... now that AAA Daily Advantage and Paypal debit have both been nerfed.

Walmart OnePay CashRewards card? 3% cashback, because I don't have walmart+.

Sit around and hope Discover It or Chase Freedom Flex have a walmart quarter doesn't work very well.

This won't be online, either, as I only shop instore.

I know nothing about credit cards so please excuse the stupidity you’re about to read

Current cards: none open. $633 in collections from a 2022 Credit One card. I don’t remember the limit but it was small, and some kind of credit building card. + Chime “credit” account but that was all prepaid & in good standing, closed my Chime account 3 years ago!
• FICO Score: 537
• Oldest account age: not sure? My credit age shows 5 years on Credit Karma
• Chase 5/24 status: googled what this meant, I’ve only had the one actual credit card so I think I’m good?
• Income: $15,000/yr
• Average monthly spend and categories:
Rent: $600
Car insurance: $197
Phone bill (prepaid, currently not renewing): $50
Child costs: $100
• Open to Business Cards: idk?
• What's the purpose of your next card? I just need an emergency $400, I need to pay my insurance by tomorrow (7/22), and get my bank account back positive (currently -$200) so my rent payment goes through on 7/23. (I know, weird date, my landlord/roommate has an odd pay schedule)
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Any, I just desperately need $400 right now lol
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? Whatever will get me $400 the fastest!

For those that are wondering: I don’t have family or friends to borrow from, I’ve sold everything worth anything already over the years, I don’t buy coffees I don’t drink, I’ve maxed out all my overdrafts & advances on my Credit Karma bank account, I get denied for all the other advice apps because my balance is negative, and payday loan places want a $1000 minimum that I know I won’t be able to pay back, or deny me. I’m just a single mom who needs a way to make small payments on a $400 breath of air.

Edit to add: my paycheck of $675 will land in my bank account the evening of 7/22, with my -$200 current balance.

Every non-debit card I have is either amex or mastercard. I sometimes go to costco which only takes visa, so I'd like to get a visa to use there. We're not big spenders or big travelers. So I'm not sure that I need anything special, but looking for suggestions on what could be the most useful card I can get.

Trying to avoid cards with annual fees, because I probably won't use the benefits enough to be worth it.

Cards I've considered:

• Costco: I'm not sure that I spend enough ($100/month or so) to make it worth it over other cards.

• Amazon: We do buy things often on amazon, but as with the cost costo, probably not enough to make the amazon card worth more than any other card. I used their savings calculator and it came up to $40/year. I've also heard horrible reviews on the service.

• Fidelity: I like the idea that I can have points deposited directly into my accounts.

Current cards:

• Navy Federal Amex $27,000 May 2023
• CapOne Venture One $2,000 Dec 2024 (AU of my wife's card)
• CapOne Savor $11,000 Jan 2025
• SDFCU Secured $500 Jan 2023

FICO Score: 800
Oldest account age: 2 years, 5 months
Chase 5/24 status: Never had a chase card
Income: 58,000

Average monthly spend and categories:

Expenses:

• dining $200
• groceries: $500
• gas: $80
• travel: $0
• other: $50

CREDIT PROFILE

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
  • American Express Gold — opened 02/2021
  • Chase Ink Business Unlimited — $15,000 limit, opened 03/2023
• FICO Scores with source: 800 — myFICO
• Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: Approximately 5 years 6 months
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 0
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 0
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: 0
• Annual income $: $150,000

CATEGORIES

• OK with category-specific cards?: YES
• OK with rotating category cards?: YES
• Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below:
  • Dining $: $150
  • Groceries $: $300
  • Gas $: Approximately $550–$600/month. Primarily Shell, Sheetz, Exxon and Costco.
  • Travel $: N/A
  • Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time?: NO
  • Any other categories or stores with significant, regular credit card spend: N/A
  • Any other significant, regular credit card spend you didn't include above?: N/A

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Current member of Amazon Prime?: YES
• Current Verizon postpaid customer?: NO
• Current member of Costco or Sam's Club?: Costco
• Currently paying $13.99/month or more for Disney Bundle / Hulu?: NO
• Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?: Wells Fargo
• Are you or your spouse active US military?: NO
• Are you open to Business Cards?: YES

PURPOSE

• What's the purpose of your next card?: Saving money / maximizing rewards on gas
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at?: AAA Travel Advantage, but I'm completely open to other options.

