My Day to Day Strategy for Maximum Point Building

My best advice: Set yourself up with cards that earn the BEST points.
And then use the card that makes sense for that purchase.
Meaning, use a card that will get the most points/dollar.
I always have these cards in my wallet…

FOCUS ON THE MOST VALUABLE POINTS

When you are just starting, I believe 9 out of 10 people should start by focusing on Chase Ultimate Reward points and the easiest card to do that with is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Dining & groceries are 2 of our biggest spends. So this card gets a ton of use and earns us lots of points.

• 3x points for dining
• 3x points for online grocery (I order online, then do pick up – this doesn’t work for Target, Sam’s, etc – has to code as grocery)
• Incredible travel protections
• Gives you the ability to transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points (HUGE benefit!)
• Fantastic transfer partners (it’s the only bank that has Hyatt, Southwest & United as transfer partners!)

MY STOCK UP ON THINGS CARD….

This next card, paired with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a winning combination!

My Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is always in my wallet…

• 5x points/dollar at Office Supply stores, phone, internet, cable (up to 25K annually)

Yes, it’s a business card. But nowadays, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t have a side hustle! And you can definitely apply even if you just sell occasionally on FaceBook Marketplace! Here’s how.

**This offer looks like a cash back card – however, when you have the Sapphire Preferred (above) you’ll be able to use these as points.

EVERYTHING ELSE CARD

What is an “everything else card”? If you are going to purchase something, and none of your other cards will get you more than 1x point/dollar… then I absolutely recommend one of these cards…

For personal expenses…

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• 2x miles/dollar on EVERY purchase
• Low annual fee ($95)
• Fantastic transfer partners

OR, if you travel more than 1x – 2x a year, then I highly recommend the version of this card that provides lounge access and travel credit as a benefit…

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Same great 2x on every miles on every dollar
• Super generous airport lounge access
• $300 travel credit in the Capital One travel portal
• 10,000 miles anniversary bonus every year after the 1st year

For business expenses,

The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card gets 1.5x on EVERY purchase. No spending limit. And it has $0 annual fee and a generous welcome offer. With unlimited 1.5x back on everything, love knowing I’ll always get more than 1x on business expenses!

STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY

When you are starting out, I will tell you Chase should have all of your attention… for a while.

BUT then, I will tell you DIVERSIFY!
Banks often have transfer bonuses. I explain how those work here.
Being able to take advantage of those is HUGE and can result in fantastic points/miles savings. But, to have the best opportunity to take advantage of those… you need to Diversify your points.

NEW CARD WELCOME BONUSES

At the end of the day, the BEST way to get a lot of points at once is with new card welcome bonuses. You don’t need to get a ton a year. BUT when you do have a big expense (for us this is sports dues, summer camps, home repairs) I would highly recommend opening a new card. If you do this a few times a year, this will build your stockpile and then all of the cards above will just help ADD to that.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? What’s your favorite every day card?