CSP Everything Else: Venture X (I kinda blend this with the "Specialist") Travel Card: Amex Platinum Travel Perks: Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
Hey Sebby! Can you maybe explain the benefits of using multiple card companies (AMEX, Chase, Citi) as opposed to having multiple cards from one company (i.e. having AMEX gold, Platinum, and Hilton Aspire)? I like what other companies offer but I'm hesitant about the idea of splitting 100,000 points from purchases with Chase and 100,000 points with AMEX instead of 200,000 points in one or the other. Thanks! Love the videos!
Diversification. Both Chase and Amex have different transfer partners so by having both companies, you open up the door to more transfer partners. Chase lean towards domestic flights, Amex, international flights. There is overlap for transfer partners so if anything, you can use both companies to transfer to a singular transfer partner.
@@TuongNguyen-mx9nuThis. Use Chase for Flights and Amex for hotels. I currently have CSR, CFU, and Hilton Surpass. Upgrading my Surpass to Aspire once the anniversary hits.
One of the biggest reasons why you want to diversify, is because not every merchant takes AmEx. You don’t want to be caught in a store or online and “not able to pay” all because you had an AmEx card.
💳 if it had to be 5: savor one, venture x, hilton aspire, ihg premier, amex green. Here's my question: can you make a video [tutorial] on booking a flight with cash THEN upgrading with points
Sebby imho the best catch all "everything else" card is the Fidelity Rewards card. You don't already need to have an existing Fidelity account and there is no minimum you need to hold. 2% cash gets automatically deposited into my account to which I can either transfer to my checking account (2 business days) or to another Fidelity investment account (instant). I use this as a bonus to deposit into my kid's 529 and it's super handy.
💳 Platinum, Gold for now. Love the credits in both cards. It made sense since I made the same purchases prior to having the cards. Plus the status with Platinum Amex partners.
💳 Appreciate your videos. Trying to learn this credit card game as it is overwhelming for this beginner. I will continue to watch your videos and others with the hope of it becoming easier to find ways of keeping track of all of this info and which card to kick off my journey to lounge access / travel perks😊.
A little disappointed Amex Blue cash preferred and Discover it cash back cards didn’t make your list! I have discover it and chase freedom and I usually lean towards discover over chase. So much more convenient and straightforward with the cash back
💳 Current setup: *Primary: Citi Premier Specialist: CFF Everything else / Travel: Venture X **Travel: CSP Perks: Amex Platinum *Will downgrade to CDC or CCC after 1 year **will downgrade to CFU then apply for CSR as it's been 48 months since I got the CSP Future Setup: Primary: AMEX Gold (could downgrade Platinum or apply) Specialist: CFF Everything else: CFU Travel/Perks: CSR & Venture X 6th Man: Amex Platinum (maybe)
💳 Always a fun topic, and a great breakdown. I like covering every category and accumulating perks and memberships, but if I were starting over with only five cards it would probably be Venture X (for catch all and as my Visa), Hilton Aspire (great hotel card and a decent dining & travel card), British Airways Visa (for that first class companion certificate once per year after $20k spend), Savor One (dining, groceries, & uber, including uber one and eats) and the Amex Platinum (all of my luxuries and extras not covered elsewhere). The set up doesn’t have great synergies, but there is synergy between the Savor One & Venture X (a great duo), the BA Visa is getting me $10k+ in value per year on a flight I’d take anyway (I fly internationally two or more times per year in a normal year, and I like British Airways), and I can use enough of the Platinum card credits that the effective annual fee is zero and all of the other perks stack on top). Maybe I should think of a tighter strategy (FF, FU, CSR, Hyatt, BAV). That would probably generate more return. But I like the range of perks that comes from mixing in some Amex cards.
💳 Nomad setup: 1. Venture X 2. CSR 3. AmEx Platinum 4. Citi Premier 5. Hilton Aspire Also have cards I use rarely, or when I'm in the US, but this setup gets me good value & great redemptions. Great video!!
@@lovelyday6 good ? - AmEx plat has my favorite lounge access and I get more than $700 out of the card in terms of credits: airline fees, Saks fifth, digital entertainment etc. The Citi Premier has two 3x categories which are super helpful: gas stations & groceries
💳 Amex Platinum (5x Dining/Grocery/Gas for 6 mo promo) for my personal biggest categories and lounge access, CSP (hotel credit/international dining where Amex isn't accepted), CIU/CFU as catch all. When Amex Plat promo runs out I'll probably go to CSP for dining & groceries (we do a lot of online/pickup for groceries), CIC for gas, CIU/CFU as catch all (unless I'm working on a SUB). I recently had the Amex Gold and upgraded to platinum, previously had the platinum in 2019 and kept for 2 years, then targeted to upgrade my gold for 75k MR.