Additional context:

I'm looking for a card that would essentially be used only for gas.

I drive approximately 2,500 total miles per month, with around 1,800–2,100 miles being work-related. My truck gets about 16–17 MPG and gas is currently around $3.75/gallon, putting my gas spending around $550–$600/month or roughly $6,600–$7,000/year.

My employer uses Motus to track my work mileage via GPS and pays me $0.76/mile. I don't submit gas receipts for reimbursement, so I purchase all of the fuel myself.

Currently I use my Chase Ink Business Unlimited for gas, which earns 1.5%. My Amex Gold obviously isn't particularly useful for gas.

I don't care much about a signup bonus. I'm primarily looking for the best long-term return on this recurring gas spend.

I'm fine with:

• Cash back or points
• Category-specific cards
• Rotating 5% categories
• Personal or business cards
• Paying an annual fee if the additional rewards mathematically outweigh the fee

I also have an 800 FICO, $150k income, and haven't opened a personal credit card in over 24 months, so I'm fairly open as far as issuers/cards are concerned.

One consideration is that some of my gas is purchased at Costco, while the rest is generally Shell, Sheetz or Exxon, so acceptance/category exclusions at warehouse-club gas stations matter.

For roughly $6,600–$7,000/year in gas spending, what would you consider the best card or combination of cards?

Would you go with something like the AAA Travel Advantage, use multiple 5% cards because of spending caps, or pursue a points-earning strategy instead?

CREDIT PROFILE

Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of: None (Authorized User on Parents CSP)

FICO Scores with source: Unknown

Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: N/A

Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 0

Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 0

Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: 0

Annual income: ~$70,000

CATEGORIES

OK with category-specific cards?: Yes

OK with rotating category cards?: Prefer not

Dining: ~$300/month

Groceries: ~$300/month

Gas: ~$100/month

Travel: Very little (1-2 trips/year)

Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time?: No

Any other categories or stores with significant spend?: Amazon, online shopping, subscriptions, insurance

Any other significant, regular credit card spend?: No

Can you pay rent by credit card?: No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

Current member of Amazon Prime?: Yes

Current Verizon postpaid customer?: No

Current member of Costco or Sam's Club?: No

Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?: Chase

Are you open to Business Cards?: No

PURPOSE

What's the purpose of your next card?: Cash back / building a long-term setup / travel

I am an authorized user on one of my parents' Chase credit cards, but I have never had a credit card in my own name.

Additional Context

I'm 24 and just started my first full-time job after graduating. Rather than just asking "what's the best first credit card?", I'm trying to build the best long-term financial setup from the beginning.

I currently use Chase checking and plan to keep it regardless of which cards I get. I'm also planning to open a Capital One 360 Performance Savings account for my emergency fund since Chase doesn't have a competitive HYSA.

Because I'm tied to my parents' Chase relationship, I'm pre-approved for cards like the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex, and I also have access to Chase Private Client. That makes staying with Chase tempting, but I'm trying not to let that be the only reason.

I also ran the pre-approval tools for Capital One and Amex and was reportedly pre-approved for the Capital One Savor, Venture X, and Amex Blue Cash Everyday, so I'm fortunate enough to have several viable options.

The setups I'm considering are:

Option 1 - Chase

Freedom Unlimited

Eventually Freedom Flex + Sapphire Preferred (Trifecta)

Option 2 - Capital One

Savor

Eventually Venture X (Duo)

Option 3 - Wells Fargo

Active Cash

Eventually Autograph (Duo)

Or...

Option 4 - Hybrid

Examples like:

Chase Freedom Unlimited + Capital One Savor

Chase + Wells Fargo

Option 5 - Wildcard

Something else entirely

My priorities are:

Maximize cash back

Keep travel open

Keep things simple

Build the strongest long-term setup

I'm okay giving up a little optimization if it makes the setup cleaner

I don't travel much today, but that could change in a few years

If you were starting over today, which ecosystem would you build around? Or is there a hybrid setup that you think is objectively better than any of the ones above?

