Also when doing cc calculations, remember that what you put on one card you are not putting on another, so the “savings” with any particular card is lessened by any amount you could have gotten by putting it on another card. This comes into play with the annual fee cards. Sure, some look good, but putting those same purchases on a non-fee card and not having to pay the annual fee works out less expensive for us.
YMMV
The Points Guy has tips on the best credit cards for travel to build miles and other rewards. We use the Chase Sapphire. We pay for almost everything with that card. Our rewards paid for two tickets to Ireland last October and several hotels. Definitely worth the $95 annual fee.
Yeah. I’ve had my Venture X for about a 1.5 years. With the 100K pomo, plus all my charges/points, we got 13 hotel room nights free when we went to Europe, plus several other of H’s/my little trips have been hotel room free. We also got $200 off an Airbnb rental when we signed up. I used that for H’s bday trip to the arcade Airbnb. And I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten a couple of flights too. I’m looking to get at least one free ticket when we fly to Quebec City this fall. I might have enough for both. We will see.
But also… We eat out 2x week. Once (and lately, sometimes both meals) is fast food. I usually bring my own drink and just order the sandwich. If I’m starving, I bring a little baggie of pretzels. And ordering water vs alcohol or even soda/tea is a big savings at a restaurant.
And here was a nice surprise… I had an issue with Shutterfly yesterday. I was trying to use a Visa gift card that my employer gave me for 25 years of service… but it can only be used at a few places, very few of them are places I go. But shutterfly was on there! But the website wouldn’t take it, because the order was more than the gift card. I called to ask and no, they couldn’t do it, but they gave me $25 off my order! Sometimes it pays to call and ask. I’ve had luck with that and renting cars. Calling the local office, I once got an upgraded vehicle at half the price the website showed.
Since I’m not a fan of cooking except for holidays, I feel the need to add that our grocery budget drops a ton when we eat out more. 
We have quite a few mom and pop places we frequent regularly and have no plans to stop. At most we even pay cash so they don’t have to pay cc fees.
We save in many places (mostly by not buying things), but then we also splurge where we want to splurge. We only live once, after all.
The pandemic was a great time for CC bonuses. I got the Chase Sapphire during that time with a hefty bonus, and the Hyatt card which gave me sufficient points for a number of free nights driving west last year. I have far too many airline cards, but the savings on checked luggage and early boarding make travel easier and usually comes out even. Cancelling those cards, well, then they offer more miles for staying which gives more potential travel benefits. I just got the SW card though they don’t service my nearby airport. I am flying to D’s home frequently and the benefit for my $65 will potentially give me 3 to 4 flights with points and I can sit on that bus as needed to save hundreds.
If I were to choose one airline card, I’d choose United as they reimburse for Global Entry, and give 2 lounge passes per year, which saves on airport food. But I used most of my points for a free trip to Asia last fall.
But, one has to stay on top of paying off in full every month and who pays double and triple points. Cancelling every few years makes one eligible for a points bonus again after a certain amount of time.
S has a very busy life these days with a toddler and in-laws in residence. Though he was my travel guru who knew all the deals, he said he is cancelling most cards as his thoughts are elsewhere these days, appropriately.
We’ve used Discover card for years and it’s probably not best cash back but I’ve set up all our recurring payments on it and we use it for everything. I use the rewards to get e-gift cards to Lowe’s which are for slightly more than the amount (like $55 card for $50). I always have a home or yard item in mind for the next amount.
I work the hotel rewards. Sometimes purchasing points at a discounted price and using them is cheaper than the room price. Used this especially for football weekends at my son’s school when prices were extra high but rewards points weren’t changed (booked early).
We eat out about twice a week and more on vacations but almost always for lunch which is often cheaper and more than enough food.
Hint from my son would be find the rich neighborhoods and go to the thrift stores there. He was wearing a very nice Tommy Hillfinger rain jacket that I admired (and was surprised he’d spent money on) when he told me that hint.
I’ve seen a number of websites recommend Chase Sapphire. I’ve been off credit cards for several years (following Dave Ramsey) but am really tempted to get this one for the travel benefits…!
We totally play the credit card points/miles game, and it makes us thousands of dollars every year, even after paying the fees. In our case, we go for the big signup bonuses, and cancel when the annual fee comes due the next year unless we really like the card. We have a bazillion cards, have been playing this game forever, and they always still give us the bonuses (even in repeat cards), and it hasn’t hurt our credit.
For us, choosing good cards depends upon how big their signup bonus is, and if the rewards are useful for us. For example, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is expensive ($650 per year), but it gave 100K hotel points, a free night (sometimes they give more)and $300/ yr restaurant credits. Plus, when they renewed, they only charged me $450. Made me a Bonvoy Platinum, free rooms, upgrades, breakfast. Since we use Marriott all the time, it makes sense for us. We have stayed at Ritz Carlton’s for free, because we get a mega certificate every year. And I like free!
