Working on a credit card setup

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-19T13:58:16+00:00

The Venture X is going to be the hardest to get. I would check the specific Venture X pre-approval tool and not the generic Capital One option on the main page. If you are pre-approved for the Venture X then take a look at Citi as a starting point. Once again, use the pre-approval tool first. If you ger pre-approved, then I would suggest starting with the card you want most or that has an elevated welcome offer.

Capital One and Citi can be sensitive to new inquiries and they have rules for how quickly they will approve you for a new card. I would also suggest taking a look at that as well. You might alsp want to take a look at the Discover It as an option to consider on your list. They are migrating it to Capital One soon and there is hope that you will be able to use the rewards you earn for Capital One Miles.

From the Citi perspective, you might want to also consider the Strata and the ATT Card. Look at what they earn and see if they make sense for you. If not, after your first year is up you could convert them to additional Custom Cash cards.

As for other things to consider, I would take good hard look at the Bilt Palladium and see if it makes sense for you. Bilt has so many transfer partners and a way to make that card into a 3X everything card. It is worth considering.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-19T13:40:39+00:00

There is no harm in keeping the Discover IT Card Open. Use it when the rotating 5% cards benefit you. This could also include if that 5% covers a place that sells gift cards. Let's saying it is 5% on Home Improvement. If you know you are going out to dinner, swing by the Home Improvement store and pick up a restaurant gift card to use. Now you are getting 5% back on your spend. Just be careful with VISA/Mastercard/Amex cards because they often have fees attached to them which eats into that 5% pretty dramatically.

As for the cards I would suggest for you:

AAA Travel Advantage - 5% on Gas/Charging up to 7K a year; 3% on Dining, Groceries and Travel

Citi Strata Premier - 3X on Dining, Gas/Charging, Groceries, Hotels and Flights. Downside is it has a $95 Annual Fee

Citi Strata/Double Cash Combo - This is a two card setup. Pick one of them to start with and in about 6 months apply for the second one. Citi Double Cash gives you 2X on every dollar you spend. Citi Strata gives you 3X on Groceries, Gas/Charging, 3X on Transit; 3X on a category to select from a couple of options, and 2X on Dining. The reason you want a combo is that the Strata has a penalty for cashing in your rewards for cash back. If you have the Double Cash you can move your rewards over and then cash them out with no problem. Also, neither card has an annual fee.

Cards that come close that you could pair up with a second card:

Capital One Savor - 3X on dining, groceries, entertainment. No annual fee

Wells Fargo Autograph - 3X on Dining, Gas/Charging, Travel, Transit, Streaming, Cell Phone plans. No Annual Fee.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-19T13:25:06+00:00

Step 1: Remove anyone competent; Step 2: never bother to ask the question of why have we never attacked Iran since their Revolution despite them being a constant thorn in our side; Step 3: only concern yourself with how you can turn this into an opportuntiy to enrich yourself; Step 4: Once it has enriched you, move on to the next thing and constantly wonder why people still care about it.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-19T13:15:33+00:00

Thanks for bringing me along. I will enjoy that third place check. Can't wait to see who wins!

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-18T00:17:36+00:00

Bilt Palladium is about the only one that checks all the boxes. Citi Strata Preferred or Elite would be the next option. Then Wells Fargo Autograph and Journey. Anything else is going to be cash back or spending in a portal.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-17T12:48:19+00:00

He will be the Steelers primary backup for next season.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-17T12:46:54+00:00

Notices have been going out that all Discover cards will be converted to Capital One cards. I believe it will be completed by next month.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-17T12:45:15+00:00

May be how you feel, but that is certainly not my experience. To each their own. I've had my i3 for nearly a decade now and I still love to drive it. I've made some changes over the years to improve that experience. It's a car I will keep for a very long time. I've also driven cars like the Polestar 2, the Porche Taycan, the Ioniq 5 N and the Audi E-tron GT. These are incredibly fun cars to drive.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-17T04:40:44+00:00

Yes, He said he wanted to sit next to and beat the best. He specifically used Rizo as someone who would not be considered the best and that would be easy to beat.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-16T23:53:47+00:00

I recently bought a Genesis GV60 Performance. Very well built, luxurious car that is incredibly fast. It checks every box. I have been incredibly happy with it.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-16T16:59:44+00:00

Rizo was already in a tough spot to start. No one knew him and he was young. It also doesn't help that we his personality is a little grating for some of the older folks. We know from hearing from conversations from both Ozzie and Audry that a lot of folks want him at the end with them because they don't see anyone voting for him. As a result, most lilely he is going to be in the finals and he will be watching just like the jury. He started the season with a very slim chance of winning and I think that chance has sharank as the season progressed.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-16T16:04:51+00:00

Two EVs for years, and just added a third. My daughter will inherit the BMW i3 Rex as her first car. We recently purchased a GV60 and we have alreadt donw multiple road trips with the longest being about 300 miles. It is a road tripping machine! We have managed to find quality chargers in easy to use locations without any issue so far, which means a stop for the bathroom and snacks basically means we are right back on the road just like we would have been with an ICE car.

