What credit card do you use?

[sometimesrunner]

We previously used our Starwood AmEx for everything, but we have a ton of points and the redemption structure isn't as advantageous now that they've merged with Marriott. I'd love to hear what credit card you're using and the reason(s) you chose that card. 

[mccallister84]

We use the Southwest Visa card. H’s parents are a flight away and the points cover flying to see them yearly. With two small kids we don’t see international travel on our radar anytime soon (beyond maybe the Caribbean where southwest also flies) . We also got the companion pass this year and of course we don’t plan on flying anywhere anytime soon. When we do start flying again we will have so many miles - between bonus miles they’ve thrown at us during the pandemic as well as just the miles building up since we haven’t gone anywhere.

[sandandsea]

We also use the southwest visa. It was good. Back when we could fly and things.

[Susie]

Chase Sapphire Preferred, primarily.

By the time this is all over with, I'm going to be able to fly my family to Hawaii (from the east coast) on points.  /lolsob

[mbcdefg]

Citi DoubleCash - 1% cash back on charges, 1% cash back on payments.

Even pre-COVID, I didn’t fly or stay in hotels enough to justify a card specifically for those things.

@@@ I mainly use it for daycare tuition.

[icedcoffee]

Costco VISA. It’s fine. My biggest complaint is that you can’t transfer the cash back to your bank account or request a check or pay your bill with it. Instead you get a paper voucher you have to bring to Costco which seems a little outdated and annoying. Especiallly because our cash back amounts are super high as it’s our main card. We bring it in and they give us cash which I then deposit. It’s a bit of an ordeal.

[goldengirlz]

Too many!


Barclay Arrival+ as an everyday card. Chase Sapphire Reserve for dining out (and travel, when that was applicable.) Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (in my name only) for business travel stuff (I get reimbursed but still collect the points for personal travel.) And I have another cash rewards AmEx (also in just my name) that gives me a flat 1.5% cash back — no fee. (H also has a separate card in his name ... not sure what it is.)

[Deleted]

H uses the Citi Thank You card for all of his work related purchases which is nice. We pay it off with his expense checks every month and get to enjoy the benefits of the points our selves. We have the Chase Amazon card that we use exclusively for Amazon purchases. And then I use the Citi AAdvantage card for everything else.

[wildrice]

I use the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Reserve card as companions.

I use the Reserve for dining and travel (which are very broad - this includes things like parking, Lyft rides, Starbucks, vending machines, etc - so you don't have to be too fancy to benefit) because you get 3 points per dollar.

I use the Freedom card for everything else since it gets 1.5 points per dollar (the Reserve would only get 1 point per dollar on everything else). You can easily combine points from both cards, so together they add up quickly. The Freedom has no fee so there is really no downside of having both, other than getting in the habit of remembering which card to use when. I use Chase points exclusively for travel. I am currently just hoarding points for future travel. 

I also use the Costco visa when I shop there, about every 6-8 weeks. IIRC neither of the above cards would get better return there.

[capscapscaps]

Chase Sapphire Preferred for travel and dining out (2x points), Chase Freedom for whatever is in their 5% category for the quarter, and Chase Freedom Unlimited for everything else (1.5x points).  I can combine all the points on the Preferred and use them for travel or hotel/airline transfers.

[farmvillelover]

Amazon visa for amazon purchases
Costco for gas, restaurants and costco purchases
Fidelity Visa for all else bc it's 2% on everything

[ny96]

Chase Sapphire Reserve for everything. I wouldn’t be able to keep track of multiple cards.

[lessel]

Delta AMEX for most everything. Costco VISA when AMEX isn't accepted.

I was living the good life with our old daycare that accepted AMEX. New daycare doesn't take any credit cards. Boo hiss!

[Deleted]

Depends on the category - I've recently tried to use the card with the best category points. The app CardPointers has made it so easy for me to know which to use where.

[sandandsea]

Where are the MM ladies of old who would come in and say cut up your cards, freeze them in ice (literally), you’re playing with Fire?



Or the card churners - I opened this for $200 and this for $100 and this for $50 so when those all run out I’m planning on getting this new one when their promo runs again!

[ohgillian]

Aug 28, 2020 12:54:13 GMT -5 lessel said:

Delta AMEX for most everything. Costco VISA when AMEX isn't accepted.

