Looking for advice. Thinking about replacing cards
 

I currently use the following cards:
Groceries & Gas: American Express Blue Preferred (6% and 3% respectively)
Restaurants: Citi Forward (3 points/$)
Travel: Chase Sapphire and United Mileage Plus


For everything else, I use the Fidelity Amex which is 2% cash back on all purchases. However, I have problems having it accepted at some places so I have to use another card at 1%. Now, Citi just came out with the Double Cash, which is also 2% cash on everything. Since , it is Mastercard instead of Amex, I'll have almost universal acceptance. Is it worth switching? If so, should I cancel the Amex or just shove it in a drawer? Is their another card I should consider instead? My goal is to have a minimum of 2% cash back or equivalent in points for all purchases.

Thanks!

Citi Forward should be 5 points/$ or 2 points/$, depending on which version. AFAIK, there was no 3 points/$ version.

As for the Fido Amex, I would not cancel it. It carries no minimum fee, so there is little benefit to canceling. The Citi Double Cash card is a fine replacement for the Fido Amex, because it also carries no AF and is more widely accepted than the Amex. If 2% is your goal and cashback is your reward of choice, then I'd suggest grabbing the Citi Double Cash card, stashing the Fido Amex is a drawer, and keeping the rest the same. The only other thing I might recommend is getting the Chase Freedom card to capitalize on the 5% categories (gas two quarters a year, etc).

Roki,
There's a bit of confusion with the Citi Forward. I was looking through my rewards details and I could have sworn it said 3 points/$. I double checked my statements and a customer service rep and it is indeed 5 points.

In any case, I made a couple of moves. I have a Chase Sapphire that was recently downgraded from the Sapphire Plus (which we got for the bonus) Since the rewards are redundant, I called Chase and had them switch to the Freedom.

I just was approved for the Citi Double Cash and I'm considering applying for the US Bank Cash+ card. The 5% cash back on restaurants is better than the 5 points on the Forward (which probably comes out closer to 3 or 4%.)

At that point I'll have more cards than I really want with several sitting unused in a drawer. I'm trying to decide if that would be a problem or not.

5% on restaurants on US Bank Cash + is going away. It's becoming a 2% category.

From my October statement:


Effective January 1, 2015, a new 5% Cash+ Category will be available: Select Clothing Stores featuring
merchants such as Gap and Talbots. Also effective January 1, 2015, Drugstores will be replaced by
Restaurants as a 2% everyday Cash+ Category

I don't get how this is the case, unless you truly are strictly a CASH rewards person. You can redeem TY points 1:1 on Travel, Gift Cards, Student Loan Payments, and Mortgage Payments. Pair in a Premier or Prestige and you can get a 25%-60% bump if you redeem for travel.

I would keep the Fidelity AMEX if it's an old account, since there is no annual fee. I would also recommend the Sallie Mae MC from Barclays because you get a full 5% cashback on gas and groceries (up to $250 spending in each category per month) with no annual fee. It also gives a full 5% cashback on spending at bookstores (up to $750 monthly spending), which includes most amazon purchases. It may be a good replacement for the Blue Cash Preferred, which carries an annual fee.

First the rewards cap and now this. Wow, Cash+ has become pretty worthless. I was using it exclusively for restaurants and amazon ("bookstores"). Now I really regret not doing a 2BM with the CSP when I got the Ink+.

Wow. Damn, I just submitted my application yesterday. I didn't plan on using it for anything else. Should I call the up and tell them to forget it? I don't want a card I'm not using.

I canceled it. I'll just continue using the Citi Forward. Still isn't a bad deal.

Dear OP,

IMHO, you should be looking at a very different question. Namely: why aren't I collecting the big money bonuses that are available such as the Chase INK 70K Ultimate Rewards points or the many others to be found on FT.

The bonuses are where the value is for most of us. Unless your spend is truly gigantic.

One RT in F to Europe or Asia is worth whole lot more to me than a few hundred bucks in cash back.

My wife and I did pay for our honeymoon airfare by opening up accounts with Sapphire Plus and United Explorer. :) 110,000 miles combined I think.

We'll cut you some slack because you're relatively new here, but having 20-30 cards that you don't use is not that unusual around here. :)

I have a box full of cards that I've had and later canceled, as well as a half-dozen in play at any given time. Depends on the promos.

Having said that - opening and closing accounts can look a little dicey to lenders. However, having a card you don't use but has no annual fee is much better used by sitting in a drawer rather than cancelling, because it adds to the "ageing" of your credit score.

Wow, U.S. Bank can't stop nerfing the Cash+. They keep switching out useful 5% categories with useless ones. Next they will replace Electronic Stores with Shoe Shine Shops.

R.I.P. Airfaire, Hotels, Billpay, and now Restaurants.

And I thought that them adding a $2,000 quarterly cap on 5% categories would keep them from doing this crap...