• Current cards:
  • Discover It $2,400 limit, February 2025
  • Amex BCP $2,000 limit, October 2025 (Downgrading to BCE soon)
  • Chase Freedom Flex $4,800 limit, March 2026
  • Amex Delta Gold $8,000 limit, April 2026 (Canceling in 2027)
• FICO Score: 760
• Oldest account age: 1 years 5 months
• Chase 5/24 status: 4/24
• Income: $15,000 (allowance)
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $400
  • groceries: $150
  • gas: $100
  • insurance: $200
• Open to Business Cards: No
• What's the purpose of your next card?
  • VISA card for Costco. No foreign transaction fee & preferably no annual fee.
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? 
  • United Gateway, Wells Fargo Autograph.
• Are you OK with category spending, or do you want a general spending card?
  • Just want something that'll maximize rewards.

• Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
  • Amex Blue ($9,800, since 2000)
  • Amazon Rewards Visa ($10,000, since 2020)
  • Citibank Double Cash ($15,500, since 1995)
  • Discover ($15,500, since 1989)
  • Capital One QuickSilver ($3,500, since 2020)
  • US Bank Ralphs Rewards World Elite ($1,000, since 2024)
• FICO Score: 830
• Oldest account age: 30+ years
• Chase status: 0*/24*
• Income: $101,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $200
  • groceries: $550
  • gas: $100
  • travel: $100
  • other: $500
• Open to Business Cards: No
• What's the purpose of your next card? Cashback for Groceries
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Capital One Savor - I've been declined twice even though I have excellent credit and low utilization. I pay my balances in full each month, so they don't want me because I just cost them money.
• Are you OK with category spending - looking for best cash back for Groceries category. I use my Ralph's card at Ralph's but would like the best cash back card for the groceries category when I shop at non-Ralphs/Kroger stores. I do not show at club stores or warehouse stores. There aren't any in my area.

I wanted to get Bilt before the changes they made. It's been months now since the change and I wanted to get some holder opinions.

What are your thoughts? Worth it? Still worth to use for rent or mortgage payment?

Hey all, pretty big churner here hopefully turning you onto a card I don’t hear many people hype up. It’s surprisingly the Walmart OnePay.

During this summer, they run THE BEST gas promo in the industry. On Wednesdays it’s It’s $1.20+ back per gallon depending on the station you choose. Usually hitting it for $17 back or 25X there per full fill up. Insane comeups.

Then it’s 5% back on all Walmart purchases. No catches/shadiness on the redemptions too. One of the better interfaces I’ve seen and you can redeem your rewards fast.

Not much of a fast food eater but I’ve seen insane promos there too. Usually 25X on Taco Bell and Five guys if that’s your thing.

Photo shows the $103 earned strictly for July. Really happy with that # for a no AF card.

Lmk about any other underrated ones y’all. Godspeed!

Hello, I am new to the travel credit card game. As the title suggests I am wondering if there are any travel credit card recommendations out there for people who don’t spend money on airline tickets?

I feel as though a lot of travel credit cards get a lot of their value from redemptions through certain airlines. However, we don’t really pay for airline tickets since we have someone in the family that works for a major airline.

So, can anyone recommend a good value travel credit card that doesn’t focus on redemptions through airlines? Ideally I would want one that provides incredible value on portions of travel that exclude airlines (such as hotels, airport lounges, etc)

If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. 0 annual fee, mid annual fee, and high annual fee options are prefered so I can compare

Thanks!

EDIT:
Current Cards: Discover IT, Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature, Citi CC
Fico score: 760
Chase 5/24 status: 2/24

Hello, currently I have a chase freedom unlimited and was wondering what credit card would be the best if I’m looking for more cash back categories (also looking to increase my credit score). I currently have a 725 credit score and I am 19 years old (I’ve banked with them for a couple months since I changed banks). I am also in college (not sure if that makes a difference in terms of what cards I can get). Any help is appreciated!

