Originally Posted by
pinniped
(c) You really do spend a lot in the "everyday spending" categories. Gassing up a fleet of vehicles, maybe buying a lot in bulk from a home improvement store, paying for cell phones for all of your small business's employees, etc. Then I'd be likely to carry specific cards and require my employees to carry them too, if applicable.
Agree with your general argument. However, when I really looked at the numbers, two categories are very high on my spend list, especially when traveling - restaurants and gas.
For that reason, I do keep specific cards to earn 5% on gas and 4% on restaurants, and usually use branded cards for hotels and airfare.
But, in general, I agree with you. There are cards that give a good rebate at home improvement stores, for example. But I might spend $20 in a month. It's not worth the effort and the credit pull for the card when it's worth maybe 40 cents a month.
Also, if I were starting out now and didn't already have these cards, I'd be much more focused on maximizing sign-up bonuses. That's where the real payoff is.