Guai Lan credit cards (local spend)

i have been using the ocbc voyage premier and i think it is a very good general spending card

1.6mpd is as as high as you can get for uncapped local general spending

can redeem voyage miles for cashback, at 1 mile = 1c, min 5000 miles, so even if you don't care about the miles game, it is a 1.6% cashback on a visa card, which is on par with the highest cashback focused card, citi cash back+

also got the uob absolute 1.7%, but its an amex so who actually cares about that, lol

GLK actually also has a dbs insignia card, which is also 1.6 mpd uncapped local spend. but i dont like much it cos the way that DBS allows points to be used for cashback redemption is that only if you redeem in 100,000 DBS points (= 200,000 miles), you can get $2000 cashback

if you redeem dbs points for lower cashback value, your cashback % is lower

using 1.6mpd earn rate

$200 credit = 0.8%
$350 credit = 1.12%
$580 credit = 1.16%
$800 credit = 1.18%
$1200 credit = 1.2%
$2000 credit = 1.6%

all this means that even tho you CAN redeem dbs points for cashback, you SHOULD NOT, unless it is for the $2000 credit

btw i saw people say insignia card annual fee cannot waive

will tell you now that they are wrong and it can be waived. 

just spend a lot of money on the card, they will waive the annual fees. GLK tried and tested.

anyway, redeeming points for cashback is never worth it, unless you never travel

or if you travel, you only fly budget or economy class.

when using miles for biz class tickets, miles will be worth at least 2c

i use 1.7c per mile for my worst case valuation

realistically, i use 2.25c per mile for my typical valuation

in practise, i got redeem miles closer to 3c before

with my base case of 2.25c per mile and the 1.6mpd earn rate, my "cashback" is 3.6%

this sort of valuation only makes sense if you will pay in cash for business class tickets if you didn't use miles - and i do and i have paid cash for biz class tickets when i couldn't use miles

if you are the kind that only flys biz class if you have miles, but if paying cash will fly (premium) economy or budget, then the above logical dont make sense. i think you should value your miles at economy redemption rates.

final piece of the puzzle is that i pay off credit cards by giro from hsbc ega and that gives me another 1% cashback

so my "cashback" on local general spending is 4.6%, which is pretty good i guess?

my problem with hsbc ega is that the 1% for giro bill payment caps at $50K a month. so for months when i spend over $50K, my net and final "cashback" rate is lower

but that is a rich man problem and the hsbc ega thing is free cashback without anything extra to do, other than the set up of the credit card giro deduction, so really cannot complain

final point: why don't i use specialized credit cards to earn higher 4/6 mpd? 

answer: their higher mpd caps are too low for it to be worth it for me to give a damn

ocbc ladys solitaire 6mpd but only $3k cap?

dbs womans 4mpd, but only $2k cap?

hsbc revolution 4mpd, but only $1k cap?

or the infamous amaze + citi rewards for 4mpd? but only for $1k spend a month?

is an extra 2400 miles a month worth me thinking about another card?

let's value the 2400 miles optimistically at 3c = $72

let's round it UP to the nearest $10 because why not, so $80

is $80 worth it for me to care about what cards to use, and keep a running total on my various cards based on their calendar/statement cycles so that i can optimize my credit card rewards?

maybe in the past, i would have cared. free money, why not?

but today, the answer is no. it is too little money for me to care. i rather pay to not have to think about another card, and technically, that is how much i pay, in opportunity cost

i always see finfluenzas talk about this card that card this "strategy" vs other strategy

how much of their daily lives is spent thinking about credit cards and having a running total of their spending? lol

other than reviewing my credit card spending philosophy and strategy (like now, in this post) i spend 0 minutes a month thinking about my spending on my credit cards, if i hit a minimum spend, or if i exceeded the spend on a card or some category, if this card is statement month or calendar month, or if some merchant is whatever knn mcc

i just use 1 card for everything

it does not bother me that i earn lower mpd

don't get me wrong, i am not saying my way is good and other ways are bad. i just have a different goal from other people

i am not trying to maximize miles

i am maximizing personal happiness

there is a price for reducing mental clutter and not having to think about inconsequential nonsense, and i am rich enough to pay that price