Cash Back vs. Points: Are We Playing the Wrong Credit Card Game?

All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins

Chris Hutchins

Business, Education, Investing, Society & Culture, Places & Travel, Self-improvement

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#170: Chris makes a case for cash back in your credit card strategy based on some recent changes in the points and miles world. He goes deep on strategies for every spending category and shares his analysis of how to optimize points vs. cash back for the best ROI. Link to Full Show Notes: https://allthehacks.com/cash-back-vs-points-credit-cards Partner Deals Mint Mobile: $15/mo for unlimited wireless on the nation's largest 5G network Vuori: 20% off the most comfortable performance apparel I've ever worn Superhuman: Free month of the fastest and best email with code ALLTHEHACKS Bilt Rewards: Earn the most valuable points when you pay rent 1Password: Free 2-week trial of my favorite password manager For all the deals, discounts and promo codes from our partners, go to: allthehacks.com/deals All the Hacks Credit Card Optimization Tool v2 (w/ $10 Discount) All the Hacks Membership Credit Cards Page Credit Cards Mentioned Overall Spend Robinhood Gold Card Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card Discover it® Miles Chase Freedom Unlimited® Higher Cash Back in 1-2 Categories U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card Citi Custom Cash℠ Card Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card Rotating Categories Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card Chase Freedom Flex℠ Dining/Restaurants Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card American Express® Gold Card Travel The Platinum Card® by American Express U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card Chase Sapphire Reserve® Grocery/Supermarkets Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature ® Credit Card American Express® Gold Card Verizon Visa® Card Internet/Cable/Phone Bills Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card BMO CashBack® Mastercard® Gas Abound Visa® Platinum Card Entertainment/Streaming Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card Drugstores Chase Freedom Chase Freedom Unlimited® Chase Freedom Flex℠ Rent Bilt Mastercard® Office Supplies Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Amazon/Whole Foods Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card Mobile Wallet: U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card + Real Time Rewards Resources Mentioned Wealthfront: Get $5k managed free & get a 0.5% APY boost Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 X (Twitter) post: Couple opened 26 credit cards in 2017 and earned 2M points Full Show Notes (00:00) Introduction (01:55) Chris' Personal Points & Miles History (02:48) 3 Big Changes to Chris' Credit Card Strategy (04:29) How to Take Advantage of Transfer Bonuses to Book Flights (11:49) The Basics of Cash Back (12:50) Best Cash Back Cards for Overall Spend (14:06) Cards for Higher Cash Back in Certain Categories (15:11) Other Category Spend (19:42) Best Cards for Dining (20:40) Travel Category (21:44) Uncapped Card for Gas (21:56) Cards for Groceries (22:26) Internet, Phone Bill, and Cable Category (22:35) Chris' Revamped Card Optimization Spreadsheet (26:35) Main Cards for Team Points Vs. Team Cash Back (27:44) Chris' Analysis & Category Run Through (33:42) The Biggest Takeaway on Cash Back (36:24) Cards for Spending Categories Like Rent, Entertainment, and Office Supplies (39:32) The Big Wrench: Welcome Bonuses (41:58) The Points & Miles Game With Player 2 (43:14) Credit Card Issuer Rules for Welcome Bonuses (48:03) Quick Summary and Chris’ Final Takeaway Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to another episode of all the hacks a show about upgrading your life money and travel
0:07.0	I'm Chris Hutchins and I am a huge fan of points miles and all the amazing travel you can do with them.
0:13.0	In fact, there are plenty of episodes on this show to help you do just that.
0:17.0	But a few things have been happening lately that make me considering whether I might be better off just focusing on cashback.
0:24.6	For longtime listeners, that might sound crazy coming for me, but hear me out, and make sure
0:29.2	you listen through to the end because there might actually be a third option that's even better.
0:33.0	But no matter what strategy you want, I am confident this episode will help you dial in
0:38.6	your setup even more and I will also be giving you a little preview of an updated tool I built to help anyone optimize their credit card strategy.
0:47.0	So let's get started right after this.
0:50.0	If you're a renter, well listen up. You may feel like you're throwing away money each month,
0:55.1	but it turns out renting is now a better deal than buying in almost every city in America.
1:00.1	But you can make it an even better deal with our sponsor today,
1:03.0	Built rewards, because now you can start earning points on rent too.
1:07.0	Built is the first rewards program that you can use to earn points on rent,
1:11.0	even if you have to pay your landlord by check.
1:14.3	And best of all, built points are, at least in my opinion, the highest valued points currency
1:19.0	out there because they have the best set of transfer partners that should let you get more value from your points than you could get almost anywhere else.
1:26.7	Seriously, I would probably trade in all my points from other places for built points if I could,
1:31.5	especially because they've been doing these incredible
1:33.7	transfer bonuses every few months where you could get as many as two and a half times
1:38.1	as many points when you transfer to some of their partners. So earn points by
1:42.3	paying rent right now when you go to all the
	...

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