The BEST Strategy for ALL of Your Credit Cards

When it comes down to it, your overall credit card portfolio can be divided into 3 specific groups, each with their own specific function.

In this video, I'll explain each of these groups in detail and how they can help better organize your overall credit card portfolio, cut down on wasteful spending on annual fees, and maximize your rewards earnings potential.

This activity can be done whether you’re just starting out on your credit card journey or even if you’re further along and have quite a few credit cards.

I used to look at my credit card portfolio as a single collection, but if I divide it into these 3 groups, it helps to better organize all of my credit cards.

The first group is your core credit card setup, which consists of the cards used for everyday spending. These are your popular trifecta or duo setups such as the American Express Trifecta, consisting of the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold, and Amex Blue Business Plus; the Chase Trifecta, consisting of the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Flex, and Chase Freedom Unlimited; the Citi Trifecta, consisting of the Citi Premier, Citi Custom Cash, and Citi Double Cash, and the Capital One Duo; consisting of the Capital One Venture X and Capital One Savor One cards.

The next group is your secondary credit card setup. The main use of these cards are the benefits that you get with them, but one downside is that these cards often have very high annual fees. Some examples of these types of cards are the Amex Platinum, Amex Hilton Honors Aspire, Chase Ritz Carlton card, and the Chase World of Hyatt card.

The third group in our portfolio is our Bench credit cards. These are your no annual fee credit cards that you either no longer use, are out of your core rotation because they’re rotating category cards, or cards that used to have annual fees, but they’ve been downgraded to those no annual fee options. Other credit cards that would fit into this group would be cards you got for just for the sign-up bonus.

So those 3 goups are how to best structure and strategy for your overall credit card portfolio!

--

CONNECT with me: 
 
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:31 First Group
06:20 Second Group
09:33 Third Group
11:58 Outro

--

Note: This description contains affiliate links, meaning that I may earn a commission if you click through these links and successfully apply, sign up, or buy the product or service mentioned.
 
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, accountant, or lawyer, and as such, I do not provide financial, tax, or legal advice.  This video, and any ideas presented in it, are opinions and are provided for entertainment purposes only.  Please do your own research and consult your own financial, tax, or legal professional for specific advice.
 
#creditcard #creditcardtips #americanexpress

[mitchhuebbe]

I've watched enough CC gurus to hear plenty of repeated videos. I really appreciate your channel for the fresh take on CCs, in a logical, organized, and brief manner. Keep doing what you're doing! 😁👍

[MikeMaye]

My core cards are Amex Gold, Amex BCE, CSP, & BofA customized cash. There are a few more cards I want to get in 2024 so this may change. Great video Stan 💥 this was very helpful

[charmcharmy]

Hey Stan, first time watcher. You were brought to my attention from Spencer. Great easy watching g video, happy ro be a new viewer.

[seandx]

Nicely done Stan! A thoroughly good video in regards to how to play the game for the long term!

[SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

This brings me right back to our Creator Conversations episode. Your thought processes on core vs. secondary credit card setups are something that has really stuck with me since that conversation. For my personal setup right now, I'm building out my secondary setup with hotel cards as we speak!! Keep up the awesome work Stan!!

Oh, and here's my (preemptive) congrats on 5k!! 🎉

[joshua.butler]

I always love hearing your rationale behind your decisions. And 5k in less than 24 hours??? Woot woot! 🔥🔥🔥 Looking forward to seeing how your Altitude Reserve and Bilt applications go. 😍

[ItsMeCJ]

Hey look, it’s Matt and Spencer!!! I liked how you named your categories. My favorite name was the “bench” category. Your videos are always thorough without being overwhelming. And btw, your editing is much improved since your first video. I’m loving all of this growth each of us have had on all fronts.

Amex platinum? I’ll get it one day, and I think I’ll also cry 🤣🤣

[DJOctober]

Love this video bro! I’m definitely in the “SUB phase” of my credit card journey, I really only started in April so I’m still fairly new, but you guys have given me YEARS of knowledge up front with these strategies! I already have a plan for what my core cards will be, with a “flex” option, just like you, for a SUB card!

Keep the videos coming bro.

Love your content.

- Ivan

[LukesPointsandMiles]

Stan I watch this one twice. There was that much info in it. I love the analytical view into your system. I’m also intrigued by a couple of things: One no Chase UR cards and two, the lack of focus any transferable currencies. I’ve oftentimes said that cash back could be a better currency for domestic economy and I also share your thoughts on hotel cards. This video is a winner for me even if I may have 4 different cores (Amex, citi, chase and cash)

[krs]

Great video, Stan. For me, I think the sweet spots are the $75-$150 AF cards were they are giving you just one or two credits (free night, tickets, or bags) with some status and the opportunity for a nice SUB and some on going point earnings.

I find myself losing out on the higher AF cards with their credits and having to use them. With that said, I think the Venture-X with a $300 credit is an easy to use one time credit and it’s a premium travel card with all the protections.

I don’t want to do all the spreadsheets and reminders, they’re a PITA.

[exytplu]

The best strategy for all credit cards is to cut them up and use a debit card instead.

[jpknowledge]

Excellent video 👏🏾. Ithink it is very important that analyze and prioritize each card that we have. It can be overwhelming when you open many cards, but creating core groups can make it much easier.

[JoshGiebel]

Great video as always Stan! I appreciate your perspective on long term credit card strategies.

[johnpicerno]

how are you getting 5.25% back on Bank of America customized cash rewards card isn't the highest 3%

[torrencesorrell]

Love this video Stan! I’m fairly new to the CC game so this helps organize my own setup.

Group 1- Capital One Duo, which is essentially a hybrid setup… and strong in many categories. I use my S1 a lot

Group 2- I guess technically my VX will be both 1 and 2 since it has an annual fee and I use it as a catch-all so I monitor it closely

Group 3- CFF based on the rotating categories, which I mainly use for Q1 and 3. Pretty much my entire Chase trifecta is on the bench unless it’s SUB year

[davebeason]

I see you have both the Marriott Bonvoy brilliant and the chase version of the Marriott card. Is the one lane rule no longer in effect or did you do something special

[jimmyjames]

Great breakdown on how to design a CC setup! Thanks for the info + video!

[MattWelterOfficial]

Really interesting video here Stan, and I strongly agree with a lot of your points! The beauty of the Credit Card Game is there's always opportunities to pivot (similar to how you are doing with BofA & adding the U.S Bank Reserve for example), and I definitely think my Core CC Setup is going to look drastically different at different stages of my life. I'm really warming up to Category 2, and wanting to be more of a Hotel Card Free Agent for added flexibility to choose the best hotels in each area I travel (your videos have definitely been a huge help for learning more about Marriott & for wanting to dive more into the Marriott ecosystem!). Great video as always Stan! P.S: Thanks so much for the shoutout!

[XPELUCE]

For Chase apply the rule 5/24. Now, for American Express, Capital One and American Bank is the same rule 5/24

[Erodpacheco]

Awesome video Stan, how you broke down the strategy for credit cards was amazing. It was great talking to you at the meetup👍🏻