About one year before we embarked on our nomadic lifestyle we really dove in on the art of earning credit card points. Of course you’re not allowed to apply to too many credit cards in a short period of time, without having negative effects on your credit score. Also, the credit card companies have their own rules around frequency and number of cards you sign up for. So, we developed a careful game plan to earn over 1.2 million credit card points within one year… and it worked!
We continue to adjust our portfolio of cards over time, getting rid of some that don’t serve us as well anymore, and adding some new ones to the collection. Here are the credit cards we use:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Sign up Bonus: 75,000 Points ($5K spend in 3 months)
Points & Benefits: 3x restaurants, vacation homes (Airbnb, etc.), gas stations, streaming services, online grocery; 2x all other travel; and a number of other benefits.
Annual fee: $95 -> (Annual $100 hotel credit covers this fee)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is our go to card to earn 3x points on Airbnbs, restaurants, coffee shops, and our streaming services. It also covers theft and collision damage for car rentals, so we can waive the extra fees when renting cars.
Capital One Venture
Sign up Bonus: 75,000 Points ($4K spend in 3 months)
Points and Benefits: 2x on all purchases under all categories; and a number of other benefits.
Annual fee: $95
The Capital One Venture card is our default card for all purchases that do not earn us more than 2x points on certain categories. Also, not foreign transaction fees.
Chase Ink Business Preferred
Sign up Bonus: 100,000 Points ($8K spend in 3 months)
Points and benefits: 3x all travel, including vacation homes (Airbnb, etc.), air fare, hotels, car rentals, trains, buses, taxis, rideshare, parking; Internet, cable and phone services; Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines; and a number of other benefits.
Annual fee: $95
We use the Chase Business Ink Preferred card for most things travel related. It also covers theft and collision damage for car rentals, so we can waive the extra fees when renting cars.
Chase United Explorer
Sign up Bonus: 60,000 mileage plus miles ($3K spend in 3 months)
Points: 3x-9x United Mileage Plus miles on purchases, 2x miles on hotels, 2x on restaurants
Other Benefits: 2 United Club one-time passes per year, free first checked bag, priority boarding, plus a number of other benefits.
Annual fee: $0 first year, then $150/yr
We use the United Explorer card for costs related to flights we take on United Airlines, and for the two United Club passes per year.
Citi Strata Premier
Sign up Bonus: 60,000 Points ($4K spend in 3 months)
Points and benefits: 3x supermarkets, hotels, vacation homes (Airbnb), restaurants, airfare, and gas stations; and a number of other benefits.
Annual fee: $95
We use the Citi Strata Premier primarily for supermarket purchases, but we also swap it in with the others above for some of the travel purchases where it earns 3x points.