Thanks for watching everyone! Give this video a LIKE if you found it interesting and be sure to check out my entire playlist on awesome credit card trifecta setups! th-cam.com/play/PLscTZuOqKWIyZ0Z4XAcF2y06mq7x_-xwx.html
Haha, I'd be a fool not to take advantage of them. I do wonder how long I can get away with making videos about this before AmEx tracks me down and blacklists me. With that said, I do feel like I bring in to them a lot of business and potentially a lot of life long customers. If I get black listed, I'll make a video about it.
I have 9 cards with $42k. I'm just getting started with understanding credit and watching you and some others has helped me be more disciplined. Thanks for all that you do, keep up the good work Jake 👍🏽
Good video Jake. I have 19 cards. I use 100% of my points/cash back towards travel. Before I started this hobby I traveled internationally multiple times a years which was very expensive. Today I travel the same amount (maybe a little more), but now my points/cash back cover my flights and hotels saving me thousands of dollars a year.
Thanks T&I! You are definitely correct in that if people apply points and miles towards travel and that was travel they were going to do anyways, then there is a lot more value there. I keep trying to make plans... but the military keeps getting in my way of traveling, lol
Started my credit card journey with my discover it secured card this year, hoping to level up and make the most of these military benefits while i still can💪🏿
First I would like to thank you for your service. Second love your videos its been a wealth of knowledge for me over the last year or so. Keep up the good work.
Very cool Mr Jake! Nice increase from your earlier video on having 9 credit cards. Im currently have 7 credit cards, plus 7 store cards from my early days before i knew anything about credit. So 14 total with about $88k in total credit. Since I don’t use most of my store cards, i plan to get 3 more major credit cards because i want a 10 card base with at least $100k in credit.
Solid setup Doc and a very attainable goal. I admit I went a little too fast getting 15 cards in 20 months. I'm probably going to take close to a year off to cool down and then I would like to start getting cards from US Bank.
Thanks for the Military Star Card shout out! This card does much more than the 12% off at the food court, 2% off all commissary purchases and 5 cents off on gas at the Express on base. The bank fees saved by The Exchange go directly to support MWR programs in each military community. Thanks for the info. and thanks for your service!
Thanks BC! I love the Military Star Card, I recommend it to everyone, but I know senior enlisted leadership hate the card because they are the ones who have to talk to junior enlisted when people stop making their payments. Not sure how to improve this situation.
@@JakeBroe I have yet to meet a person who actually had that happen to himself. I think it's another one of those stories that some E-5 or E-6 repeated to one of his or her troops that keeps getting repeated.
Always love hearing your opinion Jake, but my wife and I are points people. The experiences we can gain from points far outweigh any cash back we earn. We haven't paid for an airline ticket since we started in this hobby and it's been awesome. Loving your lineup of cards. Which ones do you think you'll keep when you leave active duty?
Yeah if your the type that likes to, or has to travel going the point route is fine in my opinion. The important thing I think that Dave Ramsey always hammers home is just to not get trapped spending money on something you never would of done in the first place if you had no credit cards.
My favorite high annual fee card is the Hilton Aspire Card. It is a $450 annual fee card that gives a $250 airline credit, a $250 resort credit (eligible for room charges), a free night (which I value $200), priority pass select (which I value $80), and their highest hotel status of Diamond (which I value at $60). The card is just a no-brainer for me as I can't see how I can lose money on it. I would keep this card and downgrade the rest.
You know something else you could have learnt before your 30s ? “You’re “ as in “you are” not your! Elementary school stuff. Top comment though 👍🏾. I’m in your age group and just learning all these. Doing pretty well. Better late than never.
My wife thinks i’m crazy for wanting to get more CCs. We were always taught to avoid having too many CCs, so it’s really counter-intuitive and hard for some folks to wrap their heads around. Just like you (I think), i’ve basically had to learn everything about credit, investing, etc on my own. For whatever reason, my parents never really talked about that sort of thing.
Yep, my parents financially are fine, but I think nobody ever taught them and they didn't have the internet or TH-cam growing up to learn. I wish I could teach them some things to help them but they just don't like talking about money and wouldn't take my advice even if I tried.
For your next version of this video, can you also calculate what you would be making if you were paying the annual fees? That way, your non-military viewers can estimate the kind of return we might have if we ran a similar setup. Naturally, it wouldn't make sense to include all of your annual fee cards (I imagine it wouldn't make sense to have multiple Amex Platinum cards)...
Hey Aaron! I actually did make this video. I'll provide the link. The annual fees total $2,395 and I made over $8,000 in SUBs, credits and cash back/points. So if someone had to pay the annual fees, they would be net positive $5,605. Cheers! th-cam.com/video/jo2BvHcQlfM/w-d-xo.html
Awesome video Jake. Now when I tell people im into credit cards I can just send them this video. Everyone always thinks I'm deep in debt because I have 7 cards😂
If I could start all over again, or advise people who are starting out with credit cards, I would suggest focusing on cash back cards and no annual fee cards (or have downgrade paths to no AF cards). A good card to start with might be the Chase Freedom Student. You can build credit and get your foot in the door with Chase. A lot of student/secure cards end up being entirely sock-drawered, but this card could potentially be product changed to a regular Chase Freedom, so it would still be very useful. For a flat rate cash back card, I would suggest the SDFCU Premium Cash Back +. 2% cash back on everything, no AF, no FTF. This is also a Chip-and-PIN priority card. Plus, it’s a Visa card, and some merchants accept only Visa. If you had to pick only one card to travel anywhere around the world with, this is a great option. The other cards are ones you have already mentioned. I would certainly suggest either the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or BCE (depending on a person’s grocery spending patterns). The Amazon Prime card is also a great one to have. I didn’t list any cards with a high multiplier for dining because eating out all the time is a great way to spend too much.
The Military Star “aka DPP” card is like a crazy ex girlfriend that never goes away. I had a balance left when I left the service and sure enough, they tracked me down and started to garnish my pay until it was paid.
