There are enough promos that come along the way that make it worth while. Staying at hotels and being DL elite help too.

I used to love 10 points for redbox transactions, I would frequently use a promo code to get a movie for 30-50 cents. But at the end of the year it's a trivial amount (1-2k) so I've stopped caring too much about it.

Now I put small transactions on bluebird, amex for target and other prepaid cards to show some swipe activity on those cards. Not sure if it helps but I treat it like insurance. Those small transactions are also good for keeping older cards active, very low low opportunity cost of points earned.

Good idea, i think i'm gonna start using bluebird for small transactions, makes it look like i'm using it the way it's intended

That sounds fine but how many cards do you want to have to carry in your wallet? Bluebird is useless for earning points so why even have it in your wallet?

The insurance thing you mention is a bit of a stretch. If you want Amex to make a profit off your account, you can occasionally leave some money in it so they collect some interest. It's not like you get anything meaningful in a savings account. Why let go any opportunity to earn points?

Agree with the occasional using of older cards to keep the account active. But the best way to do this IMO is to purchase yourself a $1 Amazon gift card and apply to your account every 3-4 months or so. Once you store the CC info in your Amazon account, you don't even have to dig up the card for repeat purchases. Beats carrying around all these cards in your wallet and having to constantly switch them.

Personally I limit myself to 4 cards at all times always having atleast 1 Visa and one Amex. I carry the Freedom (still get the 10 points per swipe), SPG, Blue Cash and any card I am meeting minimum spend on. If I need a no foreign transaction fee card I carry the Amex Plat and Priority Club card and get rid of the SPG and Blue Cash.

Freedom and CSP are my other cards. I mean't i was thinking of using the bluebird card once a week or so ($5-10), nothing huge. I guess i am still a little paranoid...

I feel I've optimized my CC strategy enough and earn enough points with manufactured spend so I don't fret the few thousand points I would miss out. I do keep a large blue bird balance ($2-3k).

I like your amazon idea. A predictable amount also makes it easy to set up a recurring bill pay. Same thing can be done for bluebird.

My current go to card is Club Carlson, as I will be traveling to Europe shortly. To round out I'm strongly thinking about working towards a TYP combo.

This. May I ask what's good about blue bird now, given the Vanilla reload thing is pretty hard to find these days? Thanks!

AMEX Plum - 1.5% (2.0% if you're grandfathered in) cash back, along with 5% open savings with some of my vendors (although it caps at $1k). Use the sapphire preferred or freedom if AMEX is not accepted.

You have to account for the annual fee of $250 too.

Currently Chase Freedom/ CSP and Citi Forward/Premier are my main ones. I'm going to be adding a 5% cash back on everything from my Credit Union for things I don't get a bonus on. No annual fee either.

I use the Bluebird as well for small purchases for the exact reason.

I received the 10 points per purchase bonus on my last statement. Are some people grandfathered in or is the bonus ending this month? I've had the card for almost 3 years and have a checking account with Chase.

I've seen other posts say that no one is grandfathered in, but the move to the new format is coming in waves. I'm still getting the 10 points per swipe, but I am preparing for it to end at any time.