Rapid Travel Chai

Credit cards have replaced flying as my core mile-earning vehicle.

Points bloggers talk much less about credit cards these days for a number of reasons:

• Credit card affiliate marketing is the cash cow for blogs that can get approved to publish the links
• Credit card issuers continue to cull the ranks of affiliates, and in particular, The Points Guy is increasingly getting exclusive offers
• Credit card issuers have reduced the spread of cards with attractive affiliate offers
• Bloggers that have affiliate links need to toe the marketing line and compliance line to keep their links
• Bloggers have different interests, many currently active are interested in manufactured spend (of the churn and burn = bank shutdown kind) or merchandise and gift card reselling
• Bloggers, to a surprising degree, are under Chase ‘5/24’
• Bloggers that were once active on credit cards are at different life and points stages and no so active anymore
• Readers click on ‘deals’, seemingly the more trivial the better (Hurry! Free pack of 10 pushpins today!!), and traffic equals ad revenue if you don’t have credit card links

Well, I have a terrible business model and credit cards are my points interest, so here are the cards I have. Here’s a picture of me in a swimming suit on my surfboard posing with my cards:

The Credit Cards in My Wallet

I carry a slim wallet that only holds a few cards:

• Amex Delta Platinum (non-bonused spend to earn Delta MQMs each year)
• Amex Hilton Ascend (supermarkets)
• Citi Costco Anywhere Visa (Costco, gas)
• Citi Prestige (dining, airfare)
• City National Bank Crystal Visa Infinite (non-airfare travel, supermarkets that don’t accept Amex)
• Any card that I am working on a sign-up bonus

The Credit Cards in My Travel Wallet

I have a travel wallet in my briefcase:

• Amex Platinum Charles Schwab (Centurion Lounge access; I bank and have investments with Charles Schwab, this is a long-term keeper for me)
• Amex Platinum Morgan Stanley (for this year only)
• Chase United MileagePlus Explorer (for travel benefits on United)
• Diners Club Professional (airport lounge access)
• Discover it Minnesota Wild edition (to carry a bit of Minnesota with me)
• ICBC Preferred UnionPay Gold (for China)

The Hotel Credit Cards That Sometimes are in My Travel Wallet

I use these from time to time for hotel benefits or to pay for a stay. I keep them because of the annual certs.

• Amex Hilton Aspire
• Chase IHG Rewards Club Select
• Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier
• Chase Hyatt (I’ve not upgraded to the World of Hyatt Card)
• Chase Marriott Premier (I’ve not upgraded to Premier Plus / Bonvoy Boundless)
• Chase Marriott Premier Plus Business
• US Bank Radisson Rewards Premier
• US Bank Radisson Rewards Business

The Credit Cards in My Drawer

I take out these cards for specific promotions or keep them for specific benefits.

• BofA Better Balance Rewards (>2, charity donations for quarterly cash back)
• Chase Freedom (>2, quarterly 5x points categories)
• Citi AT&T Access More (2, online purchases 3x)
• Citi Dividend (>2, quarterly 5% cash back categories)
• Citi Sears (ThankYou-point earning version, targeted spend offers)
• Discover it (2 including the one in my travel wallet, quarterly 5% cash back categories)
• Fidelity Rewards Visa (previously to load Serve, now for occasional targeted spend offers that take months to post)
• Marvel (3x categories, awesome card art)
• PenFed Pathfinder Rewards ($100 annual travel credit)
• Wells Fargo Propel Amex (mobile phone insurance, GoFar Rewards offers)

The Credit Cards with Me This Year

Cards that will be retired within a year:

• Amex Hilton Business
• Chase Iberia
• Citi American Airlines personal (2)
• Citi American Airlines business (2)
• HSBC Advance
• HSBC Cash Rewards
• US Bank FlexPerks personal (Olympics offer)
• US Bank FlexPerks business (Olympics offer)
• Wells Fargo Business Platinum

The Credit Cards That I Want

Credit cards that I want and have a hope of approval, so that excludes:

• Amex – cards I’ve had before due to ‘once per lifetime’ bonus rule
• BofA – I am laying low on personal cards because of their ‘4 personal credit cards rule’
• Chase – all cards now subject to 5/24 and workarounds have all failed for me

Credit cards that I want:

• ABOC Platinum Rewards (quarterly 5% cash back categories)
• Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (for the bonus, maybe to spend $75k to get my 10th lifetime Marriott Platinum year, downgrade to the legacy Amex Marriott Bonvoy)
• Bank of the West Business Rewards Mastercard
• Barclays something or other (I just closed a JetBlue one)
• BofA Alaska Airlines business (I just closed an old one)
• Capital One whatever they’ll approve me
• Citi Premier (my 24/27-month clock is up this July)
• eBates
• First National Bank Absolute Rewards (quarterly 5x categories that are really around 3.8% cash back, as a way to hopefully get targeted for the next card)
• First National Bank TravElite ($100 annual travel credit, I haven’t been targeted)
• FirstTech Fed Odyssey Rewards (a nice bonus, true chip-and-pin, previously denied me even though I am a checking customer)
• HSBC Premier World
• HSBC Premier World Elite
• State Department Fed Premium Cash Back+ (chip-and-pin backup to FirstTech Fed)
• Terps Credit Card
• UBS Visa Infinite (if the offer is at least 50,000 points)
• US Bank Korean personal and business (I haven’t had these in a couple of years)
• Wells Fargo Visa Signature (when my 15-month rule is up next year, points pooling and bonus with Propel, thanks to Richard Kerr of Award Travel 101)

Readers, what other cards should I want? What questions do you have on my card portfolio?