---
title: 'What’s In My Wallet - Q4 2025 (My Strategy For Fall)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=hMmiE_PwIOQ'
video_id: 'hMmiE_PwIOQ'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 886
---

# What’s In My Wallet - Q4 2025 (My Strategy For Fall)

> Source: [What’s In My Wallet - Q4 2025 (My Strategy For Fall)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=hMmiE_PwIOQ)

## Summary

The video provides a detailed breakdown of the creator's credit card wallet for Q4 2025, focusing on rotating category cards (Discover it, Chase Freedom Flex) and strategy changes due to homeownership. It also covers updates to premium cards like Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve, and includes tips on optimizing spending categories and leveraging credits.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to Q4 Wallet** [00:01] — Two no annual fee rotating category cards: Discover it and Chase Freedom Flex.
- **Discover it Q4 Categories** [00:15] — Amazon.com and drugstores, earning 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of combined spend.
- **Discover Cashback Match Ended** [00:27] — First year cashback matching bonus ended in September, earning $176.28 matched.
- **Moving House Drives Amazon Spend** [00:53] — Will use Discover primarily on Amazon for new home purchases.
- **Chase Freedom Flex Q4 Categories** [01:06] — 5% back (5x points) on Chase Travel, select merchants (Old Navy, Macy's, etc.), and PayPal in December only.
- **PayPal Category Limitation** [01:34] — PayPal is 5x only for December, not entire Q4; a devaluation compared to previous years.
- **Homeownership Strategy Change: Citi Custom Cash** [02:53] — Moving Custom Cash from gas to home improvement (e.g., Home Depot) to earn 5x up to $500/month.
- **Citi Strata Premier Takes Over Gas** [03:47] — Using Strata Premier for gas, earning 3x on gas, restaurants, supermarkets, travel; $95 annual fee.
- **Citi Transfer Bonuses** [04:28] — Transfer bonuses to Avianca, Turkish, Virgin through October 18.
- **Bilt Mastercard Update** [05:11] — Waiting for Bilt 2.0 to allow earning points on mortgages; $100 million funding round closed.
- **Amex Gold Card** [06:17] — 4x on restaurants worldwide and groceries, $50 Resy credit semi-annually.
- **Amex Platinum New Credits** [07:12] — New $100 quarterly Resy credit, $25/month Hulu Live TV credit, Lululemon and Aura Ring credits.
- **Evaluating Platinum Card Retention** [09:08] — Considering whether to keep Platinum when $895 annual fee hits in February 2026.
- **Chase Sapphire Reserve Changes** [09:22] — Old benefits end Oct 26; new benefits include Apple TV/Apple Music, dining credit, Peloton credit, hotel credit.
- **Community Feedback on Premium Cards** [10:53] — More positive feedback on Amex Platinum update compared to Chase Sapphire Reserve.
- **Catch-all Cards** [11:35] — Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5x) for Hyatt stays; Capital One Venture X (2x) for high spend over $1,000.
- **World of Hyatt Business Card** [12:32] — Used to earn tier qualifying nights for Globalist status; 8 nights away, $10k spend gives 5 nights.
- **Schwab Bank Debit Card** [13:43] — Unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide for cash withdrawals.
- **Conclusion and Call to Action** [14:25] — Asks viewers to comment on their wallet setup and check out related videos.

### Conclusion

The video concludes with the creator asking for viewer feedback on their credit card strategies and promoting related content, emphasizing the importance of having a purpose behind each card choice.

