This is all a good start, but there is so much I don't know about how to maximize our credit card use for the best benefits.
I'm all about maximizing the spending power of your credit cards. $1 spent should not equal just 1 point/mile on whatever credit card you're using. Different credit cards offer different bonus categories. Your Chase Sapphire Preferred ("CSP") offers 2x Ultimate Rewards ("UR") points on travel and dining. The Chase Sapphire Reserve ("CSR") offers 3x UR on those same categories.
You already know this because you recognize that your Amex Blue Cash Preferred ("BCP") offers 6% cash back for the first $6,000 spent at grocery stores. Now you just have to look at your categories of spending, see where the holes are where you're just earning 1 point/mile per $1 spent, and find a credit card that offers a good bonus on that category of spend. You've already started thinking this way by thinking how you can earn more rewards back on gas.
I'd start back with the card(s) you already have and think about how you might not be maximizing its bonus(es). You're earning 6% cash back on your BCP when you use it at grocery stores. Grocery stores sell gift cards, including Amazon, Disney, and gas gift cards, which you say are your major spending categories. You can buy gift cards at grocery stores, and they will totally count towards your 6% cash back. Grocery stores like Kroger, HEB, Safeway, also often have sales or fuel rewards bonuses on certain gift cards, so if you time your gift card purchases to those promotions, you can get your 6% cash back on grocery (gift card) spend plus the extra fuel rewards to save on gas.
So let me see if I understand this correctly. I should probably hang on to the AmEx Blue Preferred because I've had it for a few years and longevity counts toward your credit score, correct? This card has a $95 annual fee, but pays 6% cash back for the first $6000 worth of groceries annually. So if I use this card solely for groceries for the first 7 months or so (until I hit $6000) I'm still coming out $265 ahead. I guess I should also figure out which of my cards pays the most back for gas and use that one for that. I also spend quite a bit of money on Amazon. Beyond these three things, I don't spend a lot of money.
Continuing with the idea of using credit cards with certain bonus categories to buy gift cards to save you money at Amazon, Disney, and gas stations, some very useful cards for that are:
Chase Ink Business Cash ("CIC") - This is a business card from Chase that offers 5x UR points for every dollar spent at office supply stores. Office supply stores carry pretty much every kind of gift cards you could need, including Amazon, Disney, and gas stations. I believe the CIC also earns 5x UR through online electronic gift card vendors like Gyft, Swych, and CashStar.
Chase Ink Business Preferred ("CIP") - This is another business card from Chase that earns 3x UR points for every dollar on Gyft, Swych, and CashStar, but also Plastiq, which is a bill payment service that accepts credit card payments for a lot of categories of spending that you might not be able to use a credit card for otherwise.
The above cards also come with sizable signup bonuses: 30,000 UR points for the CIC, and 80,000 UR for the CIP. 1 UR point = 1 cent cash, but could be worth 1.25 cent per point ("ccp") if you're redeeming for travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal on your CSP, or 1.5 ccp when booked on the UR portal on a CSR.
The Chase Freedom - This card offers rotating 5x UR bonus categories for up to $1,500 spent, which changes every quarter. We just finished Q4, which offered 5x UR points spent at Walmart, Walmart .com, and department stores. The bonus category starting tomorrow offers 5x UR points on gas stations; internet, cable and phone services; and mobile payments like Chase Pay, Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
Discover also has rotating bonus categories similar to how the Chase Freedom works, but I don't have any Discover cards so can't comment.
I'd also recommend you look at the Amex Premier Rewards Gold and the Amex Platinum eventually (for more discussion why, see my post on the /r/DISchurning subreddit), but you may want to stick to the Chase cards first because of Chase's 5/24 rule.
