I am not planning on getting much new cards in 2026. The gold seems a little tempting to me since I would use the credits now, wouldn’t really use them much before, and I’m honestly thinking about picking up the DoorDash credit card since I closed my Freedom Unlimited in October. I have a decent set up as of now so unless I want a card with travel rewards, or there’s a card with credits I’ll use, or if there’s an airline or hotel chain I start becoming loyal to, I don’t have much of a need to sign up for anymore things.
Here’s my current set up:
AMEX BCP: My daily driver for grocery streaming and gas. Disney Plus Credit.
Citi Double Cash: 2%
OneKey+: my travel card as of now, can also use for 2% back.
Amazon Prime: obvious reasons here
Sock Drawered: Discover IT/ Freedom Flex (will be coming out in January for restaurants)
What’s everyone’s game plan for 2026?
byu/DuhForestTyme216 inCreditCards
Posted by DuhForestTyme216
28 Comments
Currently at 3/24 now with only 1 in the last 6 months, with a wife who is at 2/24
* Take out BoA CCR #4 late in the year and either the Premium Rewards or PRE
* If BILT has a good enough mortgage offering get one of those
* See what happens with the new Chase Hyatt cards
* 1-2 free agent SUB hunting apps if a good offer comes along
* Maybe break back into Amex for the first time since my BCE got closed 8 years ago for inactivity or try Citi
I just got the gold and love it so far. Will evaluate after one year.
1. I’m waiting for Aven to verify . Signed up using referral which is 3% on first 20k instead of 10k and $100 SuB. This will be my catch all card
I was waiting on AOD but I haven’t heard from them
2. PayPal debit for 5% Groceries
3. Redstone for 5% Restaurants
4. I just need a 5% Gas
5. Amazon 5% card
And that’s will be it 4-5 cards top
I just want a good SUB from the AMEX plat. Maybe see if I qualify for the citi cards. I’m military, so no AG, but low ranking so my income is pretty mediocre. Based in UK, currently have Amex gold and CSP.
Maybe apply for the venture X even though I’d have to pay the AF.
I have learned to resist the temptation until Q4, when the SUBs are often higher.
Get Citi Stara and Strata Premier cards to compliment the respective Double and Custom Cash. Look into product changing after sometime.
Build out my Citi lineup to work alongside my already working Chase lineup.
As someone else said, see what the new Hyatt card is offering to see if it will replace my current WoH card.
It’s unlikely that I’ll probably sign up for a new card this year.
That said, I am thinking of either product changing or closing my Citi Strata Elite sometime in 2026.
I’m pretty settled until the other shoe drops with Robinhood Gold. RH Gold / AAA Daily / Discover IT gets me 5% on a rotation, 5% on groceries, and 3% flat across only three cards. I don’t think i can beat it without having six figures in assets (nope lol) or moving to managing more cards.
Just got a NLL ABP and 3 BofA cards so gonna wait for BILT and hopefully some more NLL and some more CCRs at the end of the year. Got enough travel points for years so mostly focused on cash back now and next year.
How good are Citi with their credit limits? Currently I’m using the Fidelity rewards, but Elan’s conservative and having a small ceiling is making it hard with it being my catch-all.
Aside from that I have basically the same set up minus one key lol
As usual aiming for 6-7 cards between me and P2 and hoping to earn around 1M points total. Hit 960k this year
It seems that Chase isn’t willing to approve new cards for me until I put more spend on my current cards, so I may put some of my larger upcoming purchases on my CSP (unless I have an existing card with a better multiplier). If that works, I’d like to apply for a co-branded Chase card that appeals to me. MAYBE I’ll finally dip my toes in business cards and go for an Ink.
If the Bilt card has compelling mortgage earnings then I’ll definitely pick that up. I don’t think I’d go for the $495 AF card but I’ll definitely consider the $95 AF card.
Anything beyond that is dependent on what large purchases we make, what offers are available, and what trips we want to take. We nothing planned for the second half of 2026 as of now.
Still deciding how to move forward with lounge access after the VX changes.
Currently hold the Venture X, Marriott Bonvoy Bold and USB Altitude Connect. Me and parents are sharing VX benefits. We typically travel separately and use lounges at a rate of 2-4 times per year per person.
Option 1: Keep VX for my own use, let them use the Altitude Connect passes for the first half of the year, then try to get one of them approved for one as well. Not guaranteed to succeed, plus the number of passes is limited if they end up travelling more than usual.
Option 2: Ditch the VX and upgrade the Bold to RC. Downside is it might be hard for me to get VX again if I want, plus we might not be able to use the RC credits very effectively.
Citi ThankYou and Fidelity Visa will be the easy no fuss no fee duo of 2026 if the offers keep coming in. I will have a BoA CCR, Redstone Visa, Discover, and CFF as rotating category cards as well.
Hopefully nothing
Gardening for a bit due to 3/6 but will hit up Amex for their checking SUB.
Beyond that would like to try some Citi cards. Strata & Custom Cash
I added 9 new cards this year so my plan is to garden in 2026. I also said the same thing about 4 cards ago so we’ll see how it goes haha.
But ideally no new cards in the first half of 2026 then going after Citi to round out my setup with them.
Probably nothing.
Continuing to spam applying to the CSP and see if I can magically get out of pop up jail. Haven’t applied for a CSR/CSP in 8 years+ but I got off 5/24 after they put in the new policy.
Why did you close your Freedom Unlimited?
Going to apply for a co-branded BoA CCR once my current 3%(x1.75) + 3% (category) first year offer expires.
Killer deal, except for the $2500 quarterly cap on category spend.
Lots of people on this thread who are penny wise and pound foolish.
Is the extra headache truly worth the minuscule amounts you are getting back in points/miles?
Not if you have to jump through hoops for redemption
Pursuing Alaska Airlines status for the first time in 2026. Whether silver or gold depends mostly on whether Bilt will support paying my mortgage with the Alaska Summit card.
P1 CFU: 5x gas and groceries through summer 2026
P1 CSP: Lyft, Doordash
P1 CIC: Internet, streaming
P1 Amazon Prime: Amazon, whole foods
P1 Atmos Summit: dining, international catchall, mortgage(?)
P1 BofA Premier Rewards w/PH: non-Alaska travel expenses, domestic catchall
P1 BofA Customized Cash: online shopping
P2 Venture X: cellphone service, utilities, catchall
P2 Savor: dining, entertainment
Apporama US Bank biz cards.
Apply for Venture X and either the Citi AA first AF free card or a different high SUB card
Apply for Citi AA biz.
As many Amex elevated NLL Delta/Hilton biz I can get my hands on.
Consolidating a lot for sure. Currently juggling too many cards and with the Redstone nerf it suddenly becomes even harder. Might try to force myself back into a two card setup after my first year with CCR ends.
May go back to Venture X and Costco card. Maybe keep Redstone around for restaurants. Really bummed that I have nowhere great to put groceries and utilities and streaming now.
Unrelated but how are you feeling about the OneKey card? It’s tempting for me because hotel points are so crap now and I typically use Expedia anyway
Switch to cash back for most of my spend
I got the PayPal debit for Costco (5x)
Citi custom cash for 5x for two categories. I will try to get a second one as I already have a citi double cash
Convince p2 to get AAA travel and prime card. Over spent on gas with Costco without knowing. Prime is easy no brainer with $250 sub. Starting closing cards I don’t use anymore once they get past 12 months and aim for VX.