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Over the past week or so, the Frequent Miler team has been sharing which cards we carry around day-to-day. Greg, Nick and Tim have all shared what’s in their wallet, so now it’s time to share what’s in mine.
Grocery Cards
Chase Freedom Flex
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: Great for 5X and 3x categories and World Mastercard benefits. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. No Annual Fee Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q4 2024: McDonalds, PayPal, Pet Stores & Selectr Charities) Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ Cell phone protection ✦ Lyft credits ✦ $10 monthly credit for non-restaurant DoorDash orders See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
My wife has both a Chase Freedom Flex card and a regular Freedom, the latter of which is no longer available for new applications. These cards are earning 5x Ultimate Rewards at grocery stores this quarter, so I’m using her Freedom Flex and I’ve put a ‘grocery’ sticker on her regular Freedom card and she has that in her own wallet.
Hilton Surpass
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
After we’ve spent $1,500 on those Freedom cards this quarter, grocery spending will move over to our Hilton Surpass cards. That’s because the Surpass earns 6x Hilton Honors points on grocery spend (as well as in some other categories), plus you earn a Hilton free night certificate after $15,000 spend in a calendar year. If you do all that spending in a 6x category, you’ll end up with that free night certificate plus 90,000 Hilton points.
Amex Gold
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: This card offers an awesome return on US supermarket and worldwide dining spend, putting it at or near the top-of-class in both categories. Dining credits and Uber / Uber Eats credits go a long way towards reducing the sting of this card's annual fee. $325 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X points for flights booked with airlines or on amextravel.com ✦ 4x points at US Supermarkets (up to $25K in purchases, then 1x) ✦ 4x at restaurants worldwide ✦ 1X points on other purchases. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Up to $10 in statement credits monthly with participating dining partners (Goldbelly, Wine.com, Five Guys, Seamless/Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory) ✦ $10 monthly Uber or Uber Eats credit (use it or lose it each month - must select Amex card as payment method to redeem) ✦ $100 hotel credit on qualifying charges on stays of 2 nights or longer, plus a room upgrade upon arrival, if available with The Hotel Collection at americanexpress.com/hc ✦ Enrollment required for select benefits. |
The Amex Gold card offers 4x Membership Rewards at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 spend each year, so it’s a good card to have in your wallet if you’re able to generate a decent amount of spend at grocery stores.
Dining
Discover It
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: This is a great choice for its rotating 5% categories No Annual Fee Earning rate: 5X in rotating categories, up to $1500 spend per quarter (Q4 2024: Amazon & Target) Card Info: Discover issued by Discover. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Discover Cash Back is worth more than face value when redeemed for partner gift cards |
For chain restaurants, I’ll try to pick up discounted gift cards because for many brands you can save 10% or more by buying from wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club or Costco, or from places like Raise, Fluz, etc.
For other dining expenses this quarter, my wife and I each have our Discover It cards in our wallet (hers is labeled ‘dining’). That’s because similar to how Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex cards are earning 5% at grocery stores this quarter, Discover It cards are earning 5% at restaurants.
Hilton Surpass
In addition to earning 6x at grocery stores, the Hilton Surpass card earns 6x at U.S. restaurants. While we’re still spending towards the $15,000 threshold for the free night certificate, we’ll put dining spend on the Surpass card (once the 5% Discover earnings have been maxed or after March 31, whichever comes sooner).
Amex Gold
The Amex Gold makes another appearance for later in the year as it earns 4x Membership Rewards on dining and which, unlike the 4x on U.S. supermarkets, is uncapped.
Office Supply Stores
Chase Ink Plus
I still have an Ink Plus card (no longer available for new applications) which earns 5x at office supply stores. Two great features of this card versus the Ink Cash is that it has a $50,000 limit for 5x earnings rather than $25,000 on the Ink Cash and it allows you to transfer to travel partners. That said, the Ink Cash has no annual fee whereas the Ink Plus has a $95 annual fee.
Drug Stores
Discover It
I don’t tend to do much shopping at drug stores as it’s usually far more convenient to pick up items from a grocery store. For the odd occasion where I’ll find myself at a CVS or Walgreens this quarter though, I’ll use my Discover It card as drug stores is another 5% category through March 31.
Gas
Wyndham Rewards Earner Business
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: Excellent earning rate at gas stations and Wyndham hotels. Diamond status plus 15K annual bonus makes this card a keeper. $95 Annual Fee Earning rate: 8X Wyndham & gas ✦ 5X marketing, advertising, and utilities (telecommunications, cable, satellite, electric, gas, heating oil and water) ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Barclays. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: 15,000 points each anniversary year ✦ Diamond status ✦ 10% discount on free night awards ✦ Cardmember discount on paid stays ✦ No foreign transaction fees |
The Wyndham Business card makes it a clean sweep across all our wallets as our default gas card. That’s because it earns an unrivalled 8x Wyndham Rewards points per dollar.
