Most points enthusiasts hold far more cards than they use. The travel writer behind One Mile at a Time keeps around two dozen, but only six see real spending — and his breakdown is a handy cheat sheet for anyone trying to match a card to a spending habit rather than collecting annual fees.
For everyday spending that doesn't fall into a bonus category, he uses the Bilt Palladium Card ($495 annual fee): 2x points on everything plus 4% back in Bilt Cash, which can be converted into points on rent or mortgage payments, or into spending boosters that push him past 3x points per dollar. Bilt points transfer to partners like World of Hyatt and Alaska's Atmos Rewards. One odd catch: tax payments don't earn points.
Overseas, the Atmos Rewards Summit Card ($395) is his pick thanks to 3x points on all foreign purchases with no cap — he calls it the best foreign-spending bonus he's seen. Spending $60,000 in an anniversary year also triggers a 100,000-point Global Companion Award, which is why he routes domestic purchases there too.
Food spending goes to the American Express Gold Card: 4x points at restaurants worldwide (capped at $50,000 a year) and 4x at US supermarkets (up to $25,000). He notes the value depends on how many of the card's statement credits you'll actually use — he admits he never maxes the Dunkin' credit.
Two premium cards earn their keep through a single category each. The Chase Sapphire Reserve ($795) gives 4x points on hotel bookings made directly with hotels, a category that's hard to bonus elsewhere. The Amex Platinum offers 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines (up to $500,000 a year) — at his valuation of Amex points, roughly an 8.5% return on airfare, better than any rival he's found.
The sixth card is a slower burn: the $95 World of Hyatt Credit Card. It's not the top earner in any category, but putting $15,000 a year on it unlocks a second Category 1-4 free night certificate plus elite-night credit — free nights he routinely redeems at hotels costing well over $200 a night.
The broader lesson for travellers: match cards to how you actually spend, not to a highlight reel of perks. Frequent flyers get the most from the airfare card, families with big grocery bills lean on the Gold Card, and anyone renting abroad benefits most from no-foreign-fee, bonus-earning cards like the Summit. He also flags cheaper or no-fee alternatives in every category — Citi Double Cash and Capital One Venture cards for flat-rate earning, Citi Strata Premier and Ink Business Preferred for dining and hotels — so you don't need a wallet of $500-plus fees to get a decent return.