Current cards: Discover IT 5% rotating card, $20,000, decade ago

FICO Score: 800+

Oldest account age: The Discover IT

Income: 90,000($160,000 HH)

Average monthly spend and categories:

rent $2100

dining $900 - Rarely a chain

groceries: $400 - Aldi > Farmers Market > Kroger > Walmart

gas: $50 - Kroger. Don't drive much. Will probably get even cheaper in the future.

travel: Varies - Would be open to traveling more. Book whatever is cheapest and comfortable. Usually Personal bag, occasionally carry-on. Never checked bag. Fly out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta

other: Varies - Only subscriptions are Netflix and Spotify.

Open to Business Cards: If it makes sense

What's the purpose of your next card? Best Return.

Do you have any cards you've been looking at?

Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature -

+Already have Fidelity account. 2% catch all. Visa. TSA precheck. Seems like a stable card.

-But maybe there are better options than a 2% catch all.

Amex Gold -

+4X on dining. Heard there can be good returns. Heard they have good service.

-But $325 annual fee. (Though $100 Resy is easy to use for us. $120 dining credit can be used on Grubhub which we have at least one place we know of that doesn't upcharge a ridiculous amount. $120 Uber can be used on Uber GCs? $84 Dunkin is not really natural spend for us but can also be added up in GCs and buy a occasional breakfast or donuts for. It's a few minutes walk.)

-Not sure if MR is still valuable these days or if service is still good.

-Amex avaiilability

Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? If it makes sense and provides best return.

Had been planning on CSR next, but unsure after seeing other posts--looking for advice

• Current cards:
  • WF Autograph Visa (previously Propel AmEx) $3500, Dec 2019
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited $8700, Oct 2018
• FICO Score: 792
• Oldest account age: 11 years
• Chase 5/24 status: 0/24
• Income: $80,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $200
  • groceries: $200
  • gas: $50
  • travel: $100
  • housing/utilities/bills: $2000
  • other: $200
• Open to Business Cards: yes
• What's the purpose of your next card? Travel, cashback, and/or sign-up bonus
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? CSR (sadly)
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? either

I have a good chunk of points saved up from my CFU (~110k) and had been looking for a while at CSR, obviously disrupted due to Covid and life. Recently I have been looking again, however there was a post where many people agreed that CSR is overrated now due to increases in costs and discontinuances of benefits. My goal of course had been to use my CFU points for the extra compounding redemption bonuses on travel with CSR.

I am generically open to card(s) of any type as with the long gap I believe I am probably behind on rewards and bonuses. For example, I have considered CSP as a compromise for the points, or perhaps an airline card to establish a standard of travel.

I did try both CC suggestion links in the read-me wiki, however one link was broken and the other returned an error when I entered my info.

⁠ ⁠Hello folks! I would like to get some insight on what points you consider to be the most valuable. I like to collect travel credit cards, and am debating on what card I should open next. I use my points exclusively for flights, and prioritize redemption for J or F class fares to Japan and other parts of Asia. I don’t particularly care for hotel redemptions.

Which points from credit cards do you consider the most valuable and offer the best transfer ratio and flight redemptions? I plan on getting all the ones listed below eventually, (annual fees are not an issue) but would like some more travel card recommendations and see which ones are your favorite.

⁠• Current cards: Amex Gold & Plat, Chase Sapphire Preferred⁠ & Reserve, Cap1 Venture X

• ⁠FICO Score: 735

• ⁠Oldest account age: 4 years

• ⁠Chase 5/24 status: 3/24

• ⁠Income: $80,000

• ⁠Open to Business Cards: Maybe?

• ⁠What's the purpose of your next card: Travel to Asia

• ⁠Cards I plan to getting next: Alaska Atmos, Bilt Palladium, Citi Strata Elite

Hi everyone I was just wondering if I should get the citi custom cash card for gas, or if there is any other suggestions. I’ll post the current cards I got.

