---
title: 'What''s in My Wallet - Summer 2025 (Strategy Update)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMtrwAX7oWg'
video_id: 'WMtrwAX7oWg'
date: 2026-07-27
duration_sec: 688
---

# What's in My Wallet - Summer 2025 (Strategy Update)

> Source: [What's in My Wallet - Summer 2025 (Strategy Update)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=WMtrwAX7oWg)

## Summary

In this video, the creator provides a detailed overview of the credit cards and strategies in his wallet for Q3 2025, explaining how he maximizes rewards through rotating categories, welcome offers, and point valuations. He covers cards from Chase, Discover, American Express, Citi, and others, while also sharing updates on his personal financial situation, including an upcoming home purchase.

### Key Points

- **Chase Freedom Flex Q3 Categories** [00:01] — The Freedom Flex offers 5x Ultimate Rewards points on up to $1,500 spending per quarter on gas stations, EV charging, live entertainment, and Instacart. The creator and his wife each have one, plus two OG Freedom cards, totaling $6,000 cap.
- **Gas Spending Strategy** [00:43] — Gas spending increases during summer beach travel. They also prepay for group events (e.g., sports tickets) using the card and have friends Venmo them to earn points.
- **Freedom Flex Availability** [01:43] — The Freedom Flex is missing from Chase's website as of July 3, 2025. Speculation includes rebranding to Visa or focusing on other products, but the creator doubts discontinuation.
- **Discover It Card Q3 Categories** [02:23] — Discover it also earns 5% back on gas and EV charging for Q3. With first-year cashback matching, effective 10% back. However, due to overlap with Freedom Flex and point valuation, the creator prioritizes the Flex.
- **Discover It Other Categories** [03:32] — Discover's other Q3 categories (utilities and transit) are not useful for the creator, as utilities are lumped into rent and transit is rarely used.
- **Chase Sapphire Reserve Update** [04:35] — The Sapphire Reserve is used for rental cars (3x points) and lounge access. The legacy 3x travel category ends October 26, making it less versatile for non-booked travel.
- **AMX Gold Card** [05:57] — The AMX Gold earns 4x points on dining and groceries, making it the primary card for those categories. Also offers a $100 Resi credit for eligible restaurants.
- **Citi Custom Cash for Home Improvement** [07:06] — Citi Custom Cash earns 5x points on top eligible category (home improvement) up to $500 per billing cycle. Used due to an upcoming home purchase.
- **Bilt Mastercard for Rent and Subscriptions** [08:00] — Bilt Mastercard is used for rent payments and a few subscriptions (e.g., YouTube Premium) to earn points. Potential future support for mortgage payments is awaited.
- **Catch-All Cards Strategy** [08:39] — The creator and his wife split catch-all spending between Chase Freedom Unlimited (1.5x) and Capital One Venture X (2x), choosing based on whether they are earning for Hyatt redemptions.
- **No New Cards for Mortgage Preparation** [09:49] — No new credit cards have been opened in 9 months to maintain a clean credit profile for mortgage approval. Plans to stay cautious through 2026.
- **Business and Debit Cards** [10:28] — Business expenses go on Chase Business Inc. Unlimited. Debit card is Schwab Investor Checking for ATM fee rebates; SoFi Checking and Savings offers 3.80% APY.

