What’s In Our Wallet: The Cards We’re Using in Q3 2026 (And Why)

If you’ve ever looked at your credit card statement and thought “wait, am I even earning the right points on this?” — same, friend. Same.

Every few months I do a wallet audit: I look at what we’re spending, where we’re trying to go, and which cards need to do the heavy lifting this quarter. Q3 2026 is shaping up to be a busy one — international travel is on the calendar, a new card bonus is in progress, and yes, I’m still waffling between cards to use at Costco.

Here’s our rewards credit card strategy for Q3 2025, why each card earned its spot, and which ones might be on their way out.

Our Q3 2026 Wallet at a Glance

Before we dive into the why behind each credit card, here’s the full lineup:

*Earn rates shown are the highest applicable rates for our primary use case for this card.

🏨 Priority #1: Vince’s Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex — Welcome Bonus Mode

This is the card getting the most intentional attention this quarter, and it belongs to Player 2.

The goal: Hit $5,000 in minimum spend within 6 months to unlock 175,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

That’s not a small bonus — 175,000 Bonvoy points can get you a genuinely luxurious night (or several) depending on the property and how you play it. We’ve been keeping a close eye on where those points might take us, and right now we’re dreaming about a Pacific island stay. Think overwater bungalows, crystal clear water, the whole thing.

We’re routing spend to this card strategically — it earns 6x points at Marriott properties, 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and 2x everywhere else. Since we’re in active minimum spend mode, it’s getting a little of everything until we hit the threshold.

Why it matters: Marriott Bonvoy doesn’t have many strong transfer partners from other bank currencies, so building Bonvoy points through card spend is one of the most efficient ways to rack them up quickly. And 175,000 points for $5,000 in spend is a rate you simply cannot beat through organic earning.

💬 Where do YOU think we should use them? We’d love to hear from readers who’ve used Bonvoy points for a Pacific island stay — drop it in the comments! We’re weighing our options and real reader intel is gold.

✈️ The Citi Strata Elite — Dining Powerhouse + AA Miles Builder

This card has quietly become one of my everyday workhorses, and it’s earning a permanent spot in my wallet rotation for one specific reason: it’s the only major bank card that transfers points to American Airlines.

What I use it for: Dining is the obvious one — 3x ThankYou points on restaurants, and if you focus your dining out/ordering in to the Friday and Saturday evening Citi Nights promotion window, that rate jumps to 6x. For a family where cooking a whole meal only to hear ‘ewww’ is a regular Tuesday, I’m ready to get my swipes in the dining category when the weekend comes around. 

But the move I’ve been leaning into harder this quarter is using it as my catch-all for non-category spend at 1.5x. Most premium cards give you 1x on random purchases that don’t fit their bonus categories. The Strata Elite’s 1.5x baseline means nothing is truly dead spend.

The strategic angle: American Airlines miles are genuinely useful — especially for domestic flights and partner redemptions on oneworld carriers. Citi ThankYou points transfer to AA at 1:1, and with no other major bank offering that pipeline, this card is how we keep our AA balance healthy without paying cash for flights.

🌍 Vince’s Atmos Summit Card — International Travel Spend

We have international travel coming up this quarter, and Player 2’s Atmos Summit card is officially designated as the go-to for all foreign transactions.

Why: 3x on foreign transactions with no foreign transaction fee (FTF) makes this a genuinely strong choice for spending abroad. When you’re eating out, taking taxis, booking local tours, and picking up souvenirs, that 3x can add up to a meaningful haul by the end of a trip.

We’ve been building out our points portfolio to include a few different ecosystems, and this card covers a gap — international spend that earns well. If you’re traveling abroad this quarter and don’t have a card earning at least 2-3x on foreign transactions with no FTF, you’re leaving real money on the table.

🛒 Capital One Venture X — The Costco Situation

(Aka: the card I’m still using for one very specific reason, but probably not for long.)

Here’s the thing about Costco: they only take Visa. And for a while, my Capital One Venture X was my go-to Visa card for the bulk runs.

But full transparency? I’m likely closing the Venture X soon.

The math just doesn’t work for us the way it used to. When I close it out, my Chase Freedom Unlimited steps in as the Costco card — it’s a Visa, earns 1.5x on everything (and more in select categories), and keeps the spend inside the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem where we already have serious infrastructure.

This is a good reminder that no card is permanent. Your wallet should reflect where you are and where you’re going — not where you were when you first applied.

🥗 Amex Gold — Groceries Stay Here, Always

Some things don’t change. The Amex Gold earns 4x at U.S. supermarkets, and that rate is too good to route grocery spend anywhere else.

Groceries are one of our biggest monthly spend categories, and Amex Membership Rewards (MR) points are extremely flexible — they transfer to a wide range of airline and hotel partners including Air France/KLM Flying Blue, ANA, and others we actively use. Every grocery run is quietly building our MR balance.

No drama here. This card does what it does, and it does it well.

The Bottom Line

Every card in our Q3 wallet has a job. No card is just sitting there earning a lukewarm 1x on everything — that’s the whole point.

Quick recap of the Q3 priorities:

• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Amex (Vince) → hit $5K min spend, earn 175K points, dream about Pacific islands
• Citi Strata Elite → dining + catch-all non-category spend + build AA miles pipeline
• Atmos Summit (Vince) → 3x on all international spend this trip
• Capital One Venture X → Costco runs only, probably closing out soon
• Amex Gold → groceries, every time, no exceptions

Your wallet doesn’t have to look exactly like ours — but it should be intentional. If you’re earning the same rate on every single purchase with one card, there’s a good chance points are being left behind.

Have questions about any of these cards, or want to share where you’d use 175K Bonvoy points? Drop it in the comments — I read every single one. And if this kind of breakdown is helpful, I’ll keep publishing these quarterly wallet check-ins.

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