Best 2 Credit Card Wallet to Grow Your Points
One thing we all have in common is that we spend money. Lots of it. If you have kids the expenses pile up – groceries, clothing, daycare, summer camps.. Here are a couple simple strategies to get the most value from your expenses. You do not have to open 20 credit cards with high annual fees to earn lots of credit card points!
The general idea is to have 2 credit cards in the same transferrable point system to cover both category and non-category spend.
Chase Sapphire Preferred + Chase Freedom Unlimited cards
Combined total annual fee: $95
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee. You will need this card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners. In addition, category bonuses are solid with 3x on dining and online groceries and 2x on travel. Learn about more perks and how to maximize Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited has no annual fee and earns 3x on dining and drugstore categories, but most importantly, 1.5x on all purchases. The welcome offer ranges from $200 – $250 cash back (20,000-25,000 Ultimate rewards points) for a $500 spend in 3 months. The best historic welcome offer included double cash back for the first 12 months of having the card. Use this card for non-category spend such as daycare, summer camps, trips to Walmart, car repairs.
You will need to be under 5/24 to be approved for these cards and they will take up a 5/24 slot.
Chase Ultimate Rewards have popular transfer partners including Hyatt Hotels, Marriott Bonvoy, United Airlines and Air France/KLM Flying Blue. You can also cash out Chase Ultimate Rewards for $0.01 per point, but the most value will come from utilizing transfer partners to book travel.
Citi Strata Premier + Citi Double Cash cards
Combined total annual fee: $95
The Citi Strata Premier card has a $95 annual fee. Like the Chase Sapphire cards, you will also need the Strata Premier to access all the Citi ThankYou points airline and hotel transfer partners. The Citi Strata Premier card earns 3x on dining, groceries, gas and airline & hotel bookings. That is an incredible list all with one card!
Couple that with the Citi Double Cash card with no annual fee and earning 2x on all purchases. It comes in the form of 1x for purchases and 1x when you make the payment. This is my go-to card for non-category spend.
Some of the Citi ThankYou points transfer partners include Jet Blue, Emirates, Air France/KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic. Other transfer partners are Wyndham hotels (to book Vacasa vacation rentals) and Choice Privileges.
Currently, Citi ThankYou points can be cashed out for $0.01 per point. However, starting on August 24, 2025 – Citi ThankYou points earned with the Citi Strata Premier card can only be cashed out for $0.0075 per points (drop of 25% in value). If you hold the Citi Double Cash, ThankYou points can be combined across accounts and cashed out for the original $0.01 per point for the foreseeable future. The most value will still be found with redeeming through transfer partners.
Simply 2-card strategy = Travel savings
For just $95 and 2 cards in your wallet – you can earn better than 1x on all your purchases.