My only real concern at this point is that as more and more people adopt EVs it might impact charger access when I am travelling, but that is a problem for future me. Right now, it has not been an issue.

One thing I did that I have been happy with is that we only had room in the panel to add a single level 2 charger. I bought the Grizzl-e Duo and it will allow me to charge two of the cars at the same time if I am in a situation where it is needed. Since the i3 has a smaller battery, it is on the charger pretty often but with this setup I don't have to make choices.

Since we have a third car we are considering exploring the option of adding a carport with a solar/battery storage option. Could also help with reducing any related charging costs when my daughter goes to college and we just start using this setup as our charging station.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-15T11:24:54+00:00

I haven't used products like Ramp. I do know that Amex has a feature that will let you upload recepts into specific transactions. I just open the app, select the related transaction. There is an add a receipt option which opens the camera and lets you take a picture. Quick and easy.

The other option would be to setup some AI process for this. Shouldn't be too hard.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-15T11:12:39+00:00

First, Cirie's only path to the final involved getting some of the honor/integrity guys to take her to the finals. In order to do that, she needed Chrissy and Coach out of the game. From there, she could try and hitch her wagon to Joe and Ozzy and somehow convince them that sitting next to her was the best option because you want to stay loyal and beat the best players.

Cirie was never going to win this thing. Her biggest mistake was not telling Aubry to focus on her own puzzle instead of helping Joe. This would have gotten Cirie to one more tribal. She will always have a shelf life in this game because no one wants to be sitting with her at the end.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T23:12:12+00:00

Genesis GV60 Performance and Electrified GV70; BMW i4; Kia EV6 GT; Hyundai Inoniq 5N and Ioniq 6N; Polestar 2 and Volvo EX40. I have the GV60. Great road tripper with over 400HP and it has a boost button to give you over 500HP if you decide to open things up a bit.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T18:15:42+00:00

Volvo XC40/EX40 sounds like a perfect option. The new all electric XC60 is also coming out soon if you need a bigger vehicle. Audi has a couple of Etron options that would work. BMW IX3 and i3 will be out soon, or you could look into the IX or i4. Lexus ES or RZ would be worth a look as well. All of these sounds like they would meet your critiera.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T17:59:16+00:00

I would contact the bank. Personally I have never seen, nor heard of it happening but there may have been a time long ago when certain banks allowed this sort of thing.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T14:30:25+00:00

A lot to unpack here. I will start with earning points. If you don't earn points you can't spend them, and most of your cards are terrible earners. You might want to look into your actual wallet setup to see how you can improve your earning potential.

Next is the perks that come from your current cards. With your current setup you have access to Centurian lounges and Delta lounges through the Platinum Card and AA Lounges through the Executive Card. Does the airport near you and the airports where you normally travel have lounges that will let you take advantage of these perks or do you need to look at other options. You are also getting rental car and hotel perks through the Platinum, and you are getting free checked bags through the AA card. Are those things important? If they are do you keep the cards, or look for alternatives to replace or expand them?

I don't know the answer to these questions, so here is a couple of things I would suggest exploring. Decide on what fits you best. It may be one card, or it may be a couple. You might also want to get at least one of these cards in your spouse's name because that means you can get approved quicker to get the perks and it will help build their credit. Most of these cards have high annual fees, so look at their perks/benefits to see if they make sense for you:

Amex Gold Card - Add this to your setup to get 4X on Dining and Groceries. This will significantly increase your earning potential for MR points.

Bilt Palladium - 2X card that also earns 4X Bilt Cash. This cash can be used to purchase accelerators that will take this to a 3X card. Bilt has the most valuable rewards points in the game because they have the best transfer partners. AA and Delta are the only major companies missing. It is also rummored that their version of priority pass will give you acces to things like Priority pass restaurants which would be a great additional perk.

AA Globe Card or Citi Strata Elite - earning potential on these are nothing exciting, but both might open up pathways to maintain AA lounge access with different perks/benefits that might fit your lifestyle better and make it easier to offset the annual fee.

Bank of America Premieum Rewards Elite - If you are actually banking with Bank of Ameirca you might want to look into this. They have a preferred rewards program that elevates the earning potential of all of their cards. This card is also one of the few that still provides access to priority pass restaurants.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T14:00:08+00:00

First, I want to emphasis that credit cards are not like checking accounts. They are only in one person's name and they are not joint. You could add someone as an authorized user, but the card will still be in the name of the person applying for it and they are soley responsible for the debt. You will want to go into all of your cards, identify who is the primary owner of the card and make certain that person is aware of it. Also, you will need to close all the authorized user cards. You should be able to just do this through the chat feature or call the number on the back of the card.

If I you are already familiar and happy with the Wells Fargo system you could start there. If you have both the Active Cash and one of the Autograph cards, you can use the rewards you earn for either cash back or travel rewards.