## Transcript

time to go over exactly what's in my wallet from October through December of by talking about two no annual fee credit cards that have rotating the next 3 months. And those are going to be the Discover it cashback card
along with the Chase Freedom Flex. So on the Discover it card, the categories right now are for Amazon.com as well as drugstores. So during the fourth quarter, I'm going to be able to earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of combined
unfortunately, my first year cashback matching bonus with Discover ended last month in September where I earned $176.28 in total, which Discover is going to match with another 17628. So, that's
which I'm pretty happy with. I honestly didn't get that much use out of this card during Q3 because the category of gas stations was the exact same on the preferred to earn the Chase points instead. But since I don't have any
5% back on Amazon, that's where I'm just going to be using my Discover it the most to finish out 2025. And actually, earning 5% on Amazon is going to be moving into a house that my wife and I just bought and we're super excited for.
things that we'll need to buy on Amazon for that, like household supplies, maybe miscellaneous things. And then over on the other rotating category card for the disappointed with how they set things up this quarter. So, right now, this card
is going to earn 5% back, or really 5x points per dollar on Chase, travel, that's also going to be for up to $1,500 in spend on that stuff. But, as a bonus category for the month of December to celebrate the 15th birthday for the
Freedom Flex, PayPal is also going to be earning 5x back for December only. And I previous years, we've seen Chase make PayPal a 5x category for the entire fourth quarter, not just one month of it. To me, the other 5X categories are
I've ever really shopped at Old Navy, and that's just terrible anyway to make that one store its own category, unless it was like Walmart or Target or category is just as annoying as well, because I don't think that many people
shop at places like Macy's or Kohl's or anywhere like that that much anymore. 5X category does stack with the existing 5X on Chase Travel that you earn on the Freedom Flex. So, the way the Chase Travel stacks up is that you get 1x base
points for the standard Chase Travel category, plus an additional 4x points for the rotating category to give you a total of 9x back on Chase Travel in Q4. So, I know that's kind of weird how that stacks up to be 9x instead of 10x, but
Chase not making PayPal a 5x category for the entire fourth quarter is the most frustrating thing here, especially since that means that PayPal will not be earning 5x back on Black Friday in November. So, I'll still get some value
in December for some holiday shopping. But, yeah, I had to call this out here consider a small devaluation to the Freedom Flex this year. All right. Now, some big changeups that I am making to my credit card strategy because of the
homeowners. So, the first card that's going to be impacted by this in my wallet setup is going to be the City Custom Cash. Now, the custom cash has no annual fee and it earns 5% back or really 5x City thank you points per
dollar on your top eligible spend category each billing cycle for up to been my go-to gas credit card to optimize that area of my budget. are also one of the eligible categories to earn 5x points, what I'm going to be
I'm only going to use my custom cash card at places like Home Depot whenever household things. And that's going to basically lock that in as my highest now, spending at Home Depot is going to be much more likely to use up the full
$500 spending cap of earning 5x each monthly billing cycle compared to the to buy something that's related to the house and it's cheaper somewhere else, price first. But if it does make sense to go to a home improvement store, then
Now, because my custom cash is going to be moving out of my gas station slot in my wallet, that means that I am going to be moving in my City Strata Premiere to and I've said this before, but I think it's true now more than ever that the
underrated premium credit cards in the game right now. So, this card is going to earn 3x on gas and EV charging, which again is what I'm using it for. But it also earns 3x on air travel and hotels, 3x on restaurants, and 3x at
supermarkets, all for only a $95 annual fee. And those points can now transfer directly to American Airlines Advantage Miles at a 1:1 rate. American Miles are city credit cards like this are the only way to transfer directly over to them.
early October, there's a few really great transfer bonuses going on from City to Aviana, Turkish, and Virgin, which all last through October 18th. credit cards in my wallet, just a quick reminder here to go ahead and subscribe
because it truly is the best way to help us reach more people. And while you're to our free newsletter, Wiser Wallet. With that newsletter, we're able to send normal YouTube uploads. So, every Tuesday and Friday, my team and I find
point redemptions, or other ways to save you money. And then we just send those easyto read email that recaps anything you need to know. Also, as a way to say we're going to send you our free send peroint calculator that I like to use to
getting a good deal when I want to book something with my credit card points. So down below underneath that YouTube subscribe button. All right. Now, one other credit card that I want to talk about next here that's also related to
Built Mastercard. And with Built, I'm really just kind of waiting to finally see how they're going to begin allowing people to earn points on their mortgage. Now, Built's popularity exploded over the past few years by giving people the
which is exactly why I got this card myself. But a few months ago, they discussed Built 2.0, know, which includes new cards, a move away from Wells Fargo, and the feature to earn points on both rent and mortgages.
details in early fall about all that stuff. But the official launch is going point, I'm really just waiting to hear what those details are before I can to fit into my wallet as I now begin to pay a mortgage. Now, Bill did also say
that it closed a big funding round which included a $100 million investment from two companies are pretty much expected to join forces and I think that's going us points on mortgages. But we'll see what happens and what details we get now
that it is early fall. So stay tuned for a video update on that as soon as we wallet for this quarter, we've got my MX Gold card, which is pretty much going to be my go-to choice to earn forex points at restaurants worldwide, as well as 4x
So, this one doesn't really need that much explanation for groceries because cards in the game for that. However, what's a little bit different about this when it comes to restaurant spending, I'm now actually going to be throwing in
the MX Platinum card every now and then as well because both of these cards here work at select restaurants that are part of resi. So, the MX Gold gets $50 in January through June and then July through December. So, every 6 months I
can get $50 in value if I'm dining out at a resi restaurant, which is easy value for me since there's a ton of great ones that I already go to around the other week here, American Express announced some massive new changes to
the MX Platinum card as well. And one of those changes was the addition of $100 in quarterly credits that goes towards resi restaurants also, which I get every 3 months. Now, I just managed to use one of those $100 resi credits in September