## Transcript

quarter, so let's go over exactly what's in my wallet for Q3 of 2025. Starting with a credit card that apparently is no longer available for new applications at talk more about in just a minute. And that is going to be the no annual fee
Chase Freedom Flex. So, the Freedom Flex has always been a favorite of mine, and really 5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar, and up to $1,500 of spending for change each quarter. And for Q3 of this year, those categories are going to be
gas stations, EV charging stations, live entertainment, and Instacart. For me, I don't drive an electric vehicle, and I also don't use Instacart. So, really, that's going to be the focus of this card in my wallet, with gas stations
being the primary focus. My wife is also going to be carrying her Freedom Flex in because we both have this credit card, that means that each one of those cards has its own $1,500 spending cap for 5x back each quarter. Plus, I also have two
OG Chase Freedom cards that also each earn 5x back on the same amount on the same categories. So, in theory, that's going to be $6,000 of 5x back spending across those four cards. Now, we don't really spend too much on gas because I
doesn't have to drive that far for work. So, we spend maybe around 200 bucks on the months of July, August, and September, those are going to be perfect for gas to be a rotating category right now because we do travel to and from the
beach in the summertime. So gas spending is going to be slightly higher than up going to any sports games with friends, like maybe a Phillies game or what we'll probably do is just try to pay for everyone's ticket using one of
then just have everyone Venmo to pay us back. That way, obviously, we get to ourselves. Now, if you don't already have the Freedom Flex in your wallet and this card sometime soon, like I said earlier, you might not be able to right
currently missing on Chase's website as of July 3rd when I'm filming this. speculation about why this card's missing and even some people who have information from customer service reps that explains the situation. But there's
yet as to what's going on here. I've heard some people say that it could be to Visa like all the other cards in the Ultimate Rewards family of products Mastercard. And I've also heard some people say that this card might just be
focus customers attention on the for a bit. Who knows? But if I do hear anything that's interesting, then I'll about it. But honestly, I don't think this card is getting updated or closed
So, we'll see what happens. Now, speaking of rotating category cards, I Discover it card this quarter. Because for the past several months here, the credit cards in my wallet. That's because I finally opened this card back
right in the middle of the cashback matching promotion. So, even though this card earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of spending per quarter, right now period, that effectively is going to become 10% back on whatever rotating
unfortunately, for the third quarter of 2025, the Discover it is also earning 5% back on gas stations and EV charging, just like the Freedom Flex. So, I could earn 5% plus another 5% for the matching for 10% back on gas with Discover. But,
like the Freedom Flex at 2 cents per point. So 5x back on the flex is going to be worth 10% back in value for me over there as well. When I have a tie the edge to the points earning card just because there's still going to be the
do end up getting above 2 cents per Discover it during my first year has made sense most of the time just because of how the cashback matching works, but the categories just did not line up too
overlapping nature with the Freedom Flex. Now, the Discover it card also has categories for the third quarter as well right now, but our utilities get lumped up into our rent payment. And then Discover only counts passenger bus,
transit. And I just don't really use any of those things. So, those categories Now, before we get to the rest of what's in my wallet, just a quick reminder here to go ahead and subscribe to this channel down below. And also go ahead
called Wiser Wallet, which was previously called Bronze Wallet. With that newsletter, our mission is to help people optimize their everyday finances, through travel and experiences that fit their budget. So, to do that, we send
out weekly emails with current deals on how to best redeem your points of miles news to make you wiser with your wallet. Again, that newsletter is completely free. And when you go ahead and sign up with the link down below, we'll add you
you a complimentary 7-day email course on points and miles to say thank you. the link down below. All right. Now, next up in my wallet is going to be none Sapphire Reserve card. And obviously, this credit card just went through a
there's not really that much that's changed until my new benefits go into was an existing card holder before this update. So, for me right now, this card is the main reason I'm carrying it in my wallet this quarter. So, for some
3 months to places like Switzerland, Oregon, and Colorado, I'm just going to on this card right now. I'm definitely sad to see the 3x travel category go October 26th because this was a really good catch-all travel card for some
higher spend things like Airbnbs, cruises, and rental cars which were new travel multiplier is going to be 4x points on flights and hotels booked I'm using this card to book some rental cars for some upcoming trips because
that's still earning 3x back for me. And we like to use Hertz for renting cars through them with my MX Platinum. And by paying for those rental cars with my Sapphire Reserve, not only am I going to earn 3x points right now, but I'm also
The Sapphire Reserve is also good obviously for airport lounge access to Chase Sapphire Lounges here in the US or any Priority Pass lounges we want to have. And then I also use my Sapphire Reserve as sort of a backup dining
