What’s In My Wallet
Current as of April 2026.
This page lists every credit card I currently have open, what I use each one for, and whether I’m actually using it at all.
Some of these cards earn their spot. Others I keep open for credit history or a specific perk.
This is my setup. It’s not the right setup for everyone.
But laying it out gives me a reference I can keep current and lets you see the thinking behind my choices.
How Links on This Page Work
You’ll see two types of links on this page:
- Referral links. For some of these cards, I have a personal referral link tied to my account. If you apply through one, I may receive a referral bonus. I’ll label these clearly.
- Direct links. For cards where I don’t have a referral link, I’ll link directly to the issuer’s page. There’s no compensation involved.
The Ways to Wealth LLC is not a formal partner of any credit card company. I don’t have affiliate agreements with card issuers. The cards on this page are here because I carry them.
The Cards I Actually Spend Money On
These are the cards I use on a regular basis, ranked by how much I spend on each one.
A note on business cards: I hold a few, including the Chase Ink Business Preferred that turns my Freedom and Freedom Unlimited points into transferable Ultimate Rewards. I’ve left business cards off this page for now to keep the focus on personal spending. I’ll likely add them in a future update.
Bilt Palladium Card
Referral Link
Annual fee: $495
I shifted most of my personal spending to this card in 2026.
Bilt points are, in my opinion, the most valuable (and complicated!) transferable point currency available.
The Bilt Card earns 2x on all everyday purchases, and those points transfer 1:1 to partners like Alaska Airlines and World of Hyatt.
On top of the 2x points, the card also earns 4% back in a separate currency called Bilt cash.
Bilt cash is not the same as Bilt points. You can’t transfer it to airline or hotel partners. It’s a separate balance you can use for things like hotel credits, rideshare, dining and other redemptions within the Bilt ecosystem.
What I use my Bilt Cash for is to purchase Point Accelerators.
Each one costs $200 in Bilt cash and adds an extra point per dollar on the next $5,000 in everyday spending, bringing the earn rate from 2x to 3x. You can buy up to five per year, which covers $25,000 in annual spend at the 3x rate.
On top of that, you can earn points on mortgage payments.
I earn points on my roughly $3,000 monthly mortgage payment through Bilt with no transaction fee. That’s up to 36,000 points a year on an expense that wouldn’t earn anything elsewhere.
For me, even valuing those points at just 1 cent each, that’s $360 a year in value from my mortgage alone, which significantly brings down the $495 annual fee.
I’m not going to pretend I love paying $495 a year. The Bilt travel portal isn’t great, and the whole system is more complicated than any card I’ve owned.
But the value I get from this card is hard to beat if you’re transferring points to partners and using Bilt to pay your mortgage. If you’re a renter, it works the same way. You can earn up to 1 Bilt point per dollar on your rent with no transaction fee.
I wrote a full Bilt Palladium review covering the math, mortgage angle, and how the three new Bilt cards compare.
Best for: Higher personal spenders who transfer points to airline and hotel partners. Also worth a hard look if you have a mortgage or pay rent. Those are points you can’t earn anywhere else, and the higher your payment, the more the annual fee math works in your favor.
Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card
Annual fee: $95
Direct Link
This card doesn’t look like much. The base earn rate is 1x, with 2x on flights and dining, and 4x at Hyatt properties.
But this card easily pays for itself many times over every year.
You get one free Category 1-4 night every year with the card renewal.
I’ve used these certificates on nights that would have cost anywhere from $300 to over $1,000.
If you put $15,000 in spend on the card in a calendar year, you get a second free Category 1-4 night.
I put my Costco spending here since I can’t use the Bilt card there (Costco is Visa only).
It only earns 1x, but hitting $15,000 gets me a second free night certificate.
Even on a $300-a-night hotel, that’s an extra 2% return on that spend just from the certificate ($300 ÷ $15,000 = 2%), on top of the 15,000 Hyatt points I earned along the way (15,000 × 1x = 15,000 points).
The card also gives you five elite qualifying nights, which helps as someone who tries to earn Hyatt Globalist every year.
Best for: Anyone who stays at Hyatt even once or twice a year. The free night certificates can easily return multiples of the $95 annual fee, especially during peak times when Category 4 hotels get expensive. You need to hit $15,000 in annual spend to unlock the full value.
Amazon Prime Visa
Referral Link
Annual fee: $0
I use this card for two things: Amazon and Whole Foods. Both earn 5% back.
These are Chase points, not Chase Ultimate Rewards points, so they don’t transfer to airline or hotel partners.
Each point redeems at 1 cent — as Amazon credit, statement credit, direct deposit, gift cards, or Chase travel. I just use them on Amazon.
As someone with a Prime membership who also shops at Whole Foods, a no-fee card earning 5% at both is easy to justify.
I don’t use it anywhere else.
Best for: Amazon Prime members who want a high cash back rate on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases.
Chase Freedom (Original)
Referral Link
Annual fee: $0
This was the first credit card I ever got. I’ve had it for over 20+ years.
I still use it for the 5x rotating categories, which change every quarter and cap at $1,500 in spend per quarter.
I’m not rushing out to buy gift cards to hit the cap, but when the categories are things like PayPal, Costco or groceries, it’s easy to max out.
I usually hit the $1,500 limit two or three quarters out of the year.
I also hold a Chase Ink Business Preferred, which means the Freedom points become transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
I can move them to partners like Hyatt or United instead of taking them as cash back at 1 cent each.
This card is no longer available to new applicants.
Chase replaced it with the Freedom Flex.
If I were starting today, I’d still get the Freedom Flex. It has the same 5x rotating categories, plus a base 3% on dining and drugstores that the original doesn’t offer.