Miscellaneous Spend
Curve Card
I was “lucky” enough to get in on the Curve card when it was possible to earn 10% cashback. I say “lucky” because I had all kinds of issues when trying to use the card from declined transactions to the wrong backing cards being charged to not getting notified when a payment needed to be made to Curve Credit (which shouldn’t have been charged in the first place), etc.
As a result, I didn’t end up getting close to maxing out the 10% earnings, but did earn close to $500 cashback. I remembered recently that that balance was sitting there and it can’t be cashed out – you have to make payments using the Curve card and have it charge your Curve Cash account. I’ve therefore been doing that to spend down the money that’s been sitting there gathering dust. I’m not overly confident about Curve’s future in the US, so although the cash is likely safe (I’ve not looked into whether it’s covered by the FDIC), I’d rather just spend the money rather than worry about gaining access to it in the future.
World of Hyatt
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: Great card for welcome bonus and annual free night. Might be worth using regularly for additional free night and as a path to status. $95 Annual Fee Earning rate: ✦ 2X restaurants / cafes / coffee shops, airlines, local transit, fitness clubs and gym memberships ✦ 4X Hyatt and Mr & Mrs Smith Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One free Cat 1-4 night certificate after $15K spend in a calendar year. ✦ Get 2 elite qualifying night credits every time you spend $5K in purchases Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free category 1-4 night every year upon renewal ✦ Additional free category 1-4 night after $15K spend in calendar year ✦ Discoverist elite status ✦ 5 elite qualifying nights |
Although we have some other cards that can be good for miscellaneous spending (e.g. Venture X, Chase Freedom Unlimited, etc.), at the moment most of mine is going on my Hyatt card. This card offers two elite night credits for every $5,000 you spend, as well as a category 1-4 free night certificate after spending $15,000 in a calendar year. I’ll put enough spend on it to earn six elite night credits and the free night certificate, but not any more than that.
That said, I’ll still keep the card in my wallet as we stay at Hyatt properties frequently enough that it makes sense to leave it in there regardless.
Debit Cards
Chase
Our main checking account is now with Chase. This is our most convenient option as they have such a good branch and ATM network throughout the US and we move “home” every week. Having their ATMs nearby is therefore useful when we want to withdraw cash without paying ATM fees.
Schwab
I keep the Schwab debit card in my account more for when we’re travelling overseas so as ATM fees get waived. The same thing happens with my SoFi debit card (I’m grandfathered into the no ATM fee option), but the last few times I tried using my SoFi card overseas it didn’t work and so I’ve just moved over to the Schwab card instead.
On the one hand it’d make sense to make Schwab my default debit card for ATM withdrawals in the US too. However, it takes several days for funds to be credited to the account when transferring in, so by the time I realize that I need to withdraw cash, it’s too late.
Amex-Related Offers
Amex Schwab Platinum
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
$695 Annual Fee Earning rate: ✦ 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel ✦ 5X points for prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: This card includes all of the great perks that come with the American Express Platinum Card, plus: ✦ Use Membership Rewards® points for deposits by Schwab to your eligible brokerage account. (For example, 10,000 points = $110) ✦ $100 credit with Schwab holdings of $250,000+ or $200 credit with holdings of $1,000,000+ on approval & each year. See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
I keep my Amex Schwab Platinum card in my wallet for a few reasons. One is in case I want to enter a Centurion lounge when flying somewhere. Another is in case I find myself in a city with a Saks Fifth Avenue store so that I can buy a $50 gift card to take advantage of the Platinum card’s twice-annual $50 Saks credit.
A third reason is that some Amex Offers seems to be targeted at Platinum cardholders only, so it’s handy to have this on me in case I ever want to use those.
Amex Gold
Although my Platinum card seems to be targeted for a few select offers, it feels like my Amex Gold card gets targeted for far more Amex Offers. Any offers I have no interest in I load to my no annual fee Hilton card, while others – especially ones that give bonus Membership Rewards – I load to my Amex Gold card seeing as it’s a permanent fixture in my wallet.
Hilton Surpass
While I’m still in the process of spending $15,000 on our Surpass cards, I load some Amex Offers to our Surpass cards. Although those offers are usually for non-bonus earning categories, earning 3x Hilton Honors points while simultaneously contributing towards earning the free night certificate makes sense for me.
