Our 30 Credit Cards: Why We Have Them and Which Ones We’re Cancelling
Overview and Disclaimer
When I tell people we have 30 credit cards, they often look at me like I’m insane. The follow up question I always get is… Doesn’t that hurt your credit score? The short answer is… a little. There are a multitude of factors that go into your credit score, but new credit only comprises 10% of your score. I’ve been able to maintain a credit score well above 800 opening 5-6 credit cards a year on average. It’s important to remember that if you can’t pay off your credit cards each month, you shouldn’t be playing the credit card game. Many of these award cards carry interest rates from 15-30%. This quickly adds up and eliminates any upside you may get from opening new cards. I don’t go into every benefit below because that would basically be a novel, but I do touch on the main benefits I use for each card and my thought process opening each card. The cash value I give for each sign up bonus is an estimated average redemption value. If you optimize your redemptions, you can receive far greater value. Receiving optimal value usually involves booking international first or business class flights. Anna and I are traveling to Japan next year on tickets that normally cost over $40,000+ (see photo below). We paid 240,000 Virgin Atlantic points. If I was assigning the cash value for these tickets, I would peg Virgin Atlantic points at 18.35 cents each! Obviously I would never pay $44,054 for tickets to Japan and this is pretty much the most optimal way to utilize Virgin Atlantic points. That’s why I assigned a value of 1.5 cents per point instead of 18.35 cents. This would be the equivalency of paying $1800 for a round trip first class ticket to Japan. Would I pay that much for this flight if I didn’t have points? I’m not sure… but if I wanted to go to Japan next March, the least expensive direct flight in economy is $1763, so I think an $1800 value on a first class ticket is fair assessed value. It can get a little complicated, but if you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments. Without further ado we’ll dive into the cards!
Andrew’s Cards
AMERICAN EXPRESS
1.) American Express Gold -The American Express Gold is one of the best mid level cards out there. It allows you to earn 4x points on restaurants, bars, and groceries. I value Amex points at 2 cents per point, so this is 8% back on some of my biggest categories. Additionally, I receive $120 in uber credits and $120 credits on select restaurants each year (I mostly use these on Grubhub). This lowers my annual fee of $250 to $10 per year which is definitely worth it. I also received a 50,000 sign up bonus which I value at $1,000. Unless something fundamental about this card changes, I plan to keep this card in my wallet. Anna also currently has this card, so we will probably cancel one of our cards and make the other an authorized user since there is no fee to do this.
2. American Express Platinum - I received a 100,000 amex points sign up bonus for the platinum card. I value the sign up bonus as $2000, so this was the main reason why I signed up for the card. The card receives 5x points back on flights booked directly with airlines and anything through amextravel. I value this as 10% back, which is a great return rate. All other spending is only 1 point for each dollar which is underwhelming. The card recently increased the annual fee from $550 to $695 while adding a slew of underwhelming perks. I will be attempting to get a retention bonus (I received 30k points 2 years ago), but I will most likely cancel the card if I don’t receive one. The card has a multitude of credits that are just getting too difficult to use. I will most likely be added as an authorized user on Anna’s card so I can still get into the Centurion, Delta, Priority Pass, and Plaza Premium Lounges. This does cost $175, but it’s much less expensive than $695. The other main benefits of the card (travel protections, trip insurance, priority pass, and extended warranty) I receive with other cards, so they don’t really add much value for me personally.
3.) Hilton Aspire - The Hilton Aspire is the single best hotel credit card in my opinion. Although the card has a rather steep $450 annual fee, the card comes with a 150k Hilton point sign on bonus which I value at $750. Additionally, you receive a weekend night certificate good at any Hilton property in the world. This includes the luxury brands Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, and LXR. Combined with a $250 resort credit, $250 airline fee credit, priority pass (only for lounges), and Hilton Diamond status, this card is a no brainer and easy to get value out of. We used our weekend certificates for free nights in an overwater villa in the Maldives. Although we booked a standard overwater villa, we got upgraded to a grand over water villa due to our diamond status (this isn’t gauranteed and we did travel during covid). This room goes for $1500+ a night and was an amazing experience for our honeymoon. We also used our certificates to book the ROKU KYOTO LXR hotel next year in Japan. A single night at this hotel is currently retailing for $1708.31. The weekend certificate allows you to get an outsized value from this card. Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG all limit your choice of hotels you can use for your free nights from credit cards. I’m hopeful Hilton doesn’t follow suit, but I plan to use these certificates to the fullest extent until they put limitations on them. The last big perk of this card is Diamond status. This is the top status at Hilton. This allows you to earn 20x points for every dollar spent at Hilton properties, receive free breakfast every day, and have access to upgraded rooms and late check outs when available. I’ve heard some people say the benefits are watered down in the USA due to so many people having this card, but when we travel abroad there are very few diamond members. We also get access to executive lounges which can provide snacks, dinner, and free drinks. This card has probably given the most value out of all the cards in our wallet. The only time I use this card for spend is at Hilton properties. You receive 14x points which I value at 7 cents. When combined with your Hilton Status, you will receive a minimum of 34 points per dollar spent which I value at 17 cents back.