I myself am starting to enjoy this, but all my cards are credit union cards totaling 75k across 5 cards. Navy Fed, FNBO, and Sag-Aftra have the biggest limits. I look forward to going after the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. But am looking forward to more business funding or cards. Not a fan of the banks anymore. 4k in annual fees blew my mind, but now I see where your going with this. Very informative video I have subscribed.
Opening a $0 balance transfer card saved me a lot of money in interest. I had just graduated college and didn’t have a job yet. I think opening a card like that can be very beneficial.
For sure, the math is there. But I personally think it gives people a psychological comfort with their debt. I just think that's it's better to be worried and thinking about ones own debt, so it motivates that person to earn more and spend less until the debt is gone. 0% APR for 18 months is a trick that banks use to make people spend more and save less. Just my opinion.
Jake, I fully agree with most of your recommendations. However, I set up two 15 month interest-free balance transfer cards with negligible minimum monthly payments automated. Both balances were transferred from high APR cards. I will have no difficulty paying off their balance in 15 months. The cards are locked to prevent fraudulent activity and are kept in my safe. I keep only 4 credit cards active in my wallet. Here is why. I fear credit card fraud and the possibility of having my wallet stolen. I get up at the crack of dawn each morning to examine the activity on each card. There is no damn way I am going to check 17 cards; 4 is about all I can handle.
I actually have both and the CSP. I was at 5/24 too still gotta wait so that’s why like 2 months ago last credit card application I went CITI double cash ... it was a no go with AMEX credit profile wasn’t long enough.
Thanks Cho! I acknowledge the risks, but I still feel like there is more benefit from using credit cards responsibly than not using them at all (for most people). Cheers!
My wife and I broke 800 this year. We have a good bit of paid of CCs as well. Using a CC with 5% cash back is the way to go. Hard to convince the wife of that since we worked so hard to pay off high balances, but you just pay it off every two weeks to 29 days. Just ahead of interest accrual, obviously. Not saving anything then.
I love the content brother. As a veteran, I fall into the statistics of carrying over a balance every month. I started following Dave Ramsey and it's changed my view on finances dramatically. Still like to watch credit card videos though, just for fun. I'll be debt free soon.
I love Dave Ramsey! I follow him on TH-cam and he gives great advice. Anyone who follows his plan can retire a millionaire. That's awesome you will be debt free soon. You got this!
I’ve never seen anything like that “cash tax” statement occur with debit or cash, I have however seen it happen with credit cards where you pay an additional fee for using a credit card at some stores.
Retired Air Force here (2006). 50+ cards with $450,000+ total credit available. Everything from $700 limit to $25,000. Didn't really start into the credit card game until about 3-4 years ago. Really enjoy your videos. Thanks!
@@JakeBroe This question gets asked on The Credit Society Facebook page a lot. There are a few people there who have more than I do and are willing to post about it. My only goal is to get to $500,000 someday :)
I prefer to just wait for the Chase Freedom category to be Amazon (like now) then refill my gift card balance to about $1000 and use that balance for the whole year... Then get other Chase cards with better benefits.
lotto bc there are more valuable Chase cards to get and you are limited to a certain amount over time... I’d rather fill a “Chase slot” with a card that gives $1000 of value as a sign up bonus, like with their hotel cards or a Sapphire card, than get the Amazon prime card, especially since most people can get the same value (or better considering UR points are more valuable than cash) using the Freedom’s quarterly categories.... this can be done by reloading your gift card balance by buying Amazon gift cards at the appropriate retailers during the appropriate quarterly spend categories... The only exception is if you spend maybe more than $3000 a year on Amazon purchases (which isn’t most people) then perhaps the Amazon Prime card then is a good choice...
I would love a USAA credit card to add to my collection. But not interested in joining the military for that. The pain of the ones that got away 😭 Love your channel so far Jake !👍
On my 9th card with $51,000 credit total 😅 lol I’m sure I’ll get up to that credit amount someday. I have a few more cards I have my eyes on 👀 ( I did have a good credit score but the sba ran my credit for the $1000 grant and my score dropped to 725)
RAY C IS SMART! - The POINT is to use to BUILD ASSETS not to ABUSE them. The HATERS are the people who should have paid attention. And if you made mistakes, get back in the 'Game', (and it is like a game), and get it right..Claiming Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
My lazy 2 card setup for 2021 would be: the Discover it Cash back card 5% rotating categories and first year is doubled with the cash back match. Then, a 1.5% cash back card with a $200 welcome offer for everything else.
Cool. I have 22 cards, I make sure each one is paid off at least every week but usually more often. All of them except one have just one recurring charge to keep it active and the other I use day to day. None have any fees.
That's awesome Jacob! I use Amazon to buy something I was going to buy anyways to put a charge on each of my cards every 6 months to show activity. It's a fun hobby that I enjoy, so I don't mind status tracking all these cards and it sounds like you are pretty well organized as well.
I think we all have our own reason I also fell that having a small monthly balance paying over time will raise your credit score vs always zero balance
all you need is 500k token pt with 5 cards with the least amount of spending with AMEX, Chase, Capital One, VISA. don't fall for spending traps, have strong leverage training before undertaking this pt system. train with zero fee cards first.
I agree with you on points being a possible trap but, I only use my points and miles for things I was already going to pay for. I know this isn’t the case with everyone but it works for me. Especially the hotel points.
The way you presented the “credit optimization, credit churning section” gives the impression that those others mentioned support churning. We know that’s not the case, and I’m sure you don’t think they advocate that either, but there was no callout that they also believe in optimization over churning.
I am not sure what you are talking about, but they all support churning. They all support getting new cards for nice sign up bonuses and then downgrading, cancelling, or calling for a retention offer after year one. Opening cards for nice welcome bonuses and then getting rid of them after a year if they don't give you positive expected value is the definition of credit card churning. Opening a card because it gives you the best earning rate for a category and then keeping that card multiple years for use in those categories is the definition of optimization.
