Bank of America Cash Rewards with BofA Preferred Rewards at Gas Stations (5.25%) - Underrated MS Card for High Rollers

Bank of America has a Preferred Rewards program for their high rollers.  It's a tiered rewards program.

If you have $20,000 (Gold) with any BofA institution (including Merryl Lynch), you will get a 25% bonus on all your rewards from eligible credit cards (does not include Better Balance Rewards - I would love that!)


At $50,000 (Platinum) your rewards bonus is 50%.

At $100,000 (Platinum Honors) your rewards bonus is 75%.

My Ideal Wallet Q3 2015

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame, Discover

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from July 1st until the end of September 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else. There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You earn 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Amazon.com, Department Stores and Home Improvement Stores. Discover Doubles your rewards for a year so 5% becomes 10%! This is the new it card (see what I did there ;)
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%.  I use them for Staples or Bed, Bath and Beyond Gift cards.  $20 in rewards is a $25 gift card.
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• $50 sign up bonus via my referral link (or anyone else's).  $50 becomes $100 after 13 months.  Refer your spouse/friends/family members to earn $100 yourself for every referral!
• 
  
• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Gas Stations and Kohl's.
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter. You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days (ends very soon), you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.
  

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Hilton Hotels and Airlines
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  I haven't used it much this year.
• I might use this for airlines, but I am sure many of you can use this.
• You can't sign up for this card, but many people have reported that you can product change from a different Citi card to the Dividend.

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month. Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.

• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.
• Sign up for a card with a sign up bonus and then product change to the BBR card.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• "Old" American Express Blue Cash - 5% cashback at groceries and select pharmacies after $6,500 of yearly spend at 1%.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
• This card is always in my wallet.  Discover it can replace this card for a year.
• Alternatively, you can use the Discover it Miles card for 3% cashback everywhere during your first year of the card.

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet 2015 Q2

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from April 1st until the end of June 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Hilton Hotels and Airlines.
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).
• I might use this for airlines, but I am sure many of you can use this.
• You can't sign up for this card, but many people have reported that you can product change from a different Citi card to the Dividend.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at restaurants, bed bath and beyond, H&M and overstock.com 
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days, you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Restaurants and Movies.  
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• Discover points are not as valuable as Chase Ultimate Rewards currency so only use it for restaurants if you have already maximized your Chase Freedom frist.

• 
  

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
• This card is always in my wallet
• Alternatively, you can use the Discover it Miles card for 3% cashback everywhere during your first year of the card.

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Time to Start Paying Cash for Gas?

I don't like it when gas stations have a different price for cash and credit, especially when it is hard to tell the price until you get in the station.  I usually go to stations that have the same price because I have the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card that gives 3-5.25% cashback on gas depending on how much money you have with Bank of America.

Every once in a while I go to a gas station with a different cash and credit price and I still pay credit. The difference is usually 8-10 cents a gallon.  When gas is $3.00 a gallon, it is still a better deal to pay by credit card and it is much easier.


I live in New Jersey and gas prices are approaching $2.00 in some areas.  The difference between the cash and credit price is the same 8-10 cents a gallon.  That changes the entire equation.  If you are getting 3% cashback on your gas purchase, that's 6 cents a gallon.  If you pay 10 cents a gallon for the privilege of using a credit card it's actually more expensive.


Every person's situation is unique to their credit card and the price of gas in their area.  The moral of the story: As gas prices decrease and the difference between cash and credit does not change, there comes a time when it is no longer cheaper to pay with credit card.

My Ideal Wallet - Q1 2015

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from January 1st until the end of March 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months - email me for a referral, public link is for $100 only.
• You get 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.
• Not as important this quarter because of Chase Freedom.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at grocery stores, movie theaters and Starbucks. 
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days, you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Gas and Ground Transportation.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• Most 7-11 Stores are considered Gas Stations and sell $500 Vanilla One Visa Gift Cards and Paypal Reload Cards.  Your particular cashier/manager may not allow for credit cards to be used for the purchase.