4.) Hilton Surpass - I applied for the Hilton Surpass card for a very specific reason. I was planning a honeymoon to the Maldives. The card has a $95 annual fee. I received a 150,000 point bonus which I value at $750. Normally, I wouldn’t put spend on this card beyond achieving the sign on bonus, but if you spend $15,000 in a year, you receive a weekend night certificate for any Hilton property (the same as the Aspire receives automatically). Since I was able to put my rent on a credit card when we lived in New Jersey, we were able to manufacture the $15,000 spend. Normally I wouldn’t spend any money on this card due to Aspire having a better return at Hilton properties (14x vs 12x). This card also gives you gold status, but it’s redundant if you have diamond through the Aspire card. I will be canceling this card this year as I will not be spending $15,000 and I am not eligible for a retention bonus as I received one last year.
5.) Marriott Brilliant Bonvoy - The Marriott Brilliant card is an interesting card. I only spend $300 on this card each year, but I plan on keeping it. The card has a $450 annual fee, but you receive a $300 credit on any Marriott spending. This includes rooms! We stay at a Marriott at least once a year, so this effectively lowers the fee to $150 a year. I received a 100,000 point sign on bonus which I value at $700. I also received Platinum status (please note that this was a limited time offer and people only receive Gold status now). The card also gives you a free night worth up to 50,000 points. I value this at $350. Since I received Platinum status, I also receive breakfast at Marriott properties and potential room upgrades. The card only receives 6x points at Marriotts which I value at 4.2 cents. Considering I can receive 3 points from the Citi Premier or Chase Sapphire card which I value at 6 cents and 5.2 cents respectively, I never spend money beyond the $300 Marriott credit on this card.
6.) Delta Gold - I applied for the Delta Gold card for a very specific reason. We are planning to travel to South Dakota to visit Anna’s grandparents and the flights can get very expensive (500+ per person for economy). Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options and Delta is the only airline that flies into the town. The card costs $99 a year, but the fee is waived the first year. The card has a 70k sign on bonus which I value at $700. It also has a $200 delta flight credit during the first year. Additionally, Anna had a referral link that netted her 30k Amex points which I value at $600. I will cancel the card when the annual fee is due next year since we rarely fly delta and the point of this card was to provide a free trip to South Dakota.
CHASE
7.) Sapphire Reserve -The Chase Sapphire Reserve was my first high end credit card. It had an annual fee of $450 a year. Unfortunately, the fee is going up to $550 this year. I received a 50,000 point sign on bonus which I value at $900. The card also has a strong earning structure with 3x points for restaurants and groceries. I value this at 5.4% back which is solid, although this used to be industry leading years ago. The card comes with a $300 travel credit which is very easy to use. It covers flights, ridesharing, taxis, hotels, sites like expedia, or basically any travel related purchase you can think of. This effectively brings down the fee to $150 ($250 starting this year). The Chase Sapphire Reserve has access to priority pass lounges like Amex, but there is a significant difference between the two. Amex’s priority pass only works at lounges while Chase’s works at restaurants and non lounge experiences in the airport. This gives you a lot of flexibility. We often stop by Gameway at DFW to get snacks and a drink for free. We could play video games, but we really just use it for the free snacks. When we were in Peru, the lounges had lackluster food and a drink limit. Fortunately, our Chase priority pass allowed us to go to multiple nice restaurants to get food and drinks. They usually limit you to $28 per person per restaurant, but you can hit up multiple restaurants at some airports. This is one of the biggest differentiators of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and why I continue to hold onto this card. The card also provides $60 of Doordash credits which brings the fee down to $90 (soon to be $190). I also used the free year of Lyft Pink which unfortunately recently expired. You receive 15% off rides which almost always made Lyft less expensive than Uber. If the Reserve card continued to provide a free Lyft Pink pass, I would keep this card without a second thought. With the Lyft Pink pass expiring, I am having to make a difficult decision on whether or not to downgrade this card to the no fee Chase Freedom Flex. Beyond the priority pass benefit, the other biggest benefit I use this card for is booking award travel. The Chase Sapphire cards provides the best trip cancellation insurance, trip delay insurance, and baggage delay insurance. Additionally, if you pay the taxes and fees of an award ticket with this card, you receive all the benefits for your ticket. A good example would be our honeymoon flight. We paid 140,000 American Airlines miles along with $57.43 in taxes and fees for our round trip ticket to the Maldives in Qsuites. Although the Amex Platinum earns 5x points, we paid with the taxes and fees with our Chase Reserve and earned 3x miles. Since the points are negligible, I would rather have the trip protections from Chase. Amex will only provide travel protections if you pay the entire ticket in cash and it’s a round trip ticket. This makes Chase significantly more flexible and gives us peace of mind when we travel. The final benefit I use the Reserve for is its insurance coverage for rental cars. Unlike most credit cards that provide car rental insurance, Chase provides primary insurance not secondary. This is great! That means if you get in a wreck, you don’t have to go through your personal insurance first. I always pay for rental cars with this card.
