Time to Switch Strategies?
 

Up until recently I've been really focusing on spend using my SPG card, and my Ritz-Carlton rewards card. The SPG points have great value, and I stay at Marriott a ton.

However, with all of the recent devaluations in programs (SPG excluded), a complete change of strategy for earning sky miles, and the introduction of new cards like the American Express Everyday does it make sense to really simplify how we approach rewards.

Right now my gut is saying something like this beginning to look like a decent strategy

CSP - Dining, Travel, Entertainment
Freedom - 5% Categories
Discover IT- 5% Categories
Amex Everyday/Amex BCP (Travel/Non-Travel) - Gas & Groceries
Amex Platinum - Travel Perks (if needed)

You don't have to worry about reward tiers disappearing (maybe transfer partners will change but odds are you will always be able to redeem UR and MR for a minimum of 1 cent per point) or changing. You have a lot more flexibility, etc. You also only have to worry about tracking 3 types of points at that point, but you miss out on potential BIG bonuses with hotel chains (not so much airlines anymore), but for a lot of people maximizing the rewards on everyday spend might make up for it.

Thoughts?

I like having MR in my miles/points portfolio, but I prefer being diversified over many programs..their transfer partners are not that great and cannot be transferred to AA or UA. I would never put spend on a Marriott/Ritz card as there are way better cards to put spend on. The SPG is a very solid card, but I would rething the Marriott spending for anything other than Marriott stays. I will stick with tracking my numerous accounts and be able to have all my options available when needed.

Unfortunately Ritz has a 10K annual spend requirement to keep status. I'd agree if I could do 10K a year at just the hotels that's all I'd put on there.

SPG is good because of the number of partners, but I still have this pit in my stomach they are due to be devalued, I may just be paranoid. It's also hard because most places I travel for work don't have SPG hotels so it's hard to justify making it my every day spend card.

Overall I was trying to make the argument more around every day spend that being a good strategy to get more than 1x on almost everything without having too many cards.

FWIW I guess.

Depending on how much you spend on airline tickets and gas, you might also consider the PenFed cards. The PenFed AmEx will earn you 5x on airfare and the PenFed Visa will earn you 5x on gas.

Also, depending on how much spending you have that doesn't hit a 3x+ category, you might consider the Barclaycard Arrival card that effectively earns 2.22% on all spending.

I've been pondering this for quite a while. While the 2x on gas and 3x on groceries is nice with Amex Everday, especially considering no AF, I still value the 5x I'll be getting on gas through Freedom (for at least the first three quarters) over 2.5x in MR because of their limited decent transfer partners.

My current setup is similar to yours:
CSP/Freedom - Dining, travel, rotating 5% (gas most of this year, and dining next Q)
Discover IT - 5% if others exhausted (might happen next Q with gas and dining in the bonus category)
PenFed Cash Rewards - Gas backup, international backup
Delta ST - Only way I earn DL SkyRupees now.

Amex Everyday will probably end up in my wallet, but in the backup section.

I've slowly been considering switching to cashback only cards and then just putting all my cash back in one savings account from all the programs. Once Arrival has Chip and Pin I might switch to that as my main card, and use Amex BC, Freedom, and IT for all the various categories.

I've been trying to develop an easy, optimal strategy like this, too, and some other close friends with similar expense patterns.

Citi Executive - Business expenses (>40K, so 10K AA EQM)
Ritz Carlton - Personal/Family Travel, Hobbies, Gifts, .etc (>10K, so Marriott Gold)
Freedom - 5% Categories
CSP - Dining & Entertainment
SPG - Everyday spend

But I'd certainly be open to an Amex Everyday card instead of an SPG card, especially if it saves me the AF.



EDIT:
For the Freedom this year, aren't gas stations only 5x for two quarters (Q1 and Q3)?

Unless you're planning a trip in the medium to short term, holding onto reward points/miles has never been a good strategy. This will continue to be the case, very rarely is a points/mile card going to be beat a flat out 5% cash back unless you're planning on flying first/business internationally on a regular basis.

I am not sure why we would choose BCE over BCP. Although BCP has a 75 AF, we are having a 6% cash back instead of 3%. Assume one can spend more than 2.5k on grocery (very likely even without MS), wouldn't BCP be more beneficial?

I would agree that for some of us, put your grocery spending on SPG might be better if you need some extra points for your next travel, but simply by comparing the grocery spending on BCE and BCP, should it be obvious or am I missing something?

Yes, but I can use the category for Lowe's to purchase gas GCs. Plus I'm going to max out the category for gas this Q at the end of the month, since Lowe's and restaurants will be VERY easy to max out for me.

I have been thinking the same. I go back and fourth between focusing on cash / fixed value vs. points. Right now i'm a bit all over the place:

- Citi Forward: dining and amazon
- Diners Club: Corporate expenses (mostly travel)
- CSP: personal travel
- Freedom: 5% categories
- Ink: 5% telecom (dont do MS)
- BCP: groceries
- AMEX Plat: items where it makes sense
- FiDo AMEX: every day spender (although some still gets put on SPG)


That is the only way I see making the cash return comparable.

I am thinking if i switch back to a points focus the following strategy may make sense:

- CSP: Dining / personal travel
- AMEX Everyday Preferred: Grocery, Gas, everyday spender (should be no issue getting to 30x/ month)
- Diners: cant get around this...

- AMEX Plat: where it makes sense
- Ink: Telecom
- Freedom: 5% cats

The two trade-offs here:

1) 2.14 UR > 5 TYP (e.g., UR > 3 Cents each - that's a stretch but doable; i have found that plane tickets from citi done earn MQD/ PQD and fear the 5x forward will end soon, if it did, the cash option would make a lot less sense)
2) 1.5 MR > 1 SPG > 1.1 UR > 2% cash
- 1.5MR > 1 SPG - this may be hard, and comes down to preference (SPG or MR)
- 1.5 MR > 1.1 UR - this seems clear, unless the UR transfer partners are far superior to MR.
- 1.5 MR > 2% cash; yes, unless I dont care about point.

One problem i have had with MR is i dont earn a lot in the program and for me the points dont transfer into a program i routinely earn in (except DL, which i dont need more of). That said, if i were earning 1.5x on everyday, 4.5x on grocery, and 3x on gas that would be a decent chunk of MR to utilize (likely more so than some cash and some SPG).

I could also reduce the number of cards i physically carry, which would be nice. All said, the internal debate I continue to have, would i rather earn a fixed value or a point which may be devalued... that is key to either strategy. Either way, i like the new AMEX card so far.

I have an easy optimal strategy: put all spending toward signup bonuses (earning 5-50 points per dollar in the process) and then MS for what I need at any given time. No card shuffling, only 2 or 3 cards in the wallet at any time.

Works out the same for me, although I can't claim it is by design - there just always seems to be one bonus or another that needs to be taken care of.

+1