1. Gold (workhorse card) 2. Plat (coupons, coupons, coupons) 3. Hyatt (best bang for the buck) - Aspire is up there, but have had mediocre/rude services as a Diamond member; but the value is there, just not a fan of Hilton 4. United Explorer (pairs well with Plat 😉) 5. Venture X (… for now, that 2X for everything else is pretty good) 💵 💵 💵
my main ones are the costco card for gas, capital one savor one for groceries and entertainment, chase freedom for drug stores, and I use the branded card for travel because I stick with specific airlines and hotel chains. I would never use chase's own portal for booking tavel. for everything else I typically go with my citi double cash card.
💳 1. CSR for travel 2. CF & Discover for rotating categories 3. USAA cash rewards for gas 4. CFU general spend 5. US Bank cash+ for tech I’ll be under 5/24 in august 2023 and making plans
💳 Great list! I think if someone goes with the Venture X and travels to some degree, that and the SavorOne card could be a great combo to fill in 2 of these slots! That said, one thing that comes to mind the more cards you get is keeping track of everything and the opportunity cost to do so. It really takes a certain types or personalities to be into this stuff enough to do so!
💳 CSR, CFU, CF(old), bank of the west(cash back world, for grocery stores) and the Costco card from Citi. I feel like I could do better, but I'm not sure what.
My five are three 1. Gold Card, dining and grocery, airline travel 2,3,4. World of Hyatt card, gas catchall and travel 5. Ritz Carlton card, reimbursed work expenses, United check bags and United lounge access
💳 ideal setup is C1 SavorOne, Venture X or Venture, BofA Custom Cash (broader category definitions than Citi or US Bank, e.g. Home Improvement includes buying furniture and paying for plumbers, travel includes transit).
Gotta say I was really surprised when I found out Venture X has a bit more lounge access than the Sapphire Reserve. But less non-lounge benefits. It's a great card! 💳
@@timothybarry2981 The welcome bonus? It's a nice 75K right now. The airline transfer partners for capital one are pretty strong, but the hotel partners are kind of weak to be honest. I won't have a hard time using the miles for flights! But I'll use my Chase points for their hotel partners rather than Capital One.
Wallet: Amex gold (upgraded from green b/c upgrade offer 60k MR with $2k spending in 6 months) CSP, Hilton Surpass, CFF Thinking about another card, maybe the new Citi card….
Tied for 1st place: Amex Gold and Amex BBP 2.Amex Platinum 3. Chase Freedom Unlimited for when Amex isn't accepted 4. Amex Delta Gold for the free checked bags I'll eventually get a CSP to transfer out those UR points, but that isn't for many years yet
My primary setup is normally: CSP- travel & dining Andrews VS- gas & groceries (includes walmart) Paypal MC- catch all CIU- business expenses Hoping to add Flex & Custom cash this year
💳 for me it is the Amex Trifecta (Platinum, Gold, BBP) and the Hilton Aspire. I have the Capital One Venture X as a reserve option and as a Visa card since it literally pays you to keep it and is a great catch-all in the situations where I need to use it. I would consider an airlines card although I wouldn't know which one to pick.
Hello Sebby been following the channel for a long time. and these are my 5 credit cards list: Amex Gold, Custom Cash, CFU, Amex Platinum, and CSP. I also have 3 hotel cards Chase Hyatt, Mariott Bonvoy Boundless, and Hilton Surpass which I use only for an annual hotel room. I am planning to get Amex Delta Platinum soon to use its companion certificate to save on my yearly vacation.
Sebastian my dude, you give so much value. I learn so much watching your videos.This is a great way to build my starting 5 with a 6 this man as a spark plug!!!
💳Excellent video, and a constant thought experiment in my mind as I look to optimize my roster, which is currently: Starting 5... Primary: AMEX Gold Specialist: Chase Freedom Flex Everyday: Chase Freedom Unlimited Travel: Chase Sapphire Preferred Perks: United Explorer (live in Chicago) Bench... Substitute Travel: AMEX Green (CLEAR Credit makes it effectively free; 3x on travel and transit allow me to manage UR vs MR earning) Substitute Perks: AMEX Delta Platinum (I basically upgrade/downgrade with the AMEX Delta Blue if the companion fare makes sense)
💳 My 5 right now are Gold, Platinum, CSP, Flex, and I'm contemplating the Aviator Red American card. I want the BBP too, but I have to hit my spend for the flex so I can hit the spend for the BBP
💳 I have the Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, Amex Platinum, and Amex Business Prime. The Amazon doesn’t need to be in my wallet as it’s really only useful on Amazon for me, and the unlimited, while the best general purchase points value, doesn’t get as much use as it should, it was just my first true card. I get good value out of both CSR, and Amex Platinum as I travel a ton. Thinking about adding the Amex Business Gold to run my LLC expenses through, as I’m not realizing much points value with the CIP, but I like having the card for general travel charges and the intro bonus.