8.) United Explorer (downgraded to United Gateway): I got the United Explorer card when I moved to New Jersey. Newark is a hub of United and this card saved us a ton of money on checked bags. This card also came with a 60,000 mile sign on bonus. I value this at $780. These points helped us travel to Peru in United’s lie flat Polaris business class. A round trip ticket is only 70,000 miles, so this card almost paid for our round trip ticket in business class to Peru. The card also comes with 2 passes to a United Club lounge of your choosing. United Club lounges are mediocre at best, but we definitely used these each year. The annual fee is $95 a year. Once we moved back to Dallas, Anna and I both downgraded these cards to the no annual fee United Gateway card. We don’t receive any benefits and only use the card once a year so it doesn’t get canceled. This does however allow us to keep our credit history intact for no fee.
9.) World of Hyatt - The main reason I signed up for the World of Hyatt card was for the sign up bonus of 50,000 points and the annual free night. I value the sign up bonus at $900. Additionally, I value the free night up to $270 as you can book a room up to 15,000 points. Considering the annual fee is only $95, I have no plans of cancelling this card. Additionally, you receive automatic Discoverist status. Although this isn’t that great… you do receive free high speed internet, two bottles of water, late checkout, and bonus points when staying at a Hyatt.
CITIBANK
10.) Citi Premier - The Citi Premier is probably the best all around credit card under $100 costing only $95 a year. This card receives 3x points back on air travel, hotels, gas stations, supermarkets, and restaurants. This pretty much encapsulates the majority of my spending. I also value Citi points at 2 cents each, so you’re basically get 6 cents back on these categories which is great for a $95 fee. The card comes with an 80,000 point sign up bonus which I value at $1600. The other big perk of this card is a 24 month extension of any manufacturer warranty. This is phenomenal! Even if the warranty is only 6 months, your warranty will be extended to 2 years 6 months if you purchase it with the Citi premier card. Even premium cards like the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve don’t offer more than a 1 year extension of a warranty. I have no plans of cancelling my Citi Premier card, especially since they just added American Airlines as a new transfer partner.
11.) Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select - I have actually owned this card twice. In order to receive a second sign up bonus you have to wait 48 months. Both times I received a 60,000 mile sign up bonus. I value this sign up bonus at $900 0r $1800 total. I really don’t put any spend on this card unless I am buying an American ticket and need a free checked back. The earning rate on American flights is only 2 miles per dollar which is very underwhelming. I will most likely cancel this card once the annual fee is up. This card did allow us to book our honeymoon flight to the Maldives in Qatar airway’s famous Qsuites.
12.) Citi 2% Cash Back - The Citi 2% Cash Back card is one of the best general spend cards. The 2% cash back is nice, but what separates this card is the ability to transfer the cash to points. Since I value each Citi point at 2 cents, this gives me a 4% return on every day spending. I consider this return the best in the industry for every day spend. The card also has no annual fee. Everyone should own this card and I have no plans of canceling this card.
