Although I entered 2025 with the mindset of “no new credit cards”, some of the smaller sign-up-bonuses were too tempting to turn down.
The goal this quarter is to hit the minimum spending requirement for 2 new credit cards (more on them below), while maximizing earning Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt points.
Let’s get started.
I still have 2 months left on the “5X Gas and Grocery for your first 12 months” new card bonus on my Chase Freedom Flex.
Even better, one of the rotating 5X quarterly this quarter is Grocery.
That means, I am essentially getting 9X on all my grocery purchases this quarter. That’s an opportunity I cannot miss!
So, I am putting all my gas and grocery spend on my Chase Freedom Flex to earn Ultimate Rewards points.
One of the new cards (and easily one of my newest favorites) I acquired recently is the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature credit card. It’s an unlimited 2X no foreign transaction fee VISA card with a high credit limit.
I will get a $150 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. Quite easy!
Until I hit the minimum spending requirement, I will put all my purchases (except grocery and gas) on this card.
Similarly, I also got myself an AMEX Blue Business Plus in December 2024, albeit with a higher sign up bonus.
After spending $6,000 in the first 4 months, I will receive 25,000 Membership Rewards points. That’s somewhere between $500 and $750 in travel value.
I already had a Blue Business Plus (BBP), but this was a no-lifetime-language (NLL) target offer that I couldn’t turn down. I plan on canceling my old BBP, and making this one my new “catch-all” card.
Once I receive the sign-up-bonus from my Fidelity Rewards card, I will start spending on the Blue Business Plus.
Putting $6,000 purchases on the BBP will net me 37,000 MR points (valued between $740 to $1,110). That’s somewhere in the ballpark of 12% to 19% return on spend.
The Bilt card wraps up my Q1’2025 credit card setup.
The card gives me 1X on rent. No other card gives me points on rent, without a 2-3% credit card fee.
To successfully receive the rent points, I need to put 5 transactions on this card every month. I can hit that without too much hassle. Every week, I have recurring donations set up to 2 different non-profit organizations.
So, Bilt ends up becoming my “rent+donation” card every month.
So, here’s my credit card setup for Q1’2025.
Chase Freedom Flex - Gas, Grocery
Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature - First $1,000 to get $150 bonus
American Express Blue Business Plus - Spend $6,000 to get 25K MR points bonus
Bilt Mastercard - Rent, Donation
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