How I Justify $2,133 In Annual Fees (My Strategy)

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

💲 Download MaxRewards: maxrewards.app.link/spencer (Code: SPENCER)

[@Anthonyjones-pq4ff]

Hey Spencer hope is well with you I really like your spread sheet in. The line up of How many cards you have . Like something like that for myself so I can when I’m under 5/24 For chase cards .. Your doing Big thing Young men Keep it up Wish I was like you when I was younger Lol … be proud of yourself

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

@@Anthonyjones-pq4ff Hope all is well with you too brotha! I'm glad you liked the video and spreadsheet. I really appreciate all your support!

[@IonicTechYT]

I mean, being a credit card KZbinr with a good number of subscribers is already enough justification to me. I am impressed how you built a business around it. Thanks for the content!

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

That's a great point. I do plan on adding as many cards as I can to review them from my personal perspective, so good note there.

[@TheArtistFKApingaso3687]

Great video and a good roadmap on how to calculate value from your cards.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Thank you so much! I appreciate you watching!

[@2arias2]

You totally missed the 10k points you get from VX every year on your anniversary

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I mentioned it in the video, but I intentionally left off all points earned on the cards in these calculations including those anniversary miles. That definitely helps lower my effective annual fee though!

[@soapa4279]

To me, as long as you get close to break even, or net positive, AF's are a wash. It's just once you get a bunch of cards, is when it gets harder to keep track. One Amex Platinum and it's already a chore 😆

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Haha I definitely get that!

[@theVhin]

All of my credit card annual fees are well planned to pay for itself. My rule in keeping the cards is either net positive or zero, and by putting in a bit of effort, you’ll open up some privileges that cost tons of money to get there.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

That's a good way to look at em!

[@druiz012]

Crushing the game. Income, spend and travel habits are the most important factors of this game.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

You're the man David! I appreciate you! And I completely agree with you here.

[@germananditravels]

Yeah some people look at me like I'm crazy for having multiple credit cards too (even though not overboard), but when you explain to them how much value you get then they understand the obsession 🙏🏻

[@APRNVJ]

For me it just waste of time trying to explain to people (who don’t really care about credit cards) and they still look at me like “dude.. you have too many cards, thats not good for you.” 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@germananditravels]

@@APRNVJ that too, the main thing is just not carrying any large balances, since many people assume that's what's going on lol

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Yessir! As long as you use them responsibly, credit cards can be extremely powerful.

[@jimmyjames6492]

Great breakdown! Thanks for the info + video!

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Thanks so much my man!

[@shaikafzalchem]

Why do you need both 1.5x and 2x cards for miscellaneous expenses?

[@manuelmata9870]

Great vid! ALSO, 20k subs ! Congrats goat !

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Thank you so much my man! I really appreciate you!

[@noblegirl1991]

Yep, the amex gold for restaurants and supermarket, platinum for lounge and travel, trying to maximize the CSP, not sure how

[@evangibson8020]

Spence do you have a link to a template sheet similar to what you've put together to track your setup? I want to copy your homework. Also, once you get the Ritz card, are you going to keep CSR or downgrade to CSP? I don't see much benefit to holding both.

[@kristenletsinger600]

Same! I am a spreadsheet girl, and would love to tweak this to fit my cards.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I'll see what I can do about that when I'm back from vacation! I'll add it to the description early next week if I can make it worthwhile. It's a manual spreadsheet though, so keep that in mind. However, I do have a link to my overall credit card management spreadsheet in my roadmapping video if you want that one. That has some auto-calculation functions in it. The only reason I'll have to keep open the CSR is because the Ritz doesn't get me into the Chase Sapphire Terrace lounge in Austin. The Ritz gets you into all the other Chase lounges just fine, but not the one in my home airport sadly.

[@gottabe884]

Very in-depth look at all your AF cards and weighting the cost-to-benefit ratio for all. It is definitely something to have so many cards with an AF and to put a justification behind them. I personally do not see the appeal of airline cards, but to each their own.

[@Fish4Points]

Awesome video definitely high on the AF but when you’re getting that much value definitely worth it. Definitely helped me stick to my new strategy of going after chase cards more over the other issuers until my 5/24 goes down

[@chriscaraballo7079]

For lounge visits. I do put a value on the visit in total. Ex, centurion lounge I use 50, same as fee. Fair price for the food, drinks and just having a comfortable and quieter place to be rather than the dealing with the craziness at CLT airport.

