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Edited: Mar 28

Looking for Credit Card Advice

Hi all,

I’m new here and would appreciate your guidance! I'm looking for recommendations on:

Which of my current credit cards I can PC to and which new cards consider adding, preferably keeping my total under 10 cards

Here are some info which could be helpful,

Spending Categories

Groceries Main stores: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Occasional: Kroger, Tom Thumb, Market Street, Target, Walmart

Dining 2–4 times per month at local restaurants (nothing high-end)

Entertainment Concerts: 4–6 per year, typically $40–$350 per ticket Comedy clubs: 6–10 per year, typically $60–$100 per show Other shows: 3–4 times a year, typically $120–$300 per show

Streaming Primary: YouTube Premium (consistent) Others (on and off): Peacock, Paramount+, ESPN+ (if deals are available)

Tech & Appliances Mainly through Amazon and Best Buy

Sports & Outdoor Activities No gym membership (work out at local park) Mountain biking, Gravel biking, Kayaking (Note: I rent kayaks as I don’t own one)

Miscellaneous Biking and Hiking gear, Camping equipment

Travel Preferences

Air Travel Home airport: DFW Domestic flights: At least twice a year International flights: 1–3 times a year Regular destination: Vancouver Other destinations (in order of priority): Australia, Colombia, Far-East Asia, Europe and Middle-East

Preferred airline: American Airlines I’ve found it to be the best for non-stop domestic flights (at least for my destinations) and for travelling to Colombia, Mexico, and Canada. However, not sure if that would be the case for other international travels beyond Americas

Car Travel Frequent road trips to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Austin/San Antonio, New Mexico, Colorado and Tennessee

Lodging I prefer cabin lodges (where available) and Holiday Inn or similar hotels

Current Credit Cards (Oldest to Newest) Capital One Quicksilver – 2008 Chase Freedom – 2010 AMEX Blue Sky – 2013 Amazon Prime Visa – 2014 Discover IT – 2015 Citi Simplicity – 2015 Citi Best Buy – 2017 M1 Owner’s Rewards Card – 2023

Other Considerations Likely to cancel M1 unless you guys think it’ll worth keeping

Prefer to PC rather than close old cards to preserve credit history

Open to premium cards, but generally favor no annual fee options

I welcome and appreciate everyone’s feedback.

10 comments

Comments (10)

Jim Chambers

Mar 28

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You have been very comprehensive; therefore, I am sure that you'll get some great advice on here! From my experience, you may want to dip your toes into the "Annual Fee Card World". If your local airport is DFW, I am guessing that you live in a fairly urban area; therefore, the American Express Gold Card, and the Capitol One Venture X could be great cards for you at this point. Like you, I am an outdoorsman; therefore, the Discover IT Miles card has been very good to me in terms of cash back on my various travels to National Parks and National Scenic Trails in America. It also sounds like you keep your monthly utilization low, so you should be able to get most Annual Fee Cards with no problem. Good Luck!

Sam Jay

Mar 28

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Replying to

Thank you, Jim, for the feedback!

You make a good point about the annual fee cards. What I’m currently struggling with is deciding which one to get. Lounges aren’t a priority for me (though I wouldn’t mind complimentary access), so that’s not a deciding factor.

If I were to stay within one ecosystem, which one offers the easiest path for earning and redeeming points? I typically book flights directly with the airline rather than using travel portals, since airline websites almost always offer better pricing. That often negates the value of cashback or point multipliers offered through portals once you do the math.

I do plan on getting an American Airlines AAdvantage card at some point, which is a Citi product. From what I understand, I should be able to product change my Citi Simplicity card to one of their cashback cards. (though I’m still trying to figure out which one would suit me best)

There are also rumors about Citi launching a new Strata premium card. That might be the way to go, especially after watching Mark’s latest video on Citi card strategies.

As for AMEX and Capital One, unfortunately they don’t allow product changes to their other cards, which is a shame. The current ones I have are really bad cards, but within their respective ecosystem, they offer much better cards.

Mark Reese

Mar 28

Hey Sam! Great post & thank you for all the details. To capture higher rewards on your spend, and keeping in mind your preference for no-AF cards, here are the ones I’d look into:

SETUP A (mixed issuers)

1. Capital One Savor ($0 AF): This will cover your spending at grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, and streaming, all at a 3% cash back rate (can be converted to 3X miles if you pair with a VentureOne, Venture, or Venture X card). Could be possible to PC from your Quicksilver (ask Capital One to find out).

2. Wells Fargo Autograph ($0 AF): This will cover your car travel (3X rental cars, 3X gas), flights (3X), and hotels (3X). Also overlaps with select streaming (3X). Includes phone plans, too, at 3X.

3. Wells Fargo Active Cash ($0 AF): This card earns 2% on all purchases and would cover your ‘other’ spend (e.g. sports, outdoor activities, tech, appliances, misc.)

