As the new year has started, many family members and friends I’ve spoken with have a common new year’s resolution theme: to maximize whatever they do. This can be in the form of maximizing time throughout their day, enjoying more family time, or maximizing their finances. This inspired me to create a blog post about credit cards that can help maximize all these areas.
In this post, I will break down what types of credit cards you should have in your wallet. Then, in my next post I will break down what I have in my own wallet and some tips to maximize time and money.
Here are 3 Types Of Credit Cards You Should Have In Your Wallet:
1. A "Catch All" Card
As someone who does all their spending on credit cards (I haven’t touched my debit card in years and don’t ever plan to), my baseline goal is always to earn at least some cash-back, points, or miles to save for future travel or expenses. This can be a great goal for you too if you aren’t earning anything back on your purchases.
For all the spending that does not fall within the popular credit card bonus categories, such as groceries, gas, restaurants, or streaming services, just to name a few, the “Catch All” card is the one to use. These cards should earn a base of at least 1.5% cash-back (or points or miles) on all spending as this might be the new standard (goodbye to the 1% cash back cards). There are a growing number that have a base of 2% cash-back.
You should only need one of these cards to keep in your wallet.
Great examples would be the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Wells Fargo Active Cash®, and Citi® Double Cash.
2. A "Bonus Category Specific" Card
Most of the spending people do usually falls into bonus categories such as groceries, gas, and restaurants. So, why not capitalize on higher multipliers when earning cash-back, points, or miles. Though it may be a bit more difficult to find one card that has higher multipliers for all the bonus categories, there’s no rule that says you only can have one. You can have a separate card for each of the bonus categories to really maximize on your spending.
These cards tend to have multiplier rates of around 3-6% back on each dollar spent. This is definitely more than the measly 1.5-2% back on the “Catch All” cards. So, you can have one card meant for all grocery spending, another for only dining out, and one last card for all gas stations.
I recommend taking time to breakdown your budget to see where most of your spending goes to and look for cards to maximize on that spending.
Some awesome cards would be the Citi® Custom CashSM, American Express Blue Cash Preferred®, and Capital One Savor Rewards.
3. A "Travel" Card
Although travel is a bonus category for some credit cards, it deserves its own section as many of these cards offer protections and services that other cards don’t. If you don’t travel or use points or miles to book travel, then you can skip this section and really focus on the 2 sections above to maximize cash back. For those who take at least one big trip a year or even a handful of small trips, travel cards deserve a slot in your wallet.
Some benefits that make travel cards worth it are free checked bags, complimentary airport lounge access, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®fee credit and no foreign transaction fees, just to name a few.
I do want to note that most travel cards do carry an annual fee. Therefore, you should make sure that the value you get from the credits and services outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
Popular cards that many have enjoyed are the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, American Express Platinum Card® and Capital One Venture X.
Conclusion
I hope this blog post helped you understand a bit more about the different kinds of credit cards out there and the types that you should consider keeping in your wallet. If you are interested in breaking down your budget and finding ways to optimize your own personalized spending habits, make sure to set an initial Credit Card consultation with me by CLICKING HERE.
Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will break down the credit cards in my wallet and some final thoughts on how credit cards can help you maximize your 2023.
Best,
Brandon