What are your top five credit cards and why?

[ptatohed]

That's tough because I do use all my everyday 5%ers.  But I could live with those being 3% using AOD.  So, I guess this would be it.  And I'm putting them in order of 1 being if I can only have one card, 2 being if I can only have 2 cards, etc.....

1.  AOD Visa Sig, 3% everything, every day

2. SYW MC.  I casually started adding up the $ I have earned from this card the other day, in the last 12 months, and I stopped after I reached $1000.  Most lucrative CC for me ever.

3.  Amazon Prime.  Do too much shopping there to give up 5%.

4.  Cap One WM.  Same as #3, we do too much shopping at WM.com to give up 5%

5.  citi Custom Cash.  The flexibility to choose your own 5% cat per month is super powerful.  I get 5.55% for the first $100 earned per year (although, wait, it wouldn't be 5.55% without the R+ being in the top 5, ).  

That hurt to leave the Target Red Card and rotators off, lol.  

[longtimelurker]

I would probably just go with

1) Altitude Reserve, for all the mobile wallet stuff (and travel where different)

2) Chase Amazon, for 5% purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods (the latter being a big spend category for us)

3) Flat 2% (no AOD unfortunately), currently Fidelity now that I closed SoFI

This leaves off a bunch of 5/3% cards (Discover, Freedom, Freedom Flex, Citi Dividend, Cash +, Amex BCE, Paypal MC) that I use regularly, but unlike the first two above, if they closed it wouldn't be a huge deal

[NoHardLimits]

From my current crop of cards, my 5 most useful for rewards and perks would be:

1.  US Bank Altitude Reserve (no FTF, travel, mobile wallet, primary rental car insurance)

2.  Citi Double Cash (2% flat rate)

3.  Amex Platinum (the coupon book works for me, airport lounges, hotel and car rental status, Amex offers)

4.  Capital One SavorOne (no FTF, entertainment, dining, would also use for streaming if I didn't have Cash+)

5.  US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards (Walmart, would also use for gas if I didn't have "old" Blue Cash)

My 5 most useful cards for FICO scoring would be my 5 oldest revolvers.

[longtimelurker]

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

Walmart, would also use for gas if I didn't have "old" Blue Cash)

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What do you do to meet the threshold for the OBC?

[NoHardLimits]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@NoHardLimits wrote:

Walmart, would also use for gas if I didn't have "old" Blue Cash)

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What do you do to meet the threshold for the OBC?

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I can usually meet the $6500 annual spend threshold within 2-6 weeks.  The anniversary date matches up nicely with some large ticket annual expenses.  These include homeowner insurance, car insurance, HVAC maintenance contract, pest control contract, and Black Friday shopping.

[Vash]

1.   AAA Daily Advantage (5% groceries including at Walmart).

2.  Redstone Visa Signature (5% gas, 5% restaurants).

3.  PayPal Mastercard (3% pay with PayPal, 2% pay with physical card flat for everything).

4.  American Express Blue Cash Everyday (3% online shopping).

5.  Apple Card (2% flat when pay with Apple Pay.  3% on Apple store and a few selected merchants. )

I got all five cards just last month in January 2024.  #2 through #5 on the same day.  

Other than that, I only have a Discover IT Chrome card which started out as a secured card.  It was a decent card only in its first year with "100% Match" on all cash back (effectively made it 4% on gas and restaurants, and 2% flat on all others).  Now it is past the first year, and it has been outdated by the superior new cards .

My wife has an

Amazon Prime Visa Signature card. 5% on Amazon shopping.

Capital One Walmart card 5% shipping Walmart.com (first year had 5% at physical  Walmart locations, but it's history now, so only 2% after the 1st year.  That's why AAA Daily Advantage comes in).  

[user979797]

My top 5 card choices and why:

1. First Security Bank  1% cash back MasterCard with a 9.9% fixed APR. No annual fee (if i need to borrow) Cash back once a year in full.

2. US Bank Cash+ 5% cash back on utility bills and streaming service; No annual fee

3. Navy Federal More Rewards Amex: 3% cash back on groceries transit and dining (Deposited into account): No annual fee

4. USAA Cash Rewards Amex: 5% cash back on gas (deposited into account): No annual fee

5. Wells Fargo Active Cash 2% back on all swipes. (anything not listed above) (Many other choices in this category such as Ally unlimited)

*Bonus*

6. AAA Visa Signature 5% cash back on groceries or 5% back on gas depending on which card you choose. No annual fee for either.

7. PCM 5% cash back on every swipe up to 50.00 back each month: No annual fee. 

8. First Community Bank Granite Low Rate:  8.99% APR on all account charges. No annual fee.

9. Discover card: 5% rotating categories: No annual fee. Double back the first year.

10. Kroger/Ralphs World Elite MasterCard: 5% cash back on digital wallet purchases 2% at Kroger and additional discounts on fuel (US BANK)

[iced]

I only need three:

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve - all dining/travel except airfare goes here. Gets the most uses per month of my collection.

2. Chase Freedom Unlimited - the catch-all for everything else that isn't travel/dining. Gets the second most uses per month of my collection.

3. American Express Platinum - used for airfare and the occasional offer for bonus points. Gets the fewest uses per month but can frequently also be the highest spend given the cost of airfare.

[ptatohed]

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@user979797 wrote:

My top 5 card choices and why:

1. First Security Bank  1% cash back MasterCard with a 9.9% fixed APR. No annual fee (if i need to borrow) Cash back once a year in full.

2. US Bank Cash+ 5% cash back on utility bills and streaming service; No annual fee

3. Navy Federal More Rewards Amex: 3% cash back on groceries transit and dining (Deposited into account): No annual fee

4. USAA Cash Rewards Amex: 5% cash back on gas (deposited into account): No annual fee

5. Wells Fargo Active Cash 2% back on all swipes. (anything not listed above) (Many other choices in this category such as Ally unlimited)

*Bonus*

6. AAA Visa Signature 5% cash back on groceries or 5% back on gas depending on which card you choose. No annual fee for either.

7. PCM 5% cash back on every swipe up to 50.00 back each month: No annual fee. 

8. First Community Bank Granite Low Rate:  8.99% APR on all account charges. No annual fee.

9. Discover card: 5% rotating categories: No annual fee. Double back the first year.

10. Kroger/Ralphs World Elite MasterCard: 5% cash back on digital wallet purchases 2% at Kroger and additional discounts on fuel (US BANK)

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You dirty dog.  You just had to casually slip my dream card in there at number 7, didn't you? 

[Aim_High]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Saleen099 wrote:

1) American Express, Centurion card
2) JP Morgan Reserve
3) Ritz Carlton 
4) Hyatt 
5) Freedom, Unlimited 

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How does the Freedom Unlimited slip in there!   With the other 4 cards, you still wouldn't be able to transfer URs so it would be basically a 1.5% (OK, with some 3% categories)

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That's not true, @longtimelurker.  The JP Morgan Reserve is just a premium version of the Chase Sapphire Reserve for HNW clients, and it has similar benefits including the ability to consolidate Ultimate Rewards points from other cards.  So the Freedom Unlimited rewards, while earning 1.5% in cash could be redeemed for 2.25% (at 1.5x multiplier) for in-portal travel or up to around 3% in travel when transferred to partners.  The CSR (or JPMR) and CFU is a powerful 2-card combo with no spending caps to worry about either.