roki

Hi all,

I'm putting this in this forum because it's cross-program and not card-specific.

I'm looking at how to utilize my spend going forward. Up until now, I've had specific goals I'm working towards, or minimum spends to meet. I'm fairly diverse at the moment. I will most likely be applying for a mortgage before too much longer, so am laying low on applications.

My travel preferences are generally LAX > IAD annually around Christmas for my wife and I, generally economy. One more significant trip (Hawaii, Europe, etc) yearly, generally in Spring or Fall for my wife and I (so far in economy, but I wouldn't mind a bump to J at least for anything TATL/TPAC--Hawaii not counting). I have no status with any airline. When we travel to IAD, we stay with family, so hotels aren't needed. In Europe, I've found Club Carlson to be king, so that's where my hotel earning is focused. When I do stay in hotels in the States (<10 nights a year), I generally prefer Starwood properties, using C+P most often.

In my CC portfolio are:

Chase: Freedom, CSP, Southwest, United, Ink Plus
Citi: AA Exec, AA Plat, TY Premier, TY Prestige, TY Forward
US Bank: Club Carlson
Discover: IT
Barlcays: US Airways, NFL Extra Points
AMEX: SPG, Hilton Surpass

I have:

~300K AA (40K US)
~150K CC
~130K HH
~115K BA
~110K UA
~50K TY
~40K UR
~35K WN
~28K SPG

All of my category spend goes on the card with the highest multiplier. My debate is where to assign my non-category EDS of ~$12K/mo. As I see devaluations year after year, part of me really wants to put it all on the Citi Double Cash card (I plan to convert the AA Exec) and just bank the $240. The other part of me sees value in diversification. I'm pretty set for the AA program for a while, and I have no love for HHonors (downgrading the Surpass when AF hits). I'm also probably dumping the WN card (debating doing it for the 140K Ritz offer, but don't want any more applications). TY gets all my Amazon/Dining (5x Forward). Flexibility is highly valuable to me, My plan for now will be to split the $12K between the Ink/CSP, Double Cash, Club Carlson, and SPG (probably roughly $3K a piece).

Does anyone have any recommendations or see any gaping holes in my strategy? Thank you for any help!

lwildernorva

One of the Amex Everyday cards maybe? Although MR has gone into the shade a bit because of the popularity of UR, it's still a good currency because of its flexibility. I use the Preferred card because 30 uses a month is not really difficult to achieve (top up at the gas station more frequently, fresh food each night for dinner rather than weekly shopping trips, paying part of a utility bill several times per month rather than the whole thing at one time) and gets me a minimum of 1.5 MR for all spending other than gas stations and supermarkets which get the higher multiples.

12K per month of everyday spending would yield at least 18K MR with an amount added for your gas and grocery spend if also placed on the Everyday Preferred card. I'm not a big Delta fan, but I've found it helpful to have that as an option, and of course, you can also transfer to BA, if Amex is running a transfer bonus, or AF, for their occasionally discounted awards from North America to Europe.

deltame

As you mentioned, many programs change and devaluation seems to be the norm. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't by default put general spend on CSP/Ink or Club Carlson unless I have a shortage of points therein to meet a specific goal; I have a different view on putting general spend on SPG card only because one has less chance to quickly build up *wood points than UR points (for example, with category bonus and multiple cards). I would probably split general spend on 1 or 2 cards to meet travel needs in next 12-24 months, then adjust/switch as needed.

On a side note, I notice you don't have an Arrival card. If you were to apply for another card, I would recommend getting that one (apply for arrival+ then downgrade to no fee version after one year) because even the no-fee version has no forex fee. This no fee card could be useful as a long term holding for spend overseas, in case you got tired of paying annual fees for the premium cards.

roki

The top two cards I want to add to my portfolio are the AMEX Everrday Preferred and the Arrival+, so you guys are spot on with what I was thinking. Since I don't have any specific travel goals in the next 12 months (I already have a Europe trip booked in September, which will clean out my Club Carlson account), I want to earn there back up to ~100K. My 40K anniversary should be hitting in the next three months, so I'll get that help. I would consider my top two point categories to be UR and SPG, if I have nothing intentional planned. MR would definitely get into that mix if I got the EDP card, but as of now, that's how it stands.

On the EDP card, if I spend $12K/mo at 1x, $500/mo at Groceries $200/mo on gas, and hit the 30 swipes/month, it looks like this for the year, right?

$12K * 1.5 = 18K
$500 * 3 * 1.5 = 4500
$200 * 2 * 1.5 = 600

Total 23,500 MR points on $12.7K spend, which is just shy of 2x. However, 24K MR points is obvious > $240. By a lot.

MSPeconomist

I like the AmEx Plat charge card, although the annual fee is high. It gets you lower level SPG status (and late check outs), reimbursement for GE application fees, reimbursement for up to $200 per year of fees on one airline (checked bags, F&B purchased on board, lounge entrance, etc.), and a PP Select membership for airport lounges which might work on your European trips although probably not so well for LAX, IAD, and HNL.

deltame

I would suggest taking a closer look at total # of premium cards that you are paying annual fees on and examine if you are truly getting the values from each. And CC spend for earnings in cash vs. points. You are young and buying a house in the near future, and (I�m only guessing) that you would be starting a family sometime down the road. Having extra cash on hand might be one of the more useful currencies for you in the next few years. Spread thin and stay in too many programs (that cost you money) does little to help you in the long run. You can always get back into the points game, once you are in a position to apply multiple cards to enjoy the sign-on bonuses. Travel some, collect miles/points within reason and hold onto the cold hard cash as much as you can.

roki

These are some mor good ideas. As far as the CC fees, I do have a number of them. However:

Citi Prestige is at a 50% AF rate (former employee)
Citi Premier is waived (former employee)
Citi AA Exec (PCing to Double Cash when AF hits in March)
Citi AA Plat (So far, retention offers waive/offset AF)
Ink Plus (easily offset by 5x and transfer partners)
CSP (downgrading to CS when AF hits now that I have the Ink)
UA MPE (recoup AF in baggage fee waiver)
WN card (gives points annually, but since I'm not using them, this one isn't worth it)
Barclay US Air (gives 10K on anniversary, offsets AF)
AMEX Hilton Surpass (downgrading to fee-free when AF hits in March)
AMEX SPG (This one I just pay. Maybe that's foolish for how much I use it)
US Bank Club Carlson (40K anniversary points offset AF)

You are right about cash and where I am in life. I'm under 30, married for under a year, and we're throwing huge chunks of our moderate income into savings for a home and family in the next 3-4 years. If I put all of my EDS spend into 2%, that's $2880/year, which turns into $12k after 4 years (with a whopping 1% interest). That might just be preferable to points, given how many I already have and how many I'm likely to use in that period.