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Macy's and other Home Furnishing stores.
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).
• Unfortunately, unlike last year, pharmacies are not a category at any point.  I likely won't use this card much until July when Airlines are one of the categories.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Bank of America No Longer Allowing Multiple Better Balance Rewards Applications - There is an Even Better Workaround!

The last couple of applications for myself, my wife and family members for a second (or fourth) Bank of America Better Balance Rewards cards have resulted in a denied application since Bank of America says it is a duplicate application.



Multiple Better Balance rewards cards are highly desirable to me since each card has a value of up to $120 a year with zero effort once everything is set up.  I like to think of them as the credit cards that keep on giving.

I was getting kind of bummed, until I remembered that there is a workaround.  Other Bank of America credit cards can be "downgraded" into the Better Balance card by calling up.





I happen to have two Bank of America Cash Rewards cards because they were offering a $400 sign up bonus at the time.  I called tonight and I was able to downgrade my second Cash Rewards card into my fourth Better Balance Rewards card.  Awesome!

Right now, you can sign up for a Cash Rewards card with a $175 sign up bonus for spending $500 in the first 3 months.  Get your bonus and then convert, it's even better than applying directly for the Better Balance!

If you already have a Cash Rewards card, check out the Travel Rewards card instead.

Oren's Money Saver Beginner's Guide Part 2 - Using Credit Cards for Maximum Savings

Check out the other posts in the Beginner's Guide Series

Part 1 - Introduction
Part 3 - Savings Without Credit Cards
Part 4 - Manufactured Spend

Using Credit Cards for Maximum Savings

I have a George Costanza wallet.  

I am currently carrying 16 cards.  I have credit cards, debit cards and gift cards and I actively use each one of them.  The number will vary, but I always have plenty with me to save extra money over the course of the year.  It's probably somewhere between $3,000-$5,000 a year, but I don't know exact numbers.  To me, that's pretty significant. For others, it may not be as important.  

To be fair, much of that is from Manufactured Spend, as I will outline in a later post, but a lot is also just from using the right credit card in the right situation.

I am well aware that it isn't normal to carry so many cards.  I also don't give my wife quite as many cards, though she has plenty and is a good sport about it.  I think most people would get a headache from it but, check this out, I really enjoy it.  

If you don't want to carry so many cards, don't, but just because you don't want to carry 16 doesn't mean that you don't want to carry 2 or 3.  You never know, you may start adding cards as you learn more.  I know, wishful thinking.

Which Cards Do I Actually Use?

First of all, check out the list of My Favorite Credit Cards.

This is my list with a short blurb on why I have it, but it doesn't include any cards that I happen to have in my wallet because I need to spend money for a signup bonus.

1. American Express Gift Cards
1. Over 4% cashback everywhere.
2. Visa Gift Cards
1. Over 5% cashback everywhere.  Not for normal spend if I can avoid it because I don't have an unlimited supply and Visa gift cards are more valuable than AMEX gift cards for manufactured spend.  More, in later posts.
3. American Express Fidelity
1. 2% cashback everywhere
4. American Express Blue Preferred
1. 6% cashback on groceries, $6,000 max spending per year.  $75 annual fee.
5. Bank of America Cash Rewards
1. Soon to be 5.25% cashback on gas for highrollers with Bank of America (100k)
6. American Express Blue Cash (AKA Old AMEX Blue)
1. 5% cashback at pharmacies, grocery stores and gas after $6,500 spending per year in those categories.  Very useful for manufactured spend.  Part of my Power Trio.
7. Chase Freedom
1. 5% cashback in useful rotating categories.  Very useful for manufactured spend.
8. Discover it
1. 5% cashback in useful rotating categories.  Very useful for manufactured spend.
9. Citibank Dividend
1. 5% cashback in useful rotating category (hint: pharmacies).  Very useful for manufactured spend.
10. Bank of America Better Balance Rewards
1. $25-$30 per quarter for making one purchase per month.
11. Chase Ink Business Cards
1. 5% cashback at office supply stores.
12. PenFed American Express Airlines
1. 4.25% cashback on airline purchases
13. Paypal Business Debit
1. Debit card that can be reloaded from purchases at Drug Stores.  Very useful for manufactured spend.  Part of my Power Trio
14. Charles Schwab Debit Card
1. Refunded ATM fees anywhere in the world without limits.  You can go to ATM without thinking about it.