[@chriscaraballo7079]

Great video btw: love these types of videos that have spreadsheets 😂

[@johnmckinstry6057]

Great job on going over how you use your cards and the value you're getting from them versus the annual fees! It's good that you're getting positive value in all of your cards with annual fees. Out of the 12 cards that I have now, I'm only paying $194 in annual fees. The IHG Premier card is definitely worth more than its $99 AF and I'm looking forward to see how much value I can get from the Chase Sapphire Preferred. I'm hoping to add the Hilton Surpass card to my setup later this month, so that will up my total annual fees to $344.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I appreciate you brother man! You're killing it with that low AF count. Those cashback cards are really helpful in that regard! However, I love my travel cards and all the value they provide and I have a feeling you'll like it too. As long as the AFs are manageable and you're getting positive value from all your cards, that's what matters!

[@Jeffwhite94]

Hey Spencer you said that you use other cards to pay rent to hit welcome offers. Is there a certain service that you use for this? Thanks

[@sjg6158]

Sounds like you know what you''re doing, and that's all that matters. It's all very impressive.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I really appreciate that man! I was going back through old videos earlier and saw your comments on videos from a long time ago. Super cool to still see you around 🫡

[@hc2777]

Are the drinks free in the lounge?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Yessir! Free with my access, but of course I pay the AF on the CSR for that benefit.

[@hc2777]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial ohhh ok got it. Thanks for the heads up

[@Jack_Kisala]

Great vid as usual, Spencer! Do you think you can share table file?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I'll see what I can do about that when I'm back from vacation! I'll add it to the description early next week if I can make it worthwhile. It's a manual spreadsheet though, so keep that in mind. However, I do have a link to my overall credit card management spreadsheet in my roadmapping video if you want that one. That has some auto-calculation functions in it.

[@Pmw78622]

Do you know how often you can upgrade a capital one card? I want the savor one but they’re not offering it to me, I’m hoping to upgrade my venture one to a quicksilver , and then hopefully when the quicksilver card is ready upgrade that a savor one might pop up as an offer since it’s In the same cash back category. Do you know how long that might take or if I can even do it? Or should I just apply for a new savor one?

[@flipevent]

Thanks for sharing this! Looking at your strategy--and I say this as a Venture X fan--I think that the Venture X IS very redundant for you. Now, does it hurt? Probably not, given that its the only card that really gives you access to C1 travel partners. AND, it technically does "pay you" with the $300 + 10k annual points. And yes, while you can downgrade to the normal Venture, then it would be pretty much a "dead" card in your wallet. But, any spend you're doing on C1, you're probably "throwing away" to an ecosystem you do not really care too much about. All in all, interesting, as the above is LITERALLY how I feel about Chase (the reverse of your situation). I just like the C1 benefits a bit more, and how "international-friendly" the C1 duo is > Chase trio.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Absolutely man! I definitely agree with you here. It's not a card I need to close by any means, but it also doesn't really give me anything special right now. I do plan on using C1 miles more in the future, but with the VX being my only C1 card, I'm not accumulating too many points on it every year outside of referral points. It's cool to hear you resonate with this with a different ecosystem though. That's the beauty of the credit card game!!

[@rmknicks]

Among my annual fee cards, I too have both the CSR and the VX. I'm cancelling the VX this month when the fee hits. I'd rather cancel than downgrade to the V1 and sock drawer it. I'm trying to simplify things.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

That’s a fair approach and one I’m not against. But considering I’ll likely have points stored up on it, I’ll want to keep it active by downgrading I assume. We’ll see though!

[@wanderingdoc5075]

I agree with you my CSR gives me all of the value and benefits that my venture X does, but still have 180k capital 1 miles that unfortunately have been hard to use so i think i still need to keep the venture x open.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

That or you could downgrade it! We'll see what I decide to do myself.

[@sawhneyshivam]

The main reason (spencer)why expanded my portfolio to 9 credit cards including business

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I hope you're getting a lot of value from those cards and using them responsibly!

[@jefflange2340]

Where's the 10k annual point bonus on the Venture X? You gotta factor in at least an extra $100 per year for that benefit.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I mentioned it in the video, but I intentionally left off all points earned on the cards in these calculations including those anniversary miles. That definitely helps lower my effective annual fee though!

