Over the years, I have become obsessed with travel hacking using credit cards. The reason I love credit cards is because putting my everyday purchases on credit cards allows me to earn points that I can use towards purchasing flights and hotels for travel! It also allows me to have luxurious experiences that I would not be able to afford otherwise!
In this post I am taking Geico’s approach to “What’s in your wallet,” but doing it credit card edition. I will be sharing all the credit cards I currently have (8!), what I use them for, and the benefits of them all.
While I may have more credit cards than most average 23 year olds, I always follow a few basic rules to keep me out of trouble.
- Treat them like a debit card
I only put what I can afford on credit cards. Credit card debt has a very high interest rate (usually 20-28%), so if you use credit cards irresponsibility, those bills add up fast.
2. Put them on auto pay
When you get into the travel hacking game and magically find yourself with 8 credit cards (definitely not talking about myself here…) it can become a lot to juggle. To make things easy on myself, and so I never miss a payment, every single one of my credit cards is on autopay. That way I never have to worry about potentially missing a payment.
So now that I have explained my cardinal rules of owning credit cards, let’s get into it!
- Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card
This was my first ever credit card that I got in high school. Generally, the first credit card you get will most likely be a card you apply for through whatever bank you park your money in (for me, it’s Fidelity, which is a brokerage firm). This is because banks are picky about who and what cards they want to lend out to a customer that has no credit because it is more risky for the bank. There are many cards out there for people looking for their first ever credit card, like the Discover IT card.
Cost: $0 annual fee
Perks: 2% cash back on all purchases
Thoughts: Since this is the first credit card I’ve ever owned, it also is my oldest credit line. I will never cancel this card because my average age of credit would go WAY down if I cancelled it. While I don’t use this card anymore, it doesn’t cost me anything to own.
2. Alaska Airlines Credit Card
Growing up in an Alaska Airlines hub (Seattle, WA), Alaska was always my preferred airline to fly. Personally, I think it is one of the best airline credit cards out there, but is only really useful if you live on the west coast. Since moving to Minnesota post-grad I don’t fly Alaska as much because Delta is the hub in Minnesota, but this is still a keeper card for me.
Cost: $95 annual fee
Perks:
–BOGO (pay for one flight, get the second flight (same itinerary) for just the taxes and fees on your card anniversary. My boyfriend and I used this perk to go to Hawaii from Minneapolis and the flight ended up being $500 per person round trip. Not bad for 9 hours of flying!
— 3x miles on Alaska Airlines purchases
— 20% cash back on inflight purchases (They have the BEST fruit and cheese plate:)
— 2x miles on gas, EV charging stations, local transit, rideshare, cable, and select streaming purchases
— 1 free checked bag
Thoughts: I really only keep this card for the BOGO companion pass every year because that benefit alone outweighs the $95 annual fee. I use this card to purchase gas and if I buy inflight snacks on Alaska. Otherwise, this card is not heavily used in my wallet. I don’t even purchase my Alaska Airlines plane tickets with this card because I have another one that has much better earnings, so keep reading to learn more about that card:)
3. Capital One Venture One
https://i.capitalone.com/GRG7Ni0cH
This was the second ever credit card in my collection, so even though I don’t swipe this one often, it will always stay in my wallet because this card increases my credit age.
Cost: $0
Perks: 1.25x points on every purchase
Thoughts: Personally, Capital One points are not my favorite, so I don’t tend to break out this card too much. Chase or AMEX points are my preferred points currency. I will occasionally use this card at Costco to earn a little bit more points while shopping for everyday items.
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6j/TBERSWC9UY
This is one of my holy grail credit cards! I recommend this card to anyone who is new to travel hacking. Chase has valuable transferable partners. This is the most swiped card in my wallet.
Cost: $95 annual fee
Perks:
— 3x points on dining
— 3x points on online grocery orders
— 2x points on travel (This category is VERY generous. Think paying for street parking counts as travel generous).
— 3x on select streaming services
— $50 hotel credit when you book through the hotel through the Chase portal
Thoughts: For sure the most used card in my wallet. I use this card anytime I eat out at restaurants, pay for parking, and I use this card to pay for all my streaming services. HIGHLY recommend this card:)
5. AMEX Blue Cash Preferred
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/TARYNDT6Yq?XLINK=MYCP
If you are someone who prefers to earn cash back over points, then this is the card for you! I personally like points better, so I will be downgrading this card at the end of the year to the no annual fee version. I did use this card quite frequently throughout the year though.
Cost: $0 fee the first year, then $95 after that
Perks:
— 6% cash back at grocery stores
— 6% back on select streaming services
— 3% back on gas
— 3% on ride share and transit services
— 1% back on all other purchases
Thoughts: I used this card whenever I went to the grocery store. I ended up earning over $115 of cash back throughout the year, which offsets the $95 annual fee, but I would rather pay an annual fee for a points earning card than cash back, so I will be downgrading this card to the no annual fee version. For anyone that spends heavily on groceries this is a great card!
