Leverage Your Credit Card Portfolio
From earnings to redemptions, get the most out of your credit cards.
Golden Rules of Credit Card Use
Don't let the attraction of free travel or substantial savings get you into financial trouble. Follow these simple rules to get the most out of your portfolio.
Maximizing Cash Back
Not a big traveler? No worries. There are other ways to Max Your Plastic!
The Value of Points
How much are those points you're earning worth? Find out here and maximize the ratio of their value to the amount of spend it takes to earn them.
Start Here...
...with the basics of building and leveraging your credit card portfolio
Earning Points
Traveling on points costs a lot of points! We highlight the fastest ways to earn them, both initially and on an ongoing basis.
Redeeming Points
This can be the hard part. Finding "saver fares" that don't wipe out years of earned points can be challenging...but it can be done with patience and flexibility.
Transferring Points
Learn the ins and outs of transferring points to travel partners to get max value from them.
Frequently asked questions
What is a credit card portfolio?
All of the credit cards you have.
For some, this is one card. for others, it is many. generally, the more cads you have, the faster you can earn points or cash back, because you can maximize the credit for each transaction.
How often should I review my portfolio?
Annually.
Assess whether your lifestyle, spending habits and goals have changed. If they have, it may be time to adjust your portfolio to best match them.
How can I build points the fastest?
Take advantage of sign-up bonuses, put as much spending on your credit cards as you can, and create a portfolio of cards that earns the most points for each purchase.
Card issuers offer sign-up bonuses as attractive incentives to acquire and use their cards. Opening a new card is the fastest way to increase points.
Look at what you're using your cards to purchase. Are there other purchases for which you can use your cards that you are not? You might be surprised at some of the ways you can use your cards.
Getting a point for each dollar spent is not a good return when you could be earning 3, 4, 5 or even more points per dollar spent on each purchase.
9 Ways to Maximize Points and Cash Back on Your Credit Cards You May Not Know
How I Paid My Taxes This Year (Hint: The answer involves credit cards!)
Should I get a new credit card(s)?
Yes, if you can live by the Golden Rules of credit card use: always pay your bill in full every cycle, and don't change you spending habits to take advantage of a credit card beneift.
If you can do these, feel free to get a card that fits your lifestyle.
The golden Rules of Credit Card Use
How Credit Card Issuers Make Money and How You Can Take Advantage of It
Do you recommend specific cards?
Yes.
The cards we recommend are based on how well they match the cardholder lifestyle, spending patterns, and goals. Card issuers offer different cards to match different lifestyles. We help find the right card(s) for you. Those same cards might not be right for someone else. We don't rate or rank credit cards for this reason.
Max Your Plastic
Let your credit cards take you to new places.
Contact us
email@maxyourplastic.com
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