[@jefflange2340]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial I haven't had it long enough but I guess in year 6 you get to double dip since you get the annual 10k and you also become eligible again for the GE credit.

[@chrisv4920]

Man I just upgraded my Capital QS to a V1. I’m happy with this move. I was planning on a VX, but l don’t see much value on the lounge and the 2x. I could find the same PP lounge with a CSR. 2x with a Citi double Cash. My Capital setup is V1 (just to have access to transfer partners) and my workhorse is the S1, all of that with no annual fee😁

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

It sounds like you made the right decision for your setup and that's exactly what we all need to do! Pairing that V1 with the S1 is super solid for sure.

[@Rowdyyy_rod]

You left out the annual 10k mile anniversary bonus for the Venture X?

[@Tyrantt__]

It’s 10k, but I thought the same thing. I assumed he might’ve left it out since he said at around 8:50 that he wasn’t calculating points, but just benefits. Although I consider the 10k points a benefit personally.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I left it out since I didn't include any points earned on any of my cards in these calculations, those 10k points included.

[@samdockery06]

I just turned 18 and got the CHASE Freedom Rise and soon to have either the Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex, deciding on the two but probably unlimited.. I want to know what other cards I should get that AREN'T with CHASE, I am going to trade school for HVAC in a month and will be an apprentice later down in a few months.. I have done a lot of research on credit and different cards I just want to get some feedback, thanks!

[@tooeasy4217]

Since you want more UR points why not take advantage of the 5x with CIC and get visa gift cards?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

That’s not a strategy I’ve been super comfortable with implementing but I know it works well for folks. Maybe one day!

[@tooeasy4217]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial why is that?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

@@tooeasy4217 Honestly it just feels weird to do for some reason. Also, I'm basically always spending towards SUBs so I don't go out of my way for those strategies while I'm earning more back through welcome offers.

[@tooeasy4217]

@SpencerJohnsonOfficial well what about in between subs ?

[@Plague_GG]

What do you do with the cards that aren’t in your strategy? I’ve heard that if you don’t use a card they might close the account or it might hurt your credit.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

As of right now each one of my cards is still being used at least for a small purchase here and there to keep them active. Cancelling your oldest cards isn't recommended since they prop up your average age of accounts, but business cards or newer cards getting cancelled won't impact you as much.

[@jamesyu613]

Those AF can really add up but if you can use it well it can sure pay off. This quarter I’m using CF for gas 5x and IHG and prime for groceries from a bonus offer

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Absolutely right man! I love to hear it.

[@jamesyu613]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial ya

[@jamesyu613]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial yup

[@RtheStory3333]

Beers in the delta sky club that I would otherwise be buying in the airport more than makeup for the annual fee on my delta amex reserve so gotta factor those in

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Absolutely!

[@karenmyrie6215]

I feel the same way. The SkyClubs (or AMEX Centurion Lounges) are my happy place when I travel. For me, it's food at one or both ends of my trip plus beverages. If I tried to do that from an airport vendor, that would likely be at least $20-25 each time. For 1 round-trip, where I go to the SkyClub before and after each flight, that's $80-100. That plus the no baggage fees. If I do 5 or 6 plane trips/year, that AMEX Reserve's AF is a wa$h. Plus I can get myself & my devices recharged. Win-win!!

[@noah.rebranded]

Bro you need the AMEX trifecta

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Maybe one day. I'm not the target demographic for that setup right now though.

[@samuelbenton9437]

Any reason you wouldn’t get the Marriott bonvoy brilliant before product changing boundless to the ritz?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Mainly because I'd have to wait 24 months after getting the Boundless to be eligible for the Brilliant welcome offer. I'll take advantage of the Ritz in the meantime.

[@stoneymoore463]

I’m at 4/24 right now. I know business cards usually don’t count towards 5/24 but does that require using an LLC name or can I apply with my name to stay at 4/24?

[@Trinity-ooof]

My guess is that since this is your business, KZbin credit card content, that you are able to deduct the credit card expense on taxes as business expense. Just my guess, how it makes sense for you.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Definitely a lot of perks with this business!

