Credit cards come along with different forms of rewards, different types of benefits, different redemption options, etc., etc., etc. Sometimes I feel that the banks are using a strategy similar to “if you can’t prove him then confuse him”. They make it so complicated that only the savviest will be able to figure out how to maximize it while all others will just end up being a wanna-be or outright suckers and never get the value that they dreamt of getting.

One of these simple examples is the following.

The card_name gives you a 50% bonus value to your points (total of 1.5 cents per point) when you redeem your rewards on Chase Travel. So the average consumer thinks, hey, this is great! My points are worth so much more so let me get that card and pay the $550 fee.

But it turns out that Chase has an even better card with no annual fee. 

The card_name earns 1.5 points on all general purchases. And even if you can only redeem your points for 1 cent per point you are still getting the same value as the card_name because you automatically earn 1.5 points on general purchases instead of 1 point. So 1.5 points (on card_name) and 1 point + 50% bonus when redeeming on Chase Travel (on card_name) is exactly the same value. 

The only difference is that for the card_name, to get that 1.5% value, you need to redeem the points for Chase Travel while on the card_name, you can use the points for whatever you like, including cashback. So which one is better? The card_name! (Besides for the 3 points on travel and dining on the card_name, which we will touch upon later).

Did I lose you already? If not, then great! The banks will not be able to fool you either…

Continue reading to see how a two-card strategy can go even further.

A simple Chase two-card strategy

Even if we pointed out above that the card_name is a better card to swipe on for general purchases, the card_name is still the better card to redeem your points on. And thankfully, these two things are not a contradiction. You can swipe on the card_name and then move the rewards to your card_name and redeem them for a higher value.

Using this two-card strategy will make it possible for you to earn 2.25% back on your purchases.

So the two-card strategy is very simple: Use one card to swipe and one card to redeem.

The same is true for Amex

With Amex, you can earn 2 points on the card_name (up to $50k a year). But if you redeem it for travel via the card_name to book a flight on Amex Travel (any flight with your chosen airline, or on any airline for business class and first class tickets) you get 35% back (up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year). That equals to a 1.54% value for your Amex Membership reward points. Another option is to cash it out through the The American Express Platinum Card for Schwab for 1.1% cashback when you deposit the money into your Chares Schwab account.

You can go a level further and create a trifecta or quads card strategy as well

Until now we discussed a simple two-card strategy for the savvy but not that savvy. But if you are a savvier savvy guy then you can get even better rewards by combining three, four, or even more cards!

Pick and choose which cards are needed for your own custom strategy based on where you do most of your spending, etc.  

This is how it will look with Chase

card_name

• Use to redeem your points at a 50% bonus
• Use for travel (3 points)
• Use for Lyft (10 points)

card_name

• Use for all purchases (1.5 points)
• Use for dining (3 points) 
• Use for drugstores (3 points) 

Chase Freedom Flex

• Use for the 5% rotating categories (gas, grocery, etc. These categories rotate each quarter)

card_name

• Use for office supplies (5 points)
• Use for gas stations (2 points) 

card_name

• Use for PPC marketing (3 points up to $150k in spend per year)  
• Use for shipping (3 points up to $150k in spend per year ) 
• Use for cell phone bills (3 points up to $150k in spend per year plus cell phone protection)  

Please note: I specifically left out the card_name as the points cannot be transferred to other Chase cards.

And this is how it will look with Amex

card_name 

• Use to redeem Amex points for airline tickets booked on Amex travel and get 35% back (book any class flight on your chosen airline or a first or business class ticket on any airline) 

• Use for swipes totaling $5,000 or more (1.5 points) 

• Use for U.S. construction material (1.5 points) 

• Use for shipping (1.5 points) 

The American Express Platinum Card for Schwab

• Use for flights (5 points for the first $500k you spend within a calendar year) 

• Use to cash out your points onto your Charles Schwab account for 1.1 cents per point 

card_name

• Use for U.S. supermarkets (4 points up to $25k per calendar year) 

• Use for U.S. restaurants (4 points) 

card_name

• Use for most travel categories (3 points) 

card_name

• Use for all other purchases (2 points up to $50K per calendar year) 

card_name

• Use it to get 4 points on the 2 categories where you spend the most each billing period (up to $150k in spending annually). The categories can be one of the following; U.S. gas stations, U.S. wireless purchases, U.S. restaurants, select media, and advertising (including PPC Marketing), select providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions, transit purchases, and electronic goods retailers.