Why I Stopped Maximizing Credit Card Rewards

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.