u/Im_a_dum_bum

I've always been "fearful" of autopay because I don't keep too much money in my checking account, I like to keep my liquid money in a high yield savings account. My expenses month to month vary, so I can't just move the same amount every month from savings to checking. I also don't want every card tied to my savings account due to the restrictions of the number of transactions out of the savings account per month. So what do you do?

edit: to clarify, I also don't want to just have a high balance in my checking because I'd lose out on interest of a HYSA

I started 3 months ago in CFT but 98% of my hours have been in service (checking, bagging, carts). I just graduated college and yesterday received a job offer for a more comfortable desk job in another state. I'd love to be respectful and give my managers a 2 week notice, but I don't want to be immediately let go because the money of those two weeks is still meaningful to me. It's made even more complicated because I have a family member who works at the same store in a different department, and I don't want them to be retaliated against. Any way to judge what my managers will do before I tell them? I don't know any former employees.

I need about $12k in dental work very soon. Not really a negotiable price, I've been putting it off for over a year and it got worse. For context, about half of the cost is just sedation/anesthesia.

Looking for 1 or 2 cards to maximize return.

CREDIT PROFILE

* Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:

* Discover It $3500

* Chase Freedom Flex $800

* Amazon Prime Visa (Chase) $3500

* Wells Fargo Autograph (formerly Bilt) $5500

* Chase Freedom Unlimited $8400

* Fidelity Visa $10k

* FICO scores with source: FICO 9 735 (Experian, Wells Fargo)

* Oldest credit card account age: Almost 3 years

* Cards approved in the past 6 months: 1

* Cards approved in the past 12 months: 1

* Cards approved in the past 24 months: 4

* Annual income: Complicated. Currently $17/hr @ ~30hrs/week, but just graduated college so depending on company and location anywhere from $70k-$140k is expected. In 2025, I had $40k income total from my internship and part time work

CATEGORIES

* Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes

* Ok with rotating category cards?: Yes

* Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.

* Dining $: $200

* Groceries $: $250

* Gas $: Not currently paying for, but probably $60/mo

* Travel $: If I get a job in a different state, probably $600 * 4 = $2400

* Using abroad?: No

* Other categories or stores: Dentist

* Other spend: Nothing regular

* Pay rent by card? Could through a payment processor that charges 3% like Bilt

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

* Amazon Prime member: No, but parent is

* Disney bundle subscriber: No, but parent is

* Open to business cards: No

PURPOSE

* Purpose of next card: Minimizing pain of $12k bill

* Cards being considered: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve

ADDITIONAL INFO

I need about $12k in dental work very soon. Not really a negotiable price, I've been putting it off for over a year and it got worse. For context, about half of the cost is just sedation/anesthesia.

Looking for 1 or 2 cards to maximize return. Dentist accepts credit cards, and most likely can split payment (would need to, I don't have anything except a debit card that has high enough limit/balance.

Mostly interested in having the option for direct cash back.

Fidelity card is 0% interest for a year, got it about a month ago. But I think SUBs are better than interest free. I have $27k cash so it's not a terrible pain to pay everything in 1 month, just ugh. Also have about $20k in student loans varying 6%-9%.