Which card
Which of your cards to use for a purchase, and why the answer moves during the month.
Miles vs cash back: which wins for your spend?
Miles win when you redeem above your cash-back rate on trips you would take. Cash back wins when you want dollars without award charts or transfer partners.
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9 articlesWhich card is best for groceries, and why does the answer change mid-year?
The highest grocery rate is not the best grocery card for most people. Published rates, the caps that end them, and the break-even that decides the fee.
Which credit card should I use for this purchase?
Four facts decide which card to reach for, and three are printed on the issuer's page. The order to check them in, worked through on real published rates.
Does Walmart count as grocery for credit card rewards?
Usually not. Amex and Capital One treat Walmart as a superstore, not a supermarket, so most grocery bonuses pay the base rate. Target and Costco too.
Which card is best for fuel, and where does the rate quietly change?
A gas rewards rate is paid on a merchant code, not on what you bought. Named cards, their caps, and why pay-at-pump sometimes earns a different rate.
What is the best travel card if you are not chasing airline or hotel status?
A flat travel rate with no foreign fee beats a co-branded card for most trips. Two named cards, what status actually buys, and when it is worth the work.
How do you track rotating bonus categories without a spreadsheet?
A rotating 5% card only pays its bonus rate if you activate on time and stop at its cap. What the two major cards require, and what replaces the spreadsheet.
When does cashback lose to interest?
Cashback pays once on a purchase; interest charges daily on the balance you still owe. A dollar example of where they cross, and which to optimise first.
When does your bonus category card stop winning?
Every headline bonus rate stops at a cap. Find the day yours reverts, and why the card to use for the next dollar changes before the cumulative total says so.