Customized Cash #2 (Dining) – MasterCard – No AF

This was my main dining card until I got the Cardless Boston Celtics card. Once I reach Platinum status I will use this as my main dining card

This card was originally an MLB Cash Rewards card but after BofA dropped MLB as their official credit card partner, it was converted to a Customized Cash card. Same rewards, just no longer Yankees branded 😦

Rewards

• 4.5% back on all dining purchases
• 3% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs
• Both rewards capped at $2500 per quarter total

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$200 for $500 spend

Premium Rewards – Visa – $95 AF

Now that I have the Venture X I will probably PC this to the new Unlimited Cash Rewards for the same cash back, minus the benefits and AF

Rewards

• 2.25x back on all purchases
• 3x back on all travel purchases

Benefits

• $100 annual “incidental travel” credit. This is intended to work for things like baggage upgrades, inflight purchases etc. I use it to purchase $100 AA gift cards once a year. See more info on this “loophole” here
• $100 credit for TSA Precheck/Global Entry (once per 4 years)

The credit can be used annually not once per AF period so you can use the incidental credit twice per AF, making this card a $105 moneymaker if you value AA gift cards

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$500 for $3000 spend

Chase

Chase has their infamous 5/24 rule. This can be a good avenue for people who want to travel often as their higher end cards offer boosts similar to BofA’s Preferred Rewards boost but I value cash back more

Freedom (CF) – Visa – No AF

Rewards

• 5% quarterly rotating cash back (category history), max $1500/quarter
• 1% all other purchases

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$200 for $500 spend

Sapphire Preferred (CSP) – Visa – $95 AF

I opened this card strictly for the SUB and plan on downgrading it to another Freedom (OG not the new Freedom Flex so I can get a FF in the future for the SUB)

Rewards

• 5x on travel purchases made on Chase Travel Portal
• 3x on dining and grocery
• 2x on travel
• 1x on all other purchases

Benefits

• 25% boost to rewards when redeemed towards Pay Yourself Back or travel portal
• $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit

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$1000 for $4000 spend (redeemed through PYB for $1250)

Capital One

Venture X – Visa – $395 AF

Rewards

• 10x on hotels/rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel Portal
• 5x on airfare purchases through Capital One Travel Portal
• 2x on all other purchases

Benefits

• $100 anniversary credit
• $300 annual credit for purchased through Capital One Travel Portal
• Priority Pass
• Cell phone protection
• Price drop protection when purchased through Capital One Travel Portal

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• 100,000 miles ($1000) with $10,000 spend
• First year $200 vacation rental credit (works for rent payments)

Citi

DoubleCash – MasterCard – No AF

I will probably PC this to something else now that I have the Venture X for 2x on all purchases now, undecided though

Rewards

• 1% back on all purchases
• 1% back on all payments made to the card

Premier – MasterCard – $95 AF

I opened this card strictly for the SUB and plan on downgrading it to a Rewards+

Rewards

• 3x on dining, gas, supermarkets, air travel, hotels
• 1x on all other purchases

Benefits

• $100 on a $500+ hotel stay made on thankyou.com
• Extended warranty of 2 years after manufacturers ends

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80,000 points ($800) for $4000 spend

Synchrony

These were cards I opened before I ventured into the churning game. I still use them but if I knew then what I knew now I may not have opened them

Amazon Store Card – Store Card – No AF (Need Amazon Prime for full benefits)

I would suggest the Chase Amazon card over this card

Rewards

• 5% back on all Amazon purchases (including Prime and AWS)

Banana Republic – Visa – No AF

Rewards

• 5% back at the Gap family of stores
• 1% on all other purchases
• Rewards in the form of Banana Republic cash

Benefits

• 5-10% coupon for Banana Republic purchases
• Free shipping on Banana Republic websites
• Occasional spend bonuses (eg. make 5 purchases outside of Gap family of brands in a month for $20 in Banana rewards)

Discover

it – Discover – No AF

Rewards

• 5% quarterly rotating cash back (category history), max $1500/quarter
• 1% on all other purchases

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Double rewards for the first year. I maxed this out for a value of $375 for $7500 spend (opened in the middle of a quarter)

Barclay

Something to note is Barclay waves all small balances on your card $1 and under. So if you leave your balance on the card at $1, they will credit you the $1 when your current cycle closes and your bill generates so you will not have to pay anything. Great for a $1 Patreon subscription or $0.99 iCloud subscription. More info here

View – MasterCard – No AF

~sigh~ this is a sad one. Originally this was an Uber Visa, which was a 4% back dining card with no AF. That was discontinued and changed to this useless card

Rewards

• 3x on dining
• 2x on grocery, internet, steaming, phone and TV services
• 1x on all other purchases

First National Bankcard Omaha (FNBO)

Ducks Unlimited – Visa – No AF

This card with this rewards scheme has been discontinued. I am grandfathered in.

Rewards

• 5% back on gas and sporting goods, uncapped
• 1% back on all other purchases

HMBradley (HMB)

This card ties into the HMBradley ecosystem which provides certain benefits towards their deposit products. I will have a writeup about HMBradley soon

HMBradley – MasterCard – $60 AF

I mainly use this card for the top category or large purchases. I use the niche categories to maximize rewards

Rewards

• 3% back on your top spend category
• 2% back on your second top spend category
• 1% back on all other purchases

This card has weird/unique cash back categories which are detailed here

Benefits

• Payments do not count against your deposit account’s savings percentage
• Tier boost when you meet the requirements (higher APY on deposit account)

Workers Credit Union (Elan)

Elan is the parent company to USBank. Many credit unions offer credit cards through Elan. Their cards can be found here

Max Cash Preferred – Visa – No AF

This card offers 5% on two categories of your choice. It is essentially a clone of the USBank Cash+ card but with more lenient underwriting and more broad categories

Rewards

• 5% back on recreation and utilities, max $2000/quarter
• 2% on dining
• 1% on all other purchases

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$150 for $500 spend

Cardless

Cardless is a new Fintech offering interesting cards in partnership with professional sporting teams

Boston Celtics – MasterCard – No AF

Rewards

• 10x on Celtics fanstore
• 7x on Celtics tickets & rideshare
• 4x on dining
• 2x on grocery & drugstores
• 1x on all other purchases

SUB

• $300 for $2500 spend
• One time $100 “Holiday bonus” for $1000 spend in ’21 holiday season