It's amazing to see the differences between Amex US and The Netherlands. The gold card here earns 1x MR per EUR spent and only has 100 EUR dining credit and that's it, no multipliers and no additional benefits.
Our limited travel is first or business class, so lounges and baggage free comes with the fare. As for day to day, Amex Blue Prfd for 6% back groceries $95 annual fee. Chase freedom for gas and dining 3% cash back and no fee. Citi Double or Fidelity for 2% cash back on anything, again no fee. Amazon Prime 5% back on purchases from Amazon, no fee (we live rural so lots of Amazon orders). This easily more than pays for my Prime membership to get free shipping.
💳. I carry Amex Gold, Citi Custom Cash, Capital One Venture X, Capital One Spark Visa (business) and a variety of hotel or airline cards depending on my travel itinerary 👍🏼. Chase Amazon Visa is almost never in my wallet, but is tied to my Amazon account for 5% back.
So I got somewhat of a bad set up, and will be changing from the Venture Rewards to the Venture X once I get the spend incoming. Hoping to add CSP once I get under 5/24 and once I have enough spend incoming. 1. Venture Rewards 2x back, decent perks, 95$ annual. 2. Freedom/FU 3. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ( free night) 4. Amex Plat 5. No airline card. I travel with a travel backpack as a rule.
I want to point out that the chase travel portal hotel price is always more expensive, so the CSP’s 50 dollar annual hotel credit may not actually be worth 50.
YMMV. Again, discount as necessary as discussed in pretty much all my videos. Also, why it's a variable field in the calculator: www.asksebby.com/credit-card-reviews/csp-calculator
💳 current setup is 1. USAA rewards AMEX 2. Chase Freedom Unlimited 3. Chase Freedom Flex Really just all Cashback no annual fee cards as I haven’t really figured out how to use points effectively yet. I still find your videos super interesting though. I’m considering adding a travel card through chase but trying to decide if I will use it enough to offset the annual fee. Thanks!
I have the USAA "Amex" also. (I put it in quotes because it is not a full Amex card in the traditional sense.) I've had it for well over a decade, before I was trying to maximize every category. That said, it still has a place! I think it's a good no-fee alternative to an Amex Gold, especially since we already have the travel benefits of the Schwab Amex Platinum (which I love for the $200 annual statement credit for having enough AUM and the 1.1 cent cash back redemption). You need to be eligible for USAA, of course -- which is why it isn't usually covered -- but for no fee it gives 3X back on dining, and 2X on groceries and gas. And points can be used for cash back at one cent per point. And for us, right now, the incremental benefit of the Amex Gold (as good as it is if you can use the credits) isn't enough to justify the $250 annual fee compared to using the USAA "Amex" card. If we lived in a place where we had Uber and the restaurants that give the $120 credit, that would change.... but we don't.
💳 Great video as always. Took your advice getting the United Explorer card. Already have the full Amex setup, Venture X. We’ll get the CSR this June once I run the 48 month click on the welcome bonus (called Chase and they told me which month to apply). So I am saving 1 slot in the 5/24 rule for CSR
💳 Sebby's Card Picks: www.asksebby.com/credit-cards
How to find the Amex Platinum 150k Offer: www.asksebby.com/guides/amex-plat-cardmatch
What do you think about the Verizon Visa Card if you are a Verizon customer?
Marriott Brilliant, Delta platinum, Platinum card, Citi Premier, Double Cash
@@garryunderwood8815 not a Verizon Customer
@ask Sebby Did you still want to discuss?
1. CSP/CSR
2. Freedom Flex
3. World of Hyatt
4. Citi Custom Cash
5. Synchrony Premier
My 5 card setup would be:
- Workhorse: AMEX Gold - groceries, dining out
- Specialist: Cap1 SavorOne - entertainment and streaming
- Catch-All: Cap1 Venture (don’t need a second premium card, and unlocks SavorOne miles)
- Travel: AMEX Platinum - flights & perks
- Travel Perks: AMEX Hilton Aspire, Chase Ritz-Carlton, and/or AMEX Delta Plat/Reserve (I’ll get Reserve if the rumored 15% SkyMiles rebate actually happens)
I hate dealing with the Amex gold credits they are terrible, Uber eats and GrubHub both overcharge for the food and I feel like I'm just being scammed out of money I paid them.
The same meal I pay $15 cash for is $20 through GrubHub, so I’m effectively only getting $5/mo. That might be different in a sit down restaurant, but I haven’t had the chance to find out, yet.
