My wallet got damaged and warped recently do to me running around in the pouring rain. I looked in my wallet and realized I’ve accumulated quite a number of cards over the years. I have a bit of a obsessive compulsive issue when it comes to receiving the maximum amount of rewards for every credit card transaction. This post will go into most of my active credit cards and how they are part of my financial life.
There are a total of 14 credit cards in that picture and I’ll start at the top left and move down.
Chase Professional Rewards – This card gets 3% cashback at gas stations, restaurants, office supply stores, hardware and home improvement centers. I got this card because back in the day I use to purchase a lot at office supply stores. I would easily rack up a couple thousand in charges a year and redeem the reward checks $50 at time.
New York Jets Extra Points – This card gets 1 point for every dollar spent. The rewards aren’t really worth much so I don’t use the card often. I got this card because they were offering a iPod nano with the Jets logo lasered on the back. Yes, I am a Jets fan. This is also one of my oldest cards and I make a small purchase on it from time to time to keep it active.
Chase Freedom – This card gets me 3% cashback on fast food purchases. It also gets 3% cashback on other categories but I forget what they are. I probably buy fast food 4-7 times a week and this is what gets used. It does take longer to reach the rewards threshold of $50 but it gets 1% back on all other purchases and sometimes I’ll throw a large charge on this card. The sign up bonus for this card was a whopping $250 which was the main reason I opened it.
Wamu ESPN Total Rewards – I opened this card because they had a 0% apr offer. The rewards program is now defunct after Chase bought out Wamu. The card has converted to some type of generic Chase rewards card. I believe I should get a re-branded replacement card before the expiration date.
Chase Visa (generic) – I do not remember how I got this credit card. I think I applied for a card and got rejected for it and they sent me this card with a $500 limit. I called to have the card closed and it still shows up on my online account with a $100 limit and still accepts charges (I tested with a $1 charge a couple weeks ago).
United Mileage Plus – I opened this card to get 25,000 bonus miles on United airlines. I downgraded this card to a no annual fee card that gets 1 mile for ever $2 spent as it’s a great way to pad my mileage account at United and reset the expiration timer every now and then. The card is also one of my oldest.
Chase Cash Rewards – This card gets me 5% cashback at supermarkets, drug stores and gas stations. I got this card to replace the Citi Dividend as Citi was ending the 5% rewards for those categories on that card.
Discover More Card – This card gets 5% on various and changing categories depending on the season. Until the end of June I get 5% cashback at home improvement, clothing, department stores. I did make a couple clothing store purchases recently. The card also had a $100 sign-up bonus.
American Express Platinum – The card offers tons of benefits. However the ones I use are access to airport lounges (you and up to two guests) and roadside assistance(hopefully I’ll never have to). Generally when I’m traveling with a friend the airport lounge access is a great perk as you get to kick back before a flight and indulge in the open bar. I’ve taken a shower at the lounge after a flight was delayed once in Chicago so it’s a nice perk to have.
American Express Starwood Preferred Guest – You get 1 starwood point for every dollar spent with this one. This is one of my more recent cards. I discovered that if you transfer 20,000 points to an airline miles program you get a 5,000 miles bonus. So essentially every dollar spent equals 1.25 miles earned. You generally get more value for redemptions at hotels but it’s not a bad deal for airline redemptions either.
American Express Business Platinum – When I was younger my sister (who runs a business) gave me this card for whenever I needed to charge anything because I didn’t have a credit card. I sock drawer this card now but I’ve used it in the past to book vacations and other high dollar purchases for myself and friends (who also didn’t have access to a credit card or a high line of credit).
Citi AAdvantage – I opened this card because I wanted to get started on a million miles on American Airlines (and get the gold status for life). I charge roughly 3,000-7,000 through this card monthly so in a given year I’ll earn enough miles for at least two roundtrip tickets anywhere in the continental US.
Citi Cashreturns – I signed up for this card because Citi was offering 5% cashback on EVERYTHING for 3 months of account opening. Needless to say, I charged everything on this card for 3 months. These days the card offers 1% cashback on everything and the credit line is pretty big so I run charges through here and there to keep it active.
Citi Dividend – This is my first credit card. It originally gave me 5% cashback at supermarkets, drug stores, and gas stations. However Citi changed the rewards structure to 2-3% cashback on utitilities and various other categories which I am unsure of because I don’t use the card actively. I do run charges through from time to time to keep the card from being closed because of it is my oldest card.