credit card when I'm outside the United States in case my main dining card is not accepted because the CSR is a Visa card and it earns 3x back on dining lead me to card number three in my wallet this quarter that normally is my
main dining card, which is the MX Gold. And of course, the reason for this being my go-to dining card is because the MX Gold earns 4x points at restaurants that it's also the start of the second half of 2025, the $100 Resi credit is
some point over the next 6 months for restaurants that are a part of Resi. So, me with the restaurants that I like to go to in my area for a date night out with my wife. The AMX Gold is also in my wallet as my default grocery store card
since it earns 4x points on groceries at US supermarkets. So, this is now going was using last quarter for groceries since grocery stores were a rotating 5% April through June. Again, I value my Amx points and any other bank points
deciding which credit card to use in different categories. So 4x points per dollar on groceries with the MX gold card becomes effectively 8% back in value. But the Discover it was earning 5% back in groceries last quarter plus
10% back. But now that the third quarter is here and the categories have all back into my wallet for both dining and groceries. And then next year I also that's always been a staple in my wallet, which is the City Custom Cash.
The custom cash earns 5% back or really 5x City thank you points per dollar on your top eligible spend category for up to $500 of spending each billing cycle. bit differently this quarter because I'm actually looking at home improvement
going to put most of my spending on for this card. And that's because I've actually got some good news that my wife and I are finally buying a home. I'll that go into more detail about becoming homeowners and how the whole home buying
stuff like that. But for now, we kind of want to just get settled in later this making that big of a deal of it. But, yeah, we're going to have a bunch of home improvement stores to go along with our home purchase. So, earning 5x back
fit in perfectly right now, even though we are going to be limited to only earning 5x back for the first $500 of spending per billing cycle on that card. all card for any amounts over that as well. Now, that means that for right
payments, we're still going to be continuing to use our Built Mastercard for rent until we actually move. But then after that, we'll just have to kind their word to introduce the ability to pay a mortgage with this card later on
be announced sometime soon, and hopefully we'll still be able to continue using this card as homeowners to earn valuable bill points on our have to wait and see what they decide to do with that in the near future. Also,
we're still using the Built Mastercard to pay for a few monthly subscriptions YouTube Premium. And that's just because you do have to use the card at least order to earn points. So, paying for recurring charges like that just kind of
earn built points on rent. Now, as for the catch-all credit card that we're kind of go back and forth with using either the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the Capital 1 Venture X. And that's because the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5x
Chase Points per dollar on the all other category, while the Venture X card earns all other stuff. The reason for going with the Freedom Unlimited is that we points to transfer and then redeem with Hiatt days by combining the points from
we're not trying to earn Chase points for Hyatt redemptions, then obviously it the higher 2X rate with Adventure X. However, I'll be honest, right now we credit cards. So my wife Jackie tends to use the Venture X more because that's
under it. And I tend to use the Freedom Unlimited more just because I've had the day, we're kind of almost splitting our catch-all expenses across these two because the difference is going to be pretty minor. Even though I will say
bigger purchase that's maybe a few hundred or more, that tends to just get put on the Venture X card to kind of squeeze the most points possible out of go back to opening up a few new credit cards for welcome offers after we close
to go with our credit after that point. So, for the past nine months or so, neither one of us has opened up any new credit cards for new bonuses just just rest and get to the best place possible for getting approved with a
Honestly though, we'll still probably approach new credit card applications pretty cautiously for the rest of this year and into 2026 as well because the our mortgage at some point, maybe later on in 2026 if rates come down a bit by
then. But who knows? So, we just want to keep our options open because the current mortgage that we're getting. But obviously, rates are not ideal at the sort of a new thing that will kind of factor into our overall personal finance
expenses, I'm typically just using my Chase Business Inc. unlimited card to everything to keep it simple. Although again, I definitely do want to explore some point towards the end of this year because it's been a while since I've had
any new business credit cards or new signup bonuses. For my debit card, I debit card that goes along with my investor checking account from Schwab. I just keep maybe a few hundred bucks at any one time in case I ever have to
traveling. And that's because there's unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals worldwide on this. no annual fee bank account. For the rest of my SoFi Checking and Savings because we really love the features and the
benefits they offer, especially the 3.80% APY high yield rate in our see a bunch of other great bank account options, then I made another video where show you what's actually good and what's not so good. So, you can go ahead and
check out that video over here on the screen next. But as always, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next