What credit cards do I use and how many do I have?

I do a lot of credit card signups. A lot. When I tell people the number of cards that I have open they usually give me a funny look and/or inform me that my credit score is terrible. Fortunately for me, they’re not correct. I sign up for 4-5 credit cards every 3 months, and almost never have a problem getting approved either immediately or after one phone call.

I currently have 26 open credit card accounts. Granted, I do not use all of them. In fact, after getting the signup bonus on most of them, I put them away and don’t think about them again until the annual fee is near due. The real concern beyond keeping track of them though is what impact having all those cards has on my credit score. Luckily, having a lot of credit to your name and using it wisely (i.e. paying all bills off on time) is fantastic for your credit score. Here are my two credit score estimates from Credit Karma and Credit Sesame, both free websites I recommend joining to keep track of your scores:

Both of these are great scores that will make me eligible for pretty much any card I apply for.

Credit cards I use regularly

When I’m not trying to meet the minimum spend for a card I recently received, I spread my spend across three different cards from three different banks.

Citi Forward for Students – Restaurants and Bars

The Citi Forward card for students earns 5 ThankYou points per dollar at restaurants and most bars. As a young professional, I frequent both types of establishments. Each point is worth exactly 1 cent of travel, meaning for every dollar I spend at eating and drinking establishments, I earn 5% back. Plus, if I sign up for the ThankYou Premier card, those ThankYou points are suddenly worth 1.33 cents apiece instead of 1 cent.

Note, you don’t need to be a student to have this card!

American Express Premier Gold – Gas, Groceries, Airfare

The Amex Premier Gold earns Membership Rewards points, which can be used on airfare, hotels, cars, and some other types of travel at a value of 1 cent apiece. MR points can also be transferred to various airlines as miles at a 1:1 ratio, or to Hilton at a 1:1.5 ratio (still not a good deal in my opinion) or Starwood at 1:.3 (really bad deal). They’re a very flexible currency.

Amex Premier Gold earns extra points in gas, groceries, and airfare:

Gas – 2x

Groceries – 2x

Airfare – 3x

There are other cards that earn more on groceries, but I like the Membership Rewards program and the fact that this card earns bonus points in other categories too makes it worth using for groceries.

Chase Sapphire Preferred – Everything else

For every other purchase that’s not at a restaurant, bar, gas station, grocery store, and isn’t for a flight, I use the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The CSP earns Ultimate Rewards points, my favorite points currency. UR points can be used on travel at 1.2 cents apiece, or they can be transferred to a number of airlines and hotels at a 1:1 ratio. My favorite transfers are to Southwest and United.

CSP also earns bonus points in certain categories, which is nice, but I would use the card for most purchases regardless of these:

Travel (includes airfare, metro, cab, etc.) – 2x

Dining – 2x

One more note on the CSP is that if you own this card, there is no need to spend on a United or Southwest card. This card earns points at the same rate in every category that those cards do, plus a higher rate in other categories. And since points can be transferred to miles on those two airlines at a 1:1 ratio, by spending on CSP you’re earning at least as many miles and also gaining flexibility of not using them on one airline. Still, having the United card is beneficial for a free checked bag (no spending required), and having the Southwest card can be beneficial if you plan on earning 110,000 miles via flights and spending this year, as you’ll get a free companion pass (transferred miles from CSP to Southwest don’t count towards the 110,000).

Got questions about what credit cards you should sign up for? Head on over to www.wennecorp.com and we’d be happy to help!

Credit Card Links

Chase Sapphire Preferred – 40,000 point signup bonus

Amex Premier Gold – 25,000 point signup bonus

Citi Forward for Students