for Q3 on my platinum card for this one restaurant that my wife and I like to go fourth quarter, that means I'm going to get another $100 resi credit on the platinum card to go along with my still unused $50 resi credit on the gold card.
thinking this is all going to get a little bit too complicated to keep track of if they have both of these cards and both of these resi credits on these two me, honestly, keeping track of this stuff is just all a part of the credit
card game for optimizing things. So, I'm okay with it. I know that I'm going to separate date nights when I'm out with my wife or on one date if our bill plus the tip is close to $150 total, then I have no problem doing a little bit of
extra work and just splitting that bill up into $100 on the platinum card and those credits at once. So yeah, let me know what you guys think about these resi credits on these two MX cards now because to me, I like them and I know
for money that I was going to spend anyway. But to other people out there, understand that. Now, my platinum card is also going to get used to pay for our Hulu Plus live TV subscription since we get 25 bucks back per month on that from
the updated digital entertainment credit on this card, which is now up from 20 bucks per month. But we may also switch over to YouTube TV now since it does Hulu and it's also now covered under this credit as well after this update.
I'll use a bunch of the other new MX Platinum credits also like the Lululemon credit and probably even the interesting Aura Ring credit to buy maybe like a because I do like using my own aura ring already. But other than the credits on
the Platinum doesn't really see that much spending for me. I mentioned this in my full overview of the cards update, but I really do wish that AMX added some platinum with this refresh. And then I'm also going to have to consider keeping
it or canceling it when my annual fee hits my account in February. So, I'm use up all the features and benefits to then decide if the new 8.95 annual fee here. Let's go ahead and move back over to Chase to talk about the Sapphire
Reserve card that I'm also going to have in my wallet for select use cases this be using this card is going to change pretty dramatically on October 26th. holder. So technically right now, I'm still getting all the old benefits of
the previous version of the CSR right now, which includes earning 3x points on my go-to card for things like rental cars, train rides throughout Europe, ride shares, and really anything in between that would count as sort of a
October 26th, Chase says right here on their website that existing card holders like myself who have had this card before the major refresh will now have benefits on that date. And since my annual fee is not going to hit my
account until around May of 2026, that means that just like the MX Platinum, I out all the new stuff to see if the higher annual fee is worth it. So, some of the new things that I plan to use this card for in Q4 of 2025 include the
complimentary Apple TV and Apple Music subscriptions, maybe some of the dining credit with the Sapphire Reserve exclusive tables, but to me that credit with Ammex. My wife is going to use the Pelon credit, and then I think we might
hotel credit for the edit collection through Chase Travel. We're actually most part because again, we're just settling into our new house this clear that part of the reason moving forward for why I do use both the Chase
Sapphire Reserve and the MX Platinum card with these higher annual fees is YouTube channel. The average person absolutely does not need to have one of, let alone both of these cards. And then one more thing here that I also wanted
cards that are competing against each other is that because I've made videos get to go and read all the comments and feedback that people have. So, just to you are collectively saying, surprisingly, the more expensive MX
positive feedback than the Chase Sapphire Reserve has. And that's been a I do understand. You can go ahead and watch both those videos I made covering then read the comments for yourself to see what I mean. And don't get me wrong
negative feedback on both these updates. But yeah, I did find that kind of too that people generally do think the than the one on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Now, for miscellaneous personal
going to be using either the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the Capital 1 quarter. And that's because the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5x Chase points per dollar on the all other purchases category, while the Venture X earns 2x
Capital 1 miles on all other stuff. I've talked about this before, but the reason the Freedom Unlimited is that we like to use this card whenever we want to have for highest stays by combining the points with my Sapphire Reserve. But if
points, then it obviously makes more sense to just go with the higher 2X rate got a decent amount of Chase points saved up, but honestly, it never really do have some other high stays that we're looking to book for 2026. So, I think
spending across these two catch-all cards. But, if we do have a really big over $1,000, then we'll likely try to optimize that by using the Venture X to right or wrong way to do things in the credit card game. As long as you're
is that as long as you have a purpose behind why you're doing something, then to lead me to my business credit card of choice next year, which is going to be that I'm just going to use for pretty much any business spend that I have this
quarter. Now, the reason for using this card like that right now is because I'm currently eight nights away from getting 60 qualifying height nights in 2025. So, able to renew my top tier globalist status through February of 2027. I
February of 2026. So getting that would just be really great here because this valuable to us and we do love going to Hyatt for what they offer and the value programs. So the cool feature that's available on this World of Hyatt
$10,000 that I put on this card in a given calendar year, I get five tier qualifying nights and I'm very close to hitting that amount again, which would year. Then because I don't really have any other H high stays that are planned
called a mattress run and go to one of my local H high place properties. So I'll book a threeight stay to stay there for the remaining three nights and then that sounds like too much effort to a lot of people out there, but it is super
miles. And I kind of love finding little tricks like that to get status that I do have my standard Schwab Bank Visa Platinum debit card in my wallet just in some reason. So, what I like to do with this debit card is just keep maybe a few
checking account that this card is linked to. And then that account and this card give me unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals worldwide. and it's honestly really great whenever I'm traveling to another country. And
otherwise I might have access to here in cash, I can just use any ATM that I find without the worry of having to pay any of my own out-of-pocket fees. So, let me know what you guys think about my wallet
I'm using and let me know what's in your wallet as well by leaving a comment down full thoughts on any of those updates to both the MX Platinum card as well as the to go ahead and check out either one of the videos on the screen next. But as
the videos on the screen next. But as always, thanks so much for watching.