Other Cards
A few other cards occasionally make their way into my wallet, but only for specific purchases. In most cases, they’re hotel credit cards like the IHG Premier, Hilton Aspire and Marriott Amex when checking into one of their corresponding hotel brands.
We’re also usually working on the minimum spend requirement on a new card (or cards). That’s not the case right now (I need to get on that), but when we are, most spending ends up going on those cards.
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I like how your wallet shows a good hotel-forward strategy.
It sometimes seems inescapable to prioritize transferrable currencies, and then kind of hem and haw over using them for hotels (Hyatt transfers excepted) since there are usually worth more as airline transfers. That makes sense, BUT it often leaves the question unanswered for the hotel enthusiast that runs through hotel points faster than airline points, or for those where a hotel stay doesn’t necessarily mean flying to get there. Since that’s basically your situation, I appreciate the “alternate” take of your wallet.
seems like everyone has the Wyndham Business….hahahaha.
Now…I wonder how many folks out there will only carry METAL cards these days?
I often carry 3 – CSR Reserve, Bilt, and AmexPlatBus (got rid of the personal) now.
It has been GREAT to see more Stephen Pepper on FM Greg!!!
Stephen no wonder your wallet looks like a vintage George Costanza wallet with all those cards. I bet you have a bunch of coupons in there too.
I can neither confirm nor deny that
Thanks Stephen.
As I’m sure you know, Hilton Business would be a non-reporting Amex option that would let you harvest yet another Hilton cert after $15k spend.
Yep, I have that one too. I hit that spend in other ways that don’t require it to be in my wallet though.
Is AMEX gold really that good for supermarkets? The everyday preferred earns 3 points and 4.5 if you have 30 swipes. Wouldn’t that be the way to go for the 1st $6,000 which is $500 a month. Go with freedom if there is a bonus on that for the 1st $1,500
Also, you are locked into keeping the AMEX gold w/ high AF to keep points active. Having the everyday no annual fee is a safe way to prevent that and give you flexibility if you don’t want to go for the ED preferred. Finally, no business cards??
Everyone gets excited on cards that earn 3x, 4x etc on certain categories but it really usually is a small incremental increase vs other cards that may have a lower annual fee.
I’d much prefer having the Amex Gold for a guaranteed 4x on up to $25k spend per year rather than an EveryDay Preferred which requires the hassle of 30 transactions per month (even if that can be automated to an extent) and only gives 4.5x on up to $6k per year. Having to worry about those 30 transactions each month in order to earn 0.5x extra on a significantly lower amount of spend allowed isn’t particularly enticing for me.
Freedom cards only have grocery stores as a bonus category once per year, so even having two Freedom cards plus an EveryDay Preferred only gives 4.5-5x of spend on up to $9k spend per year. If you’re trying to have a wallet with very few annual fees and you’ll only be spending ~$750 at grocery stores per month, your suggestion certainly isn’t a bad option – it’s just not what I’m looking for in my wallet.
I’m not locked into the Amex Gold card as I have other Membership Rewards-earning cards. The Amex Gold has an annual fee that’s “only” $250. The EveryDay Preferred has a $95 annual fee, so the Amex Gold is only $155 more. For that extra $155 you get $120 of Uber/Uber Eats credits plus $120 of dining credits for Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, etc. For me, the Amex Gold card therefore provides much more value than the EveryDay Preferred as you’d have to put a fair bit of spend on the EveryDay Preferred in order to recoup the $95 fee you pay, let alone coming out ahead.
As for having no business cards, I have plenty of those – just not many that I carry in my wallet from day-to-day. The Ink Plus and Wyndham cards that I mentioned in the post are business cards though.
I don’t “naturally” use Ubereats or any delivery service (Rather pickup)…so I dislike those monthly credits. Got tired of that from the AmexPlat. I really dislike monthly credits. Quarterly is my limit.
Don’t like “feeling obligated” to patronize one restaurant or another….so just prefer upgrade/downgrade of Everyday to Preferred and back.
I definitely feel similar to you. The grocery bonus category is a really crowded field, and I have tried to Amex Gold a couple times (signing up for it directly, and as a downgrade path from the Platinum), and cancelled it x2 (when I did not get a retention offer). Grocery is usually a Freedom 5x category one quarter a year, and for the past couple years I have been targeted for those Chase quarterly 5x bonuses a few times. And when that does not work, I have multiple Custom Cash cards.
I probably spend less at grocery stores than most people (maybe $100-$200 a month on actual food, excluding gift cards), since I live in the PNW and buy a majority of my food at Costco. So the different caps are not a big deal.
Very interesting. Different angle from the other team members. Thanks for sharing.
Appreciate your shared info!