Questions and Answers

Hey Lucky,

I have an Amex Platinum as well as a Chase Sapphire Rewards card as my two credit cards right now. Would you be able to give a quick, basic breakdown of when I should use which card, when? The majority of my spending is on groceries, client outings, and utilities, gym fees, etc. Or, perhaps I should be signing up for a different card for everyday purchases? Thanks!

Best,
Evan

[USER=241]@Evan[/USER] Chandler — Hmm, well I personally wouldn’t use the Amex Platinum for spending, given it doesn’t really offer any bonuses. It’s a good card for the perks though.

So of those two, the Sapphire Preferred is probably the better choice. Though the Amex Everyday Preferred could be a good choice if you spend a lot on groceries. You might want to check this post out too: [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/07/13/which-credit-cards-do-i-use-for-each-bonus-category/[/URL]

By any chance can you throw in approx spend in each category on an annual basis?
[QUOTE=”Evan Chandler, post: 12020″]Hey Lucky,

I have an Amex Platinum as well as a Chase Sapphire Rewards card as my two credit cards right now. Would you be able to give a quick, basic breakdown of when I should use which card, when? The majority of my spending is on groceries, client outings, and utilities, gym fees, etc. Or, perhaps I should be signing up for a different card for everyday purchases? Thanks!

Best,
Evan[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=”PhatMiles, post: 12093, member: 522″]By any chance can you throw in approx spend in each category on an annual basis?[/QUOTE]
I’m about 7 months out of college, so this is likely close to, but not entirely indicative of, my spending. Last year on my AMEX (which I used the most by far, hadn’t read about the limitations about using the Platinum daily), I spent $10,600 on Merchandise & Supplies (I’m assuming this includes groceries), $3,700 on restaurants, $3,100 on business services, and $1,800 on transportation as my four biggest spending categories. I’m in NYC now and my biggest credit card expenses are groceries (which are a combination of being things like frozen meat, protein, grains in bulk online and eggs, fruit, milk, etc. weekly at the grocery store), restaurants and client outings, and some utilities. I’m not sure whether I should get the AMEX Preferred Everyday since a lot of local operations in NY don’t accept AMEX, keep my Sapphire Preferred as my daily spend card, or get a non-AMEX card with similar benefits to the AMEX Preferred Everyday. Thanks for the help, guys!

[USER=1450]@Evan92[/USER] the AX Everyday Preferred is a nice card for groceries and everyday spend if you use it at least 30 times a month and if your grocery store accepts it (upto $6k per year). If you’re going to have trouble meeting those two criteria, it would be hard to justify the annual fee. Of course there are workarounds for the former (small additions to your amazon account are probably easiest) but ultimately weigh the usefulness of the card.

The CSP is obviously great for the travel and dining bonuses. Depending on the transfer partners you like you may also consider Citi Premier that offers larger bonuses on a larger set of categories. For groceries, most of the cards with expanded bonuses seem to be American Express cards (see [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/07/13/best-credit-card-for-grocery-store-spend/[/URL]) so again you’ll have to evaluate what works for you. The other thing you might consider if you qualify for a business card is the Chase Ink line. They offer 5x at office supply stores that often carry Whole Foods gift cards so depending on your shopping patterns that might be an effective workaround.