Second Quarter of 2021

This month started a new quarter. This means new 5% bonus categories for my Chase Freedom Flex and Discover It cards. Today we’ll look to see what the bonus categories are for these cards, what cards that I will have in my wallet, and why I have changed my 5% categories for my US Bank Cash Plus card. Just as a reminder, all spending I do on my credit cards are my normal spending and I pay off all my cards each month, so I don’t pay any interest.

Chase Freedom Flex

April is the beginning of the second quarter. This means new bonus categories for my Chase Freedom Flex and my Discover It cards. For the second quarter the bonus categories for the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom cards are Gas Stations and Home Improvement Stores. For the Discover It, it’s second quarter bonus categories are Gas Stations, Wholesale Clubs, and Select Streaming Services. This means that I will focus on using my Freedom Flex for gas and if I need to get anything from a home improvement store, this will be my go-to card. I will then use my Discover It for wholesale clubs, mainly Sam’s club, and will be the card I use for my Hulu subscription. These two cards will not be the only two cards I use this quarter. 

 

For me, I don’t like seeing a balance on my cards but I am going to try and see if I can pay off my cards less to make reconciling a little easier for me. I also want to get better at using certain cards at certain places for better record keeping. To reach this goal, I will have six of my cards in my wallet. This means I will have the Chase trifecta in my wallet. The Chase Freedom Flex for gas and if I need to go to any home improvement stores, the Chase Freedom Unlimited as my catch all card, and my Chase Sapphire for dinning (and any unplanned travel). I will have my Discover It for my trips to Sam’s Club, just in case I need the physical card. I currently have set as the default payment card in the Sam’s Club app. My last two cards that will be in my wallet are just for backup, my AmEx Hilton Aspire card and the Citi Costco Anywhere Visa. I want to make sure I can use my AmEx Hilton Aspire card to make sure I get the monthly dining credit they are offering each month this year. The Citi Costco Anywhere Visa is my backup gas card and my Costco card, good for an emergency Costco run. 

 

US Bank Cash+

Another card that has seen more use is my US Bank Cash Plus Visa card. This card is a workhouse for my house expenses but saw new use at the beginning of the month. One thing I do like about this card is being able to choose the 5% categories. This is very helpful for me since I wanted to get a new desktop computer. So, for the second quarter, I choose to get 5% back on Electronic Stores and Utilities, and 2% on gas. One thing I did to make sure that I could still get 5% on my internet service was to prepay for the service the next three months. I did this before the end of March. Since this is a fixed cost, I know much it is going to be and have the money in savings earning nothing in interest and this was away for me to get more back on my credit card. This way I can still get 5% back on the variable cost house bills and get a good amount of cash back my new computer. This way I maximize the amount of cash back and not feel I left money on the table.

 

With new quarterly categories, using my cards in a way for better accounting, and getting a new computer, the second quarter will be a quarter of change. I am still continuing to use my other cards in the same manor, for features such as cell phone protection or keeping points alive, and special offers. Who knows, I might get use a travel card for traveling. Here is a good and prosperous second quarter of 2021. 

 

See you out there. 

Update – April 19, 2021

 

A week ago, I got two emails from Chase telling me I was eligible for two promotions. One was for my Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and the other was for my Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card. Both emails told me I was eligible to earn 5x on all transactions on both cards. This got me thinking. I activated both offers to take advantage of the offers. I think though I will be using my Southwest card more when it comes to purchases that don’t have a bonus category this quarter since I feel Southwest points are worth about the same as my Chase Ultimate Rewards points. I know the Chase Ultimate Rewards are more flexible to use but feel this a chance for me to put some spend on my Chase Southwest card and get some points for Southwest. It will be nice know that I can get a few free flights when I can travel again. As for my Chase IHG Premier card, I will still put most of my cellphone bill on this card, so I get the cellphone protection on it and get more points for the rest of the quarter. IHG Rewards Club points are not worth as much as the other points, that is why that card will it not see more in spending on it. So, I will be adding my Chase Southwest card to my wallet for this quarter. 

Southwest Rapid Rewards
Premier Credit Card

 

Just as a side note, I am disappointed that Bank of America did not have any special promotions for my Amtrak Platinum card. I would have liked the opportunity to have earned more Amtrak points. Barclycard did not have any extra ways to earn Choice Hotel points either. That is why those cards only get one transaction a month. At the same time, I like that American Express has had some good offers on their cards. I am really liking the AmEx offer for dining credits on the Hilton cards this year. I hope as we start to reopen, we can still get some great earnings promotions or credits on my credit cards. I can’t wait until we get out and really travel again.

 

Until then, stay safe!