I usually wait for a local restaurant to have a by one get one free offer plus I check my emails from Uber that have promos codes like 20% off orders and then choose pick up. The prices are usually the same at a lot of locations but then again I live in Los Ángeles.
The point of Uber and grubhub isn’t pickup
@@bobv5806 can you order carry out and save some money?
I normally set a reminder at the beginning middle and end of each month. I’m also pretty cheap so even without the reminder I use them 🤷🏽♂️
Current Setup 💳:
Primary: AMEX Gold
Specialist: Chase Freedom Flex
Everyday: Citi Double Cash
Travel: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Perks: Ritz-Carlton Card (may switch to or add Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant depending on how much I like staying at the high-end Marriott properties this year)
Staying with the basketball analogy, AMEX Platinum is on my bench for particular events that benefit from having the Platinum on top of the perks everyone already know.
This is a great set up. Thanks for sharing. I also have the Amazon Prime card for great points on my Amazon purchases.
I have almost the same setup, but what to do with amex gold points? Thank you
💳
- Sapphire Reserve: 3x general travel, 10x Lyft (extremely beneficial in NYC)
- Freedom Flex: 5x rotating categories
- Ink Cash: 5x TV, internet, phone, office supplies stores
- Gold: 4x dining and grocery stores
- Blue Business Plus: 2x everything
💳I have JetBlue Plus, Delta Gold and United Explorer primarily for the luggage benefit when we travel. United Explorer is definitely an underrated card, offers free first checked bag, 2 one time United Club passes per year, $100 Global Entry/TSA Precheck every 4 years and primary CDW for a $95 annual fee.
💳 My fab five:
1. Capital One Venture X (the GOAT 🐐)
2. Amex Gold (the defensive muscle 💪)
3. Amex Platinum (the flashy all-star 💃)
4. BILT Mastercard (the benchwarmer 🪑)
5. United Explorer (the pragmatic one 🫡)
💳 💳
I could just be weird for this lol but as a basketball fan sometimes I think of my five card set up like this similar to a starting 5 for my basketball team:
-Power Forward (Heavy-hitting workhouse): AMEX Gold
-Shooting Guard (especially if you see a category you spend heavy on and if it’s hot, you feed it): CFF
-Small Forward (versatile and does everything) CFU
-Point Guard (travel card and the one that makes my Chase Trifecta operate) CSP
-Center (the big boy card with perks lol) Amex Platinum
1. AAA Visa Signature (5% Grocery)
2. Penfed Legacy Cashback (5% gas)
3. Us Bank Cash+ (2x account for cable /utilities)
4. Citi Custom Cash (or SAVOR grandfathered 4%)
5. Sofi Mastercard (2% everything else)
My Base 5 Personal Cards
1. CSP
2. CFF
3. Citi Premier
4. CO Venture X
5. Citi Custom Cash
1.Amex Gold
2.USAA Amex
3.Capital One Venture X
4.Amex Platnium
5. Chase Saphire Prefered
I love the pow sticks in the background! As a big skier myself who also happens to live near a United hub, I think the United Explorer card really makes a lot of sense for my setup. I’ve never really considered an airline specific card but the perks far outweigh the fee for this card. I plan on adding it as the mid tier travel card to my setup to go along with a Venture X card for my premium card. Thanks for breaking down all of the perks, I’m excited to take advantage of the free ski baggage on United!
💳 This setup is basically identical to what I recommend to people which is great to see. However, as you said, everyone's setups will be different. Although these cards serve a lot of us really well, they may not make sense for everyone! Great video Sebby. I always love these kinds of videos.
Personal:
1. Amex Gold
2. Wyndham Business (8X Gas, 5X Utilities)
3. Venture X
4. Hilton Aspire
Business:
1. Hilton Business
2. Ink Premier
3. BBP
4. Delta Reserve
This quarter is Groceries (Excluding Walmart) because the other selections are Target or Fitness Clubs & Gym Memberships.
1-Gold Amex
2-Marriot Brilliant
3-Hilton Aspire
4-Chase Saphire
5-Amex Delta
You can use the Citi Custom Cash to book travel thru BILT Rewards, and get your 5% from Citi and also 1X from BILT for 6X diversified points!
Then you can get another 1.25X multiplier when you book with your BILT Rewards points.
And of course use Citi Premier to transfer Custom Cash ThankYou points for 2X - 3X more.
Do the math! 😄😄😄😄😄
My 5 card (💳) setup is:
1. Amex GOLD (food)
2. Amex Platinum (travel perks / flights)
3. Chase Sap. Preferred (travel protections on flights and rental primary CDW) - +UR Transfer partner access for my hoard on UR pts from past cards and INK bonuses
4. AMEX BBP for everything else
5. BofA Premium Rewards (in case no Amex accepted and 2.625% cash back w/ Platinum honors level)
++ I also keep the Barclays Aviator for American Airlines perks on boarding and baggage since PHL is an AA hub
++ Amazon card to maximize 5% cash back + Target Red Debit for 5% off
CSR, CFF, CIC, CIU and CCC. 3 personal and 2 business is good. 1.5 from chase unlimited is better than 2x from double cash if you have sapphire reserve.