BANK OF AMERICA
13.) Asiana Visa Signature - I got the Asiana card pretty late in my credit card strategy. Chase has the infamous 5/24 rule which I didn’t optimize and I regret. However, I learned Bank of America has an informal 7/12 or 3/12 rule. This means you will be denied for a new card if you have had 7 or 3 credit card applications in the past 12 months. You can have 7 applications if you have an account with Bank of America (which I have). I was running out of cards to apply for, so I decided to max out my Bank of America cards to 7. I applied for the Alaska, Virgin Atlantic, and Asiana card to get me to the 7 applications in 12 months (I had prior Chase, Citi, and Amex applications). The Asiana card only comes with a 30,000 miles sign on bonus, but I value these at $480. It’s not an amazing sign on bonus, but Asiana miles have some amazing sweet spots and are very difficult to earn. When I went to renew the card, they offered me a $100 credit for minimal spend. This is more than the annual fee, so I decided to take it. I plan on cancelling this card as I don’t have much use for it other than the sign on bonus.
14.) Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards - This was one of my first credit cards from all the way back in college. It’s actually a phenomenal card if you’re only interested in cash back. You can get up to 2.62% cash back on every day spend which is is the highest in the industry. Unfortunately, you are not able to transfer to any point system or airlines to receive outsized value. Additionally, to receive the top rate you must have $100,000 in your bank of America accounts (which I do not). If you don’t have over $20,000 in your Bank of America accounts, you will only receive 1.5% cash back which is mediocre at best. The only reason I still have this card is that there is no annual fee and it greatly helps my credit score due to the account being in good standing and over 7 years old.
CANCELED CARDS
15.) Virgin Atlantic World Elite - I applied for the Virgin Atlantic credit card during my Bank of America credit card run. I received 80,000 points which I value at $1200. I wanted to Virgin Atlantic points to redeem on an incredible rewards sweet spot, a first class round trip ticket to Japan on ANA. This only costs 110,000 or 120,000 miles depending on if you leave from the East or West Coast. These tickets normally go for over $20,000, so this is an incredible value. You can read the review below. I cancelled this card after one year as I had no use for the card other than the sign on bonus and I didn’t want to pay the $90 annual fee.
https://onemileatatime.com/ana-first-class-suite-review/
16.) Alaska Airlines Visa - This card was also applied for during my Bank of America credit card run. I received a 40,000 point sign on bonus. I value these points at $720. Although this isn’t a lot of points, Alaska points are incredibly valuable. We originally booked Cathay Pacific business class from America to the Maldives for only 50,000 Alaskan points (one way)! Unfortunately this route was cancelled during the pandemic and we were forced to rebook the trip on Qatar using American points. We are now planning to travel to New Zealand from America in Cathay Pacific first class for 80,000 miles. These tickets easily go for over $20,000 so this is another amazing deal. You can read the review below. The other benefit of the card is a companion pass. It lets you pay $121 to bring a companion with you on any Alaskan flight (even to Hawaii). This is only for economy flights. This is actually a decent deal and you can extract pretty decent value out of it. I ended up cancelling the card when my $75 annual fee came up due to wanting to reapply for this card again to get an additional sign up bonus. I plan to reapply for this card soon.
https://onemileatatime.com/review-cathay-pacific-first-class-777-300er-new-york-jfk-to-hong-kong/
17.) Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select (cancelled and then reapplied 4 years later) - As mentioned above. I cancelled this card when I moved away from Dallas and reapplied when I moved back.
18.) Marriott Bonvoy Boundless - This card has a $95 fee and is a pretty good deal. I used this card when I traveled extensively for work. I received a 100,000 point bonus on this card which I value at $700. You also receive complimentary gold status. You don’t get a ton with gold status, but you do get late check out and high speed internet access. The card also comes with a free night worth up to 35,000 points which I value up to $245. I had a slightly different version of this card back in the day and did not get a free night. This was the main reason I cancelled this card. I do not plan to apply for this card again due to having the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant card which I think is a stronger card.
19.) Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite - Anna and I both got the Barclays Aviator card to get enough miles to book our honeymoon. We wanted to fly Qsuites to the Maldives and needed 280,000 American Airlines miles to do this. The sign up bonus for this card was 60,000 miles and required only $1 of spending which is incredible. I value the 60,000 miles at $900. Our four American credit cards have netted us 240,000 miles which could almost have covered both round trip tickets to the Maldives in Qatar’s amazing Qsuites. Anna and I both ended up cancelling this card because we didn’t want to pay the $99 fee and we already had the AAdvantage Citi card if we needed a free checked bag. Below is a great review on the Qsuites. We would definitely recommend experiencing them!
https://onemileatatime.com/qatar-airways-qsuites-a350-review/
Anna’s Cards
AMERICAN EXPRESS
1.) American Express Gold - As mentioned above, this is one of my favorite cards. Due to the $240 in annual credits, the $250 annual fee is really lowered to $10. I was able to refer this card to Anna. I received 20,000 points for referring and she received a 60,000 sign up bonus. This netted us $1600 in value in addition to the great 4x points on dining and restaurants.