6. AMEX Platinum Card
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/TARYNDZ4jS?XLINK=MYCP
This card comes with a HEFTY annual fee, but it has allowed me to “upgrade” my life. Definitely not a beginner travel hacking card, but a great card to work towards having! The main reason I like this card is because of all the credits that you get yearly or monthly, which helps offset the annual fee. There are so many credits and perks with this card, so get ready to read this long list!
Cost: $695 annually. Yes, you did read that right. I spend almost $700 to own this card.
Perks:
— 5x points on all flights. This card is what I use to purchase all my flights because it has the largest point multiplier! I have flown over 50 flights this year, so earning 5x the points in this category is huge for me!
— 5x points on hotels and flights booked on the AMEX website
— $100 Saks Fifth Ave credit. I am not someone who shops at Saks regularly (doesn’t really align with my nursing budget), but the shampoo and conditioner I use are sold in Saks so I use the credit to pay for that!
— $15 Uber credit every month. This credit is fairly easy to use each month and if I find that I don’t need to Uber anywhere, I always use the credit to Uber Eats a dinner.
— Marriott and Hilton Gold status. I fly more than I stay in hotels, but having instant hotel status is awesome for the complimentary room upgrades and early/late checkout.
— Rental car status with Hertz, Avis, and National. I feel like this is an underrated benefit of this card! Rental cars are normally so expensive and there aren’t a lot of great hacks to get them for cheaper. I use the Hertz status most frequently with this card and I get free car upgrades, my car is ready when I arrive at the airport so I can just drive off the lot (no waiting in the long and time-consuming car rental lines!!), and I get 20% off car rentals. These benefits make renting cars much more affordable!
— $240 digital entertainment credit. This can be used for subscriptions to the WSJ, NYT, Disney Plus and Hulu bundle, Sirius XM, and Peacock. They used to offer audible, which I loved, but AMEX got rid of that partnership in October 2023. Boo AMEX, bring audible back!!
— $200 airline credit. This can be used for checked bags, lounge entrances, fees associated with changing flight itineraries, etc.
— $200 hotel credit. AMEX has a collection of Hotels called the Fine Hotels and Resorts. When you book one of these hotels, you get $200 off, complimentary breakfast daily, a resort credit, room upgrade, and late checkout (think 4 pm late). My boyfriend and I used this credit in Hawaii and had an amazing time! It helped us stay at a nicer resort that we wouldn’t have been able to stay at without all the perks to make it more affordable! I will have a future blog post all about how we used this credit!
— free TSA and global entry. I love TSA precheck. Worth every penny, especially when it’s free with a credit card:)
— $189 CLEAR credit. Sometimes I find that the CLEAR line is longer than just waiting in precheck, but on days where the airport is a zoo, it is nice to have CLEAR and TSA precheck.
— Walmart plus membership
— SO many more perks that if I listed them all we would be here awhile
Thoughts: I love this card because it upgrades my lifestyle. Would I survive without this credit card? Yes, but it’s nice to upgrade this part of my life:)
6. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/252s/97KL4IME5C
Marriott is the hotel brand that I am most loyal to, so I got this card this year to help me earn more Marriott points. I also received a welcome offer of 5 free nights, so that was a huge benefit too! That sign on bonus was what helped my boyfriend and I be able to afford to go to Hawaii for the second time this year!
Cost: $95 annual fee
Perks:
— 1 free night per year up to 35k points. As long as you choose a hotel that costs more than $95, you will offset your annual fee
— 15 elite night credits as a status boost
— 6x points earned on Marriott stays
— 3x points on gas, groceries, and dining. Marriott points are worth less than bank points like Chase and AMEX, so I don’t use this card for those purchases because I would rather use my Chase card to get more value.
— 2x points on all other purchases
Thoughts: This is another card that I don’t heavily swipe, but I keep it for the free night award that I get each year. Otherwise, I really only use this card when I am purchasing a Marriott hotel.
7. BILT Mastercard
Cost: No annual fee!!
Perks:
— pay your rent with no credit card fee.
How does BILT get away with this?
Well when you sign up for the card BILT gives you a unique account number and routing number that you can connect to your rent payment. I was skeptical of this at first, but I have been using this card for 4 months now and my rent has been paid successfully every time:)
— 3x points on dining
— 2x travel (more restrictive than Chase’s travel category thought).
— Rent day specials. On the first of the month BILT celebrates rent day! On the first of the month only, you will earn 6x on dining, 4x on travel, and 2x on all other purchases. I try to be strategic in my spending and make purchases on the first of the month so I earn extra points! Each month BILT also does something fun like 5x points on sports tickets, a special transfer bonus etc., for rent day as well.
— free soul cycle class on the first of the month
Thoughts: The BILT card has amazing transfer partners (and they keep adding more!), earns points on a category that no other credit card does, and offers fun specials at the beginning of the month! BILT just keeps getting better and better!
That concludes this “What’s in my wallet” post! If you enjoyed this post and I have convinced you to hop on the credit card travel hacking game, please use my referral links! it comes at no cost to you, just helps support me!
Great read!