Hello Jake... What's important with this and all your other videos is that "you do not get charged an annual fee" for those cards that charge for it. Overall, I enjoy watching your videos. I believe that you do explain throughout your videos that this may not be for everyone. But let's keep this real....not everyone can apply for those "high annual fee" cards. Common sense applies here and I do believe you do speak on that. Perhaps you should do a video on what it's like just to apply for cards with and without annual fees, or at least make a comparison on them. If you have made such video perhaps I missed it. Then your followers or viewers and make their own decision. No hate here. Just that most of us are not "Active Duty Military".
Hey Rolando! Thanks for the comment. I agree that what I am doing with all these cards is only possible for the less than 1% of the US population serving on active duty. This video in no way was intended to be a blueprint for other people to follow. I clearly state my preference for no annual fee cash back cards and I talk about the opportunity cost of just using no annual fee cash back cards in all my videos because that is where I think the average person gets the most value. I made a video in January outlining all the best no annual fee cards I recommend to people. Check it out! th-cam.com/video/TrnE05wa9Nk/w-d-xo.html
David Ramsey says cash is king. I agree with him on that if you're buying a car and or house cash. Other than that credit card travel and cashback rewards are kings. For example when I went to Los Angles Nov 2019 for an NBA game. I stayed at the Intercontinental Downtown LA. I used my free anniversary night with IHG. The cheapest room that night was like $325 not even including taxes. The free night covered all that. The annual fee is only $60.
I have 19cards and counting. Mainly got most of them for balance transfers to pay off my car, student loans and home (almost debt free after I pay off my house this year) Credit score is at 802. Lastly the points have helped with traveling for almost free for years... honestly I didn’t think it was possible until I actually did it with discipline. Great video
I love my Best Buy card. I felt like I "made it" when I got approved because I applied 3 times beforehand. I know I shouldn't, but I use it to fiance my big electronic purchases. Having two years to pay for an oled with no interest is worth it to me. I also have 22 cards, but only 146K in credit with 767 credit score. Probably because of Best Buy financing lol.
I was an Active Duty soldier for four years, and not once I had applied for USAA and Navy Federal Credit Cards. You should cancel your first USAA and Uber credit card. They are utterly useless. You might lose like six points, and your credit score will be back to square one in a few weeks. If you want an excellent no annual and foreign transaction fee with 2% cashback on everything, take a look at PenFed Power Cash Rewards VISA Signature Card. You will thank me later if you are ever stationed at Ramstein or in the UK. Probably CSR will be your best friend in Europe. #TeamAmex
Haha, I am a missileer, they are never going to send me to Europe. I'm going to keep all my old accounts open just because it isn't an inconvenience to me. I will cancel a bunch when I finally get out though and I have a credit card setup that I am happy with keeping for the long run.
I've danced with these bloody cards since 1982. I'm free of the bastard things now, never missed a payment and am now debt free. I did this by moving abroad and making more money. These cards are pure poison.
My biggest hurdle with getting these csrds are meeting those minimum spend requirements. I have virtually no expenses and even though I’m moving off base soon, I’m stationed overseas in guam where the landlords don’t take credit card payments:/
I have been doing this for years. However, I got out of credit card debt in the beginning by doing balance transfers at 0% interest and making the largest payments that I could. Since then, I have always paid my cards in full every month. I have opened numerous accounts for the signing bonus, and use the highest cash back card for what it gives that money for. So, I use American Express for supermarkets, Discover for gas, Capital. One Savor for Restaurants, and Paypal MC for everything else because it pays 2%. I rarely cancel cards, but once in a while I do because I never use them. It is unnecessary though because the bank will eventually cancel for non use. I usually get at least $1000 per year for signing bonuses. I don't know how much cash rewards I get, because I get them for everything and it is too much to keep track of. I rarely use store cards, but I do use Amazon for the 5% cash back. I used LLBean, LandsEnd, JCrew,, and a couple others because they give free shipping. By the way, I never sign up for cards that give points. Points are not money and many times a point is a third or a quarter percent. I also do not get cards that give miles because I don't fly. I like money back that can be used for any purpose. Money talks, show me the money!
I mean... that is kind of what I think as well. It's still a small number of people doing this. Most people in the military don't qualify for these cards (young with no credit history), and a lot of those who do qualify are Dave Ramsey acolytes and think credit cards are evil. Everyone in my squadron knows who I am and what I am doing. Literally none of them have shown any interest in getting these cards and the free money and the free benefits. I've been doing this two years and have been public about it, and nobody has copied me or asked for more information. People are weird. So the true cost of this benefit isn't even registering on the balance books of these banks as rounding errors.
Hey Ronald! Banks have different rules for credit card applications. If your credit history is long and established, then applying for a lot of cards has almost no effect. I have opened 15 new cards in the last 2 years and my score is still 790. But some banks (like Chase / US Bank) will auto deny your applications if you have applied for too many cards recently. Also if you ever want a loan from a bank, I would stop applying for new cards 8 months prior since it makes you look like a risky lender. Good luck!
8 cards and I have $174k available to which I am using only 1% on purpose. No interest, ever. Chase is my favorite and hyatt hotels lol. FREE IS GOOD!!!! Oh, and 823 Credit Score.
I do wonder if parts of this work in Switzerland, but given that you get a discount here for paying cash or especially the account card (your real money) I'd guess the con running in the USA on store owners is probably illegal here.
Are you in the US? Anywhere I go and pay cash always charges the correct price for the item and any taxes if that st.ate charges a sale tax. What did you mean by having to pay $52 as opposed to $50? I have never seen that with cash.
The store does not actually raise your price if paying cash. A $50 purchase will cost you $50 either way. He’s just saying that because you can get credit cards that pay cash back your effective total cost is lower once you get the cash back.
Hey Ricardo, it is an opportunity cost. By not using a credit card to get 2-5% cash back (and instead you pay with a debit card), you lose that money you would have got back on spend. The net effect is that you pay more for the item.
