If you can manage multiple credit cards — and pay them off in full each month — you can maximize your miles and points earning by charging different purchases on different cards based on their earning potential.
A note before the list below: bonus categories and multipliers change constantly — cards add and drop categories, rotating bonuses reset every quarter, and issuers periodically overhaul a card’s whole earning structure. Treat what follows as a framework and a snapshot example, not a live, always-current chart. Always double-check your own cards’ current terms before assuming a category still applies.
The framework: match the category to the multiplier
The general idea is simple even if the specific cards change: figure out which of your cards earns the most in each spending category you regularly use, based on the card’s bonus categories and how you personally value that card’s points (I use The Points Guy’s valuations as a starting point). This is purely about maximizing miles and points earning — it doesn’t account for other benefits like purchase or return protection, which are worth weighing separately.
An example snapshot
| Category | Card that earned the most (at the time) |
|---|---|
| Supermarket | Amex Bonvoy Brilliant |
| Marriott, Gas | Amex Platinum |
| Air, Hotels (booked through Amex Travel — otherwise, Chase Freedom Unlimited) | Amex Platinum |
| Everyday spend (up to an annual cap) | Amex Blue Business Everyday |
| Instacart, Streaming | Chase Sapphire Reserve |
| Shipping, Internet Advertising | Chase Ink Business Preferred |
| Office Supplies, Phone | Chase Ink Business Plus |
| Amazon, Whole Foods | Chase Freedom |
| Travel (booked through Ultimate Rewards), Drug Store, Everyday spend once other caps are hit | Chase Freedom Unlimited |
| Entertainment | Citi Preferred |
| Dining | Citi Prestige |
| PayPal | Discover |
A simple system to remember which card to use
The hardest part isn’t figuring out the optimal card — it’s remembering it at checkout. A small label or a post-it note attached to each card, listing its top one or two categories, works well and takes thirty seconds to set up. If you’d rather go digital, a simple note on your phone or a card-tracking app can do the same job.
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