🃏 Optimal Credit Card Strategy
How to use our four credit cards to maximize rewards on every purchase. No annual fees on any card.
⚠️ No sensitive info: Card numbers, security codes, and billing addresses are stored securely elsewhere — not in this vault.
Our Cards
1. Amazon Prime Visa (Chase)
- 5% back — Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Chase Travel
- 2% back — Gas stations, restaurants, local transit/commuting
- 1% back — Everything else
- Annual fee: None (requires Amazon Prime membership)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
2. Wells Fargo Autograph
- 3x points — Travel (air, hotel, car rental, cruise, travel agencies, campgrounds), dining out, gas stations, transit (trains, taxi, rideshare, tolls, parking), streaming services, phone plans
- 1x points — Everything else
- Annual fee: $0
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Extras: Phone protection (pay phone bill with this card), Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
3. AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature
- 5% back — Grocery stores / supermarkets (up to ~$10K/year spend, then 1%)
- 3% back — Gas & EV charging, wholesale clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club), streaming services, pharmacies / drugstores, AAA purchases
- 1% back — Everything else
- Annual fee: $0
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- ⚠️ Cap: $500 cash back per year combined across grocery + wholesale + gas tiers
4. Chase Freedom Unlimited
- 1.5% back — Everything (best catch-all rate)
- 3% back — Dining out and drugstores
- 5% back — Chase Travel purchases
- Annual fee: $0
- Foreign transaction fee: None
Optimal Use: Category-by-Category
| Category | 🏆 Best Card | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com / Amazon Fresh | Amazon Prime Visa — 5% | CFU — 1.5% |
| Whole Foods Market | Amazon Prime Visa — 5% | AAA Daily Advantage — 5% |
| Other Groceries (Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Lucky, etc.) | AAA Daily Advantage — 5% | CFU — 1.5% |
| Costco / Wholesale Clubs | AAA Daily Advantage — 3% | CFU — 1.5% |
| Gas & EV Charging | AAA Daily Advantage — 3% or Autograph — 3x | Amazon — 2% |
| Dining Out | Autograph — 3x or CFU — 3% | Amazon — 2% |
| Drugstore (CVS, Walgreens) | CFU — 3% or AAA Daily Advantage — 3% | Autograph — 1x |
| Travel (airfare, hotels, rental cars) | Autograph — 3x | CFU — 1.5% |
| Rideshare / Tolls / Parking / Transit | Autograph — 3x | CFU — 1.5% |
| Streaming (Netflix, Spotify, etc.) | Autograph — 3x or AAA — 3% | CFU — 1.5% |
| Phone Bill | Autograph — 3x (+ phone insurance) | CFU — 1.5% |
| AAA Purchases | AAA Daily Advantage — 3% | CFU — 1.5% |
| Everything Else / Catch-all | Chase Freedom Unlimited — 1.5% | All others — 1% |
Wallet Strategy
🎒 Daily Carry (3 cards)
Carry these three, leave the Amazon card at home:
- Wells Fargo Autograph — dining out, travel, rideshare, gas, transit, phone bill, streaming
- Chase Freedom Unlimited — catch-all for anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere (1.5%)
- AAA Daily Advantage — grocery runs, Costco trips, pharmacies
🏠 Online / At Home
- Amazon Prime Visa — stays in the drawer / digital wallet for Amazon orders and deliberate Whole Foods trips
You can skip carrying AAA day-to-day when not grocery shopping — CFU and Autograph cover restaurants, drugstores, and everything else.
Handling Ties (Grab Either)
- Gas: AAA 3% = Autograph 3x. Either works, use whichever is in your wallet.
- Dining: Autograph 3x = CFU 3%. Same rate, pick one.
- Streaming: Autograph 3x = AAA 3%. Autograph edges ahead if you’re also using it for the phone bill (bundled benefit).
- Drugstores: CFU 3% = AAA 3%. Same rate.
Quick Reference
Amazon → Amazon card | Groceries & Costco → AAA | Dining/Travel/Phone → Autograph | Everything else → CFU