A 3-Credit Card Cash Back Strategy Worth $500,000+

[@BryanColliver]

i use the fidelity card 2% back in to my account every month

[@mrwelch2004]

Here's my lineup: Citi double cash, capital one savor (3 percent on restaurants, entertainment and groceries, Amazon prime (5 percent on whole foods and all Amazon purchases) discover rotating 5 percent, Venmo (top tier category pays 3 percent)

[@LK_EBM]

I recently got approved for the Bilt credit card! They gave me a $22k credit limit! And I get to earn easy points by paying rent!

[@mere_cat]

Rob is great! He even answers emails if you have questions! Thanks you! So glad I found this channel!

[@OroborusFMA]

I combine bank signup bonuses with credit card cash rewards to feed a Fidelity account where I purchase dividend stocks. The goal is to create an additional income stream in retirement.

[@kevinmcnally3811]

My wife and I use 4 credit cards, but pay them off each and every month. Costco VISA (cash back from Costco and Citi Visa), Fidelity (cash back directly into our investment account), Amazon Prime (5% on Prime products), and Delta (miles and airline status).

[@MrsFeatherbottom]

Great video, Rob! Here's another setup that might be even simpler and avoids any annual fees (which can be difficult break even on if someone's only spending $40K/year): the Wells Fargo Active Cash + Wells Fargo Autograph. Autograph gets 3% on restaurants, travel, gas, transit, streaming, and cell phone plans, while the Active Cash gets 2% on everything else. Just two cards with a single bank and no annual fee. Only cumbersome thing with the Autograph is I think you have to redeem your points to offset card purchases instead of as a direct statement credit.

[@briandadude]

Forgo the Fargo.

[@bigislanddriver300]

I think you can also deposit cash into a Wells Fargo account but not other banks.

[@LogosBKC]

By your logic why not just do Chase Freedom Flex and Unlimited, and if you want a 3rd card get the Citi Custom Cash? No Annual Fees, better multipliers and all redeemable as cashback.

[@rob9990]

I use a similar setup for rewards, but this is my setup: Fidelity Rewards - 2% on everything, and can deposit right into a Fidelity investing account - no annual fee Amex Blue Cash - 3% on groceries - no annual fee Sam's Mastercard - 5% on Gas, 3% Restaurants, 3% at Sam's Club - no annual Fee (Do need to be a Sam's club member)

[@mattchew4161]

Wells Fargo is simple. 3k in monthly bills = 60 bucks monthly. 720 a year in redemption give or take. Well worth it if used correctly

[@OfficialChadsMoneyMinutes]

I am a staunch advocate of spend optimization and this was a great breakdown for newbies to the world of points and miles. I literally hold every single card you mentioned in this video save the Citi Custom Cash. Keep putting the word out the savings and hedge against inflation are super valuabe!

[@louiswelrod]

Great video. The Fidelity Rewards Card offers 2% on everything and rewards can be automatically deposited into your Fidelity account. For dining (you can choose a category, but it stays until you change it) I use a BOA Mastercard which gives 3% back on up to $2400 per quarter. I use the Chase Amazon card for Amazon purchases and Whole Foods (5% back). Finally, I use a CapitalOne Visa with 1.5% back for non-Amazon online purchases as it has "virtual cards" that provide more protection online. All my rewards are deposited into grandkids' college accounts. Up to 18 years growth can add up to a lot.

[@nickdoyle-achievefinancial2464]

Sapphire reserve makes the freedom unlimited 2.25% on every purchase (if you redeem for travel or pay yourself back). Also makes restaurants 4.5% and freedom flex 7.5%. Even better you can redeem the ink ultimate rewards bonuses for 50% more. This is the primary setup I run.

[@rob_berger]

Yep, so long as you use it for travel through Chase.

[@MarkUnique]

For the Bilt card, the "cash redemption" option is 0.55% (not 1%), in the form of future rent payments (no cash-out to bank option). Plus it requires 5 monthly transactions, so if you already have credit cards doing better than 3% dining (e.g. US Bank Altitude Go, Citi Custom Cash), there will be some amount of lost cash back there. Just something to keep in mind when considering the card.

[@TheMuljo]

Instead of the Unlimited, I'd go with the Freedom Flex since you get an additional 5% in rotating categories. IMO that's better than the 1.5% flat rate with the Unlimited which you wouldn't be using since you have a 2% card.