[@412foto]

I am currently at 14 cards and $1785 in annual fees but that has the Amex Platinum as a big outlier and the Amex Business Gold that I will be canceling as I just hit one year from it, they raised annual fee ($375 ouch!), and the one offset credit doesn't fully offset it and is a pain to remember to use (I buy a case of water and some snacks at an office supply store to trigger it). When I get under 5/24 in March 2025 there will likely be a few new annual fee cards added but all relatively low amounts and eventually might add a Hilton Aspire card to maintain Diamond status but will have to see how the math works and will have to close my Hilton Business card to free up a spot too.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Nice man! Sounds like we have very similar setups and plans for 2025. I like where your heads at for sure! Let me know how your setup changes in the coming months 👊🏼

[@412foto]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficial no plans to add anything new to the setup right now. definitely Gold Biz is going this month. just working at paying down some business cards and waiting for 5/24 Chase access again so I can add Hyatt card, Ink card or two, and maybe Southwest card. New Wells Fargo card is tempting but waiting to hear if it is truly just cash back or points can transfer.

[@IanMaschal]

Define editing spend? Someone else? Software?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

It codes as media services or something like that on my Amex business gold but it’s a team of editors that I pay a subscription fee to every month.

[@seanhughes2026]

@SpencerJohnson there is an account that I believe is trying to pose as you responding to comments on your videos just wanted to make sure you were aware!

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I appreciate that! If you ever see those, feel free to report them for me.

[@whothou]

Referrals, There ya go

[@Just_Stevo]

I like your videos, but the only way you can justify them is with referral bonuses.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Well based on this video, that being the "only way" I justify them is not accurate as I didn't take into account any referral bonuses or points on my cards at all. But you're right in saying referral bonuses make almost every card worth it for us KZbinrs. I just don't factor that in my reviews since that's not relatable to the audience.

[@proscoe]

Seems like some wishful evaluations. I’m sure you’re getting a lot of value from other redemptions but I wouldn’t value chase points at $.002/pt on a redemption for $.0015/pt. Also, the free night certificate is great but it isn’t worth the full value of its points (85k*$.0008/pt) since it’s way less flexible. Unless you travel a ton or are planning a whole trip around using the certificate you’re probably not getting that full value. And if you do have that kind of flexibility you can probably get an even better redemption just having the points to split up over multiple nights or combine with other points.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

I appreciate your perspective! As you’ll see in my next video, the 2 cpp valuation for Chase points as an average is pretty spot on. As for the Marriott free night, it all depends on the redemption. I took the average value of the points since I haven’t used them yet. Once I use the free night I’ll have a concrete number to share. Thanks for watching!

[@JakeVanderPloeg]

20 drinks?!? Woah lets calm down Spencer Haha jk jk. Loved the breakdown of the EAFs. Keep up the good work my friend!

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

My buddies help me out a lot lol. Gotta live it up when you're in the lounge! I appreciate you boss 🥈

[@colinblumer31]

The two workhorses of my setup are the VX and the AMEX Gold (I also utilize Bilt, Marriott, etc., but those earn minimal points on everyday spend). I am with you that the Gold just doesn't make sense for the credits, especially when there are essentially free versions of the Gold with the Savor 1 and some Chase combos. I am tempted to drop the Gold and get into the Chase ecosystem since I don't have any Chase cards. However, it would be redundant for me to get the Reserve I think since I already have the VX. I could get the Chase Sapphire Preferred just for the transfer partners, but is that worth it over the Savor 1?

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

To me, the Sapphire Preferred is one of the easiest cards to justify even if you just use it to transfer points out. I agree there are redundancies between the CSR and VX, but if all you need is access to their transfer partners, the CSP is an easy solution to that. That or even the Chase Ink Preferred if you go the business route.

[@tooeasy4217]

Those are rookie number! 😂

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Hahah I’ll get em up one day!

[@wanderingdoc5075]

Been at over $4500 for years 😂

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Hahah love it.

[@SOXGATORS]

😊

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Killing it! 👑

[@SOXGATORS]

@@SpencerJohnsonOfficialreally no way 🍪 for me I guess.

[@IanMaschal]

Dang man 24 years be looking like they 30 now

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

Hahah I’ll take that as a compliment 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@fwoodbridge]

$2133? You're a child.

[@SpencerJohnsonOfficial]

👶🏼

[@JoshuaDonato-b1b]

U loook 30 but very smart guy 🫡