2.) American Express Platinum - Anna got the card for the same reasons mentioned above. I referred Anna this card and received a 30,000 point bonus. Anna received a 100,000 sign up bonus with 10x points back on gas stations and groceries for 6 months. This netted us an additional 20,000 points. This netted us 150,000 points which I value at $3,000 in addition to all the other amazing benefits of this card mentioned earlier in the article. With the annual fee increasing from $550 to $695, we will be cancelling either Anna’s card or mine. It will depend on if they give either of us a retention bonus.
4.) American Express Hilton Aspire - I referred Anna for the Hilton Aspire since I believe it’s the single best hotel card (as mentioned above). I received a referral bonus of a 4X amex point bonus on up to 25k spend. This equals 100k amex points or ($2,000!!!). This was a no brainer for us. We’re using her free night for the Conrad Tokyo which goes for over $400 a night in addition to the $200 Hilton credit and $250 airline fee credit. This more than pays for the $450 fee credit. She also receives 150k Hilton points sign on bonus. I value this at $750. We will probably keep this card long term.
CHASE
5.) Chase Sapphire Preferred - Anna got the Chase Sapphire Preferred solely for the sign up bonus. Since I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which is better in every category, we never use this card. I will say that this is a great intro card for someone looking to get into the points game as the annual fee is only $95. The sign up bonus is currently 100,000 points which is phenomenal for a $95 fee card. I value this sign up bonus at $1800. Considering the sign up bonus is so high and the annual fee is so low, I would recommend anyone under the 5/24 rule to get this card.
6.) United Explorer (downgraded to free card) - Anna signed up for this card for the sign up bonus which was 60,000 points. I value these United miles at $900. Additionally, Anna used this card for her United flights when we lived in New Jersey. We chose to downgrade this card to a no fee card so Anna’s credit score wouldn’t take a hit.
7.) World of Hyatt - Anna got the card for the same reasons I did. The 50,000 point sign up bonus valued at $900 and the annual free night worth up to 15,000 points which I value at up to $270 dollars. This is an amazing value for a $95 annual fee card. We plan to keep both of our Hyatt cards unless they change the benefits.
CITIBANK
8.) Citi Premier - Anna got the card for the same reasons I did. We both plan to keep this card due to the low annual fee of $95 and great benefits. The 80,000 point sign up bonus worth $1600 is also top notch.
9.) Citi Advantage - The main reason Anna got this card was for the 60,000 sign up bonus. We used all our AA points on our honeymoon and were looking to increase our stash. I value the 60,000 miles at $900. Additionally, the free checked bag is a nice perk since we live in the Dallas area. We will most likely cancel or downgrade this card when the annual fee is up again.
Navy Federal
10.) Visa Signature Cash Rewards - This was Anna’s only credit card before meeting me. It has a $0 annual fee and you receive 1.5% cash back. Considering we receive 2% cash back with the Citi card, this card really serves no purpose anymore. We won’t cancel this card since it has a $0 annual fee and it’s critical to Anna’s credit score due to being such a big part of her credit history.
Cancelled Cards
11.) Ink Business Card - We signed up for Anna’s business Green Light Dance Project. It doesn’t count toward her 5/24, so we got this before she went over the limit. The sign up bonus was 80,000 points, but has been bumped up to 100,000 points. I value 80,000 points at $1440. The card has a $95 fee and you receive 3x points back on travel, shipping, cable, internet, telephone services, and advertising purchased through social media or search engines. It’s a very good business card, but Anna decided to close it once she started working for another dance studio in New Jersey.
12.) Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite -As mentioned above, we got this card for our honeymoon trip. Anna has since canceled it, but not before receiving a 60,000 point sign up bonus that I value at $900.
Summary and Future Plans
In sign up bonuses alone, we’ve netted $28,590 in value. This doesn’t take into account card benefits, referral bonuses, or retention bonuses. Many of these cards do have annual fees, but by cancelling the cards after 12 months or receiving a lucrative retention bonus, these can be mitigated. We’ve spent well over a million points and miles and have no plans of stopping in the near future. While we still travel economy for domestic flights, we pretty much exclusively travel business or first class international thanks to points. While not everyone feels comfortable opening 30 cards, even opening 1 or 2 cards can help you secure an international business or first class trip for a dream vacation. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!
