THE ONLY 5 CREDIT CARDS YOU WILL EVER NEED

What's up, you guys? It's Graham here.

So, as some of you know, I have this weird fascination with credit cards and try to squeeze out the best rewards as possible. However, I realized that picking and choosing new credit cards every single month based off the signup bonus is not for everybody. So, I wanted to simplify things into one standalone topic that will cover the only five credit cards you will ever need to get that you could keep forever.

This is meant to encompass all different types of spending and a good mix between cash back and rewards at the lowest cost possible to you. And here's the thing, I'm sure some people are wondering, "Why five credit cards, Graham? Why not just one or two credit cards?"

The answer is that each of these credit cards are really good at their own specific task. But when you combine all five of them together into your everyday spending, it's like reuniting the Power Rangers together, and you've got a crime-fighting team that battles against the injustice of not getting money back when you shop.

Oh, and also having five credit cards is going to increase your credit utilization, which makes up 30% of your credit score, and this will contribute to more positive trade lines on your payment history, which makes up 35% of your score. So, these five credit cards not only give you the most money back on every purchase everywhere, but they'll also help out your credit score.

If you could only have five credit cards for the rest of your life, you'll be in really good hands with these. So, with that said, if you wouldn't mind giving me credit for this video by smashing the like button, it would be greatly appreciated! See what I did there? That was a very clever credit card pun! Guilty as charged.

I hope some of these credit card jokes are of interest to you—get it, interest? Okay fine, I'll stop as soon as you hit the like button. Oh, and also, quick thank you to Dashlane for sponsoring this video, but more on that later.

So, we're going to be starting off with three completely free, no-annual-fee credit cards that oddly rhyme. Anyway, that means this card costs you absolutely nothing up front; it costs you absolutely nothing to keep open. Anytime you have a totally free card like this, it's meant to just be opened up once, and then you keep it forever.

That's because according to the almighty credit scoring algorithm, the average length of your credit history makes up 15% of your score. So, the longer you keep these ones open, the better. Now, all of these recommendations assume you have some sort of credit history to begin with. So, if you're totally new and don't have any credit history at all, I recommend you go and sign up for the Discover It secured card.

I'm not going to include this one in the overall list, but it is the perfect beginner card just to get the ball rolling. This one is also totally free with no annual fee, so it's the perfect card to add to your collection. But once you have some sort of credit history already established, these are the ones you want to sign up for.

The first credit card to add to your collection would be the Citi Double Cash card. Now, here's the reason why this is one of the best credit cards out there and why this is a credit card that everyone should keep forever: One, this card costs nothing to keep open because there's no annual fee, and two, it gets you 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay your bill.

See, typically with cards like this, they're only good with cash back on certain categories during certain times or with certain restrictions. But what makes this one really unique is that it's 2% cash back at all times on everything, and this is a total game-changer for anyone who wants just a little bit of money back every time they make a purchase. It's a highly recommended one for everyone to get and then keep forever.

Now, the second credit card I would recommend everybody keep in their arsenal of credit is the Amazon Prime card. The Amazon Prime card is for members who have an eligible Amazon Prime membership, and the card itself has absolutely no annual fee, so it's totally free to keep open as long as you possibly can.

The reason I'm mentioning this one is because I'm pretty sure almost all of us have an Amazon Prime membership. In fact, just in the U.S. alone, Amazon Prime membership exceeds 100 million people. So, safe to say this card is going to apply to 60% of you watching, and this is exactly why it's worth keeping. With this card, you're going to be getting 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. You'll get 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores, and then 1% cash back on everything else.

But to be honest, the only real reason you should get this card is for the 5% off Amazon purchases. Now, like I mentioned earlier, if you want to get the 5% off Amazon purchases, you must have an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $119 a year. So, if you're already paying for Amazon Prime, you may as well just get the credit card, get 5% cash back on everything you buy from there, and it's worth it.

At least now you're getting 5% cash back for free, whereas otherwise, you're paying 5% more for not just paying with this credit card. It makes a lot of sense—just get this credit card if you have Amazon Prime. No questions, just get it.

