Thanks so much for asking. Here are my thoughts:
The most important thing here is that you will have to hurry with whatever card you get. It can take a week or so to get the card in your hands. You might be better off calling and making the application over the phone and asking them to overnight you the card so you will have it in time.
Don’t forget the sign up bonus. The Chase Freedom has a $150 bonus if you spend $500 in 3 months. Same for the American Express blue if you spend $1000 in the first 3 months. I don’t see anything for the Citi Diamond Preferred.
The bonus categories for the Chase Freedom will cap out at $300 a year while the American Express caps out at $360. I kind of balance that out with the annual fee of $75 though.
I am more of a fan of the Chase Freedom because I like using the rewards for airline miles, but you have a different purpose, which is strictly cash back. I’m going to talk about the rest of this in terms of that.
So, given the above, I would also remind you that you can get gift cards for a ton of other places at either gas stations or at grocery stores. You said your categories are: groceries, electric bill, real estate tax, gas, cell phone, home insurance, and satellite TV. You probably aren’t going to get anything other that 1% on the electric, real estate, and home insurance. There are some cards that will get you 5% on cell phone and satellite TV, but those are business cards.
The Chase Freedom categories are usually grocery stores in the first quarter, restaurants in the second, gas stations in the third, and amazon in the fourth. They sometimes throw in home improvement stores in one of those quarters. I’m sure you could max out the grocery store category just by buying up gift cards for future grocery store purchases, or if not, in gas station gift cards. Home improvement stores sell tons of gift cards as well! You can do the same for the third quarter as well with gift cards at gas stations. You can max the amazon one as well with gift cards. But, those are kind of artificial purchases in the hopes you can use them in the future.
The American Express will pay constantly the whole year, which is a good thing until you max it out. You can spend at grocery stores and gas stations throughout the year, but the grocery store will cap out eventually. You can certainly max it with gift cards for other places.
So, here is what I would do if I were in your shoes. I would get the American Express to start. I would meet the minimum amount ($1000) to get the bonus. After I put the spend on it and get things settled down a bit, I would also consider getting the Chase Freedom. You can spend on the Chase Freedom when the category is appropriate for what you are doing, or use the American Express. Some places don’t take American Express that will take Visa. Since the Chase Freedom doesn’t have an annual fee, it won’t be a bad thing either way. Just make sure you meet the minimum spend on it right away to get the bonus.
I probably didn’t make anything clearer with that explanation, but having more credit cards is only a bad thing if you can’t keep track of them. Plus, diversity in categories and charge cards (American Express vs Visa) is also good. You just have to keep track of the categories and make sure you use the right one at the right place at the right time.
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