Here's a good resource to get more value out of your Amazon spending:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/complete-guide-saving-money-amazon-save-8-25/
Well, I do spend a fair amount at Disney. I'm not sure what the best card for that is. I've thought about getting a Disney Visa (the free one) just for the special meet and greets and few other perks, but every time I've checked over the last year the signup bonus has been uninspiring. I read that a lot of you buy Disney gift cards though avenues that garner you points (or at Target with the 5% off red card) and then use them for your Disney expenses. Is this preferable to just using a card with good "travel" cash back/points rewards? What's the best way to do it?
My family spends a good amount of money on Disney, but we don't have the Disney Visa because outside of the bonus Disney Gift Card (what is it, $200?), I think there are credit cards that offer much better signup bonuses and value for dollar spent on the card, and there are a lot of ways to buy Disney Gift Cards at a discount. The Disney Visa is a Chase card, but it's not subject to Chase's 5/24 rule, so don't waste one of your first 5 slots (in 24 months) on it, because you can still be approved for it after you've been approved for more valuable cards.
Regarding churning, I should get up to 5 Chase cards per 24 month period, get the bonus, and then cancel before I have to pay an annual fee? Is this too simplistic an explanation of this? I still have a lot of reading to do! With cards that have an annual fee, when do you pay that? Is it up front or after the first year? So can you sign up, get the bonus, and cancel before the year is up and avoid paying the annual fee? I'm getting offers from AmEx to upgrade to Platinum for 60,000 rewards points, but I have to spend $5000 in three months and membership is $550 a year. I'm not sure what 60,000 points even translates to in miles or dollars so I'm not sure if it's worth it, but it might be if I could avoid paying the annual fee. It's all very confusing to me still.
In most cases, you cannot avoid the annual fee ("AF") because it's charged on your very first statement. A few cards may waive your first year's annual fee. You can cancel a card or product change ("PC") the card to a no-fee card, if available, after your first year is up to avoid the second year's fee. A few cards are also known to give you a retention offer as an incentive to keep the card if you call in to ask about canceling.
As much as I love the Amex Platinum, I cannot recommend you to take the offer to upgrade at just 60,000 Membership Rewards ("MR") points. Membership Rewards can be transferred to airline and hotel partners, or moved to a Charles Schwab account at 1.25 ccp, and most valuations put it at 1 ccp on the low end and up to 2 ccp on the higher end, depending on how you redeem your points. 60,000 MR points is already the public offer (available to everybody) for a new signup on the Platinum. Amex signup bonuses are generally once per lifetime per card product, so if you have that card or ever had that card, you cannot get a signup bonus again for that card. So this means you should try to apply for an Amex card only when you can get the highest bonus Amex offers on that card product. The Platinum's highest offer is 100,000 Membership Rewards, and there are a number of ways you can get targeted for the highest offer.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/cardmatch-offering-people-100000-points-american-express-platinum/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/another-possible-way-get-100000-platinum-offer/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/incr...bonuses-incognito-mode-back-list-offers-ymmv/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/two-new-ways-access-higher-american-express-offers/
Yes, the Platinum carries a hefty $550 AF, but there are a lot of benefits that offer value to help offset the fee. (This is true with most premium travel cards, like the Amex Platinum and the CSR.) I posted about this recently:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i-love-credit-cards-so-much.3528202/page-518#post-58541853
Now would not be the best time to get the Amex Platinum because (1) it'll eventually count against 5/24 with Chase if you want to maximize the 5/24 cards you can apply for with Chase; and (2) the best time to get the Platinum is in early December, when you can "triple dip" the Platinum's airline travel credit and pay only 1 annual fee before possibly canceling.
There's so much for you to learn, and so much more for me to write but I've got to go for now.
For now, please think about what you want out of your travels, where your spending is, what's in your wallet; find out what airlines service your home airport; familiarize yourself with the different frequent flyer, hotel, and credit card rewards programs, how they're valued and what those miles and points might transfer to. You might also want to send
@Albort or
@SouthFayetteFan a private message about joining our /r/DISchurning subreddit, where we have more information about this hobby. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, post your questions to this board or the subreddit before making any big decisions like applying for a credit card! We're all glad to help, and we all hate to see a new member make mistakes.