Hey Xiao! I would only keep a single high cost travel card and that would probably be the Hilton Aspire Card. At a cost of $450, I think the credits and free night easily pays for the card and as long as people are fine with staying at Hilton properties, that card is the best.
Hey Ronald! These are my favorite no annual fee cash back cards, but this list is always changing. Be sure to subscribe to my channel and I'll occasionally post videos about my favorite no annual fee cards. th-cam.com/video/TrnE05wa9Nk/w-d-xo.html
@@JakeBroe I've almost exhausted the Churn potential now in Canada (most banks have introduced rules that limit repeat SUB). Everyone is cautious as well (on both sides of the border) with Amex closing accounts. I have 3 keeper Amex cards for which I pay fees.
Hey Cap, new Lt here currently with one credit card. I plan on applying for a few of these you mentioned in the video. How much time should I wait between applications to minimize damage to credit score/banks not approving me?
I cancelled my first card since it started as a secure credit card and the limit was pitiful. Thought my current credit card over a decade old, it wasn't that big of a deal to me. Also Amazon has a non-prime credit card that also gives some decent cash back. Instead of 5%, you get 3% back.
Loved your video! When the day comes where you have to go back to paying full price for these annual fees, how many of them would you consider keeping?
22 cards and about $150k CL. Currently in the AMEX MR system and cashing out in an IRA. I have kids so business class air travel/luxury resorts aren't on my radar.
Nice! I also just cash out my AmEx points to Schwab. I don't want points, miles, and "deals" dictating where I go and where I stay, so I just value the cash back.
Hey Jared! You are right, that's a great benefit to that card. I don't have the biz Platinum because AmEx does not waive the annual fee for military on business cards.
Thanks for watching everyone! Give this video a LIKE if you found it interesting and be sure to check out my entire playlist on awesome credit card trifecta setups! th-cam.com/play/PLscTZuOqKWIyZ0Z4XAcF2y06mq7x_-xwx.html
@Jake Broe
Why don't you close your new USAA card and then upgrade your old USAA card?
@Jake Broe
How many cards do you have now?
What is the average age of your cards?
What is the average age of your credit lines?
Having all those annual fees waived is an amazing deal!
Haha, I'd be a fool not to take advantage of them. I do wonder how long I can get away with making videos about this before AmEx tracks me down and blacklists me. With that said, I do feel like I bring in to them a lot of business and potentially a lot of life long customers. If I get black listed, I'll make a video about it.
Jake Broe I don’t think CC companies want that type of publicity. Clawing benefits from active duty military is a PR nightmare.
@@JakeBroe 0⁵
Is the Military lending act is only available to active duty? I’m currently active duty Navy, would this still be available once I retire?
Nick Shortal only active duty, veterans do not qualify, nor do reservists who are not actively deployed
I have 9 cards with $42k. I'm just getting started with understanding credit and watching you and some others has helped me be more disciplined. Thanks for all that you do, keep up the good work Jake 👍🏽
That's awesome s house! Thanks for supporting my channel and I'm glad you are making improvements in your credit card game!
Good video Jake. I have 19 cards. I use 100% of my points/cash back towards travel. Before I started this hobby I traveled internationally multiple times a years which was very expensive. Today I travel the same amount (maybe a little more), but now my points/cash back cover my flights and hotels saving me thousands of dollars a year.
Thanks T&I! You are definitely correct in that if people apply points and miles towards travel and that was travel they were going to do anyways, then there is a lot more value there. I keep trying to make plans... but the military keeps getting in my way of traveling, lol
@@JakeBroe I feel you. I've only been able to visit one country this year (January). Can't wait until things are somewhat normal again.
You got a pretty groovy background going on behind you. I like it. Hipster.
Very impressive 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 I bank with NFCU and I love how they give you large cc limits. So far I have 5 total of $47,601 in cc.
Very nice Jasmine! I don't have any NFCU cards yet, but I think I will someday once I get out of the service.
Thank you 😊 and the Amex NFCU is a great one to get along with the RewardsCash
I have 14 cards with total of $161,400 of available credit at 28 years old.
I agree, Jasmine!! I love I LOVE NFCU and the AMEX and CashRewards! I have both as well.
Jasmine, we should definitely hang out more;-)
Dude, I seriously didn't know you were active AF. Thank you for your service, truly. Btw, very good video.
Thanks so much Credit Savage! Cheers!
Started my credit card journey with my discover it secured card this year, hoping to level up and make the most of these military benefits while i still can💪🏿
In the same boat as you, I have 25, score of 820. Take advantage of credit cards, don’t let them take advantage of you 👍🏻
Haha, 25! Love it!
Thanks for your service. And I like your great credit card management strategy.
First I would like to thank you for your service. Second love your videos its been a wealth of knowledge for me over the last year or so. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much Jahmal! I appreciate the support. Cheers!
Very cool Mr Jake! Nice increase from your earlier video on having 9 credit cards.
Im currently have 7 credit cards, plus 7 store cards from my early days before i knew anything about credit. So 14 total with about $88k in total credit.
Since I don’t use most of my store cards, i plan to get 3 more major credit cards because i want a 10 card base with at least $100k in credit.
Solid setup Doc and a very attainable goal. I admit I went a little too fast getting 15 cards in 20 months. I'm probably going to take close to a year off to cool down and then I would like to start getting cards from US Bank.
@@JakeBroe - Thanks Jake. Man if I only knew then what I know now. oh well better late than never!
Thanks for the Military Star Card shout out! This card does much more than the 12% off at the food court, 2% off all commissary purchases and 5 cents off on gas at the Express on base. The bank fees saved by The Exchange go directly to support MWR programs in each military community. Thanks for the info. and thanks for your service!
Thanks BC! I love the Military Star Card, I recommend it to everyone, but I know senior enlisted leadership hate the card because they are the ones who have to talk to junior enlisted when people stop making their payments. Not sure how to improve this situation.