Husband just got another Delta Reserve card. 100K miles, free companion ticket, we’re sitting in the Delta club right now. He cancelled his last one because they didn’t offer him a retention bonus (year prior they gave him 60K miles to keep the card). We are heavy Delta users, though the fee is $550/yr, with the bonuses and tickets, it’s an easy win for us. I also have a Delta Reserve card, he also has a platinum one, kiddo has a platinum, these allow us to keep status, and it pays off far more than the fees, pricey as they are.
Then we have an entire other group of B of A, BECU, Chase cards that we got for bonuses and hotel certificates. I almost feel guilty getting bonuses and churning cards. Almost. 
I’ve been doing most of my grocery shopping online for over 10 years, $4.99 but many weeks no fee or sometimes $10 cash back. I’m an impulse buyer, even though I always shop with a list. So much easier to compare prices, and since I cook about 5 times a week, I can find recipes and make sure I have the ingredients I need. I also make menus with overlapping ingredients to prevent waste (got 3 pounds of boneless chicken breasts, jambalaya, curried chicken salad and tikka masala are coming up).
There is also the Chase trifecta which is common for many. One of the Chase Sapphire cards to move all Ultimate rewards points to a travel partner to get 1.5 to 2 cents per point depending on your transfer choice. Also use it for travel 3x points etc. Then a Chase freedom unlimited to get 1.5 points for every charge. Add the Chase freedom flex to get 5% on rotating area.
So you earn a minimum of 1.5x and up to 5x for every charge. Then move all points to the sapphire and transfer the points for better than 1cent per point value. I use Hyatt and Southwest travel partners and get at least 1.5cents per point.
Our spending is mostly concentrated on our Southwest Visas. It may not be the very best dollar value but we have certainly enjoyed having a stockpile of SW points. Since 2013, we have usually flown 4 people round trip every year, at least a $1200 value, and still have plenty of points on hand. And super nice to have the flexibility of points for changes in plans.
I have Capital One online savings accounts. I started one around 15-20 years ago when they had 4+% interest. Eventually that crept down to .3% interest lately. But they recently started a new type of savings account currently paying over 3%. So this winter I had to open new accounts and transfer the money into them to get the higher rate. I have a couple targeted short term savings there (vacation fund, weddings fund).
Always look for a coupon code when shopping online. I’m not a big couponer IRL though. I find that our local grocery store has better prices already than some others, and I just don’t take the time to plan out grocery shopping sales or coupons.
For years we have been putting most charges on a United Airlines Visa. Because my husband did business travel (including about 25 business trips to Japan) we’ve had a lot of free airline tickets. Cost has gone up to $90/year, but it seems worthwhile to
When son was in college, we got a JetBlue charge card (first Amex, then they changed it to Mastercard). It was the “family card”, where kids could charge flights and other parent-approved expenses. Thinking about ditching it (costs $40/year, no longer has the free checked bag benefit). Just used most of the remaining points to book one of our tickets Den—>Bos for son’s wedding.
CIT Bank (a division of First Citizens) has a Platinum High Yield Savings Account that’s currently paying 4.75% on balances over $5k (the first $4,999 is paid at .25%) May be a good place if you need some fixed income conservative investments but dont want to lock in a CD term.
There are ~20 banks with 4.75% to 5.02% APY on HYSA/money market, most of which are smaller and not well known. However. I prefer to use my brokerage like a bank home base, for the bulk of savings. Vanguard has some money markets at ~4.8% 7-day yield. I am using Fidelity with a 4.73% 7-day yield money market. From there I purchase things directly on Fidelity or transfer elsewhere (can use account number and routing number, like bank), as other opportunities come along at higher APY than listed.
True. Im just more familar with CIT since they are owned by First Citizens and have historically offered some very competitive online rates.
Of all the ones that are offering yields in this range, I was just more comfortable with them than some really small institutions that may be a pain to move money around or close the account altogether.
Thanks for sharing this. We have a SW Chase Visa that we use for a similar reason. We have family all over the country and four people flying anywhere even in coach is expensive. I prefer flying JetBlue but picked SW because they seem to have more market share domestically. I do expect this to be the first card we cancel because it’s the one that comes the closest to not being worth the annual fee when we don’t travel (hello, 2020), and a few more point devaluations will shift the value propositions. I’ll miss it if that happens, though. It’s been great to fly to funerals without having to think about budgeting or moving money from savings.
You are all inspiring with the points/cards!! I’m researching this today…!
Forgot to mention- in addition to The Points Guy, I read/follow Eye of the Flyer for helpful tips.
Good to know!!
I’m sorry, but The Points Guy is among the least useful of all the points/miles blogging websites. Delta SkyMiles? Well, it’s also known as SkyPesos. it’s easily among the worst of all frequent flyer/guest programs.