If you prefer cards with the same issuer, then consider…

SETUP B (Citi - travel or cash back)

Citi Strata Premier ($95 AF): 3X / 3% Air Travel, Hotels, Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas, EV Charging - this card does A LOT! Huge 75K welcome offer right now, too.
Citi Custom Cash ($0 AF): 5X / 5% on your Top Eligible Spend Category each billing cycle, up to $500/mo. See Citi's site for the eligible list of categories; they're useful.
Citi Double Cash: ($0 AF): 2X / 2% All Purchases

SETUP C (Wells Fargo - travel or cash back)

Wells Fargo Autograph ($0 AF): mentioned above
Wells Fargo Active Cash ($0 AF): mentioned above

SETUP D (Capital One - travel only)

Capital One Savor ($0 AF): mentioned above
Capital One Venture ($95 AF): 2X All Purchases (only good value for travel though, not cash back)

^ Note: You could make SETUP D work well for cash back if you substitute the Venture (2X miles) for the Quicksilver (1.5% cash) that you already have.

Mark Reese

Mar 29

Replying to

Do you value redeeming for travel or cash back more?

Sam Jay

Mar 30

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Replying to

I’ve decided to accept my offer of Capital One Savor, pairing it with Quicksilver, based on your recommendation. To be frank, it all makes sense, especially pairing them with one the CO travel cards. I’m more leaning toward the VentureX instead of the regular Venture, since it has higher rewards and I reckon I can easily justify the fee. I’ve heard good thing about the travel portal and their transfer partners look decent.

Regarding American Airlines access, I understand the only viable workaround right now is via AMEX points. Hawaiian (possible discontinuing soon) to Alaska, and either book on Alaska or transfer to AA. That being said, I’m not ready to take on the high annual fees of the AMEX cards (I am aware that currently Platinum offers 175,000 points, but to me that’s the only thing it goes for it) especially since they I can always fill the American Airlines gap with the AA Advantage card.

As for Citi, Unfortunately application for the Rewards+ was denied. I suspect it’s due to opening and closing a Citi banking account less than couple of years ago. That said, I plan to PC the Simplicity to Double Cash and use it specifically for Gas to take advantage of the 5% cashback. I’ll just bank the rewards for now until Citi unveils more details about their rumored higher-tier travel card ( possibly Strata Elite, as you have mentioned in your video).

So for now, I’m building out the Setup D strategy. I’ll wait a few weeks/months before I apply for VentureX and hopefully gain some values for both cashback and travel points.

Thanks again for your recommendation! Let me know if you have any tweaks or updated thoughts on this setup.

Mark Reese

Mar 30

Replying to

Sounds good! A no-annual-fee setup with Capital One that has a bunch of useful 5% + 3% categories (Savor) and 1.5% on 'everything else' (Quicksilver) is a good, easy-to-manage foundation.

Edited

Jim Chambers

Mar 29

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Hey Sam,

In no small way, you sound like me 20 years ago! I had just retired from the U. S. Marine Corps and I had begun work as a firefighter for the U. S. Forest Service. I was traveling alot with a Government issue Amex Corporate Card, and I was racking up major points as I went about my daily work. Being tied into the Government side of the Amex Ecosystem, I just sort of stayed there and racked up alot of points; and I must admit that I thrived in the Amex ecosystem until I retired from the U. S. Forest Service. However, at age 59, I suddenly found myself in charge of all my travel and lodging, and I needed to quickly choose a credit card set up that worked best for me. '

As a result, this is what I had as a credit card set up after leaving the government Amex System: I started out with 3 cards that met all of my needs in terms of travel, dining, lodging and cash back.

When I officially left the government, I carried the following cards: 1. Amex Green 2. USAA Platinum Rate Visa 3. Capitol One Savor 4. Discover IT Miles Card. These four cards did everything I needed as I left the government and went to work in the private sector However, in the past 5 years, I have made some changes to that 4 card set up. I now carry a set up that is heavy with American Express Cards, but it is definitely working for me right now. Right now I carry the Amex Gold, Amex Green, Amex Hilton Aspire Card, and Amex Delta Gold Skymiles card. Those are the main 4 cards that i use on a daily basis. I am not saying that it's easy to stay loyal to one issuer, but I am doing my best. Everyone's sitiuation is different, and i am sure all the great people on here will help you find the right set up for you.

Sam Jay

Mar 30

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Replying to

Hey Jim,

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I’m sure you’re enjoying the rewards you’ve earned! I’ll admit, I haven’t been very intentional with my credit card strategy in the past, but that’s something I’m working to change.

As I mentioned to Mark, I’ve decided to build my setup around the Capital One ecosystem for now. If it doesn’t end up being a good fit, I’ll reassess and explore other options or any updates that have rolled out since. That said, I’m really hoping this works out since I’m not too keen on opening and closing cards frequently.

On another note, my job situation is about to go through a major shift, which could mean much higher income. That said, since I’m a big believer in diversified investing (and of course emergency funds), I don’t expect dramatic changes to my travel or shopping habits, at least not right away. Still, having more capital could eventually mean either elevated experiences or simply more travel time, depending on what my job allows.

Thanks again and I truly appreciate your insight. Wishing the best for all of us on this journey!

Scott C

Apr 01

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Do the C1 Duo and Citi Duo.

Product change quicksilver to Savor and apply for VX.

Savor/Strata and Prime Visa for Groceries. Depending if it’s Whole Foods or not.

Savor also for concerts (entertainment) and streaming.

Citi Custom Cash for Gas

Citi Strata Premier for Dining, Groceries, also Airlines and Hotels directly.

Venture X for Target/Walmart and anything else. If you don’t want the VX big fee and lounge access isnt important the Citi trifecta is the way to go (Citi Double* Cash).

Both C1 and Citi have decent transfer partners and looks like Citi will be able to transfer to AA next year 🤞

Edited