Your credit cards should
reward your life—
not rearrange it.
Firsthand analysis of premium cards, points, and perks, grounded in how people actually spend.
FEATUREDWhy I Stopped Maximizing Credit Card Rewards
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I’ve Had Both Wells Fargo Autograph Travel Cards. The Premier Autograph Is the One I’d Keep.
I’ve carried both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey and Premier Autograph Visa Infinite. On paper, they look almost identical. In practice, the Premier version fixes some of the things that make the Journey feel unfinished — but it’s a card that only makes sense if you already have the Wells Fargo relationship to support it.
Sep 15, 2026
How I Decide Whether to Keep or Cancel a Credit Card
I don’t keep a credit card because its benefits technically exceed the annual fee. I keep it because those benefits actually fit my life. Here’s the framework I use to decide whether a card deserves a place in my wallet.
Sep 12, 2026
Why I Started Wallet Thesis
After nearly 20 years of using credit cards, opening more than 60, and paying annual fees for roughly 14 years, I’ve learned that a better wallet isn’t about having more cards. Wallet Thesis is where I write about fewer, better cards, meaningful benefits, signup bonuses, and knowing when it’s time to cancel.
Sep 7, 2026
How I Use the Schwab Platinum Card to Turn Credit Card Rewards Into Investments
I use the Schwab Platinum Card as the final destination for nearly all of my American Express Membership Rewards points. Instead of saving points indefinitely or forcing myself to redeem them for travel, I cash them out into my Schwab brokerage account and turn everyday spending into investments.
Sep 8, 2026
Why My Amex Gold Is Basically Free
The Amex Gold costs $325 a year, but its dining, Uber, Resy and Dunkin’ credits can total more than the annual fee. That doesn’t automatically make the card free. For me, the reason it effectively is comes down to one thing: those credits replace spending I was already going to do.
Sep 7, 2026
Why I Cancelled the Bilt Palladium Card
I cancelled the Bilt Palladium not because the rewards were bad, but because the card asked me to change too much of how I already spend...
Sep 7, 2026
Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Amex Platinum: I Have Both — Here’s Which One I’d Keep
I pay $1,690 a year to keep both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum, but I don’t use them the same way. The Sapphire Reserve is the premium card I actually want to spend on. The Platinum is the card I want to have for the benefits. Here’s why I still keep both — and which one I’d choose if I could only keep one.
Sep 7, 2026
How I Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 Dining Credit in San Francisco
The Sapphire Reserve’s $300 OpenTable credit is only valuable if it replaces dining I was already going to pay for. In San Francisco, that’s easier than it sounds. My strategy is simple: treat it as two $150 dinners a year, use it at restaurants I already want to visit, and never spend extra just to avoid “wasting” a credit.
Sep 7, 2026