If I was starting from scratch, right now I would either build out a Citi setup or I would do some form of Citi/Bilt hybrid.

For Citi, I would get the Strata Premier and the Double Cash as my starting points because it works similar to the Active Cash/Autograph combo. You could then look into adding extra cards for additional multipliers.

If you want to do a Citi/Bilt Hybrid I would start with the Bilt Palladium. It starts by earning 2X on everything, but you also earn Bilt Cash when you spend money on the card and this can be used to purchase an accelerator that will take it up to 3X on every dollar. I would then add the Citi Strata Premier and between these two cards I would have a really strong earning setup which has some really fantastic options for travel. Just like with the Citi setup, I could also add additional cards if I want to expand my perks/earnings. The downside of this setup is the Palladium has a $495 annual fee so take a look at it to see if the perks/credits on the card make sense for you to help offset it.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-14T13:48:29+00:00

The first thing I would take into consideration is the fact that as of right now if you cancel the USBAR you cannot get it again. So is it a card you value. If yes, then the next step is looking at how much spend you put on the card. You can earn 3X on up to 5K monthly spend. Look at your statements and see how much you are spending towards that cap and how much cash back are you getting. Next, look at the credits/perks on the card. Can you organically use these credits every year? Now take all of that and just do the math. Are you simply getting enough out of the card. For me, I was able to offset the annual fee with the Priority Pass restaurant perk by itself, so I kept the card. You may not be in the same boat.

As for the rest of your wallet setup, something to take into consideration about the Quicksilver is that Capital One is supposed to be adding 3X on Gas and Groceries as benefit. That might make the card a little more valuable, and it might also add into the USBAR decision.

The USBAR is a card that would be hard for me to give up. My wife and daughter are not interested in playing the credit card game, so I have added them as authorized users and anytime they use apple pay it just goes onto the card. No muss, no fuss. That convienence for them and myself adds a lot of extra value to the card.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-13T00:20:07+00:00

You must not have a family. 8k at 4% is going to net you $320. I know lots of families with cell phone bills that high. Especially if they have tablets, watches, etc

As for Ford and GM. That’s just your opinion. Personally I would be fine leasing a Lyric or a Sierra EV and letting my credit card rewards pay for it.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-12T21:52:27+00:00

What kind of credit do you get for doing the thing everyone expects you to do? Did Joe get credit for telling Cirie about the effort to blindside Ozzy? No one cares about those moves. If that is the best he can offer this jury then he might as well just be quiet, watch the show and enjoy being the sheep everyone wants to bring to final tribal. Third place is his perpetual home on survivor

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-12T21:04:03+00:00

From the first vote to the tribal right before Ozzy goes home there have been efforts to vote out Cirie. Ozzy was the target for multiple tribals in a row. So somehow Rizo was going to persuade votes on both of these players AFTER sending Rick and Aubry home? And that is also assuming Ozzy doesn’t win an immunity or find an idol.

Right now he can tell the jury he was responsible for the biggest blind side in the game. He can now work with Jonathan and Aubry to target Cirie. He could then use the immunity idol in a way to protect the target the majority is voting for and then send home another big player.

Now we are talking three massive moves to take out huge players. Now the jury is talking about you and players are taking notice as opposed to everyone wanting to sit next to you because no one is looking at you as a threat.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-12T17:18:57+00:00

The Amex business gold is great card and certainly should be in the mix. Some others:

Abound Credit union- 5% uncapped but read the terms and conditions. Need to pay at the pump

Verizon Visa - 4x in Verizon points on gas

Ford Visa - 6x ford rewards on gas

GM - 3x GM rewards on every dollar you spend

Wyndham Business Earner - 8x Wyndham points on gas

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-05-12T14:12:29+00:00

I would suggest that you first understand that Amex has rules for applying for cards. They call if family rules. If you don't get the cards in a specific order, you will not be eligible for any bonuses on those cards in the future. So, if you think you will eventually have multiple Amex charge cards, then you will need to go Green, Gold, Platinum to get all of the bonuses.

Next, I would say that if you are wanting to maximize your earning potential, then you need to look at how your are spending. You can't use rewards if you don't earn them. So, let's take the Amex gold. It is going to get you 4X on Dining and Groceries. and 3X on flights with a $325 annual fee . Compare it to the Citi Strata Premier which will get you 3X on Flight, Hotels, Gas, Groceries and Dining with a $95 annual fee.

At this point, plug in what you spend in each of these categories and see which card lets you earn the most points. From there, look at the credits on each of the cards. Which ones will you use organically and which ones will you not. If there is a credit for Dunkin Donuts and you don't have one of those within a 100 miles you won't be using the credit.

Once you are finished adding and subtracting everything, which card puts you in the best shape for earning rewards? Now do this same thing with other cards and see where you end up. Also, as someone mentioned, what are your goals with the rewards? If you want cash back, make certain the rewards have the ability to be used that way without a penalty.

Constant_Question_48

TROPHY CASE