@@JakeBroe I have yet to meet a person who actually had that happen to himself. I think it's another one of those stories that some E-5 or E-6 repeated to one of his or her troops that keeps getting repeated.
@@videoman1970 , I would not be surprised if this was true.
Always love hearing your opinion Jake, but my wife and I are points people. The experiences we can gain from points far outweigh any cash back we earn. We haven't paid for an airline ticket since we started in this hobby and it's been awesome. Loving your lineup of cards. Which ones do you think you'll keep when you leave active duty?
Yeah if your the type that likes to, or has to travel going the point route is fine in my opinion. The important thing I think that Dave Ramsey always hammers home is just to not get trapped spending money on something you never would of done in the first place if you had no credit cards.
Anything with a fee!
My favorite high annual fee card is the Hilton Aspire Card. It is a $450 annual fee card that gives a $250 airline credit, a $250 resort credit (eligible for room charges), a free night (which I value $200), priority pass select (which I value $80), and their highest hotel status of Diamond (which I value at $60). The card is just a no-brainer for me as I can't see how I can lose money on it. I would keep this card and downgrade the rest.
What your doing in your 30"s..I'm just now learning to do in my 50's...😖😖😖
It's never too late to start!
I just turned 20 😅
There’s no age limit on learning new things 😊
You know something else you could have learnt before your 30s ? “You’re “ as in “you are” not your! Elementary school stuff. Top comment though 👍🏾. I’m in your age group and just learning all these. Doing pretty well. Better late than never.
Exactly... i'm learning in my 50s also... at least we're here.
My wife thinks i’m crazy for wanting to get more CCs. We were always taught to avoid having too many CCs, so it’s really counter-intuitive and hard for some folks to wrap their heads around.
Just like you (I think), i’ve basically had to learn everything about credit, investing, etc on my own. For whatever reason, my parents never really talked about that sort of thing.
Yep, my parents financially are fine, but I think nobody ever taught them and they didn't have the internet or TH-cam growing up to learn. I wish I could teach them some things to help them but they just don't like talking about money and wouldn't take my advice even if I tried.
Wow! Jake is so upbeat here. This was recommended after I watched a video discussing credit cards so I absolutely clicked on this.
Slava Ukraini!
For your next version of this video, can you also calculate what you would be making if you were paying the annual fees? That way, your non-military viewers can estimate the kind of return we might have if we ran a similar setup. Naturally, it wouldn't make sense to include all of your annual fee cards (I imagine it wouldn't make sense to have multiple Amex Platinum cards)...
Hey Aaron! I actually did make this video. I'll provide the link. The annual fees total $2,395 and I made over $8,000 in SUBs, credits and cash back/points. So if someone had to pay the annual fees, they would be net positive $5,605. Cheers!
th-cam.com/video/jo2BvHcQlfM/w-d-xo.html
I thought I was the only one to do this. Great summation.
Thanks Mark! Cheers!
Awesome video Jake. Now when I tell people im into credit cards I can just send them this video. Everyone always thinks I'm deep in debt because I have 7 cards😂
Only 7 Jackson? Haha, you are being so conservative! j/k, you're doing great
If I could start all over again, or advise people who are starting out with credit cards, I would suggest focusing on cash back cards and no annual fee cards (or have downgrade paths to no AF cards).
A good card to start with might be the Chase Freedom Student. You can build credit and get your foot in the door with Chase. A lot of student/secure cards end up being entirely sock-drawered, but this card could potentially be product changed to a regular Chase Freedom, so it would still be very useful.
For a flat rate cash back card, I would suggest the SDFCU Premium Cash Back +. 2% cash back on everything, no AF, no FTF. This is also a Chip-and-PIN priority card. Plus, it’s a Visa card, and some merchants accept only Visa. If you had to pick only one card to travel anywhere around the world with, this is a great option.
The other cards are ones you have already mentioned. I would certainly suggest either the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or BCE (depending on a person’s grocery spending patterns). The Amazon Prime card is also a great one to have. I didn’t list any cards with a high multiplier for dining because eating out all the time is a great way to spend too much.
Solid advice! Thanks Vincent!
Nice credit score 👍🏻 I have a lot of credit cards 💳 Same here I taught myself and study 📖
So jealous about getting all those annual fees waived. Nice info!
The Military Star “aka DPP” card is like a crazy ex girlfriend that never goes away. I had a balance left when I left the service and sure enough, they tracked me down and started to garnish my pay until it was paid.
My oldest card.
Yep, that sounds right. The card is intense, haha!
The hardest part of all this is getting my Dependa on board. Just found out she’s been using the sapphire for amazon purchases 🤦♂️
Oh no!! LOL, you got to get her switched over.
My fave credit card reviewer.
Thanks Ig! Cheers!
I myself am starting to enjoy this, but all my cards are credit union cards totaling 75k across 5 cards. Navy Fed, FNBO, and Sag-Aftra have the biggest limits. I look forward to going after the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. But am looking forward to more business funding or cards. Not a fan of the banks anymore. 4k in annual fees blew my mind, but now I see where your going with this. Very informative video I have subscribed.
Finally a finance channel that’s military focused and a USAF member!!!
Welcome to the channel! Cheers!
I love this guy!
Thanks OB!
Opening a $0 balance transfer card saved me a lot of money in interest. I had just graduated college and didn’t have a job yet. I think opening a card like that can be very beneficial.
For sure, the math is there. But I personally think it gives people a psychological comfort with their debt. I just think that's it's better to be worried and thinking about ones own debt, so it motivates that person to earn more and spend less until the debt is gone. 0% APR for 18 months is a trick that banks use to make people spend more and save less. Just my opinion.
Thank you for bringing light to the balance transfer trap! 👊🏻
For sure! Gotta watch out. Thanks Christopher!
Jake, I fully agree with most of your recommendations. However, I set up two 15 month interest-free balance transfer cards with negligible minimum monthly payments automated. Both balances were transferred from high APR cards. I will have no difficulty paying off their balance in 15 months. The cards are locked to prevent fraudulent activity and are kept in my safe. I keep only 4 credit cards active in my wallet. Here is why. I fear credit card fraud and the possibility of having my wallet stolen. I get up at the crack of dawn each morning to examine the activity on each card. There is no damn way I am going to check 17 cards; 4 is about all I can handle.
