What’s In My Wallet: The (Surprising) Credit Cards I Am Now Using

by Robert McGarvey

Used to be, mainly I used the American Express Platinum card, and I still am a fan but my usage is way down. Other, surprising cards have sprinted to top of my wallet and with each there is a reason. Times have changed. So do my cards.

Case in point: my most used card in the last quarter is the Amazon Prime card via Chase which is fee free. I use this card only at Amazon and Whole Foods where it delivers a 5% refund on purchases. The refund comes as points that are redeemable at Amazon and in December alone I got around $125 to spend via that route (and bought the cool Simple Human kitchen trash can with it because who wants to shell out a c note in cash for a garbage bin?)

For Amazon the card works because it converted this occasional Whole Foods shopper into a regular. And it works for me because the 5% makes it seem like Partial Paycheck.

In 2020 I got back $870.41, just for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods (actually $8.62 came from elsewhere, per a year-end summary).

Incidentally, via Chase, there is a way to convert the refund points into cash. I have never done it – I spend several hundred monthly at Amazon, month in, month out – so don’t ask for details. Just know that for those who want to cash out, there’s a way.

Next month my refund on that card will be down because in January and into February I switch to Sprouts to cash in on the Discover 5% cashback at grocers program. Discover caps the refund at $75 – which I always apply towards the credit card bill – so that will cover not quite two month’s of shopping. But I like exploring this Whole Foods lookalike and this is my time to do it.

In April the Discover 5% shifts to gas stations, wholesale clubs, and streaming services. I especially like the last bit because I feel the sting of losing the Amex $20 monthly credit on streaming services at year end 2020. It will be good to get a few pennies on Netflix and Hulu from Discover and, sure, I’ll buy some gas too (but who drives much these days?).

July-September the 5% shifts to restaurants and PayPal and my eyes lit up when I saw PayPal because the Amex $30 PayPal credit is set to expire June 30 so I will carry the discount forward a few more months with Discover. And come summer we just may be eating out more (tho I personally think that isn’t happening until 2022).

The last quarter the 5% shifts to Amazon, WalMart and Target and I don’t expect to use it much – but I will probably get around $150 from Discover by playing their 5% game this year.

Those three – Amex Plat, Amazon Prime, and Discover – are the three cards that claim 90% of my credit card spend. The quest in banking circles is to make their card top of wallet but, in my case, dream on.

There are three more cards in my wallet, probably one of which will go.

United Explorer. I’ve had this since it was Continental and it delivers many of the perks of low level elite status: free checked bag, priority boarding, 25% back on inflight purchases, and the real plum is reimbursement for Global Entry. There are also two club passes. At $95 a year it makes sense only when I am flying which, right now, I am not.

Barclay’s AAdvantage card. At $99, it delivers some of the perks of the United card but not all. There’s 25% back on inflight purchases, priority boarding, and a free checked bag. No TSA or Global Entry reimbursement. Mileage awards are doubled — a nice perk when I’m flying but of course I’m not.

Diners Club. The main get is the network of 1000 airport lounges globally and, in Europe, many of the lounges I have been to are swank indeed. An intriguing wrinkle is personalized rewards where members with over 50,000 points – I have 38,000 – can bag something they really want. Like what? Diners Club offers for instances: “Orthodontia: Nothing’s cheerier than your child’s bright smile. Bring a smile to your face too!
Purchase of land: A spread in Texas; a ranch in New Mexico? Your dream can come true. Down payment on a car: Drive away with an easy deal. Getting into your dream car is easier than you think. Condo rental for two months: Escape to a luxury condo on the beach — your home away from home. Personal wine cellar: Have you always wanted a custom wine cellar? Or, perhaps help selecting your own private collection? Now you can have it. Choose a premium wine rack system for 200 to 2,000 bottles or secure the services of a wine connoisseur.”

Diners Club is $95 annually, I’ve had it since 1985 (only Amex has been on my body longer) and, call me nostalgic, I am not giving it up.

A last card in my wallet is Lili, a Visa business debit card associated with a neo bank of the same name that is aimed at gig economy workers such as me. It’s free and Lili positions it as a painless way to track business expenses – just use Lili for tax deductible purchases and nothing else and that simplifies your life. I’m sold. It may not save me any money but time is money and it saves time.

Will I have all these cards a year from now? I doubt if I will have both the AAdvantage card and the United Card. If travel suddenly resumed, I would. But I don’t expect that to happen in 2021.

Now, what about you? What’s in your wallet? What can you close and not miss?