As another year begins I think it’s time to once again check-in and do an overview of My Wallet. As competition among credit card issuers heat up I think it’s important to look at the cards I carry to see if there are better options available.
So, after going through the cards currently in my wallet I’ll quickly discuss a few cards that are on my radar for early 2019. I don’t expect my wallet to change significantly in 2019, but I do expect to have a few additions.
American Express Platinum Card
By far the most “valuable” card in my wallet to begin 2019 is the American Express Platinum card. The card carries a hefty $550 annual fee, but I find that I easily get that amount of value from the card annually. The key benefits offered by this card are as follows:
- 5X Points on Airfare – $450 value ($6,000 airfare spend annually)
- 5X Points on Hotels
- $200 Airline of Choice Benefit
- $200 Uber Credits
- $100 Saks Credits
- Centurion Lounge Access
- Delta Sky Club Access
- Priority Pass Select Membership
- Access to Airspace and Escape Lounges
- Fine Hotels & Resorts
Right off the bat, each calendar year I receive $500 in statement credits from this card. That alone drops the effective annual fee of the card to just $50! For that, I primarily use this card to book airfare and typically earn about $450 worth of points from putting that spend on this card. So, all in all, I get about $400 of value from this card annually before factoring in lounge access.
Personally, I think it’s hard to put a value on lounge access, but let’s assume I visit 10 participating lounges annually. At the lounge I’ll have a drink and a snack which otherwise would cost $15 or so in the terminal. So, I think at minimum I’m getting $150 of value from lounge access. I suspect that value would increase substantially if I was a loyal Delta flyer or if I lived in a city with a Centurion Lounge.
Verdict: Keep
American Express New Metal (Rose) Gold Card
American Express made waves in late 2018 by completely overhauling the famed Gold and Premier Rewards Gold cards. Amex essentially eliminated the standard Gold card and enhanced the PR Gold card. With the improvement in card benefits Amex raised the annual fee to just $250 even though the card competes with the $450 annual fee Chase Sapphire Reserve card. When Amex announced the new metal Gold card I signed up within a few days as I fin the card’s benefits extremely exciting. The benefits I value the most from the card are as follows:
- $100 Airline Of Choice Benefit
- $120 Meal Credits ($10/month – Grubhub, Seamless, Shake Shack, and a few others)
- 4X Points On Dining
- 4X Grocery Store Purchases (Capped to first $25,000 of annual spend, 1X thereafter)
- 3X Points On “Travel”
As with the Platinum card, the Amex Gold card also comes with annual credits. In total I receive $220 back in credits from the card annually. Those credits help to drop the annual fee to just $30 a year. That means I only need to put $400 of dining or grocery store spend on the card annually to break even. In reality I put about $15,000 of dining or grocery store spend on a credit card, Given those spending habits I’ll earn well over $1,000 worth of Membership Rewards points this year.
Additionally, as with other American Express cards, I can pool all of my Membership Rewards points together. So, between the Gold and Platinum card I plan to earn at least 105,000 MR points this year. That’s enough for at least one awesome First Class redemption in 2020!
Verdict: Keep
Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
The third card in my wallet is one that helped build this blog. I say this because I happened to have started blogging regularly about when this card came out so about 10 of my first 50 posts were about this card. The card of course is the extremely popular Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
When the card came out I applied and received the 100,000 point signup bonus. I then used those points to fly Lufthansa First Class for the first time and absolutely loved it. Beyond the initial sign-up bonus, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with several benefits which help justify the $450 annual fee. Key benefits are as follows:
- $300 In Automatic Travel Credits Annually
- 3X Points On Travel and Dining
- Priority Pass Select Membership
Obviously the card comes with several other benefits, but these are the ones I value personally. The $300 annual travel credits help drop the effective annual fee to just $150. However, at $150 I’d need to put at least $3,400 of travel and dining spend on the card annually. While that doesn’t sound like a lot compared to the spend I put on both of my Amex cards, I don’t actually think I’ll put that much spend on this card in 2019.
At the moment the only reason I’m keeping this card open is because it offers 3X points on international dining whereas the Gold card only offers bonus points on domestic dining. With that being said I’m not sure how much longer I plan on carrying this card. For 2019 I’ll keep the card open, but it’s future in my wallet isn’t safe for 2020 if Chase doesn’t improve the card’s benefits this year.
Verdict: On The Chopping Block
Citi ThankYou Premier Card
I’ve noticed through the years that Citi’s card never receive the recognition they deserve. That’s unfortunate because Citi’s lineup of ThankYou credit cards is appealing. Toward the middle of that lineup is the Citi ThankYou Premier card which carries a $95 annual fee. For that fairly low annual fee I receive the following benefits:
- 3X ThankYou Points On All Travel Spend (including Gas)
- 2X Points On Dining and Entertainment
This is the card that I use for all of my “transportation” spend. I have this card linked to my public transportation accounts and use this card at the pump. In total, I have to put about $2,150 of travel spend on this card annually to make the card worth carrying. I’d say that each year I get very close to that.
Although I don’t get much value from the card now, I keep this card open because it gives me flexibility within the Citi Credit Card ecosystem. I’ll be surprised if I have this card by the end of 2019, but I won’t close the account. Rather I fully plan on converting this card to either the Citi Prestige card (new benefits) or the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard.