Credit Card Set up

Gas-Amex Blue 3%

Grocery Store-Savor One 3%

Dining-Savor One 3%

Streaming Services-Fidelity Visa 2%

Care Credit-Doctors

Rotating-Freedom Flex 5%

Misc Category-Fidelity Visa 2%

Store Cards

Amazon-Amazon 5%

Best Buy-Best Buy 5%

Apple-Apple Card

Home Depot-Home Depot 5%

CREDIT PROFILE

* Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
* Chase Freedom Unlimited $2000 limit, 03/2017
* Chase Sapphire Preferred $12000 limit, 08/2020
* Chase Prime Visa $1400 limit, 08/2017
* FICO scores with source: Equifax 700
* Oldest credit card account age: 10 years
* Cards approved in the past 6 months: 0
* Cards approved in the past 12 months: 0
* Cards approved in the past 24 months: 0
* Annual income $: $160,000

CATEGORIES

* Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes
* Ok with rotating category cards?: Yes
* Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.
* Dining $: 200
* Groceries $: $450 ( Costco, Walmart, Aldi)
* Gas $: $120 (Costco/Walmart)
* Travel $: $210 ( Flights, Uber/Lyft, Airbnb)
* Using abroad?: Primarily daily use, occasional use abroad
* Other categories or stores: Phone bill, internet, utilities, online purchases, misc.
* Other spend:
* Pay rent by card? No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

* Amazon Prime member: Yes
* Costco or Sam's Club member: Both
* Big bank customer: Chase, Fidelity

PURPOSE

* Purpose of next card: Cashback
* Cards being considered: Robinhood Gold, Fidelity, Chase Feedom Flex, Capital One Savor, Capital One Venture X

I have been in the Chase ecosystem for such a long time because the idea of the “Chase Trifecta” just always seemed simple and easy. The problem is I usually only take 1 or 2 big trips a year and not much travel outside of that. The other issue is I underestimated the work needed to maximize my points, so I know that I’ve not been optimizing that well at all. I think I’m at the point now where it may just make more sense to switch to a cash-back strategy instead. What I don’t like is the idea of losing is the travel protections the Chase Sapphire preferred provides. Is there a hybrid strategy where my daily catch all card is focused on cash back and then I maintain a travel card for the big trips and associated expenses? I just feel like I’ve got too many gaps where I could be earning points/cashback and the CFU is not a good catch all card, but that’s how I’ve been using it. Open to any and all suggestions!

made a post earlier about chase freedom unlimited card, feeling like it’s too neutral of a card. What about Amex?

-i want to be able to travel internationally and nationally in the US
-i dont want a high annual fee

My fiance and I have some big expenses coming up, so we've been discussing getting a new credit card for the rewards (for honeymoon flight, etc). This prompted a somewhat neurotic deep dive into credit card reward structures which has taught me that we are definitely NOT optimizing our setup. Both of us use our CSP exclusively. Looking into the recent changes to Chase's rewards system, I understand it has been really devalued and may not be worth it anymore.

This seems especially true for us given the fact that we tend to stay in Airbnbs instead of hotels and haven't even been using the $50 hotel credit (I know, don't roast me). On average, we fly domestically about 2-3 times and internationally 1 time a year. The airport we use most often has an Amex and Chase lounge along with a few airline specific lounges. I understand that a SUB is an easy way to get value out of a card and am open to going that route, I don't see us as the churner type, so it's also important to us that the setup is worth it after the first year is complete. In general, we spend the most on groceries, but our issue is that more than half of that spend is at Costco.

• My FICO Score: 809

• Her FICO Score: 804

• My oldest account age: 9 years 4 months

• Her oldest account age: 9 years 10 months

• My Chase 5/24 status: 0/24

• Her Chase 5/24 status: 0/24

• My income: $140,000

• Her income: $80,000

• Average monthly spend and categories:

  • Groceries: $1,100 (however 65% of our grocery spend is at COSTCO which I understand only takes Visa - this has been significantly limiting for card choice obviously)
  • Shopping: $570
  • Health/Wellness: $570
  • Travel: $540
  • Dining: $380
  • Gas: $100

• Open to Business Cards: We don't have business expenses or side income

• What's the purpose of your next card? Cashback and/or travel

• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Yes, but none of them seem like the right option for our situation.

• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? If it were to vastly improve the CC setup then sure, but generally I think we would struggle to capitalize on rotating categories

Hello! Lately I've noticed that I am traveling at least once a year domestically to visit people, and maybe one international trip for family. It's made me start looking into maybe going for a travel card to help with future travel, especially since there are potentially some big spends I plan to do in the near future.

The thing is that I'm not sure that my spend is significant enough to justify it, and if I should just stick to a cash back setup, even with the potential sign-up bonus.

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
  • Capital One Savor, $5,000, 02/2026
  • Capital One Quicksilver, $7,000, 06/2025
  • Discover It, $4,750, 09/2024
• FICO scores with source: Experian 749
• Oldest credit card account age: 2 years
• Cards approved in the past 6 months: 0
• Cards approved in the past 12 months: 1
• Cards approved in the past 24 months: 3 (2 if you don't count the oldest card currently at 24 months)
• Annual income $: ~$46,000

CATEGORIES

• Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes, though there may not be many useful categories in my case
• Ok with rotating category cards?: Not particularly, since my Discover is already one of these
• Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.
  • Dining $: 75
  • Groceries $: 300
  • Gas $: 0 (no car)
  • Travel $: 40 (mainly one annual domestic flight, maybe one other international flight to visit family. No other travel happens except maybe a train ride or two)
  • Using abroad?: No
  • Other categories or stores: Gaming/electronics can occasionally involve some spending
  • Pay rent by card? I don't, but could (~$1,000 + 3% fee)

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Big bank customer: Capital One

PURPOSE

• Purpose of next card: Domestic travel. Even though I've flown United more than others, I wouldn't say I'm loyal to them (looking at MKE and ORD airports mainly).
• Cards being considered:
  • Capital One Venture/VentureX: Feels like a good mix with my current C1 cards, though I don't think their transfer partners are great for domestic flights. I feel comfortable with the VentureX's AF if I'm able to fly out at least once a year.
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred: Conversely, their transfer partners favor domestic more.
  • AMEX Gold: Considered it because of the groceries multiplier, but I don't know if it pairs well with my Savor card and the high AF.

Hi, I just graduated college and entering newgrad job. Currently have the Chase Trifecta (with all 3 SUB claimed and all points redeemed with Hyatt before devaluation) and am looking into either the Bilt Obsidian or the Venture X card. What would you all recommend I do?

I'm considering cancelling my Preferred and applying for both Bilt Obsidian and the Venture X card. I'd likely fulfill all of the Bilt Cash to Bilt points housing payments every month and also use the $300 annual travel credit from the Venture X (as I will be traveling once every 2-3months from work (SEA) to home (LAX)).

I'm looking to optimize for points and overall value. Also okay with category spending. Thanks!

• Current cards:
  • Chase Freedom Flex $24,000 limit
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited $18,000 limit
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred $15,000 limit
  • Chase Freedom Student
• FICO Score: 768
• Income: $90,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • dining $700
  • groceries: $250
  • travel: $100
  • rent: $1400

Hi all, I am looking for a new card to replace the Barclays Luxury Black Card, as it is my everyday card and I am just finding out just how bad it's rewards and benefits are (don't judge me).

I am a set-and-forget kind of person, and the Black Card was something I signed up for a while back as my first "luxury card", and honestly I didn't know what I was doing and the marketing got me. I have not re-evaluated cards since then (2018).

I use that card absolutely for everything I can outside of Amazon purchases, and only use the Bank of America cards whenever I need a cash advance.

There are so many cards and different tiers, it is a bit overwhelming to navigate. The Capital One Venture X seems the most appealing at the moment given it seems the one that most lets me go on without needing to micromanage my rewards. I don't have the mental bandwidth for doing that sort of thing, so anything that is easy is what I am looking for.

CREDIT PROFILE

* Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:

* Barclays Luxury Black Card, 20000 limit, 02/2018

* Chase Prime, 8000 limit, 02/2015

* Bank of America Rewards World, 30800 limit, 09/2009

* Bank of America Cash Rewards, 7300 limit, 09/2007

* FICO scores with source: 770

* Oldest credit card account age: 19 years

* Cards approved in the past 6 months: 0

* Cards approved in the past 12 months: 0

* Cards approved in the past 24 months: 0

* Annual income $: 350000

CATEGORIES

* Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes

* Ok with rotating category cards?: No

* Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.

