This weekend I did a bit of a purge. The poor wallet was bursting from the seams, and while that may sound like a good problem, unfortunately that’s not because it was loaded with cash, but had too many cards. In the purge, I thought, “what a good opportunity to highlight what’s sticking around, and why.” So here goes.
Here’s what’s left:
– State ID
– $80 in cash (1×20, 6×10)
– 1 loyalty card (I love my Spotty Dog ice cream, and who doesn’t want a free scoop?!)
– 1 Debit card
– 1 Store merchandise credit card
– 12 Credit cards
Why so many cards?
I love my optimization, so I’ve got MANY (but not quite all) of the cards I actively use. Some for spending. Others for occasional benefits. And even more as backups. I’ll break this down below.
Category 1 – “Core cards” – These are the bread and butter.
- Citi American Airlines Platinum Select – Currently working through the early spend bonus to earn 80,000 AA miles. This won’t last long at the front. Also the tap-to-pay is defective, so shame on Citi.
- Bank of America Preferred – This is my staple. Because I have my primary banking with BofA, I earn 75% bonus on all rewards. This card earns, as a result of that, 2.625% on all spend, and 3.5% on travel & restaurants. Truly hard to top.
- Bread AAA – Groceries card. 5% at all groceries up to $10k spend a year. Straight cash.
- Chase Amazon Prime – Temporary promotion has me earning 5% restaurants, 5% gas, 5% groceries until 12/31. Gas card & restaurant backup.
- Citi Custom Cash – Restaurants card. 5% (thank you points) on up to $500/month in spend.
Category 2 – “Rotating category cards” – Occasionally these make their way out.
- Discover It – 5% rotating categories, currently Amazon and Drug Stores. Already have Amazon card so this isn’t particularly helpful.
- Chase Freedom – 5% rotating categories, currently Department Stores.
Category 3 – “The stockpile” – There’s some good reason I’ve got each of these in there, but they live a very dark, hidden life.
- Capital One Venture X – Backup primary card. 2x on all purchases. C1 lounge access makes this a must-have.
- American Express Delta Skymiles Platinum Business – $10 monthly back for Resy restaurants, so I keep it for the occasional good discount.
- Mesa Homeowners Visa – This is an interesting one. I’m not actively using this now, but when I do some shuffling in the new year this is $20/month.
- American Express Platinum – Truth is, if I’m paying a disgustingly high annual fee, I don’t want to forget about it. Occasionally good offers. Lots of benefits.
- Capital One Corporate Card – I begrudgingly put work expenses on corporate card instead of do personal reimbursement.
The best part about my recent purge is my wallet lost some serious weight, and it almost fits in my back pocket without giving me a back ache. There have been some silly offers out there the past few months, so I had about a half dozen others that are now living a quiet life in the card-rolodex.
Is this many cards worth it for me to keep in there? For me, absolutely. For most sane folks, I think 2-3 would be more than enough to get 80% of the value I do.