I’ve kept the original because Costco tends to show up as a 5x rotating category about once a year, so having a Visa version of this card means I can actually use it when that quarter comes around.
The Freedom Flex is a Mastercard, which Costco doesn’t accept.
Best for: If you shop at Costco regularly, keeping the original on the Visa network has good value. If Costco isn’t a factor for you, switching to the Freedom Flex or picking one up new is probably the better move.
Capital One Venture X
Referral Link
Annual fee: $395
I opened this card when it first launched in 2021, and it was my primary everyday card until I moved most of my spending to the Bilt Palladium.
Even though I don’t put as much on it anymore, I find it worth keeping.
You get 10,000 bonus miles at each anniversary and a $300 annual travel credit.
Between those two, the $395 fee is basically covered.
I usually put the $300 toward a car rental, a one-night hotel stay, or a solo flight.
Capital One still counts tax payments as qualifying spend at 2x miles. If I’m not chasing a welcome bonus on a tax payment, I’ll put it on this card.
With federal tax payments carrying a 1.75% processing fee, you’re earning 2x miles for that 1.75% cost. Redeem at 1 cent each to offset travel on the card and you’re already ahead on the fee.
Transfer to airline or hotel partners and you can get above 1 cent per point, which means you’re buying miles for less than they’re worth.
My favorite Capital One transfer partners are Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways.
I use Aeroplan to book United flights out of Chicago and British Airways to book American Airlines flights, since I don’t have a good way to earn AA miles directly. That said, Capital One doesn’t have a standout transfer partner the way Bilt has Alaska and Hyatt or Chase has Hyatt.
You also get access to Capital One Offers through the app. I’ve seen offers as high as 25x points back on certain purchases.
The card comes with Capital One Lounge access, Priority Pass, cell phone insurance, trip insurance and primary rental car coverage.
If Capital One raises the fee and starts loading it with credits and coupons the way other issuers have, I’d probably drop it.
Part of what I like is that it stays simple.
Best for: Someone who wants a straightforward premium card with annual credits that cover the fee. Also worth a look if you make large tax payments or want a decent set of transfer partners without committing to a specific airline or hotel program.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Referral Link
Annual fee: $0
This was the second credit card I ever opened. However, I don’t spend much on it anymore.
I used to split my non-bonus spending between this card and the Venture X, but now most of that goes to the Bilt Palladium.
I still use it for dining and delivery, where it earns 3x, and the 1.5x base rate on everything else is solid for a no-fee card.
I carry the Chase Ink Business Preferred, so the points I earn on the Freedom Unlimited transfer to my Ink Preferred account as Chase Ultimate Rewards.
That makes them transferable to partners like Hyatt and United instead of just cash back at 1 cent each.
It’s not the best non-bonus spend card anymore. The Bilt Palladium earns more if you’re willing to pay the annual fee. But with no annual fee and 20+ years of credit history, there’s no reason to close it.
Best for: Someone in the Chase ecosystem who already holds a premium Chase card like the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred. This also works if someone in your household has a premium Chase card, since you can pool points across accounts.
Cards I Keep for the Perks
American Express Platinum (Schwab Version)
Direct Link
Annual fee: $895
There are several versions of the Amex Platinum. This is the Schwab version, which usually doesn’t have the best signup bonus, so it’s not necessarily the right one for everyone.
It works for me because you can cash out Amex Membership Rewards points to a Schwab brokerage account at 1.1 cents per point.
If you’re earning 4x on advertising spend through the Amex Gold (which I do, up to $150,000 a year), that’s effectively 4.4% back on those dollars.
The $895 annual fee is certainly high.
But the credits on this card are actually pretty easy to use, and they’re not the nickel-and-dime $10-a-month type that make you feel like you’re working a second job to justify the fee.
I consistently get value from the $400 in Resy credits, the $300 digital entertainment credit (I use it for my Wall Street Journal subscription), the Lululemon credit (I have a wife and two daughters, so this gets used without trying), and the Walmart+ membership (I wouldn’t pay for this on my own, but with a Walmart close by, it’s useful).
Where it gets more hit or miss: I get some value from Uber Cash and Uber One, but not consistently. The $300 in hotel statement credits I sometimes use and sometimes don’t.
The $200 airline fee credit I used to get easy value from through United travel back. Going forward, I’ll probably put it toward seat upgrades.
I don’t get much from the lounge access. We travel as a family of five more often than not, so I’m usually limited on lounge options.
Between the credits I actually use and the 1.1 cent cash-out on points, the card works for me.
But you have to be honest about which credits you’ll actually use. If you’re stretching to hit half of them, it’s probably not worth $895.
Best for: Anyone who earns a lot of Amex Membership Rewards points through bonus categories on other cards like the Gold and wants to cash them out at 1.1 cents per point to a Schwab brokerage account (up to 1 million points per year). If you’re not cashing out points through Schwab, the standard Amex Platinum is probably the better choice since it tends to have higher signup bonuses.
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select (Formerly Aviator Red)
Direct Link
Annual fee: $99
I originally had the Barclays Aviator Red, which transitioned to the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select in April 2026.
I keep this card for free checked bags on American Airlines.
The card covers your first checked bag on domestic itineraries for you and up to four companions on the same reservation.
With a family of five, we fly American out of Chicago three to four times a year. That alone covers the $99 annual fee pretty quickly, even if we’re only checking one or two bags per trip.
The earning rate isn’t anything special.
You get 2x on American Airlines purchases, restaurants and gas, and 1x on everything else.
I don’t put regular spend on this card. The loyalty points you earn toward AAdvantage status are a minor bonus, but not enough to change how I use it.
Best for: Anyone who flies American Airlines a few times. The free checked bag benefit for up to four companions on the same reservation pays for the $99 fee fast.
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