Note that I fly non-rev on United so that affected a couple of my 💳picks
1. US Bank Altitude Reserve
2. US Bank Cash+
3. Chase Freedom Unlimited
4. Chase Sapphire Reserve (Going to downgrade to the Preferred)
5. Chase United Club Infinite
Does having the United card synergize with non-rev?
@@joeg536 it's the only card that will get me into a lounge on United non-Rev and I fly enough to warrant the annual fee
My 5 card set up is;
AmEx Platinum (Centurion access, status, fine hotels upgrades)
Venture X (catch-all at 2x)
Savor (dining and groceries)
World of Hyatt (free night annually)
Alaska Airlines (free checked bags for whole family and companion fare)
Looking to add a Delta card since we’ve been using them more than Alaska lately.
💳 My 4 I carry with me:
1. Amex Gold - groceries, dining out
2. Amex BBP - catch all
3. Venture X - catch all when Amex isn’t accepted and travel card
4. CFF - 5x, dining when Amex isn’t accepted, 3x drugstores
Extra I would have, but bring occasionally would be CSP for Transfer partners, back up international travel card. Amex Platinum large purchase items and lounge access.
I’m glad you prefer BBP over BBC, because it “fits” you better, well said sir
My setup is geared towards more aspirational travel 💳
Primary: Amex Gold
Specialist: CSP
Everything Else: Venture X (I kinda blend this with the "Specialist")
Travel Card: Amex Platinum
Travel Perks: Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
Hey Sebby! Can you maybe explain the benefits of using multiple card companies (AMEX, Chase, Citi) as opposed to having multiple cards from one company (i.e. having AMEX gold, Platinum, and Hilton Aspire)? I like what other companies offer but I'm hesitant about the idea of splitting 100,000 points from purchases with Chase and 100,000 points with AMEX instead of 200,000 points in one or the other. Thanks! Love the videos!
Great question. I don't anyone provide answers to this. Sebby would be perfect to explain.
Diversification. Both Chase and Amex have different transfer partners so by having both companies, you open up the door to more transfer partners. Chase lean towards domestic flights, Amex, international flights. There is overlap for transfer partners so if anything, you can use both companies to transfer to a singular transfer partner.
-personally i like (almost) all my points in one place I decided on Chase because the travel insurance is second to none
@@TuongNguyen-mx9nuThis. Use Chase for Flights and Amex for hotels. I currently have CSR, CFU, and Hilton Surpass. Upgrading my Surpass to Aspire once the anniversary hits.
One of the biggest reasons why you want to diversify, is because not every merchant takes AmEx. You don’t want to be caught in a store or online and “not able to pay” all because you had an AmEx card.
💳 My five are:
1. Amex Blue Cash Preferred
2. Citi Double Cash
3. Amex Platinum
4. Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
5. Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select
1,2,3 = Chase Trifecta (CSP)
4. Amex Platinum (Travel Perks)
5. Costco (Gas/Costco Purchases)
💳
💳 if it had to be 5: savor one, venture x, hilton aspire, ihg premier, amex green.
Here's my question: can you make a video [tutorial] on booking a flight with cash THEN upgrading with points
💳 that's a great point about saving on checked baggage fees
Sebby imho the best catch all "everything else" card is the Fidelity Rewards card. You don't already need to have an existing Fidelity account and there is no minimum you need to hold. 2% cash gets automatically deposited into my account to which I can either transfer to my checking account (2 business days) or to another Fidelity investment account (instant). I use this as a bonus to deposit into my kid's 529 and it's super handy.
💳 Platinum, Gold for now. Love the credits in both cards. It made sense since I made the same purchases prior to having the cards. Plus the status with Platinum Amex partners.
💳
Five card setup:
1. Venture X for credits and Flat 2x
2. Amex Gold: Food!
3. Amex Schwab Platinum: Platinum perks
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred: online groceries, travel protections and partners
5. Chase Freedom Flex: 5x categories only
I like it I probably would get something like this but gas is usually a left out category with amex and chase
💳 Appreciate your videos. Trying to learn this credit card game as it is overwhelming for this beginner. I will continue to watch your videos and others with the hope of it becoming easier to find ways of keeping track of all of this info and which card to kick off my journey to lounge access / travel perks😊.