Next, number three is a brand new card that I've never talked about here on the channel before because it's that new, and it's already that good to have in your wallet forever. That would be the Chase Freedom Flex card, and as usual, it has no annual fee.

Now, this new credit card is meant to replace the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which is another card I recommended here on the channel for quite some time. Right off the bat, this one is very similar, except now it's a little bit beefier and a little bit better to use, and here's why: Just like the previous card, you're going to get the same 5% cash back on travel, the same 3% cash back on dining, the same 3% cash back on drugstores.

But now, instead of giving you 1.5% cash back on all purchases, which is not that good considering you could just use the Citi Double Cash card and get 2% cash back, they're now giving you 5% cash back on revolving categories and then 1% cash back on everything else.

This is where the benefits with this card really shine because the 5% cash back on revolving categories is awesome! Of course, you're going to have to keep track of which category you're in, but the 5% cash back could be on groceries, gas, or utility services. This is perfect for when these categories come up and you want to get more cash back than you would from the Citi Double Cash card at 2%.

They're also giving you something that none of the other credit cards have offered yet that I've mentioned, and that would be a sign-up bonus. They'll give you $200 back when you spend $500 on the card within the first 3 months, and they'll give you 5% back on grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart) on up to $12,000 in the first year. That means this bonus could be worth up to $800 if you spend $1,000 a month on groceries—which, okay, that's a lot of money on groceries, but still!

If you have a family of 12 and you spend $11,000 a month at the grocery store, this one is a clear winner. That's why I would plan to keep this card in your wallet at all times, because if you're within a category that the Citi Double Cash or Amazon Prime Card cannot beat, then this is your go-to for up to 5% cash back plus a sign-up bonus—all with no annual fee.

Now, these next two are going to be a little bit like the heavy hitters. They're going to cost money, and they're not for everybody. But for the people who know how to best maximize these rewards, they could absolutely be worth it. We're going to be starting this one off with the American Express Gold Rewards card.

Now, here's the thing: In order to make this card worth it, you've got to be a little bit more sophisticated with your spending. If you're just looking for free options you'll never have to worry about, then this card is not for you. But if you like travel and dining, then yeah, this one is perfect!

Now, to start, this card costs you $250 a year, so obviously it's going to add up if you don't know how to use it properly. But on the bright side, for that price, you're going to be getting some pretty decent perks and services.

Like, let's first talk about points. You're going to be getting four times points back on money spent on dining, like restaurants, takeout, and delivery. You're also going to be getting four times points back on grocery stores, all the way up to $25,000 a year. That's a lot of groceries—not even Jon and Kate Plus 8 would be spending that much at the grocery store!

That was a very old reference, wow! Anyway, then you'll be getting three times points back on money spent on flights and then one point back on everything else. You're also going to get 35,000 points just for signing up and spending $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months.

Now, as far as how much each of these points is worth, it really just depends on how you redeem it. Like, if you want cash back, they're only going to be giving you 6 cents per point, which is really low. That's the reason why AMEX points are best redeemed for travel.

When you transfer these AMEX points to one of their partners, you can usually redeem them at a value anywhere from 1 to 2 cents per point. So, that 4% back on dining could really be worth 8% cash back on travel, which is amazing! The website Million Mile Secrets has a really good breakdown on this and how to best redeem these points, so I will just link that down below in the description.

The AMEX Gold card is also going to be giving you a $100 statement credit towards dining, broken down into $10 credits each month to be used towards select restaurants. They're also going to be giving you a $100 airline credit towards incidentals every year, not to mention American Express has some of the best customer service in the entire world, and their purchase protection on products is amazing.

That's why for the person who spends money occasionally on travel or spends money on a regular basis for restaurants, this card can absolutely pay for itself and is worth it. So, even though it does cost you $250 a year, with the proper spending, it easily pays for itself many times over and is absolutely worth it.

