What’s in my wallet?

Please note, I do not have affiliate links so these links are just to the main card page and I receive nothing for it except the Capital One 360 card where you also receive $25 for opening an account.

Last update – June 4 – removed US Airways and added Chase Ink Bold.

Chase Sapphire Preferred, Hilton Surpass

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa – used at non-Hilton hotels, Restaurants, and anywhere internationally – $95 annual fee.
  • Hilton HHonors Surpass American Express – used at Hilton hotels, super markets – $75 annual fee
  • Costco True Earnings American Express – Used mainly at Costco although I could use the Hilton card there.  I use this to track spending to justify membership.  Technically free with membership or $55/year depending on how you look at it.  3% cash-back on gas is pretty darn good, but with payout just once a year I think that lack of immediacy cuts into the earnings.
  • US Airways Mastercard from Barclays – I should probably get rid of this one to make room for others, but I like it for the 5,000 points off award ticket redemption and 2 points per $ when I BOB on US Airways.  $89 annual fee
  • Chase Ink Bold MasterCard – fills the gap of office supply stores, internet/cable, cellular, and landline phone bonuses.  Not a huge spend category for me, but still over $200/mo.  This takes over non-Hilton hotels, rental cars (Avis gets 5% cash from MasterCard easy savings), and gas stations.  $95 annual fee (waived first year)
  • Capital One 360 debit Master Card – Mainly just when I need cash.  No Forex and free ATMs in the Allpoint ATM network which is many grocery stores and pharmacies.

Runners up:

  • Pentagon Federal Visa Gold – no forex and good balance transfers, but not enough slots in my wallet, but it does have chip/pin so I’ll add it before leaving the country.
  • JP Morgan Chase Visa – got the PenFed visa with Chip/Pin and shelved this due to not having the 7% bonus like CSP.  I will most likely cancel with the annual fee comes due if I haven’t converted the CL to another card by then.
  • Citi Professional – has primary rental coverage and 5% cash back at places like Avis, but not enough to stay in the wallet (and now the Chase INK Bold fills pretty much all of that gap)
  • Citi Hilton HHonors Visa – I keep it for history, but the Surpass has better Hilton earning (12 versus the 10 I’d get if I upgraded this to the annual fee version).