A little disappointed Amex Blue cash preferred and Discover it cash back cards didn’t make your list! I have discover it and chase freedom and I usually lean towards discover over chase. So much more convenient and straightforward with the cash back
💳 Current setup:
*Primary: Citi Premier
Specialist: CFF
Everything else / Travel: Venture X
**Travel: CSP
Perks: Amex Platinum
*Will downgrade to CDC or CCC after 1 year
**will downgrade to CFU then apply for CSR as it's been 48 months since I got the CSP
Future Setup:
Primary: AMEX Gold (could downgrade Platinum or apply)
Specialist: CFF
Everything else: CFU
Travel/Perks: CSR & Venture X
6th Man: Amex Platinum (maybe)
💳 Always a fun topic, and a great breakdown.
I like covering every category and accumulating perks and memberships, but if I were starting over with only five cards it would probably be Venture X (for catch all and as my Visa), Hilton Aspire (great hotel card and a decent dining & travel card), British Airways Visa (for that first class companion certificate once per year after $20k spend), Savor One (dining, groceries, & uber, including uber one and eats) and the Amex Platinum (all of my luxuries and extras not covered elsewhere). The set up doesn’t have great synergies, but there is synergy between the Savor One & Venture X (a great duo), the BA Visa is getting me $10k+ in value per year on a flight I’d take anyway (I fly internationally two or more times per year in a normal year, and I like British Airways), and I can use enough of the Platinum card credits that the effective annual fee is zero and all of the other perks stack on top).
Maybe I should think of a tighter strategy (FF, FU, CSR, Hyatt, BAV). That would probably generate more return. But I like the range of perks that comes from mixing in some Amex cards.
💳 Nomad setup:
1. Venture X
2. CSR
3. AmEx Platinum
4. Citi Premier
5. Hilton Aspire
Also have cards I use rarely, or when I'm in the US, but this setup gets me good value & great redemptions. Great video!!
As a nomad, what does AMEX Platinum & Citi Premier give that X and CSR don’t?
@@lovelyday6 good ? - AmEx plat has my favorite lounge access and I get more than $700 out of the card in terms of credits: airline fees, Saks fifth, digital entertainment etc. The Citi Premier has two 3x categories which are super helpful: gas stations & groceries
@@SarahCash37 Thank you 😊
💳 Amex Platinum (5x Dining/Grocery/Gas for 6 mo promo) for my personal biggest categories and lounge access, CSP (hotel credit/international dining where Amex isn't accepted), CIU/CFU as catch all. When Amex Plat promo runs out I'll probably go to CSP for dining & groceries (we do a lot of online/pickup for groceries), CIC for gas, CIU/CFU as catch all (unless I'm working on a SUB). I recently had the Amex Gold and upgraded to platinum, previously had the platinum in 2019 and kept for 2 years, then targeted to upgrade my gold for 75k MR.
Gold, Platinum, BBP, Aspire, Custom Cash
1. Gold (workhorse card)
2. Plat (coupons, coupons, coupons)
3. Hyatt (best bang for the buck)
- Aspire is up there, but have had mediocre/rude services as a Diamond member; but the value is there, just not a fan of Hilton
4. United Explorer (pairs well with Plat 😉)
5. Venture X (… for now, that 2X for everything else is pretty good)
💵 💵 💵
respect to your set up
my main ones are the costco card for gas, capital one savor one for groceries and entertainment, chase freedom for drug stores, and I use the branded card for travel because I stick with specific airlines and hotel chains. I would never use chase's own portal for booking tavel. for everything else I typically go with my citi double cash card.
How did I not notice until now that the Blue Business cash is the BBC?
Grrrrrreat 🐅Video Sebby!
As a hooper The fact that the basketball references were made for this you good sir have earned a new subscriber
💳
1. CSR for travel
2. CF & Discover for rotating categories
3. USAA cash rewards for gas
4. CFU general spend
5. US Bank cash+ for tech
I’ll be under 5/24 in august 2023 and making plans
💳 Great list! I think if someone goes with the Venture X and travels to some degree, that and the SavorOne card could be a great combo to fill in 2 of these slots! That said, one thing that comes to mind the more cards you get is keeping track of everything and the opportunity cost to do so. It really takes a certain types or personalities to be into this stuff enough to do so!
💳 CSR, CFU, CF(old), bank of the west(cash back world, for grocery stores) and the Costco card from Citi.
I feel like I could do better, but I'm not sure what.
In Daytona beach I can't use a single Amex Gold credit. We don't have ANY of the restaurants with in an hour and Grub hub and Uber charge more ...
My five are three
1. Gold Card, dining and grocery, airline travel
2,3,4. World of Hyatt card, gas catchall and travel
5. Ritz Carlton card, reimbursed work expenses, United check bags and United lounge access
I wish the 4x on supermarkets worked at places like target and Walmart.