I have 13 credit cards with a balance of 111,000... love those points and cash back 😁😁
Nice totals Andre! Cheers!
For the mean time I love using my citi double cash while I wait to upgrade my CSP to CSR !
Upgrade? I'm assuming you have a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited then? Haha, I'm way over 5/24 so Chase and I aren't on speaking terms right now.
I actually have both and the CSP. I was at 5/24 too still gotta wait so that’s why like 2 months ago last credit card application I went CITI double cash ... it was a no go with AMEX credit profile wasn’t long enough.
Great video. Love spreading more awareness about credit card and breaking down the stigma.
Thanks Cho! I acknowledge the risks, but I still feel like there is more benefit from using credit cards responsibly than not using them at all (for most people). Cheers!
My wife and I broke 800 this year. We have a good bit of paid of CCs as well. Using a CC with 5% cash back is the way to go. Hard to convince the wife of that since we worked so hard to pay off high balances, but you just pay it off every two weeks to 29 days. Just ahead of interest accrual, obviously. Not saving anything then.
I love the content brother. As a veteran, I fall into the statistics of carrying over a balance every month. I started following Dave Ramsey and it's changed my view on finances dramatically. Still like to watch credit card videos though, just for fun. I'll be debt free soon.
I love Dave Ramsey! I follow him on TH-cam and he gives great advice. Anyone who follows his plan can retire a millionaire. That's awesome you will be debt free soon. You got this!
I’ve never seen anything like that “cash tax” statement occur with debit or cash, I have however seen it happen with credit cards where you pay an additional fee for using a credit card at some stores.
Wow crazy. I’ve never heard of a cash tax here in Florida.
Retired Air Force here (2006). 50+ cards with $450,000+ total credit available. Everything from $700 limit to $25,000. Didn't really start into the credit card game until about 3-4 years ago. Really enjoy your videos. Thanks!
50+ cards! Holy cow! That might be the most I've ever heard of from a single person who has commented on my channel. Respect!
@@JakeBroe This question gets asked on The Credit Society Facebook page a lot. There are a few people there who have more than I do and are willing to post about it. My only goal is to get to $500,000 someday :)
@Anna Jordan I don't really care about the percentages I pay off my cards every month. Now if I maxed them all out I would have an issue :)
5% at Amazon is the best thing ever. Or 6% groceries!
Yep, the Amazon card is a must for any Prime member.
I prefer to just wait for the Chase Freedom category to be Amazon (like now) then refill my gift card balance to about $1000 and use that balance for the whole year... Then get other Chase cards with better benefits.
@@cab9191 why?
lotto bc there are more valuable Chase cards to get and you are limited to a certain amount over time... I’d rather fill a “Chase slot” with a card that gives $1000 of value as a sign up bonus, like with their hotel cards or a Sapphire card, than get the Amazon prime card, especially since most people can get the same value (or better considering UR points are more valuable than cash) using the Freedom’s quarterly categories.... this can be done by reloading your gift card balance by buying Amazon gift cards at the appropriate retailers during the appropriate quarterly spend categories... The only exception is if you spend maybe more than $3000 a year on Amazon purchases (which isn’t most people) then perhaps the Amazon Prime card then is a good choice...
I would love a USAA credit card to add to my collection. But not interested in joining the military for that. The pain of the ones that got away 😭
Love your channel so far Jake !👍
Thanks DS! I appreciate the support!
Love your energy.
Great video .... just shared your video on my Facebook 💪💯💯
Thanks so much DCrump! That's a huge compliment!
On my 9th card with $51,000 credit total 😅 lol I’m sure I’ll get up to that credit amount someday. I have a few more cards I have my eyes on 👀 ( I did have a good credit score but the sba ran my credit for the $1000 grant and my score dropped to 725)
Hey Sandra! You always have more time to get more cards and build your credit. There is no rush. You sound like you are doing great!
25 Cards - 161K Hoping to get the Amazon Prime card and Citi soon. Great info Jake!
Thanks Ray! The Prime Card is for sure a must have! Cheers!
RAY C IS SMART! - The POINT is to use to BUILD ASSETS not to ABUSE them. The HATERS are the people who should have paid attention. And if you made mistakes, get back in the 'Game', (and it is like a game), and get it right..Claiming Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
Again another great video on credit card info!!
Thanks so much Shawn! I appreciate that!
Thanks for your advice man!!! Really
Thanks for the comment Walter! I appreciate it!
Thanks Great Video
My lazy 2 card setup for 2021 would be: the Discover it Cash back card 5% rotating categories and first year is doubled with the cash back match. Then, a 1.5% cash back card with a $200 welcome offer for everything else.
Hey julius! That still works and is a better setup than most people! Most people just use a debit card...
Cool. I have 22 cards, I make sure each one is paid off at least every week but usually more often.
All of them except one have just one recurring charge to keep it active and the other I use day to day.
None have any fees.
I'm not sure what would be annoying about it. I set aside a few minutes a week to log into each account and make sure they're paid off.
That's awesome Jacob! I use Amazon to buy something I was going to buy anyways to put a charge on each of my cards every 6 months to show activity. It's a fun hobby that I enjoy, so I don't mind status tracking all these cards and it sounds like you are pretty well organized as well.
Great presentation! You might want to get the new Citi Custom Cash card for its 5% categories.
Great video. Show us those FICO scores.
Haha, thanks Donald!
Great video my bro thanks 🙏
Thanks so much HERELUXLIFE! Cheers!
if you DO credit card churn search up soft/hard credit pulls.
I think we all have our own reason I also fell that having a small monthly balance paying over time will raise your credit score vs always zero balance
all you need is 500k token pt with 5 cards with the least amount of spending with AMEX, Chase, Capital One, VISA. don't fall for spending traps, have strong leverage training before undertaking this pt system. train with zero fee cards first.
