I started off this year with a new job. A job that does not require the travel that my last one did. I knew that those Delta miles (and status earning MQMs) would not be rolling in like they used to. This gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate how I prioritize my cards.
I took my numbers from Mint.com and plugged them into a matrix. I compared the Capital One Venture, the Wells Fargo Propel American Express, and the American Express Hilton Aspire cards. The Venture was easy math with a flat 2% cash back towards travel. The Propel card uses a variable PPD based on category, as does the Aspire card. This was taken into account for the ROE determined based on the spend.
| 2019 Spend | Venture | Propel | Aspire | |
| Restaurant | 15,492.08 | 309.84 | 464.76 | 542.22 |
| Groceries | 10,674.43 | 213.49 | 106.74 | 160.12 |
| Airline | 1,584.97 | 31.70 | 47.55 | 55.47 |
| Hotel | 5,602.61 | 112.05 | 168.08 | 952.44 |
| Car Rental | 1,792.96 | 35.86 | 53.79 | 62.75 |
| Shopping | 19,182.59 | 383.65 | 191.83 | 287.74 |
| Entertainment | 7,880.79 | 157.62 | 78.81 | 118.21 |
| $ 62,210.43 | $ 1,244.21 | $ 1,111.56 | $ 2,178.96 | |
| ROE | 2.0% | 1.8% | 3.5% |
It was plain to see that my Aspire (man do I love this card) brings the greatest return on expense (ROE).
Want to run your own calculations? Check out our Card Calculator to see how your spend can bring you the most value!
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