Showing posts with label Club Carlson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Club Carlson. Show all posts

October 11, 2014

What's in My Wallet - October 2014 Edition

This is the next post in my periodic series outlining the cards in my wallet and my rationale for spending on each.  I try to be as purposeful (and organized) as possible about the cards in my wallet and when each one comes out.  The best analogy is really a swiss army knife.  You want to have a handful of tools for different jobs and understand which tool to use for a specific job (purchase).  This will help you maximize your earning on spend.

Here are the four cards (in addition to my debit card) in my wallet this month:

1)  Starwood Preferred Guest American Express

I put half of my non-bonuses everyday spending on this card and the other half on my Chase BA card.  Starwood points are among the most difficult to earn yet the most valuable.  Putting non-bonuses spend (i.e. non dining and entertainment which go on the Sapphire card) is a great way to earn incremental Starwood points.

2)  Citi Executive AAdvantage World MasterCard 

I've already earned the bonus on my first of these cards.  I'm working on the second at the moment and should be complete in October.  After I complete the minimum spend on this card, we'll have earned 327,500 American Airlines miles from these cards this year.  We'll be using the miles to help us get home from Hong Kong later in the year.

3)  Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Card 

No minimum spend needed on this card.  Just my workhorse everyday card earning 2x (actually 2.14X when you include the annual 7% dividend) on travel and dining. This card is also linked to my United dining program account.

4)  Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card 

I've already met the minimum spend on this card as well as the incremental bonuses (25,000 points after spending $10,000 and another 25,000 points after spending $20,000 in the first year of card membership).  I am now working on reaching $30,000 of spend this year in order to earn the British Airways Travel Together Ticket which is basically a 2 for 1 certificate.