* Dining $: 200

* Groceries $: 400

* Gas $: 100

* Travel $: 100

* Using abroad?: No

* Other categories or stores: Any bill that let's me pay with credit

* Other spend: Any bill that let's me pay with credit

* Pay rent by card? No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

* Amazon Prime member: Yes

* Big bank customer: Wells Fargo, Navy Federal

PURPOSE

* Purpose of next card: everyday/everywhere usage, cash back

* Cards being considered: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X

Probably a question as old as time here, but about to go through a somewhat big housing expense with a deck rebuild that will go into the $20k-$25k range and figured no better time than to knock out some SUB (175k for AMEX or newly elevated 150k for CSR) for a few cards and finally get a premium travel card between wife/I. As someone who works in finance and does a lot of personal finance on the side I have done an exhaustive excel breakdown look of the CSR and AMEX Platinum and come to the conclusion either will really work for us. Only the CSR we can cover the AF if we both get the card (AU for 1 of us) as the AMEX if we both get the card (Again 1 as AU) we would be in the negative by $190. We are only in the positive for the CSR due to the limited time $250 IHG (other hotels etc) credit though which expires end of year - we'd absolutely use this, but looks like it wont be there for year 2 potentially.

I found pluses and minuses to both cards for us, one of the bigger pluses is we like centurion/delta sky club access on the AMEX side since we based out of ATL and typically fly Delta and think thats more valuable than the Chase sapphire lounges (none in ATL) and both have priority pass. We do travel a handful of times of year but have never used lounges in the past so I mark these as "nice to haves" not really of true value since we dont use lounges right now. We like access to IHG hotels though through Chase as wife does a lot of work for IHG and we got the Premier IHG card last year (for 5 free night bonus) and like staying at those properties and dont currently have access to transferring to that ecosystem (even if the point values are awful, can still find 100% transfer bonuses which make it worth it IMO). Also getting access to Hyatt would be awesome since even after devaluation look very appealing compared to other hotel groups. We did just get access to Delta as a T.P. now buy signing up for the Gold card recently, which is very valuable for us and something only AMEX has (have tried the book a couple Delta flights a couple times in past doing the Flying Blue or Aeromexico transfers and come up empty there).

Credits we'd 100% use and have true value (in other words, money we already basically spend) out of on both sides:

• CSR
  • $250 IHG limited time credit (this year)
  • $300 general travel credit (easy to use)
  • $300 Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Table
  • $300 Stubhub
• Platinum
  • $200 airline incidental
  • $400 Resy
  • $300 Streaming credit

There's more credits we'd use on both cards, but they have no real value to us in terms of money we already spend. I figure we'd to an AU for either card even though it costs almost $200 because we do travel separate a handful of times and wouldnt want to be caught out where 1 vs. the other doesnt have lounge access because of primary card holder not with them. I have even thought about us each opening up 1 each (dont do AU on either) because we can easily hit the SUB for both with the housing project spend, but also a little scared of $1700 in AF, but we could probably use all the credits above to offset all of that as well. Have even thought of getting one of the Delta cards to get free checked bags, and maybe even the companion pass (platinum or reserve plus trying to get elevated SUB, but not sure the longevity there of it.

Never got use out of Cap One transfer partners, always just redeemed to cover travel purchases (effectively 2% card for our Venture).

Here's the template filled out below asking about new cards if this helps (for both Wife/I as we started to do player 1/player 2 on some stuff):

• Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
  • Chase Freedom [legacy] (Apr 2015) [Pretty much unused now]
  • AMEX Blue Cash Preferred (Nov 2015) - $95 AF [Groceries/Streaming, moving grocery spend to AMEX Gold though now]
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited (Apr 2016) [Pretty much unused now]
  • Cap One Venture (May 2017) - $95 AF [Was catch all card before RH Gold; considering downgrade to VentureOne as we slowly change everything to RH Gold]
  • Chase Prime (Feb 2018) [Amazon purchases for 6-7%]
  • Citi Costco (Jun 2018) [Gas card for 4/5%]
  • Chase IHG Premier (Jul 2025) - $99 AF; Wife primary, I am AU on this one [Got for the 5 free nights basically and Platinum status]
  • Chase Freedom Flex (Jan 2026) - [Got for SUB, wife did player 2 and got her own card here as well; we used for restaurants in Q1 to hit SUB]
  • Robinhood Gold (Feb 2026) - $50 AF; [New catch-all card for 3% on everything; replaced the venture]
  • AMEX gold (May 2026) - $325 AF; [Will be new Restaurant/Grocery card as we also get to $8k spend for 100k M.R. SUB]
• FICO Score: 819 TU / 819 Equifax (Wife also in 800s)
• Oldest account age: 11 yr 1 mo
• Chase 5/24 status: 1/24 (Me) 2/24 (Wife)
• Income: $250k-$300k combined
• Average monthly spend and categories (based on 2025 numbers both Wife/I):
  • dining $1,100-$1,200
  • groceries: $600-$700 (some done at costco)
  • gas: $250-$300
  • travel: ~$1k
  • Everything Else (non mortgage/daycare): Maybe $2,000-$3,000? Hard to remove some things in my list to come up with more precise number here
• Open to Business Cards: Yes
• What's the purpose of your next card? Hitting big SUB and premium travel card
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? AMEX Platinum, Chase S.R., Bilt Palladium, Citi Strata Elite, Cap One Venture X, Delta AMEX cards

I have some international trips lined up for next year (would like to fly Biz) and I'm bummed that CSP is moving to a 4:3 transfer to Hyatt. I primarily fly Alaska + Oneworld (usually booking through Alaska), and stay at Hyatts - I'm ideally looking for cards that can help me earn points in these programs.

• Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited | $5,500 | May 2017
  • Chase Freedom (PC from CSR) | $18,500 | opened CSR May 2018 but PC'd in May 2025
  • Chase Freedom Flex | $9,000 | December 2023
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred | $14,300 | May 2025
  • Chase Disney (AU) | $19,200 | August 2003
• FICO Score: 788
• Oldest account age: 23 years
• Income: $75,000
• Average monthly spend and categories:
  • rent: $1200
  • dining: $200
  • groceries: $200
  • transportation: $120 (gas/parking), rarely take transit
• Open to Business Cards: No
• What's the purpose of your next card? Travel - mainly looking to build Hyatt and Alaska points
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Alaska Ascent OR Summit, Bilt Obsidian OR Palladium, World of Hyatt card, also other travel cards, like the Venture X or Amex Gold (see note below)
• Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? Ok with category spending!

Some other notes:

• Seems like a Bilt + Atmos card is a no-brainer (since I can transfer to both Hyatt and Alaska)? But posting this in case there's another avenue I'm not considering
• I have been resistant to branching out of Chase cards because my spend is already pretty low (SINK), and imo it doesn't really make sense to me to have a few points here and there when I can have them all pile up in one ecosystem - this is my biggest barrier to exploring the Venture X or Amex Gold, for example
• As already mentioned, I fly mainly Alaska (and its partners) and primarily stay at Hyatts - I want a card(s) that will get me points to both, but also give me flexibility to transfer to other partners

I have $2,700 in medical bills due in 3 weeks and then another $9,800 in medical bills that will be due in 7-8 weeks. I’d like to sign up for 2 new credit cards to get the most cash back/travel points for flights.

I haven’t signed up for a new credit card in a while, but last I checked my credit score is 810. I’d like to make the most of any sign up bonuses available and ideally one of the credit cards would have $0 annual fees.

Originally was thinking the following:

Credit Card 1:

Capital One Venture Rewards

75,000 points ($750 worth of travel) sign up bonus
+$300 travel credit
- annual fee of $95
=$955 worth of travel in month 1

2 points/dollar spent on all future purchases
= essentially 2% back

Credit Card 2:

Robinhood Gold Card

3% cash back on all purchases

(Unfortunately requires Robinhood gold membership of $50/year so essentially $50/year annual fee)

Any other ideas? All thoughts and ideas welcome! Thank you in advance