The Citi Prestige card recently introduced some very impressive changes while the Executive AAdvantage card offers Admirals Club membership. Either card would be a welcomed addition to my wallet in 2019.
Verdict: Convert
Above are the cards that I carry on a daily basis in my physical wallet. Below are several cards that I also have currently, but reside in my sock drawer.
Chase Freedom Card
The Chase Freedom card is one of the more unique credit cards on the market today. The card lacks an annual fee and earns 1% cash back on all purchases. Additionally, the card comes with quarterly 5% cash back bonus categories which allow cardholders to earn up to $75 in cash back quarterly (first $1,500 of spend).
While the Chase Freedom is a “cash back” card, Chase Sapphire customers can convert cash back into Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 rate. Given that favorable pooling structure, I earn an additional 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points annually from this card. Thanks to the extra points earning potential offered from this card and the lack of an annual fee, this card is safe in my wallet for the foreseeable future.
Verdict: Keep
Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Card
I’ve carried the Marriott Rewards since I first started traveling for work in 2014. Since then I’ve upgraded the card to the newly enhanced Marriott Rewards Premier card. The Premier card carries a slightly higher annual fee of $95, but offers a higher category free night certificate.
The interesting thing about this card is that I actually never use the card for spend. I don’t use the card at Marriott properties or anywhere else. Instead, I keep this card open because it gives me a free night in a Marriott Category 6 hotel (35,000 points/night) and 15 elite nights annually.
Every year I end up using the free night certificate at a property worth at least $95/night so I mostly break even on this card annually. For 2019 I hope to use increased free night certificate at a hotel with a nightly rate of more than $200 so that I come out further ahead than I have in the past.
Verdict: Keep
Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card
Similar to the Marriott card, I never put any annual sped on the United MileagePlus Explorer card. This card again carries a $95 annual fee and I get all of my value from the card back when traveling with United. Since I don’t maintain elite status with United I like carrying this card because it gives me priority boarding and a free checked domestic bag when traveling on United. Additionally, I receive two complimentary United Club passes annually which come in handy during long layovers or delays.
For now I’ll keep this card open for 2019 and years to come. I like having a few benefits when traveling on United since I don’t maintain elite status. However, if I ever end up switching to United and Star Alliance I’ll have little reason to continue carrying this card. Until then I’ll keep the card open and fully enjoy my two United Club visits annually. For 2019 I hope to visit the United Clubs in London Heathrow and in Los Angeles. According to ThePointsGuy, those are among the best United Clubs in the world.
Verdict: Keep
Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa
This is a car that I’ve had open since 2011 and currently serves as my oldest account. The card offers cash back, I guess, and carries a $0 annual fee. I only keep this card open to maintain my oldest credit account which helps my credit score. Since the card lacks an annual fee I have no plans to close the card, but I also will never put spend on this card either. Instead, the card sits in my sock drawer and is swiped about once a quarter for a pack of gum. Other than that, I never use the card.
Verdict: Keep
Additions The My Wallet In 2019?
Overall I’m pretty happy with my current portfolio of credit cards. I find that there is some overlap between the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Gold / Platinum combo, but for now I plan on keeping all accounts open. With that being said, there is at least one card I have my eye on for 2019.
Citi Prestige Card
As I hinted above, I think 2019 may be the year I add the Citi Prestige card back into my wallet. I had the card years ago, but downgraded it once the Citi eliminated the Admirals Club access benefit. Once that benefit was gone there was just too much overlap in card benefits to justify the $450 annual fee. Now, in 2019, the annual fee is still $450, but the card’s benefits are quite different. For 2019 the Citi Prestige card offers the following benefits:
- 5X Points On Air Travel Purchases
- 5X Points On Dining (Including International)
- 3X Points On Cruise Lines
- 3X Points On Hotels
- 4th Night Free Benefit (2X Annually)
- $250 Annual Travel Credit
- $495 Annual Fee
With the recent improvements to the Prestige card Citi also increased the annual fee to $495. With that cardholders receive $250 back in travel statement credits which drops the effective annual fee to just $245. That means after just $3,300 in Dining and Airfare purchases this card essentially pays for itself.
Additionally the card offers a 2X annual 4th night free benefit. This benefit gives you statement credit for the 4th consecutive hotel stay night twice a year. The value of the 4th night free benefit can vary drastically with some card holders using the benefit for hotels that cost $1,000 or more a night.
While I’m impressed by the Citi Prestige card I still need to do a lot of digging to figure out if it’s right for me. I think it’s a fantastic card if it is your only premium credit card, but if you have cards like the Platinum card or Sapphire Reserve card in your wallet, maybe it doesn’t make sense to carry another premium card.
Final Thoughts
Overall there aren’t may changes that I’d make to my wallet right now. I think I have a good mix of cards in my wallet that all offer unique benefits and therefore all serve a purpose. That being said, it’s important to always make sure paying an annual fee is the right thing to do. There is no point in paying an annual fee on a card if you aren’t getting any value out of it. For me, I think I’m getting value from each of the cards in my wallet right now. However, as the year goes on I’ll have to see if it still makes sense to carry the cards currently in my wallet.