Notice that I have no Airline Credit Cards, no cards that are exclusively points/miles since I personally prefer cashback over miles.  Also, none of these cards have an annual fee except the Blue Preferred, which is clearly worth it in my opinion.

Am I missing anything?  Please comment with your thoughts.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards - 75% Bonus - 5.25% Cashback on Gas!

Here is the relevant thread in Fat Wallet that discusses this card if you are interested.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards is a program that Bank of America will be rolling out nationwide in October. If you have $100,000 with Bank of America or any of their affiliates (think Merrill Lynch), and an active Checking account, you are eligible for the highest brackets, Platinum Honors.

Bonus:

• You get a 75% bonus on any rewards you accumulate with many of their regular credit cards. All of their miles credit cards are excluded from the bonus.

Let's take the Bank of America Cash Rewards card for example:

• Normal rewards: 1% everywhere, 2% grocery stores, 3% gas, up to $1,500 a quarter for the bonus categories.  
• Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors: 1.75% everywhere, 3.5% at grocery stores and 5.25% at gas stations, up to $1,500 per quarter for the bonus categories.

The Bottom Line

If you have 100k with Bank of America, this is great news.  If you don't, I probably would not start transferring money to them just for the extra credit card rewards that probably won't amount to too much anyways.

If you are someone who only wants one credit card, this is probably the card for you.  It isn't AMEX so it is accepted everywhere, has high rewards for any spending and has bonus rewards for the two biggest expenses for most people.






Note:

Until now, there was the Bank of America Platinum Privileges, which gave a 50% bonus if you had $50,000 with Bank of Americ and an active checking accoujnt, so this is a nice step up if you have the money with them anyway. Keep in mind that the actual Platinum Privileges credit card is not eligible for the 75% bonus, unless you are in the Platinum Honors tier ($100,000 or more).  If you are in Gold or Platinum (25 and 50k), you will need to downgrade your card to a regular Cash Rewards card from the Platinum Privileges card to essentially get the same rewards you get now.  Sound confusing?  It is.

My Ideal Wallet Q2 2014

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame 

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will be in my wallet (assuming my wallet was the size of George's) from now until the end of June 2014


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.
• You also get one year free membership to Amazon prime if you have signed up for the card in the last 3 months

• Citi Dividend - 5% categories have not been announced yet
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  I have no use for this card anymore this year since I already maxed out the rewards for the year in the first quarter.
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Restaurants and Lowe's (Lowe's sells many third party gift cards).
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.  You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2014 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it®  - 5% cash-back on Home Improvement stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.), Furniture Stores, Bed Bath and Beyond.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Activation and 2014 Calender is here
• $150 Sign up Bonus for spending $750 in three months.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 4.5% if you have a Bank of America Privileges Card.
• Normally in my wallet for gas, but I will use Chase Freedom for 3 months.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

My Ideal Wallet - Quarter 4 2013

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers
New Credit Card - Bank of America Better Balance Rewards

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet or never too far away from October 2013 through the end of the Year.

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Amazon.com and Select Department Stores like Sears and Macy's.  Walmart, Target and Membership Stores are excluded.
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• Chase Freedom 2013 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back for any Online Purchase.   $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback at Best Buy, Department Stores and Toy Stores
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  Doesn't help me much since I've already used my entire $6,000 allotment
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days.

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 4.5% if you have a Bank of America Privileges Card.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Bank of America Privileges Credit Card - 4.5% Cashback at Gas Stations

There are two possible credit cards that I knew about that give good rewards for gas purchases (not including rotating 5% categories) and cary no annual fee:

• PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards Visa - 5% Cashback at gas stations
• There was a recent devaluation of their points so that their true value is about 4.2%.  You can read about it on FatWallet.
• Bank of America Cash Rewards 3.3% Cashback at gas stations.
• 3% at gas stations, but you will get a 10% bonus on any rewards redeemed into a Bank of America checking account.

