Table of Contents
- Introduction: What Are Credit Card Stacks?
- Why Use a Credit Card Stack?
- Best Credit Card Stacks
- Chase Trifecta: Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Preferred/Reserve
- American Express Stack: Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Citi Double Cash/Capital One Quicksilver
- Citi Rewards Stack: Citi Premier, Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Cash
- Capital One Power Stack – “The Cap Stack”: Venture X, SavorOne, Quicksilver
- Wells Fargo Stack: Wells Fargo Autograph, Wells Fargo Active Cash, Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard
- How to Choose the Right Stack for Your Spending
- Summary: Finding the Best Credit Card Stack for You
1. Introduction: What Are Credit Card Stacks?
A credit card stack refers to a strategic combination of multiple credit cards used together to maximize rewards, cashback, travel benefits, and overall financial flexibility. Each card in the stack serves a specific purpose, such as earning rewards on certain spending categories, providing travel perks, or offering flexible redemption options. By using credit card stacks, you can take advantage of the unique benefits offered by each card and tailor your strategy to your lifestyle and spending habits.
2. Why Use a Credit Card Stack?
Credit card stacks allow you to:
- Maximize Rewards: Earn higher cashback or points for different spending categories (e.g., groceries, travel, dining).
- Access Premium Benefits: Enjoy perks like airport lounge access, travel credits, and hotel upgrades.
- Improve Financial Flexibility: Use different cards for different purchases to avoid limits or restrictions on earning rewards.
- Optimize Redemption Options: Redeem points and cashback through various programs to get the best value.
When combined thoughtfully, these cards can help you achieve more value from your purchases, whether you’re a frequent traveler or someone who wants to maximize daily cashback.
Simple & Effective Budget Planner
3. Best Credit Card Stacks
Below are the top five credit card stacks to consider, each consisting of three cards that work well together to enhance your rewards strategy.
Chase Trifecta: Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Preferred/Reserve
The Chase Trifecta is a popular choice for its versatility and valuable points-earning potential across various categories. Here’s how the three cards complement each other:
Chase Freedom Flex
- Category: 5% cashback on rotating categories (quarterly) and 3% on dining and drugstores.
- Benefits: No annual fee, offers high cashback on specific categories that change each quarter.
- Purpose: Use for purchases in the 5% rotating categories to maximize your rewards.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Category: 1.5% cashback on all purchases, 3% on dining, and 5% on travel booked through Chase.
- Benefits: No annual fee, a great fallback card for purchases that don’t fall into specific categories.
- Purpose: Use for everyday spending and dining when the Freedom Flex isn’t optimal.
Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve
Read our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred here.
- Category: 2x or 3x points on travel (2x with Preferred, 3x with Reserve), 3x on dining, and various other travel-related perks.
- Benefits: Offers access to Chase Ultimate Rewards, with increased point redemption value for travel bookings (25% for Preferred, 50% for Reserve).
- Purpose: Use for travel bookings to take advantage of the higher redemption value through the Chase travel portal.
Why This Stack Works: The Chase Trifecta allows you to earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for travel or transferred to various airline and hotel partners for enhanced value.
American Express Stack: Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, Citi Double Cash/Capital One Quicksilver
This combination is great for people who value premium travel benefits and want to maximize their rewards for dining and everyday purchases.
American Express Gold Card
- Category: 4x Membership Rewards points on dining and groceries (up to $25,000 per year).
- Benefits: $120 dining credit, travel perks, and strong rewards for food-related purchases.
- Purpose: Use for all grocery and dining expenses to rack up points quickly.
American Express Platinum Card
- Category: 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel, 1x on other purchases.
- Benefits: Access to airport lounges, $200 airline fee credit, and various other travel perks.
- Purpose: Use for travel-related expenses to take full advantage of premium travel benefits.
Citi Double Cash/Capital One Quicksilver
Read our review of the Citi Double Cash here.
- Category: 2% cashback on all purchases (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay) or 1.5% cashback on all purchases.
- Benefits: No annual fee, easy to earn cashback on all purchases.
- Purpose: Use as a fallback for purchases that don’t fall into travel, dining, or groceries.
Why This Stack Works: The combination of Amex Gold and Platinum covers dining, groceries, and premium travel rewards, while the cashback card offers flexibility for everyday spending. In addition, points generated between the Amex Platinum and the Amex Gold Card pool together. This creates a powerful point-earning duo, balanced by a cashback option for other categories not covered bewtween the Amex Gold or Platinum. Plus, not everywhere accepts American Express, so the Visa or Mastercard cashback card comes in handy in these situations.
Debt Repayment Calculator with Pre-Payment
Citi Rewards Stack: Citi Premier, Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Cash
The Citi Rewards Stack is ideal for someone who values cash-like rewards with flexible redemption options and solid rewards on everyday categories.
Citi Strata Premier Card
- Category: 10x ThankYou points on hotels booked through CitiTravel.com, 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and other hotels.
- Benefits: Points can be transferred to travel partners or redeemed for travel through Citi’s portal.
- Purpose: Use for travel and daily expenses to earn higher rewards.
Citi Double Cash Card
- Category: 2% cashback on all purchases (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay).
- Benefits: No annual fee, straightforward cashback rewards.
- Purpose: Use for purchases that don’t fall into the 3x categories covered by the Premier Card.
Citi Custom Cash Card
- Category: 5% cashback on your top eligible spending category each billing cycle, up to $500.
- Benefits: No annual fee, allows for focused rewards based on your highest spending category.
- Purpose: Use for specific high-spending categories that vary month to month.
Why This Stack Works: Citi’s flexible rewards program offers versatile points earning with solid value, particularly for daily spending and travel.
Capital One Power Stack: Venture X, SavorOne, Quicksilver
For users who want easy-to-understand rewards and travel benefits, this Capital One stack offers great value and simplicity.
Capital One Venture X
- Category: 2x miles on all purchases, 10x on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- Benefits: Airport lounge access, $300 annual travel credit, and other premium travel perks.
- Purpose: Use for travel bookings to take advantage of travel-related perks and rewards.
Capital One SavorOne
- Category: 3% cashback on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery stores.
- Benefits: No annual fee, great for those who dine out or enjoy entertainment often.
- Purpose: Use for dining, entertainment, and streaming services to maximize cashback.
Capital One Quicksilver
- Category: 1.5% cashback on all purchases.
- Benefits: No annual fee, simple and reliable cashback.
- Purpose: Use as a fallback for purchases that don’t fall into the categories covered by Venture X or SavorOne.
Why This Stack Works: Capital One’s straightforward rewards structure is easy to manage, offering value across various spending categories without overly complex requirements.
Wells Fargo Stack: Wells Fargo Autograph, Wells Fargo Active Cash, Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard
This stack is great for maximizing rewards on daily purchases and also caters to people who rent rather than own.