1. CSR
2. CFU
3. CFF
4.Amex Blue Cash Preferred
5. Capital One Venture X
💳 ideal setup is C1 SavorOne, Venture X or Venture, BofA Custom Cash (broader category definitions than Citi or US Bank, e.g. Home Improvement includes buying furniture and paying for plumbers, travel includes transit).
Gotta say I was really surprised when I found out Venture X has a bit more lounge access than the Sapphire Reserve. But less non-lounge benefits. It's a great card! 💳
How is the miles bonus on the Venture X? Is it easy to use?
@@timothybarry2981 The welcome bonus? It's a nice 75K right now. The airline transfer partners for capital one are pretty strong, but the hotel partners are kind of weak to be honest.
I won't have a hard time using the miles for flights! But I'll use my Chase points for their hotel partners rather than Capital One.
Wallet:
Amex gold (upgraded from green b/c upgrade offer 60k MR with $2k spending in 6 months)
CSP, Hilton Surpass, CFF
Thinking about another card, maybe the new Citi card….
Bro sleeping on Chase Freedom Unlimited
Tied for 1st place:
Amex Gold and Amex BBP
2.Amex Platinum
3. Chase Freedom Unlimited for when Amex isn't accepted
4. Amex Delta Gold for the free checked bags
I'll eventually get a CSP to transfer out those UR points, but that isn't for many years yet
My primary setup is normally:
CSP- travel & dining
Andrews VS- gas & groceries (includes walmart)
Paypal MC- catch all
CIU- business expenses
Hoping to add Flex & Custom cash this year
💳 Primary earner: Altitude Reserve, Citi Prestige
Specialist: Custom Cash, Altitude Reserve, Citi Prestige
Everything else: Altitude Reserve, Amex BBP
Travel: Ink Preferred, Altitude Reserve
Travel Perks/additional: Citi Prestige, Altitude Reserve
In fact, Altitude Reserve works for everything with Samsung Pay/MST.
1. CSP
2. CFU
3. Amex Gold
4. Amex Plat
5. Bonvoy Brilliant
…..
6. Bonus round: Ritz-Carlton Rewards
I’m Just sitting here at the Disney resort in Hawaii watching Sebby videos on a free vacation thanks to Sebby’s videos
💳 great video Sebby, taking the Gold Delta into consideration
You move again? Lol. Had to say it. Like new lay out.
💳 for me it is the Amex Trifecta (Platinum, Gold, BBP) and the Hilton Aspire.
I have the Capital One Venture X as a reserve option and as a Visa card since it literally pays you to keep it and is a great catch-all in the situations where I need to use it. I would consider an airlines card although I wouldn't know which one to pick.
My 5: Wyndham business earner, amex gold, hilton surpass, hilton aspire, venture x.
Hello Sebby been following the channel for a long time. and these are my 5 credit cards list: Amex Gold, Custom Cash, CFU, Amex Platinum, and CSP. I also have 3 hotel cards Chase Hyatt, Mariott Bonvoy Boundless, and Hilton Surpass which I use only for an annual hotel room. I am planning to get Amex Delta Platinum soon to use its companion certificate to save on my yearly vacation.
💳 thanks for dropping these gems! Very insightful!
Sebastian my dude, you give so much value. I learn so much watching your videos.This is a great way to build my starting 5 with a 6 this man as a spark plug!!!
Amex Gold, Amex Plat, Chase Freedom Flex, FU, CSP. (+ Hyatt Chase). 💳
💳Excellent video, and a constant thought experiment in my mind as I look to optimize my roster, which is currently:
Starting 5...
Primary: AMEX Gold
Specialist: Chase Freedom Flex
Everyday: Chase Freedom Unlimited
Travel: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Perks: United Explorer (live in Chicago)
Bench...
Substitute Travel: AMEX Green (CLEAR Credit makes it effectively free; 3x on travel and transit allow me to manage UR vs MR earning)
Substitute Perks: AMEX Delta Platinum (I basically upgrade/downgrade with the AMEX Delta Blue if the companion fare makes sense)
What about the capital one savor. Grandfathered card is 0 annual fee and is 4% on dining and 10% on travel
💳
My 5 right now are Gold, Platinum, CSP, Flex, and I'm contemplating the Aviator Red American card.
I want the BBP too, but I have to hit my spend for the flex so I can hit the spend for the BBP
💳 I have the Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, Amex Platinum, and Amex Business Prime. The Amazon doesn’t need to be in my wallet as it’s really only useful on Amazon for me, and the unlimited, while the best general purchase points value, doesn’t get as much use as it should, it was just my first true card. I get good value out of both CSR, and Amex Platinum as I travel a ton. Thinking about adding the Amex Business Gold to run my LLC expenses through, as I’m not realizing much points value with the CIP, but I like having the card for general travel charges and the intro bonus.
