What's in My Wallet?

What credit cards are in my wallet and why?


Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card my link My home airport is MSP, Delta dominates, and I like having the freedom to check a bag without a fee. Until this year I would have said it was a card to have but not to use. New features include 2x miles on dining and groceries as well as $100 Delta gift card when $10,000 is spent in a calendar year.

Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier my link Truthfully, this card isn't often in my wallet. It is very much a card to have but rarely use. I use this on IHG stays and nowhere else. Perks of the card include IHG Platinum status which gets you 50% more points and upgrades such as they are at IHG. This card also rebates the fourth night on award bookings which makes it very valuable to me. Ignoring that benefit there is also an annual free night which alone offsets the $89 fee. The card also offers Global Entry/TSA Pre reimbursement, I have yet to use this benefit but will be making use of it next year at GE renewal.

Citibank Costco Visa I surprisingly love Costco despite not being a fit for Sam's Club, very different product mix. I picked this up initially because at the time I joined Costco my wallet ran on Mastercard. This card gets heavy use for the 4% back in gas and 3% in travel in and dining. My Costco spend also goes on it as I don't have a card that can do better than 2% at Costco and my membership info is printed on the card so one less thing to carry. I would consider this the best no annual fee travel card out there. The downside is cash out only happens annually and must be done at Costco.

Citibank Double Cash This is actually my oldest credit card, it was opened as an AAdvantage card and product changed to avoid the annual fee. Likely due to product changing into this card it is a WorldElite card giving some additional MasterCard sponsored benefits, I have only benefited from the Lyft and Fandango credits. 2% on everything is a nice catch all card when I decide a SkyMile isn't worth that much.

Synchrony Verizon Visa This is the newest card to my lineup, it only makes sense if you intend to be a loyal Verizon Wireless post paid customer. I have the Verizon bill setup to charge to this card as I get the autopay discount and a 2% rebate on that spend. Like the Costco card this also offers 3% on dining and 4% on gas, the main difference being this card allows monthly redemption and only to Verizon Dollars. The benefit that got my attention with this card was 4% on grocery stores, 4% in quasi-cash has more value to me than 2 Delta miles or IHG points.


Chase and American Express links contain referrals, there may be better signup offers available.