The Rewards Cards I’m Using This Month (How About You?)

This is the time of year when my wife and I would usually look at our respective Delta SkyMiles® American Express Card accounts,  see how much more spending we needed to hit the now-defunct Medallion Qualification Dollar Waiver and earn our bonuses Medallion Qualification Miles, and grumble.

But because Delta ditched both of those features and made it LOL-expensive to spend your way to Medallion status on their credit cards, Mrs. Carley’s Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and my Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card are nestled away in our wallets, having seen less sun than vampires do.

We spread our spending across multiple rewards cards, blissfully earning Chase, American Express® Membership Rewards®, Capital One Miles, and general cashback.

It’s pretty liberating.

We’d typically do that around mid-to-late year after we knocked out our Delta Amex requirements. But because there’s really no reason to spend on our Delta cards.

So, here are the cards we tend to use for purchases right now. There are exceptions, of course, such as:

• Amex Offers
• Chase Offers
• Forgetting to rotate cards in and out before and after trips (that’s generally me)

Airfare

A few different factors come into play when deciding which rewards card I use to pay for airfare.

When I book through a credit card’s travel service, I have to use one of their cards. For example, I pay with my:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve® on Chase Travel℠ purchases
• The Platinum Card® from American Express for Amex Travel
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card for Capital One Travel

That’s simple enough. 🙂

When I purchase airline tickets directly through carriers, I usually use my Chase Sapphire Reserve®. It awards 3X Chase on travel purchases (after the card’s annual $300 travel credit is exhausted). The Sapphire Reserve also includes excellent trip protection that kicks in after six (6) hours of a delay or interruption. Plus, you only have to pay a portion of your airfare with the Reserve in order for your trip to be covered. I occasionally buy discounted gift cards on sales or use credits to help pay for airfare.

We also occasionally Southwest and stay at IHG and Hyatt properties, which are Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.

The Amex Platinum Card requires all of an airfare purchase to placed on the card in order for a trip to be eligible. (Up to $500 per Covered Trip that is delayed for more than 6 hours; and 2 claims per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive month period.  Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.)

My wife and I just redeemed one of our Delta SkyMiles® American Express Companion Certificates. I used my Amex Platinum to pay for the primary airfare and companion’s taxes and fees. The Platinum earns 5X Membership Rewards per dollar spent on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.) I also don’t plan to earn status above Platinum (at least between my airfare purchases and credit card spending). Here’s our post about which card is best for Companion Certificate purchases.

Restaurants, Take Out, and Delivery

Restaurants are one of the Chase Freedom Flex®‘s 5% cashback (5X Ultimate Rewards) categories for April-June 2024. (Purchases made with Amazon and hotels are the other two.) I’ll use that until I reach the $1,500 spending cap (or through June 30, whichever comes first). After that, I’ll switch to my American Express® Gold Card. That earns 4X points at restaurants worldwide (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.). (Terms apply.)

Amazon

Again, the Chase Freedom Flex® is my preferred card here because of the Q2 5% cashback. Once I finish that, I’ll return to my Blue Cash Everyday Card® from American Express, which earns 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases (then 1%). Cashback is earned as American Express Reward Dollars, which can be redeemed toward statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. (Terms apply.)

Cell Phone Bill

I split pay my cell phone bill each month.

I put $10 of it on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Why? The Amex Business Platinum members can earn up to $10 each month in statement credit (up to $120 total annually) for wireless telephone service purchases made directly with a U.S. wireless provider.

The balance goes on my Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. It earns 5% cash back (5X Chase) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on (then 1%) on internet, cable, and phone services and at office supply stores.

You’re missing out on hundreds of thousands of points in welcome bonuses and regular spending awards if you don’t use small business credit cards.

Gas

We use the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Credit Card for gas station purchases because it earns 4% in rewards on eligible gas for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. The rewards are earned as credit that can be redeemed at Costco. (All information related to the Costco Anywhere Visa Business Credit Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer and was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.)

Groceries

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is our go-to because it earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases (then 1%). Cashback is earned as American Express Reward Dollars, which can be redeemed toward statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. (Terms apply.)

I occasionally get inspired and use my American Express® Gold Card, which earns 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 in purchases per year. (Terms apply.)

Rideshare

We haven’t done many rideshares this year, but I have some trips coming up that I know will require Ubers or Lyfts.

I’ll use my Chase Sapphire Reserve® because that earns 10X on Lyft rides through March 2025.

Hotels

I generally use that chain’s co-branded credit card when staying at hotels.

Pharmacies and Drug Stores

My wife and I have a six-year-old daughter (she’ll be seven in a few weeks). In addition to homework, cute artwork, and amusing stories, our kiddo brings home from school delightful things such as strep throat, colds, stomach viruses, and stuff like that.

Naturally, we get about half of those, too.

And you tend to regularly take daily medications as you get older (uh, I’ve heard?).

So, we’re on a first-name basis with the folks at our local pharmacies.

When my wife picks up prescriptions or over-the-counter medications, she uses her Chase Freedom Unlimited®. When it’s my turn, I pay with my Chase Freedom Flex®. Both cards earn unlimited 3% cashback (3X points) at drugstores.

Keep this in mind about drugstores and pharmacies: those located inside supermarkets and big box stores generally don’t code as drugstores. For example, a pharmacy inside your supermarket will likely code as a supermarket. That’s great if you use a card with good supermarket earnings — but you probably won’t get the 3% back on the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimted cards.

Non-Bonused Spending

For personal purchases that generally aren’t bonused (insurance, doctor’s appointments and related costs, after-school care), we use our respective Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cards.

We use The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express for most of our company’s non-bonused business spending (stock image subscriptions, domain names, taxes, etc.) because it earns 2X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible dollar up to $50,000 spent during a calendar year, then 1X.

Final Approach

We’re using an array of cards for our purchases—mostly for Chase and American Express® Membership Rewards®, with some Capital One Miles and cashback thrown in there.

What cards are you using? What is your strategy?

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.