Right now, Kristyn and I combined have 26 credit cards; 15 for me and 11 for Kristyn.
From American Express, I have the Platinum, Gold, Hilton Aspire, Bonvoy Brilliant, Bonvoy Business, Delta Reserve*, and cash magnet*. From Chase, I have a Sapphire Preferred, Ink Preferred, Southwest Business Performance, Freedom Unlimited*, Freedom Flex, IHG Premier, and World of Hyatt card. In addition to these, I also have the Capital One Venture X.
Kristyn has more Chase cards at the moment: a Sapphire Preferred, Ink Preferred, Ink Unlimited, Southwest Priority*, and IHG Premier. From Amex, she has a Business Gold, Bonvoy Brilliant, Blue Cash*, and Delta Blue*. She also has a few very old cards that we don’t use anymore but want to keep the age of the accounts on our credit reports: Capital One Quicksilver*, and two store cards*.
* denotes cards that we don’t use but are old and valuable to our credit history
Looking back first on 2022, I opened my Venture X, Delta Reserve, and World of Hyatt cards, and product changed my old Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom Flex, then opened a new Sapphire Preferred. I also closed my Business Gold, because I wasn’t using it enough for the annual fee when I was earning in similar categories on other cards. Kristyn opened the Ink Unlimited and IHG Premier during 2022. Our strategy for the year was really to round out the cards that we would be able to keep and use long term, such as a Freedom Flex, Venture X, and a couple hotel cards. The Delta Reserve, I honestly only opened because they were offering the special edition version constructed from retired Boeing 747 material, which is very cool. Lastly, the IHG and Ink cards Kristyn opened (plus the Venture X and Delta cards of mine) were targeted because of elevated signup offers.
In 2023, our strategy will remain largely the same. First, grab a couple new cards we’ll use regularly for some category we don’t have covered yet. Second, leave ourselves the opportunity to take advantage of limited-time signup bonuses. I’m still working on the longer portion of the World of Hyatt signup bonus (elevated earning over 6 months), and Kristyn is still in the middle of the Ink Unlimited’s signup bonus as she ramps up her business. Third, World of Hyatt will really be a focus for me this year; in the past, I’ve been partial to Hilton, but I’m chasing Hyatt status this year, and will also try to reach the additional free night offered for spending $15k in a calendar year on the Hyatt card. Lastly, we both want to simplify our strategy a bit by closing some less-used cards and relegating others to the sock drawer.
With our combined 26 cards, we both want to simplify. I particularly want to simplify my own 15 cards a lot. It’s a lot to keep track of! I’ll likely close 3 or 4 cards that are less-frequently used, but have annual fees on them. My Southwest Business Performance, Bonvoy Brilliant, and Delta Reserve are likely on the chopping block.
There are 3 cards I’m thinking of opening this year (but probably won’t open all of): the Amex Green, British Airways card, and an American Airlines card. The Amex Green is a pretty low effective annual fee and has high transit earning (I’ll do a post about that card soon!), which I don’t have in a personal card right now, though the Ink Preferred covers it. The British Airways card has a healthy signup bonus of pretty useful BA Avios, and also offers partial reimbursement for taxes and fees on award tickets. We’d like to be at a place of being able to travel internationally more often, and this is a card that could certainly help going to or through the UK. American Airlines is who I currently fly with most often, particularly for my W2 job. I have a fair amount of miles with them, but could always use more from a signup bonus, particularly if there’s an elevated one offered at some point. I’m also thinking of getting the Admiral’s version that grants AA club access for the smaller airports I use which don’t have chain-branded lounges. My goal is to end this year with the same number of open cards that I start with, but also keep my eye out for elevated bonuses or new card offerings (like a rumored Citi card).
For Kristyn, the first part of the plan is to open a Bilt rewards card. This is a unique card that earns on rent, and deserves a post of its own. She recently started renting a space to work from, so it’s great timing for this card. She also has a 5/24 spot available with Chase, so we may find another Chase card she can open, such as a Hyatt card or one of the Freedom cards. Either the new Citi card or the existing Citi Premier card would be a good addition to her wallet, and good for us to collectively have on gas. And towards the end of the year, I might refer her to a Hilton card to double up on the free night, and earn a bunch of signup points.
Creating plans like this are how we take amazing, heavily subsidized, aspirational trips. Check out some of our other posts for more!
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