If you have more than one credit card in your wallet, you are now confronted with a choice every time you make a purchase: Which card should I use? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. Each card has a different “currency”, bonus categories, sign-up bonus requirements, timeframes, special offers, and other attributes that make it challenging to figure out which one to insert, swipe or tap. Here’s how to sort it all out, in order of importance:
- If you have a new card and you’re trying to charge enough to earn the sign-up bonus, that’s your number one choice. Make sure you know how much you need to charge to the card and by what date, and make sure you get it done. That sign-up bonus can be worth thousands of dollars.
- Once you’ve satisfied the sign-up bonus requirement, find out what the bonus categories are for each card you hold. Typically, most cards pay one point or mile for each dollar you charge. Most cards also offer bonus categories that pay two, three, four, five points or more for each dollar spent in a particular category. Your most important job is to know what these bonus categories are and how the issuer defines those categories for your cards.
- If you have more than one card offering a category bonus, choose the one that offers the most points or miles. For example, nearly every airline or hotel card offers a substantial bonus for using the card with that provider. You should always take advantage of that perk. For other categories, pick the card that has the highest category bonus.
- If your card includes “special offers,” consider taking advantage of them. American Express cards have many of these offers; Citi and Chase are just starting to offer them. These special offers can be one-time credits for spending with a particular merchant (for example, $15 off a minimum charge of $50 with 1-800-Flowers) or they could be over multiple months ($15 per month credit for Uber charges every month). They’re usually fairly small amounts, usually have expiration dates, and almost always require you to select them for your cards. Visit your issuer’s website at least monthly to see what new offers are available and be sure to take advantage of those merchants with which you do business.
- If your purchase is in a non-bonus category, use the card whose points are most valuable. If you are specifically trying to add to one of your points or miles accounts (to get that United flight or that Marriott hotel stay), pick that card so you can reach your personal goal.
- If you’re in the fourth quarter of the year (which could either be the calendar year or your card’s anniversary year), and you still haven’t utilized a card’s annual travel credits, use that card for qualifying expenses. Never let an annual expense credit go unused. This is how you offset the annual fee for that card.
Piper Ridolfi
I probably have you pretty confused by now. Here’s how I approach my choice of cards. . .it’s actually pretty simple in action. Here are my current go-to cards and their bonus categories:
- Amex Platinum. . .Ten points for supermarkets and gas stations (this is a never-before-seen bonus level, and it’s only good for six months), five points for flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, five points for prepaid hotel stays booked directly with American Express Travel, one point for everything else. Special offers: $30 credit each month for PayPal charges using the Platinum card, $15 credit each month for Uber or Uber Eats charges, plus other short-term opportunities.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: Two points for travel and dining, five points for Lyft charges, one point for everything else. No other interesting special offers (for me), but you may find something you value.
- Citi Prestige: Five points for airfare, dining, and travel agencies, three points for hotels and cruise line, one point for everything else. Again, no other interesting special offers (for me).
- American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: Three points for airfare charged by airline, three points for US restaurants, six points for Marriott, and two points on all other eligible purchases. Special offers: $20 per month for restaurant charges (eat in or carry out), plus other short-term opportunities.
I’ve bolded the best deals for me for each card above. I’m still in the sign-up bonus period for both the Amex Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, so I will be using those cards almost exclusively over the next few months in order to pick up some great bonus points. After those requirements are satisfied, here’s how I’ll approach things:
- Supermarkets (this includes buying gift cards for specific merchants, if your supermarket carries them)- Amex Platinum
- Gas stations– Amex Platinum
- Airfare- Amex Platinum
- Uber/Uber Eats- Amex Platinum
- Travel expenses and Lyft (exclusive of airfare, hotel and Uber)- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Dining (after one monthly charge to Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant)- Citi Prestige.
- Marriott- Amex Bonvoy Brilliant
- Other hotels- Citi Prestige
- Will use PayPal once each month for at least $30 charged against the Amex Platinum
- Will use the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card once each month for dining of at least $20.
- Everything else- Chase Sapphire Preferred. It’s a toss up between this card and Amex Platinum (both currencies are valued at two cents per point), but I would like to add Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my account. Why not the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, which pays two points for every dollar spent? Those points are valued at about seven-tenths of a cent each, so two points would be worth 1.4 cents vs. two cents for the Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, if I really need more Marriott Bonvoy points, I can transfer my Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott for Bonvoy points!
If you made it this far (I hope!), that was a lot to digest. I hope this gives you some insight into how to decide which card to use. If you have questions or comments, please leave them in the Comments section below, and I’ll respond asap.
Sunset, Santorini, Greece