My 2021/22 major credit card reshuffle 

01/10/22 Update

2021 was an incredible year of point accumulation and was the start of my major wallet reshuffle. My ambitions weren’t quite reached, but by the end of the year, I had 23 credit cards in my wallet – 8 ( 9 if you count Brex ) added in 2021 and well over 1 million points earned via welcome offers and referrals. I’m sitting at 4/24 having added 4 personal cards: Citi Thank You Premier, Chase IHG Premier and World of Hyatt, and Capital One Venture X.

The biggest surprise by far was the new addition of the Capital One Venture X – what I called a Chase Sapphire Reserve killer and multiple Amex Business Plat and Gold targeted offers. In fact, I’m sitting on another 150k Amex Biz Plat and 90k Biz Gold physical mailer offers that I haven’t accepted.

My goal of 2022 is to rotate in some of the cobrand cards, perhaps Chase Sapphire Preferred again after I downgrade my existing card to a Freedom Unlimited at some point. I would have loved to hit that 100k offer, but even at 60k I’ll most likely pull the trigger since it’s a very strong offer historically and would push me up and over the 5/24 mark. I’d been strategically staying under the limit just in case a premium chase business card was released – it was, and it’s a big disappointment from my perspective.

There is a ton of hype around BILT and even though I’m a homeowner I may add it to my wallet just to I can properly review and recommend the experience for other readers – their app is fantastic and I really think the people around the program are disrupting the marketplace in a good way.

Here’s what I currently have in my wallet – notes of when I picked up the card

9 American Express cards

• 1 personal Plat
  • upgraded from gold to plat in 2021
• 1 personal Gold
  • upgraded from green to gold In 2021
• 3 Business Plat
  • 2 Amex Biz Plats added in 2021
    • 150k offer
    • 100k offer
• 2 Business gold
  • Both added in 2021
    • 80k offer
    • 90k offer
• 1 Blue Business
• 1 Blue Business Plus

3 Citi Cards

• Citi Thank You Prestige
• Double Cash
• Citi Thank you Premier
  • added in 2021 with 80k offer

9 Chase cards

• 2 Ink business preferred
• 1 Ink business cash
• 1 ink business unlimited
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Freedom
• Chase World of Hyatt
  • added end of 2022 with 60k offer posting 2021
• Chase IHG Rewards Select
• Chase IHG Rewards Premier
  • added in 2021 with 150k offer

1 Capital One

• Capital One Venture X
  • added in 2021 with 100k offer

1 Brex card

• added in 2021 with 100k offer and 100k linked to PayPal offer.

 

Other cards I’d like to add in 2022:

• Barclay Aviator Red
• Barclay Aviator Business
• BILT
• Chase Sapphire Preferred ( once I’m eligible )
  • This would require me downgrading my current CSP to a Flex or Unlimited and then getting the CSP again after the 4 year mark
• Chase Aeroplan credit card
• Citi AA Platinum Select Personal
• Citi AA Platinum Select Business

Offer dependent what I’d look to add in as well

• Cap1 Venture
• Cap1 Spark Miles with a giant bonus ( 200k and I’d be in )

October 2021 Update

It’s been a couple of months since I did an update on my wallet reshuffle and I’ve done some more moves. In July, as you can see further down in this post, I added 3 cards: Citi Thank You Premier, Amex Business Gold, and IHG Rewards Premier. We got married in August so I nailed those minimum spends without a whole lot of effort. Just as I was about to pivot into some American Airlines cards, I was targeted for another Amex Business Platinum. This time – 150k bonus after $15k spend in 3 months. I couldn’t resist and took the bait. I’m now sitting on 21 cards across three banks and Brex.

 

Updated 7/30/21

In July I’ve made 3 more moves to reshuffle my credit card deck and should be up to 19 total cards. You can read the moves I made in May, below, that required upgrading my Amex Green to Gold and Gold to Platinum as well as adding on another Amex Business Platinum. All of those minimum spend requirements are done ( thanks wedding and new home ) and I’ve made new moves for July. This puts me at 4/24 if my IHG card is approved which I expect it will be. Come October I’ll drop back down to 3/24 which should be great for potentially getting a Chase Sapphire Preferred again – should the offer be competitive.

• I’ve added a Citi Thank You Premier to my wallet
  • The offer I applied with was spend $4k in 3 months and get 80k Thank You points
• I was targeted for my 2nd Amex Business Gold
  • I was approved with a spend $10k in 3 months get 90k Membership Rewards
  • I’ll also earn 55k referral points with this card so it was a no brainer
• I also applied for a Chase IHG Rewards Premier
  • The deal I applied for was spend $3k in 3 months get 150k IHG Rewards and no annual fee

Update: 5/30/2021

In May I made 3 moves that I list in the full article below – all with Amex

• I upgraded my Amex Green to an Amex Gold
  • Spend $1k in 3 months for 15k Amex Points
  • At this point I don’t have any interest in adding an Amex Green back in, but I’m always flexible
• I upgraded my Amex Gold to an Amex Platinum
  • Spend $2k in 6 months for 25k Amex Points
  • 10x US Gas and US Supermarkets for 6 months, up to $15k total
• I accepted an Amex Business Platinum 100k Offer
  • Spend $15k in 3 months
  • I’ll also earn 55k referral points from this card
• I canceled my Amex Platinum after upgrading my Gold
  • This was an old Mercedes Amex that couldn’t earn referral points so no referrals lost.