[@poolking25]

only downside is a cap of $1500 per quarter with the freedoms

[@poolking25]

freedoms unlimited would give you 3x dining and drugstores, 5x on travel for chase portal so these are great spending options for the specific categories only. Freedom flex is fine as well, I use that as well

[@silver6054]

@@poolking25 If you aren't going to use the 1.5points (as he isn't doing transferring) the Unlimited has no advantage over the Flex, and the Flex 5x categories can be useful

[@antisocialDude]

Thanks for outstanding work, Rob. Your reasonable approach is a much needed voice of reason here on YT

[@jtdockendorf]

FYI - if you have an E Trade or Morgan Stanley account you can apply for a cobranded Blue Cash Preferred. Has a few more perks than standard BCP. I have both due to high grocery spend. Great Video!

[@ccrider8483]

Great video Rob, I guess I tend look at things in reverse because your video shows me how much the little nonessential purchases cost consumers over the long run. Credit cards do encourage us to buy things we probably would not take cash out of our pockets to purchase. One of the worst examples I can think of is the over-priced cup of coffee many have to have daily. Take that amount and calculate the amount generated if invested over 40 years. Yes, I do not drink coffee nor suffer any other addictions with the possible exception of being too frugal which I can live with. It seems many businesses are starting to charge extra for credit card transactions. I am sure the major cards raising their fees has had a lot to do with this and I suppose one could argue these extra charges nullify the advantage of paying by CC.

[@terryadams1830]

Great video - Thanks Rob! Another card to consider is the Sam's Club card from Synchrony bank. It has no fee (other than Sam's Club membership) and gives you 5% back on gas (on first $6K per year) and 3% back on restaurants.

[@terryadams1830]

All the cash back comes as an annual check, or it can be spent as credit at Sam's Club.

[@vevenaneathna]

about cu visa platnium just gives you a flat 5% back on all gas/gas station spending, all year round, and has extra rotating 5% categories every quarter. the cash back comes right off your bill at the end of the month, so you never see it and spend it on something else. only save it. it is one of the least well known card, 0$ annual fee, 15$ once in a lifetime creditunion fee. takes forever to get, basically like applying for a home loan. I got it in WA state, never even been in kentucy lol. rather not sit in line at walmart for hours and be able to use at any place with the cheapest gas. theres a website called gas...buddy... that can find you the best price.

[@aaront936]

I use the chase trifecta but I use the points for known travel expenses.

[@OnCashFlow]

I love cc churning for massive $$$ But there is a realistic limit per year for how many cards you can do per year. One of my "permanent" cards is the Walmart cash back card because it's 5% back for online orders at Walmart. I use Walmart+ for delivering all my groceries so it works out great for me.

[@larryb131]

I never thought about using these cash back cards as an investment vehicle to add the cash back to your portfolio. Very interesting concept. Your gonna spend that money anyway, and if your investing window is long enough, I can see where this could be big in the long run. Thanks Rob!

[@hanwagu9967]

it's a ruse. you invariably will spend more buy chasing points and cash back, even when you try to convince yourself you are gonna spend that money anyway, that it negates the strategy. There is plenty of research into consumer behavior both in using credit cards and credit card rewards programs.

[@mannymac82]

I agree that normal Amex cash out rate for points is terrible. But that is one of the reasons I am getting the Amex Charles Schwab Platinum card. That $0.011 cash out rate is very good.

[@pantelischrysafis4594]

Sadly they are nuking it after 1 million points a year soon

[@jomo4976]

Money is fungible - it makes no sense to separate out cash back from credit cards as a category separate from money saved (or earned) in other ways

[@Omar-et7sb]

Rob, I definitely would go with the M1 card. The rewards are a minimum of 2%, but sometimes more. But the BEST part is that the rewards go straight to my taxable 4-Fund Portfolio. Easy.

[@GDUBLEY]

Im invested in BofA cards. With their preferred rewards adding multipliers you can get 3.5% on all purchases. They also have a higher % category card to go alongside it. Granted you would need at least $100k invested with BofA/Merril to get the max benefit. But even at lesser tiers you can get at least 2.25%

[@canyonoverlook9937]

I have 2 BOA cards. If you have 100,000 in Merril Lynch you can get 5.25 on the Cash reward card up to 2500.00 per quarter on travel. Or you can use the 3 percent for online, dining, gas. It's simple and cash back.

[@rob_berger]

I carry one of their cards, too, but as you noted, you need a lot of money at BofA/Merrill.

[@canyonoverlook9937]

@@rob_berger Why not just move 100,000 over in kind from your Vanguard total stock market fund and let it sit there. That is what I am doing. you can get 1000.00 for each 250.000 you move over per account-ira, roth, brokerage because you are a current customer. You can get 400.00 if it is just 100,000 or 250.00 for non-current customers. You have to have a BOA checking for Preferred Rewards but you can 100.00 to open or more than that as a current customer for a certain deposit.

