Madison MoneySports - Personal Finance Thread

[Jake]

I have six, but only use three (and most stuff only goes on one). I've done some "churning" to get new signup bonuses but it takes some effort to make sure you aren't applying for too many at once/closing them too soon. Also takes effort to remember which benefits are located where. I've got a Google Sheet for it but the perks are worth it if you can spare the effort.

One of the six will be closed once I finish burning the airline miles I earned on it. Another has been open since I was 20, has a $1k limit but helps overall length of credit history. The third "non-used" was a 0% card that I used to buy a lot of new furniture when I moved. It'll be paid off next week and ignored after that. I set notifications for each card to alert me if $1 is spent, so I know immediately if the number is somehow stolen (as they all sit at home in a drawer...).

I primarily use a Chase Sapphire Reserve as their Ultimate Rewards program is great and the other perks are worth it as well. I also have a Chase Freedom and Discover It, both of which have rotating 5% cash-back categories that somehow don't overlap, so I'm always getting 5% off groceries, gas, etc depending on which card I use. The Freedom's 5% "cash back" can also be converted to "Ultimate Rewards points back" - and because I also have the CSP, those points are worth more than if I just had the Freedom. So it's a tricky way of making another percentage point or so on the earnings.