Personal
What’s in my wallet
The actual cards I carry, what I use each one for, and why — not what pays the most commission. Setup as of 2026.
Daily earners
Cards I reach for regularly to maximize points or cash back
American Express
Gold Card
4x groceries · 4x dining
Groceries (non-Walmart/Target)
4x on U.S. supermarkets is hard to beat for everyday spend. I also reach for it at restaurants when I want MR points over Chase.
See if this card is right for you →Chase
Freedom Unlimited
1.5x everything · 3x dining
Catch-all · Costco · Dining overflow
My default swipe for anything that doesn't have a better card. Costco only accepts Visa, so this covers gas and most in-store purchases there. I also use it for dining when I want to stack Chase points toward a transfer.
Chase
Sapphire Preferred
3x streaming · 3x dining
Streaming · Dining
3x on streaming is the highest multiplier on any transferable points card for that category. I also use it for dining when I want Chase Ultimate Rewards instead of MR.
See if this card is right for you →Chase
Freedom Flex
5x quarterly categories
Quarterly 5x categories
5x on rotating categories is one of the best return rates in the game — I activate every quarter and route my spend accordingly. Q2 2026 (Apr–Jun): Amazon.com + one other category. View current categories →
Citi
Custom Cash
5x top spend category
Gym membership
5x on your top spend category up to $500/month. My gym membership hits that category every month — effectively a set-and-forget 5% on a recurring bill I'd pay regardless.
Costco / Citi
Anywhere Visa
4% gas · 3% restaurants · 2% Costco
Costco in-store · Gas pump
Costco only accepts Visa in-store, and this card gives 4% on gas at Costco pumps. It lives in my wallet specifically for Costco trips — the Freedom Unlimited handles everything else there.
Chase (Amazon)
Prime Visa
5% Amazon & Whole Foods
Amazon when Flex isn't at 5x
5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods when you're a Prime member. I swap to the Freedom Flex when Amazon is a quarterly category — otherwise this is the default for anything Amazon.
Situational
Pulled out for specific offers, categories, or use cases
Citi
Strata Premier
3x dining · targeted offers
Targeted Citi dining offers
I activate this when Citi runs targeted merchant offers — got 10% back at Chipotle recently. The 3x on dining also makes it competitive, but I primarily use it opportunistically when Citi drops a strong promo.
See if this card is right for you →Goldman Sachs / Apple
Apple Card
3% Apple purchases · 2% Apple Pay
Keep-alive purchases · Apple financing
I make occasional Apple Pay purchases to keep the account active. Also useful for Apple product financing at 0% APR — that's the main reason it stays in the mix.
Keepers
Not used for spend — open to preserve credit history and available limit
American Express
Blue (Delta)
No annual fee · History anchor
Credit history · Available limit
I downgraded from the Delta Platinum to this to keep the account open. I don't use it for spend — it just preserves years of credit history and the credit limit without an annual fee.
Visa / Citi
My Best Buy Visa
No annual fee · History anchor
Credit history · Available limit
Same story as the Delta Blue — keeping it open for credit history and the limit it contributes to my overall utilization. No spend goes on it.
Former cards
Cards I've had in the past — cancelled, downgraded, or discontinued
American Express
Platinum (Original)
Opened Apr 2022 → upgraded to Schwab Plat
All flights + premium travel credits
My first Platinum card, opened April 2022. I product-changed to the Charles Schwab version to unlock the Invest with Rewards feature — cashing out MR points at 1.1¢ each into my brokerage account.
American Express
Platinum (Charles Schwab)
5x flights · 1.1¢/pt cash floor · cancelled
All flights + point cashout loophole
Cancelled this one — the annual fee got too hard to justify against what I was actually using each year. The 1.1¢/point cashout into my brokerage was great while it lasted, but the math stopped working for my current spend.
American Express
Platinum (Delta)
Downgraded → Delta Blue
Delta flights · checked bags · MQM boosts
Downgraded to the no-AF Delta Blue because I just wasn't flying Delta enough anymore to justify the annual fee — my travel shifted toward other airlines and transferable points.
Barclays
AAdvantage Aviator Red
50,000 mi SUB · 1 purchase · discontinued
AA miles · checked bag
Got this purely for the bonus — 50,000 AA miles after just one purchase, by far the easiest sign-up bonus I've ever earned. The card was discontinued when Barclays transitioned its AAdvantage portfolio to Citi.
Heads up: This reflects my personal setup and spending habits. The right wallet for you depends on your own categories, goals, and situation — the calculators are a better starting point if you’re building yours.