In my wallet this quarter

With so many credit cards in my wallet, sometimes I get the question “how do you decide which cards to use?” To help answer that, I thought I’d tell you about which cards I’m using right now. I’ll reevaluate this summer or as my priorities change. Right now, my biggest priority is saving up Hyatt points for a stay in Cancun with family in December, so I adjusted which cards I am using to save up Hyatt points.

Rent

Rent is my largest expense by far. I recently signed up for the Bilt credit card so I can earn points on my rent spending! I earn 1 point per dollar spent on rent. Bilt points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt so this is an easy way to earn Hyatt points regularly.

Groceries

My typical grocery card is the Amex Gold, which earns 4 points per dollar spent at grocery stores. However, I received special offers on both my United and Southwest cards for the second quarter. Right now I am prioritizing United miles because I live close to a United hub and generally prefer their routes from my area over Southwest. The offer was for 6x points on United purchases and 5x points on other travel, gas stations, and grocery purchases through June 30. Since I don’t have frequent travel purchases, I’m mostly using this one for groceries. You can check to see if your Chase cards have been targeted for special offers here. 

Dining

I recently downgraded my Chase Sapphire Reserve to a Chase Freedom Flex card after having the Reserve for four years! The Freedom Flex is a no annual fee card, and offers 3x points on dining purchases. Although my Amex Gold card earns 4x on dining, since Amex Membership Rewards can’t be transferred to Hyatt, I replaced that card in my wallet with the Freedom Flex for now.

Amazon

Although I would like to shop other places than Amazon, sometimes the convenience can’t be beat. For this quarter, the Freedom Flex and old Freedom card are offering 5x points on Amazon purchases. If you have either of these cards, make sure you are registered for the quarterly bonus before making any purchases!

Everywhere Else

My “everywhere else” card right now is the Chase Business Unlimited card. This card earns 1.5 points per dollar spent, just like the Freedom Unlimited. I would typically consider the Capital One Venture X or Citi DoubleCash cards better for this category, but since neither of those points transfer to Hyatt, I am focused on the Chase ecosystem right now.

I hope this helps you think about which cards in your wallet are best for each category! It’s definitely okay for the cards to use change as your needs for specific points change. I always keep the cards that are not currently in my wallet available at home to pay for airline or hotel specific purchases, or take advantage of deals like Amex offers. 

Speaking of wallets, I recently bought a new one from Madewell and stacked an Amex Offer with a Rakuten bonus to make the most out of the purchase!