<aside> 💸 Please be aware that I pick and use cards with the principle that I will carry no balance. If you plan on carrying a balance, unfortunately this guide is not for you.

</aside>

<aside> 🤑 Disclosure: If you do want to apply to any of the cards I have, a referral is attached (which usually includes additional sign-up bonus — but feel free to skip it if you mind)!

</aside>

Overview

As of January 2023, my FICO score is around ~780. I have 4 cards but mostly use three:

1. Apple Card (Opened April 2021)
   • No AF
   • 2% CB for Apple Pay, 3% on Apple + select stores, 1% with physical card.
   • I opened this for the convenience (and that it’s pretty — lmao — but that’s a terrible reason to open a card) and that I always pay a sizable amount of “Apple Tax” every year: device upgrades, subscriptions, etc.
   • It’s great for paying for Apple products in installments without interest, which is great for me since it leaves me slightly more liquidity. It’s also great to get 3% cashback from app store subscriptions, which I have a decent amount of.
   • Other than that, it’s pretty useless.
   • https://apple.co/referdailycash ($0 for me, $75 for you)
2. Citi Custom Cash (Opened March 2022)
   • No AF
   • First $500 spent on top category earns 5% CB, others 1%.
   • I use this exclusively to pay for restaurants. It gives 5% cashback for the first $500 spent on top category.
   • I don’t use it for anything else.
   • https://capital.one/3LlPhxK (25k miles=$500 for me, 75k=$1500 for you)
3. Citi Double Cash (Opened September 2022)
   • No AF
   • 2% CB on everything (1% when spent, 1% when paid off)
   • This is my daily drive card. I use it to pay for random purchases like Amazon, coffee, etc.
4. Capital One Venture X (Opened April 2023)
   • $495 AF
   • ~2% CB on everything; 5% on flights when booking with travel portal (10% on hotels and cars). Other benefits listed here.
   • This is my travel card. I have a few obligations that require me to fly a lot (internationally too), so Venture X basically pays for itself (earning additional 5% on flights and 10% on hotels is great, and that’s after their portal providing a pretty competitive price)

Closed:

1. Citi Rewards+ (Opened June 2020, Closed March 2022)
   • No AF
   • Round up to every 10pts ($1-10 → 10pts, which you can redeem for $0.2).
   • First card. It’s great at first but as my spending ramped up, it’s no longer worth the hassle. I ended up shutting this card down with a product change to the Citi Custom Cash card.

How I Pick

• I optimize for large purchases, and for me that’s usually flights. That’s why Venture X pays for itself.
• I don’t want to spend too much time juggling cards. I spend everything out of one card, and the rest are usually saved payment methods on websites/merchants.

How to Pick

Answer these questions:

• Are you flying mostly between two cities? If so, you can consider committing down to an airline’s benefits via their credit card, although I don’t fully recommend it if you’re not settled. You won’t be optimizing for CB at that point, but travel perks.
• Are you flying more than 8 times a year stably? If so, you should consider one of the following after looking at their benefits list:
  • Capital One Venture X ($495 AF)
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 AF)
  • Amex Platinum ($695 AF) — for this you should probably buy into Amex’s ecosystem
• Do you spend disproportionally on one category of purchases? This could be gas, groceries, travel (see above), or ground transit. If so, you should consider a fixed category card like Citi Custom Cash.

Some common combinations I’ve seen my friends use: