{"id":147,"date":"2021-06-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-i-strategize-my-spending-on-4-travel-credit-cards-to-earn-points\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T17:00:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T17:00:45","slug":"how-i-strategize-my-spending-on-4-travel-credit-cards-to-earn-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-i-strategize-my-spending-on-4-travel-credit-cards-to-earn-points\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Strategize My Spending on 4 Travel Credit Cards to Earn Points"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last updated Oct. 2021<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclosure<\/em><\/strong>: This content is <\/em>not <\/em><\/strong>sponsored or endorsed by any of the card brands described here and is accurate as of the posting date, but some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Money with Katie is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on my site, and this site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To level-set at the start of this post, it pays to know which travel credit cards I have:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Chase Sapphire Preferred Card<\/a> ($95 annual fee)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    The Platinum Card\u00ae from American Express<\/a> ($550 annual fee; Rates & Fees<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card<\/a> (from Chase; $95 annual fee)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card<\/a> (from Chase; $149 annual fee)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    (If you\u2019d like to review the breakdown of why <\/em>I chose these cards, check out my full breakdown<\/a>. It\u2019s a hefty boi.)<\/p>\n

    My husband Thomas has all the cards above except for the Southwest card; since we have Companion Pass on my account (and he\u2019s the Companion; only half the reason why he married me), there\u2019s no point in him getting the Southwest card just yet. <\/p>\n

    For starters, one of the first questions I had about travel rewards (and one of the questions I get the most) is whether or not having a bunch of credit cards hurts your credit score. I go into more detail about this in my exhaustive travel rewards guide, but the short answer is no \u2013 applying<\/em> for a bunch of new credit all at once will raise some red flags, so I\u2019d recommend spacing out your applications by 90 days each. <\/p>\n

    (The credit bureaus just see you as a black-and-white entity on paper \u2013 things that make you look sketchy, like trying to get a whole bunch of credit all at once, lower your score. But having<\/em> a lot of credit and only using a small amount makes you look like a responsible-ass adult. This is known as \u201clow credit utilization.\u201d)<\/p>\n

    The best way to earn a lot of points quickly<\/h2>\n

    Aside from the welcome bonuses (Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently at 60,000 points<\/a> after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening; don\u2019t sleep on it), referrals<\/strong> are the best way to earn points quickly \u2013 and you don\u2019t have to be a clout-hungry personal finance blogger like me to get referrals. <\/p>\n

    Before Money with Katie, I still maxed out my referrals for my cards each year by shamelessly shilling them on Boomer hotspot social media like Facebook. I\u2019d post a picture of the dope vacation I went on, free of charge, with my referral link and a blurb that said something to the effect of:<\/p>\n

    \n

    \u201cWe got this [insert travel card here] and used the sign-up bonus to book this free trip to an all-inclusive resort.\u201d Done and done. It\u2019s easy to convince 5 people annually that these cards rock \u2013 because they do \u2013 and now you BOTH get a free vacation. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    It\u2019s like an MLM, except it\u2019s actually good for everybody<\/em>. <\/p>\n

    Most cards allow you a maximum of 5 referrals per year valued at between 10,000 and 20,000 points each. The Sapphire referrals, if maxed out, will get you 75,000 points per year. <\/p>\n

    How I structure my ongoing spending across my cards<\/h2>\n

    Because of the four cards I have, my strategy is simple \u2013 this becomes more complicated for people that have 10, 15, 20 credit cards (as some of my friends do), but if you\u2019ve got the four listed above, here\u2019s the strategy I use:<\/p>\n

    Almost all \u201cregular\u201d spending<\/h3>\n

    Think gas, restaurants, grocery trips, etc. \u2013 I use my Sapphire Preferred card.<\/p>\n

    Why use your Sapphire Preferred card for most spending?<\/h3>\n

    The answer is simple: While you only get 2x points on dining and 1x points on everything else, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are the most valuable points you can get. They\u2019re simply worth the most, as they\u2019re flexible enough to be transferred to a lot of other airlines and hotels \u2013 and they can be used in the portal for booking literally anything you can get on Expedia. <\/p>\n

    A dollar that earns you 1 Ultimate Reward point is more valuable than a dollar going toward 1 Membership Reward (the American Express currency) point or 1 Rapid Rewards point (Southwest).<\/p>\n

    Expensive purchases worth insuring<\/h3>\n

    I use my Platinum for anything expensive, though, because I\u2019ve found that the American Express purchase insurance gives me a little more peace of mind when buying expensive stuff.<\/p>\n

    A few years ago, I booked a rental car in San Diego for about $140. The final charge on my card was $280 \u2013 they had tacked on all sorts of erroneous fees and charges that weren\u2019t disclosed upfront. <\/p>\n

    At first, I tried fighting it with Dollar Rental Car; they ended up giving me $40 back. Simultaneously, I fought the charge with American Express directly and claimed the charge didn\u2019t match what I was told (lack of transparency) and within a day, they had refunded half of it. I just had to submit a picture of my original receipt vs. the final receipt, and it was a done deal.<\/p>\n

    That gave me a lot of faith in American Express as a means of fighting back against charges that are semi-fraudulent or, at the least, the result of a merchant trying to scam you (as is common with rental cars, I\u2019ve found). <\/p>\n

    That\u2019s why I use my Platinum card when I buy expensive stuff. You also get 90 days of \u201cwarranty,\u201d so to speak, if something is damaged or stolen. They\u2019ll reimburse you up to $1,000 per claim<\/a> if something you buy with the card is damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase. <\/p>\n

    Travel purchases<\/h3>\n

    I use my Platinum card for travel purchases as well, as the AmEx points bonus for travel purchases is the best: 5x points per dollar spent. <\/p>\n

    Even when I\u2019m purchasing Marriott hotel rooms or Southwest flights, I still almost always use the Platinum card \u2013 because 5x Membership Rewards points are more valuable than 2x Rapid Rewards points (what you\u2019d earn using the Southwest card for flights) or 6x Bonvoy points (what you\u2019d earn using the Marriott card for hotel rooms). <\/p>\n

    The Sapphire Preferred only gets you 2x points per dollar spent on travel, so the AmEx makes more sense. <\/p>\n

    You\u2019ve probably noticed I\u2019m not putting much spend on the Marriott or Southwest cards<\/h2>\n

    And you\u2019re right, I don\u2019t. <\/p>\n

    Every once in a while, one of the cards will offer a crazy bonus: During the pandemic, for example, you could get 12x points on gas stations or groceries. In those instances, I used the card. Normally, though, it\u2019s not really worth it to put ongoing spend on these cards \u2013 so why have them?
    Glad you asked. <\/p>\n

    Both of these cards are outstanding for ongoing rewards<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

    The Bonvoy card gets you one free night certificate every year worth 35,000 points \u2013 I used mine this year on a room that would\u2019ve cost about $300 per night. That\u2019s a steal when you consider I only pay $95 for the annual fee \u2013 if you stay even just ONE night in a Marriott property per year, this puppy is worthwhile. <\/p>\n

    The Priority card gets you 7,000 anniversary points, four Upgraded boardings (worth $40 each), and a $75 annual travel credit \u2013 well worth the $149 annual fee. <\/p>\n

    In conclusion<\/h2>\n

    My strategy is really simple, because I don\u2019t spend enough money each year to warrant a really fancy points strategy<\/strong>. I have friends who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and really <\/em>double down on the specificity with which they split up their spending \u2013 they have credit cards specifically for points rewards on their grocery spend alone, for example. <\/p>\n

    I probably spend around $25,000 per year on the Sapphire card, which generates between 1x and 2x points per dollar. Even if my spending alone only generated 30,000 points, that\u2019s still worth far more than the annual fee \u2014 no referrals needed.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m too frugal for spending strategies beyond that to matter.<\/p>\n

    Instead, I focus on:<\/p>\n