I’m in the midst of a move and have a lot of moving expense that made the timing for the Amex Business Platinum make sense. I anticipate adding in an IHG Premier with the new 150k offer sometime in June since I’m hopefully taking a honeymoon later this year, or early next year ( Covid? ) and the 4th night free alongside a fantastic welcome offer have enticed me into finally pulling that trigger. I’ll keep you updated as I execute this plan, but these are the moves I’ve made

• Total Amex bonus Points gained from the move
  • 15k + 25k + 100k + 55k = 195k Amex points

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Wallets need to align with your spending habits, travel goals, and budget. Since 2014, I have kept anywhere from 15 to 25 cards and I’m somewhere in that range right now. In any given year, I usually go through some sort of reshuffle depending on how benefits change, new offers that are available, and how annual fees fluctuate. In 2020… I didn’t cancel any cards and added in an additional Chase Ink Business Preferred and a Chase World of Hyatt card. Thus far, in 2021, the only card I’ve added to my wallet has been an Amex Business Gold. That is about to change in a major way.

My belief is we are on the precipice of a massive, once in a lifetime, travel boom. As people get vaccinated, the world will open up, deals will abound, and if you’re well positioned, you’ll reap the benefits. I already have a hefty amount of points stocked up, ready to deploy, but I’m also going to fine tune my wallet to reap even more benefits. Hopefully, my approach and thinking will be useful to you.

My Amex exposure

American Express is a program I have focused on building a lot of exposure to and currently I have these 7 cards. I think Amex is probably the best rewards program out there with over 20 transfer partners. I use them a lot, but I have the opportunity to tweak the following line up:

• American Express Platinum
• American Express Gold
• American Express Green
• American Express Business Platinum
• American Express Business Gold
• American Express Blue Business
• American Express Blue Business Plus

Over 20 Amex transfer partners

I also have these upgrade and targeted offers:

The following offers all expire end of June.

• Upgrade Green to Gold and get 15k points after $1k spend
• Upgrade Gold to Platinum and get 25k points after $2k spend
• Add a Business Platinum and get 100k  points after $15k spend

The Amex switch I’m looking to make

My Amex Platinum is a legacy Amex Platinum Mercedes. It doesn’t get any referral bonuses – that’s a loss of 55k a year. So, I’ve been looking to cancel it for quite some time, and either get a Charles Schwab version or get it without a welcome offer just to get the referral bonuses on the card. This seems like the perfect time.

• Cancel my current Amex Platinum.
• Upgrade my Gold to Plat
• Upgrade my Green to Gold

My Amex Business Platinum offer doesn’t have any lifetime language attached to it and its targeted which makes me think it would hold up, and not get raked back. I also am in the midst of furnishing a new house so there are quite a few expenses we need to make. Hitting the $15k shouldn’t be a big deal if I time it right.

• Add on an Amex Business Platinum
• Keep my existing Amex Business Gold
• Cancel my current Amex Business Platinum or downgrade it to a Amex Business Green ( keeping it for the referral bonuses)
• Cancel my Blue Business
• Keep my Blue Business Plus

My new wallet will highly resemble my old wallet without the Amex Blue Business. Except…I’ll have made an additional 140k points without adding to my 5/24 number. How could I not go for it? It’ll also give me 6 cards to refer off of  equating to 330 to 385k Amex points a year in referrals alone.

• American Express Platinum
• American Express Gold
• American Express Green
• American Express Business Platinum
• American Express Business Gold
• American Express Blue Business Plus

You can book ANA First Class for just 55k Virgin Atlantic miles. An unreal value.

My current Chase exposure

I love Chase Ultimate Rewards and have built a wallet to reflect that value. Currently I hold the following Chase cards and I have a Chase 5/24 number of 2. While there are cards from other issuers I’m keen to add – I need to make my Chase moves while I’m under 5/24.

• Chase Ink Business Preferred
• Chase Ink Business Preferred ( business #2 )
• Chase Ink Business Cash
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Freedom
• Chase IHG Rewards Select
• Chase World of Hyatt

Here’s a look at Chase’s transfer partner list:

The Chase switch I’m looking to make:

The Wallet that I would like to have:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred
• Chase Ink Business Preferred ( business #2 )
• Chase Ink Business Cash
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Freedom Flex
• Chase Freedom Unlimited
• Chase IHG Rewards Select
• Chase IHG Rewards Premier
• Chase World of Hyatt

If you notice, the only thing that really changes is I lose the grandfathered Freedom, add in an unlimited, and a new IHG card

How I’ll go about achieving it

I’ve been holding off on getting a Freedom Unlimited purely because I keep a Chase Ink Business Unlimited. My most of my big expenses are business related, so I have my 1.5x card within the Chase ecosystem already and wanted to get a good welcome offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited if I were to add it.