I was living the good life with our old daycare that accepted AMEX. New daycare doesn't take any credit cards. Boo hiss!

Whoa, you were for sure. Ours never took anything but checks. 

[heliocentric]

Barclay Arrival +
We like the flexibility of applying the travel redemption credit to any travel purchase.

Costco Visa
We use this a little more now that we're not traveling. The % on gas was also good (even though we use far less gas now, too).

[keweenawlove]

Too many!

Chase:
Sapphire Reserve - 3x points on travel and restaurants
Freedom - 5x points on revolving categories that are sometimes useful
Freedom Unlimited - 1.5x on everything else
Transfer all points to the reserve account for the 50% bonus

Target: 5% off + free shipping

Delta Platinum: rarely use, mainly keep for the perks which feels like a waste this year

Cards I've gotten and cancelled in the last couple years for the sign-on bonus
Venture
Amex Hilton Ascent
Wells Fargo Propel
Citi Primer

[lemoncupcake]

We have an Amex Blue Cash Preferred that we use for most things - 6% at grocery, 3% on gas and 1% on everything else. And then an Amazon Visa that we use for Amazon purchases (5%) and wherever doesn't accept Amex (1-2%).

[imojoebunny]

Bank of America Visa Card for my College. It has a deal now where I get 3% cash back on internet purchases (you can choose a category to get more back on), and 1-2% back on other purchases. I am so winning with covid, and my university gets a tiny percentages of my purchases. Bonus, I have received excellent customer service, which surprised me. DH has an REI card that we typically get $700-$1000 a year credit at REI, which we use for our hobbies and shoes for everyone. He can use it for work expenses in normal time, as he travels some, so it is a lot more than we would get for just personal use.

[icedcoffee]

It’s been a while since we opened a card just for the bonus and then closed it. Any good options for those lately? Last one we did was the Citi Savor last year that everyone else here did for a $500 bonus.

[macmars45]

BofA cash rewards directly deposited into our savings account every time it gets to $25. I'm not even sure what percent we get back, but we hardly fly or stay in hotels so a card for those kind of points haven't been desirable for us.

[picksthemusic]

We have a USAA Amex. I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

[farfalla2011]

We primarily use the Citi Double Cash. We also have a Citi dividend card that we'll use when it makes sense. Q2 had 5% cash back on Amazon, so we used it for that, but then went back to Double Cash when the period was over.

[fryjack2]

Citi Double Cash. Its the only one we have.

Actually, I have a GAP card as well.

I debated the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but now that travel is essentially obsolete, I didn't open one.

The 2% back ( we pay it off every month) seems easy enough to keep track of. I would never be able to remember which card is for what. I used my Citi card at Target today instead of my Target debit card accidentally. I would not do well with more cards.

[mae0111]

I use Amex Blue Cash. 5% cash back on gas, groceries, and pharmacy/drug store. DD1 takes some $$$$ meds and we don’t have access to any sort of flex spending, so this is good. Rewards can be cashed in to pay the bill, for gift cards, or different items. I usually just cash in for the bill.

Target Red Card for the 5% off the top and free shipping.

DH uses a separate Visa for all business related expenses because it’s easier to track. Air, rental car, hotel, meals, plus any software or anything else he needs to buy. We get 2% back deposited directly into our kids’ 529 accounts. In recent years he’s averaged about $500 each for the 2 kids. Tons and tons of travel.

[Poppy]

Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5%) and Chase Freedom and Discover cards for their rotating bonus categories. We don't travel that much, but someday if we do a big trip we might do a Sapphire and transfer a bunch of points to book discounted travel.

The Citi double is more cash back so maybe we should switch the unlimited to that... IDK.

We have Target and Amazon cards as well.

[trissie18]

We use the Delta Skymiles Amex card. We use the miles to cover the every other year family vacation flights for our family of four and my parents.

[niq]

Alaska Airlines Visa signature, for the companion ticket. But Seattle's an Alaska hub, I don't think it really makes sense for most other places, especially after the Alaska/Virgin merger.

(before the merger, Alaska somehow had weird mileage sharing agreements with all three networks. Now they just have an agreement with American's)

[dochas]

We alternated between Chase Freedom and BoA Cash Rewards. This year I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred because of all the travelling we were going to do ...