I consider myself something of a credit card aficionado, but the funny thing with talking about all these cards all the time coupled with being insanely busy is sometimes the reality doesn’t gel with the theory. This is similar somewhat to your investments as portfolio drift occurs, so every now and then its good to take a look at what is there, and why. Funnily enough, whenever I meet a fellow travel blogger the first thing they want to do is look at what I am carrying, and why, so here’s the answer.
As I write this, I actually am not totally sure what is lurking in my wallet, so it is quite a fun experience to see how efficient it might be, and if I can really justify what is in it. I did at one point separate personal cards to the right, and business cards to the left, but now that is all a hot mess, here is what we have, starting from the cards on the left:
- Bluecross Blueshield FSA Card – this is debit card that can be used to access FSA allocated funds, for healthcare related costs such as doctor co-pays, vision, dental etc. It is possible to set up FSA to work off any card, and reimburse, doing so would be more effective, but also requires one extra step in verification for each transaction, since we have only allocated $600 per year to this account, I am happy to waive the $12 in rebates for the lower workload. Action: Keep in Wallet
- 2 x Amex SPG (business and personal) – these cards have no purpose being in my wallet, I have no idea why they are there, when I get home I will swap them over to my storage. Action: Store at Home (possibly cancel one)
- UFB Direct Debit – I use this as my goto ATM Card, they reimburse fees so I don’t have to hunt around for a Citibank ATM. It is also handy for giving me 1 AA mile for every $2 spent on transactions (not at the ATM) so and I will use it at the post office every now and then when I have time to earn a quick 500 miles. Action – Keep in Wallet
- Citibusiness Debit x2 – these are here because I deposited some money recently into these accounts. I will close them after tax filing for 2013 are concluded in October, they don’t need to be in my wallet now either. Action, store at home, cancel in Oct
- Peoples United Business Debit – this is my new business bank account, I like them much more than Citi on a personal level, and they don’t make me jump through hoops to avoid fees. Action, store at home.
- Transit Chek – this card links to a program offered by my wifes employer for commuting, I have it to buy her MetroCards… Action Keep in Wallet.
- Chase Ink 1 – Wife’s card on my account, Action: Store at Home
- Citi Debit – Useful if I forget to load funds onto my UFB card to get cash Action: Keep in Wallet
- Chase Ink 2 My card, useful for those times I want to buy something nice from office supply stores. Action: Keep in Wallet
- Amex Platinum Business – no point having, it is there because of our vacation (used for paying the Car Rental and taking their insurance) action, store at Home.
- Fidelity Amex – everyday spend card, Keep in Wallet
- Stealth mode CSP- still favor this for dining and the rare occasion I take a cab. Keep in Wallet
- Amex Blue Cash (old style) – Use this for my excessive Grocery and Drugstore purchases, Keep close to my heart
Summary
I have 7 cards that don’t need to be in my wallet, of which I should probably cancel at least 1. Of the 6 that remain, for my everyday real spend I find myself favoring just 3 cards for the majority of transactions:
- Drugstores/Groceries/Gas Amex Blue 5%
- Dining Chase Sapphire 2x (3%)
- Everything else Fidelity Amex 2%
I do have a lot of other cards at home, but these are my new toolkit. Additionally, I carry around the FSA and the Transit card for genuine travel purchases and genuine healthcare costs, both are drawing from pre-funded accounts.
Both the CSP and the Amex Plat lost value this year, as the Chase Sapphire lost redeeming power indirectly as United and Hyatt, the two key transfer partners of Ultimate Rewards devalued their award chart, and the Amex Platinum lost access to American Airlines lounges when traveling in Coach. I plan to downgrade my CSP to the Freedom card, swapping spend onto the Fidelity Amex for dining and will keep the Amex Platinum as it has been very good to me thus far.
A confession… I love the Arrival card, but I actually don’t have it myself. We have one in the Wife’s name but my approval was rejected as I applied for too many cards, so I don’t carry it, but I do use it for online purchases. I actually think my strategy is fairly well optimized, it leans heavily on Cashback, which has been a focus for a long time – if I need more points I just apply for more cards and use the signup bonuses, my monthly spend goes towards cash rebates.
What do you think about this approach, should I refine it or change it around? I would probably swap out the Fidelity Amex for the Arrival if my domestic travel ramps up, but as it is now this seems to work.
Hey Matt! Thanks for opening up your wallet…
It’s always interesting to see what other people carry around. I have generally the same thoughts as you and am starting to go more cash back as well. I just AORd an AMEX Blue Cash (old style) and downgraded my Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom. I applied for an Arrival also but I’m not sure it will happen. Too many inquiries on the books. The one CC I am loving is the Southwest Visa – I’m 93% of the way to a companion pass and I should make it this month! I have the Fidelity card as well but it gets lost when I have targeted spend to make.
Glad you like it – felt we somehow needed to keep things aligned with the ‘theory’ and ‘reality’ of the wallet when talk about cards so much. If you look at mine, there are several choices that stem from tax related reasons, which I think should make their way to everyones wallet too.
The Southwest card is one I keep on thinking about, but then talk myself out of, I would want to abuse that companion pass, but right now with a new family member due in June I can’t see the attraction of lots of domestic flights…
How many x your CL are you pushing thru the BC? Heard one report that someone who did 2x CL their second month got a friendly call from Amex effectively telling them similar 2x wouldn’t be viewed favorably – essentially saying 1x was acceptable.
I’m doing around 2x but only for a month or so. Haven’t got a call (yet)
Same two primary cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Old Blue. I have Suntrust/Delta debit for occasional trips to Wally World and when I need cash, and a pair of INK Bold and Upromise cards for reselling opportunites. I just closed out my Fidelity accounts and am not sure if I can still earn the 2% on the Fidelity cash back if I have no place to direct it? I’m waiting til I can get another big sign up bonus for miles. Will Fidelity just hold my 2% cash back until then?
You can still earn the points, they rack up in your credit card account and you transfer to fidelity when you want to. The best option for you is likely the CMA (cash management account) as that acts like a bank account rather than brokerage and can accept your fidelity cash.
Do not request cash from the credit card page, that redeems at 50% value- you MUST transfer it to fidelity to cash out points.
Thanks Matt. Won’t do the 50% deal. I need to figure out what new account bonus is next with Fidelity I guess and how long I need to wait since closing last account 😉
Your wallet looks pretty typical for most of us, with one glaring exception. I took one look at that picture and I said to myself: “why would he have a ‘Safeway club’ card right next to an MTA metro card?!?” I’ve never actually been to a Safeway, but I understand that it’s a grocery store out of the hinterlands, nowhere near New York; why would you feel the need to carry around such a card everyday?
Upon further reflection, I also think there is something glaringly absent from your wallet that most financially savvy and travel savvy people have in our wallets – a library card.
Yep, same reason as the Amex Plat, just returned from vacation to California where we signed up for that card in order to get 30% our shopping (mostly nice wine) and gifts. It should be dumped but I find when I return from travel cards sit around for a bit serving no purpose.
I don’t keep a physical library card, 100% of my library reading is on kindle and I store that number digitally, saves me a ton of money.