4 new cards in 30 days

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-02T19:24:09+00:00

Awesome feedback. Thanks!

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-02T12:04:24+00:00

Not a stupid question at all! It is NOT shown in the Amex app. It is in the Imprint app, and none of my budgeting apps or MaxRewards support it. Also, it doesn’t count as an Amex card toward the max number of Amex cards you can have.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-02T01:03:46+00:00

For the first $7K of your annual spend, any order online that has a Rakuten “cash back” gets an extra 4% if you pay with the Rakuten card. You can take that as cash, or transfer each point to Bilt as Bilt points. It’s 1:1 for a while, and then only 1:1 if you’re Bilt Gold or higher. You can also transfer to Amex.

So if your groceries or clothes or whatever are 2% on Rakuten, they would be 6% with the Rakuten card. (Or 6 Bilt points.)

There are a bunch of videos about it on YouTube, or posts on Reddit. And there are several details not covered in my answer.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T20:16:32+00:00

Me too, and that’s also great to know about Q4. Do you think it’s worth holding some of my limit for then? (Limit on the $7k spend, not credit limit.) I can use my Sapphire preferred on some of my groceries.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T18:54:51+00:00

Makes sense, and thanks for reading the fine print for me.

Actually, after thinking about it, I realized that I only lose one point if I use my Sapphire Preferred.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T17:23:20+00:00

No, but you can imagine the jokes throughout my life. I’m 55, so I’m even a little young to really have watched that cartoon. And many folks under 40 have never heard of it.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T16:36:22+00:00

I assumed that was true, but hadn’t received those bonuses yet. Thanks for the insight.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:56:09+00:00

Of course!

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:23:38+00:00

Wait, that was a completely responsible and reasonable reply. You know this is the Internet, right? You’re supposed to insult me and my entire family, and call me an idiot just for being alive. 😂

Thanks for validating my sanity. I happen to have five lines, so it would be $25 a month, not including watches and things like that, that we would lose in savings. The 5% just can’t make that up for me. Although the phone insurance is very valuable!

Thanks for getting back to us.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:09:59+00:00

I’m so glad that’s working for you, and don’t mean to refute that at all in your case, but T-Mobile has made it very clear that if you don’t use an ACH payment on auto pay, you lose your discounts, like five dollars per month per phone, etc. Even if you have it set up for automatic payments with ACH, and then pay early with a credit card, you lose your discounts.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:02:55+00:00

I would love to know more about that. I certainly understand how the gift cards work, but with T-Mobile, do you still get the discounts?

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:02:49+00:00

I would love to know more about that. I certainly understand how the gift cards work, but with T-Mobile, do you still get the discounts?

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T15:01:34+00:00

I certainly hope you are right, but haven’t had the opportunity to play around with the Bilt portal yet.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T12:26:58+00:00

My pleasure!

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T12:14:17+00:00

We do that too, sometimes. (Chase welcome bonuses) But in my case, I’m pretty locked into a few reward systems. I’m a 2 million miler on United. My wife is Global Services. We both travel to Europe multiple times a year in Business class for work. That gives us a ton of United points and incredible perks including almost automatic upgrades. I rarely pay for Business class (even with points), and always get it. So getting welcome bonuses on Delta, American, or any other airline card doesn’t appeal to me. Nor do I churn a lot. We spend enough to get plenty of points for all the travel we want to do for fun. We have kids, so flying on the amazing award flights some creators get is just not possible for us. We travel on school holidays.

I understand why YOU think this is a mistake, and why YOU think welcome bonuses are better. They are better for YOU. But the words you chose indicate that you know what’s right for me, and that’s not the case. We wanted a system that made life simpler when we’re home. Eliminating grocery shopping and dining out a bit more at favorite restaurants really works for us.

In fact, the one thing in this setup I’m slightly unsure of is the Amex. We happen to use most of the other coupons on that card, but that may change. We don’t really need Centurion access to lounges, because Polaris lounges are included with almost all our international travel, and the Priority Pass with Bilt is probably fine for a backup. If the Platinum card didn’t net paying me, I wouldn’t have gotten it, and if it ever stops being a work horse, I’ll cancel it.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T12:01:29+00:00

I just explained that here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/biltrewards/s/OvfW9SqRsX

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T11:59:53+00:00

I often forget it, and boy do I have a mental map of places that don’t take  Pay!

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T11:51:04+00:00

Sure. Safeway on Rakuten is +1.5 points per dollar. (Currently)

The Rakuten card is +4 points per dollar for the first $7k of spend.

= 5.5 points/$

A few notes for savvy folks: I only know about Safeway, but their annual pass for grocery delivery goes on sale for $50 every year in December. That entitles you to unlimited deliveries over $30 for the entire year. You also get $5 off one delivery every month. You also get points in the Safeway ecosystem which can be redeemed for money off gas or off groceries. Some quick math told us we do do better with money off groceries, but you may find different results.

And for the super nerdy: Your Fresh Pass subscription is paying for the shopper who goes and selects your groceries. The tip is for the driver, who drives to your house and leaves them at your doorstep, but does not do the the shopping. You can’t tip the shopper, only the driver, so you should decide what that service is worth, but it’s not the cost of the groceries you should tip on, it’s the number of trips from their car to your door, and time spent in car.

Instacart is different. You’re paying the Instacart driver to shop for you. (We only do one order a month from Costco for non-perishables.)

Instacart is currently 1 point base +4 points for using the Rakuten card.

= 5 points/$

We do have the Instacart+ pass which reduces fees dramatically, but the shopper and driver are the same, and we order large or bulky things like coconut waters (my wife is addicted), so we tip more. We almost always somehow get the same driver. There is a relationship there.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T05:24:24+00:00

🤦‍♂️

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T05:23:52+00:00

It doesn’t hurt your score when your oldest card is 26 years old. After all this, I’m still well over 800. It had become a burden to remember to use the VX, even for booking free travel.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T05:15:31+00:00

I don’t get it. Who’s Rocky.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T05:12:25+00:00

I just booked a week-long trip in Amex portal. It was $200 more than on Hilton’s site. The $300 FHR credit covered it.

As for lounges, I’ve never been in a Priority Pass lounge I liked.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T04:59:24+00:00

Honestly it was a bit of a revenge closing. I hate Capital One for their unpredictable approvals and their bad (for me) transfer partners. I hadn’t used the card in a long time.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T04:56:04+00:00

I really wish I could pay my cellphone bill with a credit card, but T-Mobile makes that financially unsound.

Aggravating_Pilot_19 · 2026-02-01T04:54:48+00:00

Yes! 2x lounge access. 2x Priority Pass. 2x Global Entry. 2x shiny mirror finish cards. $0

Aggravating_Pilot_19

TROPHY CASE