A reader, JF, pointed me to a credit card which I didn't know about that is even better for some people.

Introducing the Bank of America Privileges Card.  It is the same 3% back at gas stations, but instead of a 10% bonus into a Bank of America checking account, you will get a 50% bonus!  That is effectively getting 4.5% cashback on gas purchases!

A few things to note:

• Annual Fee 
• The card is open to all, but unless you have $50,000 with Bank of America or its Affiliates (includes Merrill Lynch), there is a $75 annual fee the second year.  The annual fee is waived every year if you have $50,000 with them.
• I would not get the card unless you already have $50,000 with Bank of America that you aren't planning on moving.  The extra 1.5% is not worth the $75 annual fee.
• Your base rate of 3% doesn't change, all the changes is your bonus.  Therefore, any rewards you have built up before you switch to the privileges card should be redeemed at the higher 4.5% rate.
• If you already have a Bank of America Cash Rewards card you can call up and have your card automatically switched into a Bank of America Privileges card.

Credit Cards for Your Wallet - Quarter 2 2013

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers
New Credit Card - Bank of America Better Balance Rewards

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will be in my wallet from April 2013 through the end of June.

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on Lowe's, Restaurants, and Movies.  $75 maximum cash back per quarter.
• Chase Freedom 2013 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back on home improvement stores.   $75 maximum cash back per quarter
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Discover 2013 5% categories - they haven't fully released them so I'll wait and see
• Not going to be in my wallet unless I know I am going to a home improvement store

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% cash back on gas, 2.2% groceries and 1.1% on everything else with a Bank of America Checking Account (3%, 2% and 1% without their checking account).
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in the first 60 days 

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.  eBanking Online Checking account has no monthly fees.
• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance.  You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

2012 Credit Card Cashback Year In Review

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Related Links
My Favorite Credit Cards
Credit Card Sign up Bonuses
Make it Easy for Your Spouse
Free Monthly Credit Score from Credit Sesame

Here is the 2nd annual breakdown of how I did on my various credit cards from 2013.  Here is my yearend review from 2011.  Hopefully, we can all take some lessons about to do even better in the future!

Some words of introduction

1. Credit card sign up offers netted me over $2,000 this year have skewed some of the numbers.  I will present my results both with and without any sign up bonuses since these are one time bonuses.  
1. I valued miles at 1 cent per point, for ease of calculation, but in truth I will probably end up redeeming them at higher values.
2. I wouldn't suggest that most people sign up for as many cards, but you certainly can get back significant money if you are willing to do a little bit of work and follow my blog, of course :)
2. I have included any American Express bonuses that I would have otherwise spent money on, therefore my American Express numbers are better than the rest of my cards.
1. For example, I included when American Express gave me $20 for spending $200 at Best Buy, which I did about 10 times.  I counted it as $205 of spending and $20 of rewards.  This is because I bought VISA gift cards for $205 and got $20 back for a cashback % of close to 10%.  I also counted Small Business Saturday as rewards without spending because I would have bought the same stuff anyway.
1. The AMEX cards I get lower percentage on is because I use them more frequently and not just for the promotions.

My goal is to get at least 2% back on every purchase.  I use the Fidelity American Express card which gives 2% on every purchase, so if the purchase doesn't fall into a special category, at least I can use the Fidelity card and get the standard 2% back.