[@canyonoverlook9937]

You can also get their 1.5 card for everything and then with the multiplier for 100,000 you would get 2.625 on everything with no annual fee or you could get the Premium Rewards card with a 95.00 annual fee but a 100.00 travel incidental credit. I don't know how much you travel. That has 2 percent dining and travel plus 1.5 on everything.

[@myutoob2011]

Thanks for confirming my choices of Citi Double Cash and Amex Blue Preferred. Had them both for many years. Also have had a Discover card for 30+ years, 5% on rolling categories every 3 months. Lastly, for those that frequent Target, their Red Card gives you a 5% discount at checkout, no waiting for cash back. Also gets you free shipping.

[@richardcarlin1332]

Credit card for rent is cool. The only issue is my landlord won't allow credit cards. When I bought a car, I put $3000 on the card (the maximum amount) and got $30 cash back.

[@rob_berger]

I should have mentioned that the card works even if your landlord only accepts checks. From the Wells Fargo website: "Even if your property only accepts checks, you can still pay with your credit card through the Bilt app and we’ll send a check on your behalf."

[@mlj_the_shield]

Just found the channel and emailed Rob my strategy. This is a fantastic personal finance channel not based on theories but real-world practicality.

[@mmactc]

@Rob Berger Rob what about the Fidelity 2% back credit card if you open an account with them you could easily invest with their excellent investment products?

[@markjoseph2801]

I thought the same. But the Fid card has a minimum before they will transfer the money to your account. It's a game. Check again to see if it changed. You have to hand it to the Chase card with Amazon. If you earn $10 they immediately credit. Good luck

[@mmactc]

Perhaps you’re right about that. But I believe if you put it into say a Fidelity cash management account or a brokerage account it goes in immediately which would allow you to invest in ETF or stocks this would be doing what Rob suggested. Naturally you’d have to invest with Fidelity but I think it could simplify things as long as you are ok with Fidelity.

[@rob_berger]

Yes, it's a great option.

[@mooring10]

VISA cars:PenFed 5% for gas, bp 3% for groceries and restaurants, us bank 5% for utilities, and capital one 2% for all else. Pay all in full on auto pay. Challenge is to communicate which card for what to wife.

[@joy2come119]

Do you have to have an account with Penfed credit union in order to be eligible?

[@Bonez1999]

The wife & I use the Citi Custom Cash card x2 (one card each), and rotate the categories against the 5% back categories for the Discover It & Chase Freedom. This pretty much makes almost every category we spend money on 5% back. For example, this quarter: Discover It - 5% on Digital Wallet purchases (Android/Apple Pay) Chase Freedom - 5% on Paypal/WalMart purchases My Custom Cash - 5% on gas Her Custom Cash - 5% on groceries We try to use Apple/Android/Paypal this quarter whenever we go shopping for anything else... The Custom Cash cards are like a filler for the other cards and what they're 5% back aren't hitting.

[@sullivan1ist]

Would you throw any capital one savor cards in there?

[@zoamball2022]

I all ready took this strategy. We think the same way, lol. I just did the other preferred blue without the fee. Great video, makes me feel like my choices that am making are the right ones.

[@gracechristianschoolcypres3189]

EXACTLY!!! Great stuff right here.

[@avstars]

I would add a 5% rotating category card line Discover IT and chase freedom flex.

[@HB-yq8gy]

Rob never mentioned Costco visa cash back. $60 annual with Costco gold 2 membership.

[@sharaf.6333]

How often do you cash out the credit card rewards to invest?

[@Tattooclownfish71]

Thanks I think 🤔 figured out how to pay my big bills with credit and I get the rewards from it again thank u not easy trying to save 40 grand I need 30 more 😂😂😂😂😂😱😱😱😱

[@taco5467]

Quick question how do you get the apy to 9 percent ? In the beginning of the video

[@trapcracker]

Rob, why Citi Double Cash over the Fidelity Visa? It is 2% cash back immediately and it automatically goes into your brokerage to invest. It seems that’s the goal with this video. Thanks!

[@rob_berger]

They are both great. Citi Double is paying a signup bonus. Not sure about Fidelity. Also, Fidelity is ideal if you have a Fidelity account. But you don't need it to invest your rewards. I just do a transfer once a month.

[@taco5467]

How do you get 9 apy ?

[@frankekpu1270]

How do i create an account on Cashback

[@aperson1181]

Rob the $30k that you mentioned at the end of the video, is this from the rewards accumulated over time, how long it took you?

[@zekeboz5533]

Nice recap but I think the challenge is that it looks like these cards have a max limit on their cash back. For a family that limit is somewhat low, 6k on groceries... we spend that much in 4 or 5 months. Unless you start having separate cards (not added to the account) for each parental unit. I think a review on cards that have unlimited cash back would be better otherwise you will have to juggle cards in a single year. maybe wells forgo or BA .