I agree with you on points being a possible trap but, I only use my points and miles for things I was already going to pay for. I know this isn’t the case with everyone but it works for me. Especially the hotel points.
For sure! If points and miles are used for expenses you were going to make anyways, then it for sure beats the cash back savings rate.
That's insane!!!
The way you presented the “credit optimization, credit churning section” gives the impression that those others mentioned support churning. We know that’s not the case, and I’m sure you don’t think they advocate that either, but there was no callout that they also believe in optimization over churning.
I am not sure what you are talking about, but they all support churning. They all support getting new cards for nice sign up bonuses and then downgrading, cancelling, or calling for a retention offer after year one. Opening cards for nice welcome bonuses and then getting rid of them after a year if they don't give you positive expected value is the definition of credit card churning. Opening a card because it gives you the best earning rate for a category and then keeping that card multiple years for use in those categories is the definition of optimization.
Hello Jake... What's important with this and all your other videos is that "you do not get charged an annual fee" for those cards that charge for it. Overall, I enjoy watching your videos. I believe that you do explain throughout your videos that this may not be for everyone. But let's keep this real....not everyone can apply for those "high annual fee" cards. Common sense applies here and I do believe you do speak on that. Perhaps you should do a video on what it's like just to apply for cards with and without annual fees, or at least make a comparison on them. If you have made such video perhaps I missed it. Then your followers or viewers and make their own decision. No hate here. Just that most of us are not "Active Duty Military".
Hey Rolando! Thanks for the comment. I agree that what I am doing with all these cards is only possible for the less than 1% of the US population serving on active duty. This video in no way was intended to be a blueprint for other people to follow. I clearly state my preference for no annual fee cash back cards and I talk about the opportunity cost of just using no annual fee cash back cards in all my videos because that is where I think the average person gets the most value. I made a video in January outlining all the best no annual fee cards I recommend to people. Check it out! th-cam.com/video/TrnE05wa9Nk/w-d-xo.html
I tried doing this a few years ago. The time spent to track each card drove me crazy and wasted much of my time.
David Ramsey says cash is king. I agree with him on that if you're buying a car and or house cash. Other than that credit card travel and cashback rewards are kings. For example when I went to Los Angles Nov 2019 for an NBA game. I stayed at the Intercontinental Downtown LA. I used my free anniversary night with IHG. The cheapest room that night was like $325 not even including taxes. The free night covered all that. The annual fee is only $60.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your story. Plenty of value to be had with those anniversary nights!
Great info Jake enjoyed the vid👍🏾
Thanks so much Glenn! Cheers!
12:30 has the answer to this video. He is basically using his military status as immunity from any credit card fees.
Oh wow this is definitely an update from your 2019 video. 9 credit cards to 17 LOL
Haha, yep! I am on a break right now. I am going a full year without applying for a new card so I can get approved for a card with US Bank.
personally I appreciate a vendor who refuses to take credit cards, if I have a choice all things being equal, the no credit card vendor gets the sale.
I have 19cards and counting. Mainly got most of them for balance transfers to pay off my car, student loans and home (almost debt free after I pay off my house this year) Credit score is at 802. Lastly the points have helped with traveling for almost free for years... honestly I didn’t think it was possible until I actually did it with discipline. Great video
Thanks Barb! You sound like you have a lot of experience! Maybe some day I will catch up to you, lol
i currently have 8 cards with a total CL of $79,400
Hey Gregory! 8 is a solid number!
Thank you for your service in the Air Force.
Thanks for your support Gustavo!
We all have that one card that does nothing but it’s the oldest ... mine it’s the Best Buy credit card 😂😂😂
Hahaha, yep. You gotta hold on to that card forever!
Wells fargo secured card for me with a $300 CL.
I love my Best Buy card. I felt like I "made it" when I got approved because I applied 3 times beforehand. I know I shouldn't, but I use it to fiance my big electronic purchases. Having two years to pay for an oled with no interest is worth it to me. I also have 22 cards, but only 146K in credit with 767 credit score. Probably because of Best Buy financing lol.
I was an Active Duty soldier for four years, and not once I had applied for USAA and Navy Federal Credit Cards. You should cancel your first USAA and Uber credit card. They are utterly useless. You might lose like six points, and your credit score will be back to square one in a few weeks. If you want an excellent no annual and foreign transaction fee with 2% cashback on everything, take a look at PenFed Power Cash Rewards VISA Signature Card. You will thank me later if you are ever stationed at Ramstein or in the UK. Probably CSR will be your best friend in Europe. #TeamAmex
Haha, I am a missileer, they are never going to send me to Europe. I'm going to keep all my old accounts open just because it isn't an inconvenience to me. I will cancel a bunch when I finally get out though and I have a credit card setup that I am happy with keeping for the long run.
Edit to rule #1. Unless you're paying an annual fee for some BS card like cap one silver and no longer getting value from it. Good video
For sure! Thanks Nathan!
I've danced with these bloody cards since 1982. I'm free of the bastard things now, never missed a payment and am now debt free. I did this by moving abroad and making more money. These cards are pure poison.
My biggest hurdle with getting these csrds are meeting those minimum spend requirements. I have virtually no expenses and even though I’m moving off base soon, I’m stationed overseas in guam where the landlords don’t take credit card payments:/
I have been doing this for years. However, I got out of credit card debt in the beginning by doing balance transfers at 0% interest and making the largest payments that I could. Since then, I have always paid my cards in full every month. I have opened numerous accounts for the signing bonus, and use the highest cash back card for what it gives that money for. So, I use American Express for supermarkets, Discover for gas, Capital. One Savor for Restaurants, and Paypal MC for everything else because it pays 2%. I rarely cancel cards, but once in a while I do because I never use them. It is unnecessary though because the bank will eventually cancel for non use. I usually get at least $1000 per year for signing bonuses. I don't know how much cash rewards I get, because I get them for everything and it is too much to keep track of. I rarely use store cards, but I do use Amazon for the 5% cash back. I used LLBean, LandsEnd, JCrew,, and a couple others because they give free shipping. By the way, I never sign up for cards that give points. Points are not money and many times a point is a third or a quarter percent. I also do not get cards that give miles because I don't fly. I like money back that can be used for any purpose. Money talks, show me the money!