However, now, I’m not as bothered about getting a welcome bonus as I am about rotating my wallet around. You can apply that same reasoning as to why I haven’t converted my Freedom to a Freedom Flex. I wanted time to consider keeping the Freedom, adding in a Flex so I could have double exposure to 5x rotating categories. Plus, I wanted to get a welcome offer.

The curve ball. It’s been nearly 4 years since I got a Chase Sapphire card. In fact, my Chase Freedom is a 10 year old Chase Sapphire Preferred that I downgraded, and my current Chase Sapphire Preferred is a downgraded Reserve from 2017. In a few months, I’ll be past the 48 month bonus threshold.

Here’s what I’m thinking I’ll do:

• Convert my Freedom to a Freedom Flex
  • This will give me the new bonus categories and Mastercard World Elite bennies
• Downgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom Unlimited
• Later in the year, add in a Chase Sapphire Preferred again
  • hopefully the current 80k offer is still available or something similar
• Strategically add in an IHG Rewards Premier when I think I’ll want to go to a Six Senses to get a 4th night free
  • I also have access to 4th night free since other family members hold this card and could book for me…it’s not as pressing a card to pick up.
  • I’m keeping my IHG Rewards Select since it gives me an additional 40k free night and 10% back on redemptions

I won’t be past the 48 month Sapphire mark for another 4 months so I can’t add more than 2 other cards to my wallet until then. However, I have another card that will fall off come October, so I think I’m pretty safe to add in a couple and fill that 5th spot come October-ish.

I’m looking forward to visiting more of the aspirational Alila properties that transfer partner, Hyatt gives me access to.

The other cards I’d like to add to my wallet

There are several cards that I believe could add value to my wallet currently.

Citi

I currently have a Citi Prestige and Double Cash and I’m not sure I’ll keep my Citi Prestige after this year. But…I can’t cancel it since cancellations restart your 24 month Citi clock so I’d need to get the Citi Thank You Premier prior to doing that. I really want that card. Cancelling my Prestige will free up $495 ( $245 after the travel credit ) in annual fees

• I’ll likely add a Citi Thank You Premier
  • I think this card is HIGHLY undervalued
• I’d like to add in a personal and business version of the AA cards
• All 3 of those cards would still save me roughly $80 in fees but add in a lot of points and benefits

Cap1

I have no Cap1 exposure at all and I really think it’s going to be a program to watch. They have a phenom list of partners, better transfer ratios, and a rumored premium card coming to market. I also have a feeling that the 200k Spark Miles offer will come back, so fingers crossed. The biggest issue is how hard it is to get a Cap1 card. Minimum wait between cards is 6 months, so I’ll have to time that

• Spark Miles when the 200k offer comes back
• New Venture Premium card if it comes to market.

Remember that both personal and business cards affect your Chase 5/24 number.

Barclay

I’ve had the Aviator Red and Business version in the past.

• I’d like to add both back into my wallet over the next 12 months.

In the next 12 months…what would my wallet look like?

1. American Express Platinum
2. American Express Gold
3. American Express Green
4. American Express Business Platinum
5. American Express Business Gold
6. American Express Blue Business Plus
7. Chase Ink Business Preferred
8. Chase Ink Business Preferred ( business #2 )
9. Chase Ink Business Cash
10. Chase Ink Business Unlimited
11. Chase Sapphire Preferred
12. Chase Freedom Flex
13. Chase Freedom Unlimited
14. Chase IHG Rewards Select
15. Chase IHG Rewards Premier
16. Chase World of Hyatt
17. Barclay Aviator Red
18. Barclay Aviator Business version
19. Capital One Spark Miles
20. Capital One new Premium Card
21. Citi AA personal
22. Citi AA business
23. Citi Thank You Premier
24. Citi Double Cash

Other cards I’d be interested to add in as well

Part of the reason I’m not as pressed about adding the following cards is because we have exposure to them as a two person team. The two Marriott cards earn 30 nights combined a year towards hitting Platinum status which is super valuable when it comes time to take a fun trip where status is valuable. We also have a Hilton Aspire which I strongly contend is the best cobranded card on the market.

• American Express Hilton Aspire
• American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
• American Express Bonvoy Business
• Bank of America Alaska personal and business cards
  • Alaska joined One World and their miles are even more valuable. How could I not reap the rewards?

This isn’t for everyone

I clearly run a business based on travel and extract a ton of value from the cards that I keep. But, having in excess of 20 cards at once isn’t for the unorganized and undisciplined. Nor is it for someone who doesn’t really enjoy keeping everything straight. I think we’re on the precipice of a major travel boom, so I’m looking to build my wallet up to enjoy the most benefits and rewards I can. Even with that many cards, paying over $3k a year in fees, is a net positive for me when it comes to value.

I’m purely putting this forward as an example of how I think, and use the system beneficially. My goal is that it will help you think about how you can do the same, and if that ends up being to this scale, that’s you’re prerogative, but at the same time, you could do is on a much smaller level and achieve incredible value.