Credit Cards I Use For Each Major Bonus Category

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Thank you for your support!The best way to maximize travel reward is to ensure you apply for the best credit cards and use the right credit cards to pay for your daily expenses.The card that suits your spending habits best can make the difference between earning one point per dollar or five points per $1.We've seen so many new cards introduced over the years that will help you make the most of every dollar you spend. In the old days, I would earn approximately one point for every dollar I spent. Today, I average multiple points per dollar.The Best Credit Card BonusesGiven the changes in the credit card landscape, I thought it would be worth sharing which cards I currently use for major spending categories, based upon my cards portfolio.These are the cards that I use in various categories. They are ranked by the number of points per dollar and the lowest points per dollar.Buy AirfareThe Platinum Card (review) from American Express is what I use for my airfare purchases. It offers 5x points on airfare purchased directly through airlines or through Amex Travel. This card can be used up to $500,000 per year, which I don't think I will exceed. These points are worth 1.7 cents per point, which gives 8.5% return. The Amex Platinum also offers great travel protection, including the ability to purchase airfare on the card.Find out more about the top credit cards for airline purchases.Earn 5x points for every purchase of airfareRestaurant PurchasesCiti Prestige Card is my preferred card for dining. It offers 5x ThankYou Points per dollar spent on dining abroad. These points are worth 1.7 cents each and yield 8.5%.Find out more about the top credit cards for dining.Earn 5x points for dining purchasesMobile phone, internet, and cable purchasesThe Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (review), I use for my cell phone purchases. It offers 3x Ultimate Reward points and has a great protection plan. The card offers 5x Ultimate Reward points and no annual fees, so I'm using it for internet and cable purchases.You can see that I have given up some points on my cell phone purchases to use the Ink Business Preferred. However, I consider it worth it for the extra protection.The Ink Preferred cell phone protection is something I appreciate.Office Supply Store OrdersThe card has 5x points and no annual fees. I use it for office supplies. This card is quite useful because you can find a surprising amount of products at office supply shops.These points can be combined with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card (review), Chase Sapphire Preferred Card(review) or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (review) to convert into Ultimate Rewards points.Rotating Quarterly Category BuysChase Freedom FlexSM, which has no annual fees, offers 5x points on rotating quarterly categories and up to $1,500 per quarter in spending. The card offers 5x points for purchases made at grocery stores and selected streaming services in the third quarter 2021. These rewards can also be combined with other cards to convert into Ultimate Rewards points.Order Food DeliveryPostmates and Uber Eats are two of my favorite services, so it makes sense to create a separate category. It is interesting to see how credit cards categorize food delivery services. Some view them as the same as restaurants while others don't.The Citi Prestige card is my preferred choice for food delivery services. It offers 5x ThankYou Points on purchases. Postmates and Uber Eats are treated as restaurants.Receive 5x points for food deliveryUS Supermarkets PurchasesThe Amex EveryDay Pr preferred Credit Card from American Express (review), I use for US supermarket purchases. It offers up to 4.5x Membership Reward points on purchases made at US supermarkets.You earn 3x Membership Rewards points for every $6,000 you spend in a calendar year at US grocery shops. Then, you receive a 50% bonus if you make at least 30 transactions each billing cycle.Find out more about the best credit card for grocery purchases.Earn 4.5x points for grocery store purchasesAdditional Travel PurchasesThe Chase Sapphire Reserve is my preferred choice for non-airfare travel purchases. It offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points on all travel coded purchases. This includes Ubers, taxis, and parking. You can find out more.This is the only exception:Earn 3x points for most travel purchasesPurchases at US Gas StationsAmex EveryDay Preferred Credit Cards offer up to 3x Membership Rewards points for purchases at US gas stations. You earn 2x Membership Rewards points when you purchase US gas stations. Then, you receive a 50% bonus if you make at most 30 transactions per billing cycle.This is the card that I use to purchase gas stations when I rent a car.Find out more about the best credit card for gas station purchases.Earn 3x points for gas station purchasesPurchases at US DrugstoresThe no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited (review), is my preferred card for US drugstore purchases. It offers 3x points. These rewards can be combined with selected cards to convert into Ultimate Rewards points.All-day, non-bonused personal spendingThe Citi Double Cash Card, which has no annual fees, is my favorite card for personal spending. You get 1% cashback when you purchase the card, and 1% when you pay for it.This card is so amazing because, when combined with a ThankYou card, cash back rewards can be converted to ThankYou points at a rate of one cent per ThankYou Point. This means that I earn two ThankYou Points for every dollar spent. This is a remarkable amount of flexibility, especially in these uncertain times.Find out more about the best credit card for everyday spending.Everyday, non-bonused business spendingMy go-to card for business spending is the Blue Business Plus Credit Card by American Express (review), with 2x Membership Rewards points for the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year (1x thereafter).Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card (review) is available at no annual fee. It offers unlimited 1.5x points which can be converted to Ultimate Rewards points.Bottom lineAfter all, I average over 3x points per dollar of spending, which I consider a solid return. Although I don't recommend everyone has as many credit cards, I believe it is worth strategically choosing a few cards with big bonus categories to help you shop for the most important things.This compares to the cards you use for maximum spending.