💳
Amex Gold
Delta Platinum
Alaska BofA
Amex gold catch all
venture x for travels
csp (first "premium" card)
freedom unlimited ur machine,
and apple card cus apple i guess haha
💳solid content! Thanks
It's amazing to see the differences between Amex US and The Netherlands. The gold card here earns 1x MR per EUR spent and only has 100 EUR dining credit and that's it, no multipliers and no additional benefits.
Our limited travel is first or business class, so lounges and baggage free comes with the fare. As for day to day, Amex Blue Prfd for 6% back groceries $95 annual fee. Chase freedom for gas and dining 3% cash back and no fee. Citi Double or Fidelity for 2% cash back on anything, again no fee. Amazon Prime 5% back on purchases from Amazon, no fee (we live rural so lots of Amazon orders). This easily more than pays for my Prime membership to get free shipping.
Amex gold / Capital one venture x - transfer to Flying Blue for transatlantic business class flights (10+cpp). Otherwise economy @2.6+ cpp
💳. I carry Amex Gold, Citi Custom Cash, Capital One Venture X, Capital One Spark Visa (business) and a variety of hotel or airline cards depending on my travel itinerary 👍🏼. Chase Amazon Visa is almost never in my wallet, but is tied to my Amazon account for 5% back.
Thank you!
1)IHG Premier (Catch all/ Daily driver)
2) Freedom Flex (CashBack)
3) Discover it (CashBack)
4)Amtrak Preferred (Benefit)
💳 thanks for sharing about perk cards for flying out of hubs. Definitely helped me
Amex gold, CSP, X1, cap1 venture, Amex blue biz plus 💳
continuously helped me like you have. I thank God for your presence in my life. Thanks a lot!!!
Venture X/Amex Green/CSP. I feel well covered for any spend, even travel.
💳 thanks for the great information!
💳
1. Chase Freedom
2. Chase Freedom Unlimited
3. Chase Sapphire Preferred
4. Amazon Prime Rewards
5. Capital One Venture X
Love the basketball analogies!
I feel like Amex is coupon clipping for rich people.
So I got somewhat of a bad set up, and will be changing from the Venture Rewards to the Venture X once I get the spend incoming.
Hoping to add CSP once I get under 5/24 and once I have enough spend incoming.
1. Venture Rewards 2x back, decent perks, 95$ annual.
2. Freedom/FU
3. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ( free night)
4. Amex Plat
5. No airline card. I travel with a travel backpack as a rule.
I want to point out that the chase travel portal hotel price is always more expensive, so the CSP’s 50 dollar annual hotel credit may not actually be worth 50.
YMMV. Again, discount as necessary as discussed in pretty much all my videos. Also, why it's a variable field in the calculator: www.asksebby.com/credit-card-reviews/csp-calculator
💳 CSR
💳 CFU
💳 CF
💳 Amex Platinum
💳 Amex Marriott Bonvoy
💳 current setup is
1. USAA rewards AMEX
2. Chase Freedom Unlimited
3. Chase Freedom Flex
Really just all Cashback no annual fee cards as I haven’t really figured out how to use points effectively yet. I still find your videos super interesting though.
I’m considering adding a travel card through chase but trying to decide if I will use it enough to offset the annual fee. Thanks!
I have the USAA "Amex" also. (I put it in quotes because it is not a full Amex card in the traditional sense.) I've had it for well over a decade, before I was trying to maximize every category. That said, it still has a place! I think it's a good no-fee alternative to an Amex Gold, especially since we already have the travel benefits of the Schwab Amex Platinum (which I love for the $200 annual statement credit for having enough AUM and the 1.1 cent cash back redemption). You need to be eligible for USAA, of course -- which is why it isn't usually covered -- but for no fee it gives 3X back on dining, and 2X on groceries and gas. And points can be used for cash back at one cent per point. And for us, right now, the incremental benefit of the Amex Gold (as good as it is if you can use the credits) isn't enough to justify the $250 annual fee compared to using the USAA "Amex" card. If we lived in a place where we had Uber and the restaurants that give the $120 credit, that would change.... but we don't.
I like the story about the family... 💜
Can you talk about Costco’s Visa card, please. I see many Costco members using it…
God even with this thorough explanation I feel like its a full time job to ensure the benefits are fully used
💳 Great video as always. Took your advice getting the United Explorer card. Already have the full Amex setup, Venture X. We’ll get the CSR this June once I run the 48 month click on the welcome bonus (called Chase and they told me which month to apply). So I am saving 1 slot in the 5/24 rule for CSR
💳 I have Amex Platinum, Amex Gold, Amex Blue Biz, JetBlue Plus and Amex Marriott Bonvoy Biz. Sometimes I'll sub in the Bilt card too.
Can you do a video on the current state of Discover? Don't hear much about them anymore