Finally, we got the Goliath of credit cards—one of the best of the best out there, one of my all-time personal favorites, and I know I've hyped this up enough. It would be the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Now, just upfront, I got to say it is going to be costing you $550 a year. So, right off the bat, this card is not for everyone, and I also don't recommend you go off and get this card unless you know it's going to be worth it. But for the right people, this annual fee is going to pay for itself many, many, many times over, and it's one of the best cards you could keep in your wallet.

That's because, number one, we've got to talk about the sign-up bonus. You're going to be getting 50,000 points when you spend $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months, and those 50,000 points have a value of about $750 when you redeem that for travel or just straight-up cash back.

Now, in addition to that, you're also going to be getting a $300 travel credit that applies to nearly anything travel-related: like hotels, parking meters, Airbnb, Uber, airfare, timeshares—you name it. To me, this is pretty much just like getting free money back anyway because almost all of us just naturally spend $300 a year on this stuff anyway, so it's pretty much like free money.

You're also going to be getting a $120 statement credit for DoorDash deliveries and free DashPass for 12 months, which is worth another $120 up front. You're also going to be getting one year of complimentary Lyft Pink when you activate the service using your card, and that's a $200 value.

You're also going to be getting free priority pass lounge access for yourself and up to two guests anytime you travel, and that has a minimum value of $99 a year, all the way up to almost $400 a year depending on how much you travel. You also get complimentary Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check, which works out to $100 statement credit every 4 years, and you're going to be getting a whole bunch of perks and services that are just too much to mention here.

First, with the lack of travel, the Chase Sapphire Reserve now has a pay yourself back feature that redeems every one point at a value of 1.5 cents. So, if you go to the gas station and you get five times points for every $1 spent, that's the equivalent of you getting 7.5% back on your purchase. Or that's also the equivalent of getting 15% back on streaming services, which is awesome!

Everything that I just mentioned is really, really good and can make the $550 a year annual fee worth it. Like, if you just add up the sign-up bonus, the travel credit, the DoorDash credit, the complimentary Lyft Pink, and the value of the priority pass lounge access, you're getting $1,630 worth of value for $550, leaving you with a profit of $1,080 in the first year.

That's what makes this card so good for anyone who spends any amount of money on travel—even if it's just within your own city. But of course, if you're the type of person who doesn't really do that much travel and you know you're going to be stuck with this $550 a year annual fee, then it's possible to get your money out of this. Although, I would say I probably wouldn't recommend it for you; this one is really meant for people who spend a little bit more money or who travel frequently.

So, if you just want a set-it-and-forget-it card that you never have to think about, then I would hold off from this one right now. But if you're the type who wants to travel soon, then by all means, I would highly recommend this card.

So, between all of these five cards, you should have most of your spending covered and be able to maximize the value for every dollar spent without having to complicate things by always signing up for new cards or having to switch your spending around depending on which category you're in.

These five cards should really be good enough to have on their own, especially the first three with no annual fee. For probably 95% of you watching, a combination of these five would make sure you get the best deals possible for everything you're spending, while at the same time being able to build up your credit score.

I get it; it was really tough for me to try to narrow down to a list of only five credit cards to keep in your wallet forever. And I know people are going to be in the comments section like, “But Graham, the AMEX Blue Cash Rewards card has 6% cash back at the grocery stores! Why didn't you mention that?”

And that's because it costs $95 a year, and I don't think it's worth spending $95 a year to get 6% cash back on groceries when instead you could pay $250 a year for the Gold card and get 4% to 8% cash back on groceries and a whole bunch of other perks to go alongside with it.

I know there's other cards out there that would be just as good to squeeze out every little penny of profit from credit card companies, but I would say for most of you watching, these five credit cards should be able to cover most of everything, and these are the cards that I would highly recommend you keep in your wallet forever.

So, with that said, you guys, thank you so much for watching! I really appreciate it. Make sure to destroy the like button, subscribe button, and notification bell. Also, feel free to add me on Instagram; I post pretty much daily, so if you want to be a part of it there, feel free to add me there.

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