Seems like they’ll crack down on this at some point. Getting
the credits without the AFs = TGTBT
I mean... that is kind of what I think as well. It's still a small number of people doing this. Most people in the military don't qualify for these cards (young with no credit history), and a lot of those who do qualify are Dave Ramsey acolytes and think credit cards are evil. Everyone in my squadron knows who I am and what I am doing. Literally none of them have shown any interest in getting these cards and the free money and the free benefits. I've been doing this two years and have been public about it, and nobody has copied me or asked for more information. People are weird. So the true cost of this benefit isn't even registering on the balance books of these banks as rounding errors.
Jake Broe they wouldn’t think cards are evil anymore after realizing they get $300 travel credit for free haha...
Great channel 👍👌
Thanks Leo! Cheers!
Love your videos! So to clarify, Amex Plat for flights, CSR for Hotels?
Nice videos Jake! how often can one apply for a credit card? Doesn't that give you too many hard inquiries to your credit report?
Hey Ronald! Banks have different rules for credit card applications. If your credit history is long and established, then applying for a lot of cards has almost no effect. I have opened 15 new cards in the last 2 years and my score is still 790. But some banks (like Chase / US Bank) will auto deny your applications if you have applied for too many cards recently. Also if you ever want a loan from a bank, I would stop applying for new cards 8 months prior since it makes you look like a risky lender. Good luck!
8 cards and I have $174k available to which I am using only 1% on purpose. No interest, ever. Chase is my favorite and hyatt hotels lol. FREE IS GOOD!!!! Oh, and 823 Credit Score.
You sound like you are killing it Dustin! Cheers!
Great video.
Thanks Carlock!
Can you use points as statement credit ? That what I do with all my cash back cards 💳
I do wonder if parts of this work in Switzerland, but given that you get a discount here for paying cash or especially the account card (your real money) I'd guess the con running in the USA on store owners is probably illegal here.
So with cash is more but with credit cards , what is the APR? less than the 5% if using cash?
Are you in the US? Anywhere I go and pay cash always charges the correct price for the item and any taxes if that st.ate charges a sale tax. What did you mean by having to pay $52 as opposed to $50? I have never seen that with cash.
Never heard of cash having to pay more than credit cards , I don’t know where but not in Florida , actually is the other way around
The store does not actually raise your price if paying cash. A $50 purchase will cost you $50 either way. He’s just saying that because you can get credit cards that pay cash back your effective total cost is lower once you get the cash back.
Hey Ricardo, it is an opportunity cost. By not using a credit card to get 2-5% cash back (and instead you pay with a debit card), you lose that money you would have got back on spend. The net effect is that you pay more for the item.
Yo jake, is that the Milwaukee flag behind you?
Yes, it is!
Jake Broe awesome, I’m from Milwaukee that’s why I recognized it! I’ve been watching for a while and never noticed it lol
You should try to get the Centurion card if you don’t need to pay annual fee.
Haha, that's a goal of mine. I need to become a millionaire first, so we shall see!
Though there technically should be an asterisk on that credit limit due to charge cards but solid overall credit card line up
Yeah, having 5 "no limit" charge cards is dragging down my cumulative total.
Hi Jake congratulations on all your card! I wonder if you an avg Joe how many high AF card would you keep?
Hey Xiao! I would only keep a single high cost travel card and that would probably be the Hilton Aspire Card. At a cost of $450, I think the credits and free night easily pays for the card and as long as people are fine with staying at Hilton properties, that card is the best.
@@JakeBroe Credit Card guru jake!
What cards would you use for a person non active military?
Hey Ronald! These are my favorite no annual fee cash back cards, but this list is always changing. Be sure to subscribe to my channel and I'll occasionally post videos about my favorite no annual fee cards. th-cam.com/video/TrnE05wa9Nk/w-d-xo.html
If it makes you feel better, USAA doesn’t let you product change. I’ve tried before. Wish they would change their policy.
Really? I got bad information then. Someone told me I could
I now have 20, with a total CL of $319,000 CAD = $238,160. It's a hobby too.
(Went from 2 cards with $10,000 in 2016.)
only resistance is that my wife doesn't like the plastic laminated card I printed so she knows which card to use where! :-)
That's awesome Peter! Sounds like you know what you are doing and have a great collection!
@@JakeBroe I've almost exhausted the Churn potential now in Canada (most banks have introduced rules that limit repeat SUB). Everyone is cautious as well (on both sides of the border) with Amex closing accounts. I have 3 keeper Amex cards for which I pay fees.
So why do we really need more than four or five credit cards?
Hey Cap, new Lt here currently with one credit card. I plan on applying for a few of these you mentioned in the video. How much time should I wait between applications to minimize damage to credit score/banks not approving me?
I cancelled my first card since it started as a secure credit card and the limit was pitiful. Thought my current credit card over a decade old, it wasn't that big of a deal to me.
Also Amazon has a non-prime credit card that also gives some decent cash back. Instead of 5%, you get 3% back.
Loved your video! When the day comes where you have to go back to paying full price for these annual fees, how many of them would you consider keeping?
22 cards and about $150k CL. Currently in the AMEX MR system and cashing out in an IRA. I have kids so business class air travel/luxury resorts aren't on my radar.
Nice! I also just cash out my AmEx points to Schwab. I don't want points, miles, and "deals" dictating where I go and where I stay, so I just value the cash back.
FYI prestige is 4th night free up to twice. Also why don't you have business platinum card?
Hey Jared! You are right, that's a great benefit to that card. I don't have the biz Platinum because AmEx does not waive the annual fee for military on business cards.