[@jtdockendorf]

If you have an E trade or Morgan Stanley account you can get a second Blue Cash Preferred. I use this set up because I have high grocery spend as well.

[@rob_berger]

Most don't have a cap, but you are right, Amex Blue Cash does. The best grocery card beyond BCP will depend on where you shop for groceries.

[@hulenbryant5637]

Not sure if it’s every card, but Bank of America has a 3% on gas charges.

[@unclemiketrader]

With american exprees card are groceries at r walmart considered a supermarket for the 6% reward?

[@EwaRuiz]

No, but you should look into the new U.S bank Shoppers Card for Walmart 🔥

[@InMyBrz]

Capital One for Walmart

[@markmusto2527]

Sorry if I missed it,Rob, but how often do you recommend redeeming your points? Monthly? Yearly? Great stuff!

[@thoryan3057]

I currently have just one card that gives me 1.5% on everything. If I applied for a second card in the near future, would Citi Double Cash be better or would Citi Custom Cash be better? Citi Custom Cash pays 5% on up to $500 in your top spending category and 1% on everything else. My top spending category is usually groceries, which is over half of my credit card usage but usually less than $500/month. I want to get the Citi Double Cash *eventually* in my lifetime but want to spread out when I get each new card. I feel like the 5% on up to $500/month on groceries would payoff more than an extra 0.5% on an everything card.

[@rapfreak7797]

I have the custom cash card just for groceries, it’s a great card.

[@InMyBrz]

THE PROBLEM with the AMEX card is that they DO NOT INCLUDE food club stores like Walmart, Sam's, Costco etc in their 5% discount 1% with BILT isn't even worth my time, it's a joke

[@-mr3puttz-310]

Walmart has a 5% back for Walmart buys

[@rob_berger]

A good card for Walmart shoppers. Target, the warehouse clubs and Amazon each have similar cards.

[@joevelasquez2757]

you got my attention

[@gregarnet]

9% yield is super difficult to get. Maybe 5% average.

[@richmurphy8144]

Nice video Rob, as always. Where did you get the 9% APY in the first calculator you showed here? Thanks!

[@rob_berger]

Just an estimate. An 80/20 portfolio has done better than that over the last 45 years. Of course, we don't know the future.

[@juanserrano3297]

Put the money in an M1 finance account.

[@70qq]

Ty

[@okrajoe]

Aha, over 45 years!

[@rob_berger]

Your mileage may vary.

[@wdeemarwdeemar8739]

I will take 800 per year… happily.

[@dylanyoung7315]

Oh 😊

[@thehylander266]

Capital One savior one has 3% cash back and no annual fees.

[@briandadude]

Annual Fee $95

[@thehylander266]

@@briandadude Hmm. Weird. Mine doesn’t charge one yearly. Maybe it’s something new they added to the newer ones. Oh well. I get over $150-$300 per month back so still well worth it to me.

[@jesslai8363]

@@briandadude that’s the savor. Savor one is the free one

[@briandadude]

You’re right. Savor one only gets 3% on certain categories

[@mariusfacktor3597]

It's a shame that credit cards made it so that merchants need to charge ~3% more for everything. People who get credit card rewards don't mind but people who don't qualify for credit cards are made to pay more. It's messed up.

[@vevenaneathna]

100$/month is a lot of cash back.... meaning youre spending too much in my opinion (thats 5k/month on credit cards at 2% = 100$/mo). I know its assuming you have a small business, but most do not. really to get this kind of savings/cash back normally, you need to really play the game and sign up for about 3 cards per year, pocket the signup bonus' and build out the best possible 5% cash back setup. most people will not do this.... it takes a lot of time and tanks your credit score the first few years because ur average age of account and credit inquiries goes up. most people will find it much more easy to spend an extra 100$ per month since they have to meet the signup bonus spend requirements. imo, get 1-3 cc's, then once you can audit your monthly expenses for atleast 6 months, and see every single transaction you make, categorize it. then you can responsibly get more credit cards, select the most beneficial ones, and have the ability to track your life style creep over that period of time. if you dont have the self control to audit 6 months of your own finances, it is almost guaranteed you're of the impulsive majority and the game will play you. current setup is WF active cash, chase freedom, discover it, citi custom cash, abound cu plat., US bank cash+, chase freedom unlimited. (all no annual fee) 5% back on gas, grocery, restaurants, utilities, eBay, amazon, and gym/phone/internet/sporting goods ALL YEAR. 3% at pharmacy, 2% all else. I average about 2.5k per year, half from cash back, other half from signup bonus', and only spend about 2k/mo

[@stevedice5963]

The Charles Schwab amex trifecta is the best way to cash out amex points. You get a higher rate cashing out to the brokerage account than just using points to pay off your credit balance