Here is the breakdown from my different Cards in alphabetical order - Most have some sort of Sign Up Bonus when you click on the links

American Express Blue Everyday - 15.26%
American Express Blue Preferred - 9.26%
American Express Blue Sky - 27.35%
American Express Fidelity - 4.32%
American Express Starwoods - 28.91% (Sign up Bonus)
American Express Starwoods Business - 67.91% (Sign up Bonus)
Chase British Airways - 452% (Sign up Bonus)
Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.38%
Bank of American Cash Rewards #2 - 89.1% - (Sign up Bonus)
Chase Freedom - 4.1%
Chase United Credit Card - 0.91% (Annual Fee)
Citi AAdvantage - 65.25% (Sign Up Bonus)
Citi Dividend - 31.23% (Sign up Bonus)
Discover it™- 3.9%
NFL (barclays) - 31.92% (Sign up Bonus)
Target - 5%



Overall - 

• 17.38% with sign up bonuses and 7.19% without sign up bonuses.
• If you take out all of my American Express cards, the percentage drops down to 3.46%

Keys to my success

• Gift Cards - Many promotions require you to spend a lot of money right away, especially sign up offers.  I take big advantage of buying gift cards to gas stations, Amazon (which I consider like cash), and Visa (comes with a fee so are last resort) and using them over time.  
• Serve® from American Express - makes life a lot easier.  I hate having lots of small Visa gift cards around.  You can combine all of them onto your Serve card and just carry around the one card.
• American Express Promotions - American Express has cards with great cashback, the real reason you get American Express cards is for all the promotions they run throughout the year.  I will continue to keep you informed.
• Staying on top of my credit report - I use Credit Sesame to monitor my credit report so that if anything negative pops up, and it has before, I can take care of it right away.
• In case you are wondering, my credit score, according to both Credit Sesame and Credit Karma is over 770, so opening credit cards has not hurt me at all.

My analysis:


This past year 

American Express Cards -  I have already explained that I used bonuses to achieve very good results.  I added the Blue Preferred late this year so hopefully that will help for next year as well.  sed to be my 2% card because it was a Visa but that program was discontinued and changed to the Bank of America Cash Rewards Card.
Chase Freedom is my main backup when when AMEX wasn't accepted, or when a purchase is under $10 and also has 5% rotating categories.
Discover - same as Chase Freedom, except all the rewards can be multiplied by 1.25 if you take rewards in gift cards instead of cash.
Target - Target gives 5% off every purchase.  We buy diapers there and have started to spend more money there when we stopped being members of BJ's.


What to Change for Next Year

• In about a year or so, I may need my credit to be as good as possible so I will only sign up for a credit card if the sign up bonus is too good to pass up (over $300 with no annual fee), otherwise, I am going to stick with what I have.    
• This means, of course, that I don't expect my numbers to be nearly as high next year.
• I am going to try to use Bluebird prepaid cards to pay more of my bills that don't accept credit cards.  I will "only" get 1.2% back if I use my Fidelity, but 1.2% is still better than 0%.
• My overall percentage will go down, but the name of the game is more money, not higher percentage.

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing this.  

Questions or Comments?  Feel free to be heard!

Credit Cards for Your Wallet Quarter 1 2013

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will be in my wallet from January 2013 through the end of March.  

I will explain soon how best one can take advantage of the categories this quarter with Vanilla Visa Reload Cards and Bluebird Prepaid cards from American Express/Walmart.

Here is a preview - You should be able to get $60 for every Chase Freedom account you have and $240 for every Citi Dividend account you have without spending a penny!  If you don't have a Citi Dividend or Chase Freedom or if you don't have one for your spouse, sign up now.

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries, 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You get 6% on a gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on airlines, hotels, Best Buy and Kohls and I use it for 1% cash-back backup everywhere else when American Express is not accepted. You get extra cash-back on up to $1,500 of spending in that category ($75 maximum per quarter) so keep that in mind.
• Chase Freedom 2013 5% categories
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback at zappos, drugstores and fitness clubs.
• $300 max per year.  This averages the same $75 per quarter as Freedom and Discover, but you can split up each quarter to your benefit
• $100 Sign up bonus for spending $500 within 3 months

• Discover it™ - 5% cash-back on movies and restaurants.  Pretty worthless to me, but others might enjoy.  $75 max per quarter
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%
• Discover 2013 5% categories - they haven't fully released them so I'll wait and see

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% cash back on gas, 2.2% groceries and 1.1% on everything else with a Bank of America Checking Account (3%, 2% and 1% without their checking account).
• $100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in the first 60 days 

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
•  This card is always in my wallet

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet