by Harrison Pierce Harrison is a full-time digital nomad and award travel writer who's visited or lived in more than 35 countries on six continents. He travels everywhere with his cat, Isabelle, and when he isn't traveling, he's cooking, reading, or learning Spanish.

Hi, Reader. I always said I'd never apply for a card that offered tons of different statement credits that require a lot of planning. However, as a frequent award traveler, I'm always looking forward to my next welcome bonus.

Somehow, I found myself as a cardholder of the American Express Platinum Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Strata Elite, and the Capital One Venture X — the most premium cards from each of the four major issuers — at the same time.

To further complicate things, I'm a digital nomad and only go back to the U.S. once a year. With so many U.S.-based credits, it takes some creativity to avoid leaving money on the table.

While researching ways to use the Resy credit on the Platinum Card, I stumbled upon my newest favorite tool: Use Your Credits. It helps you identify ways to use your hard-to-use credits, and since many of these reset at the end of the year, now's the time to start planning.

Use Your Credits features and tools

Use Your Credits is a tool for tracking expiring credits on popular credit cards. It supports a variety of cards issued by most major banks and includes brief overviews and tips to maximize each credit.

When you make a free account, you can add up to three credit cards and see which of their credits are close to expiring. If you have a lot of cards in your wallet, you can upgrade to Pro to track unlimited cards and get expiration notifications.

While the ability to track expiration dates is helpful, that's not the reason I love this tool. I already know when certain credits expire, but I need help using some of my dining credits. Use Your Credits compiled maps for two popular dining credits, and they have already been a lifesaver.

Resy Gift Card Restaurants map

The Resy Gift Card Restaurants map is how I discovered Use Your Credits, and it's incredibly useful. When you enter your city, you'll see all of the restaurants that qualify for the Resy credit on certain Amex cards. However, you can click "e-Gift Cards" to see which restaurants offer a gift card through Toast that should also trigger the credit.

For instance, my parents live in Wilmington, North Carolina. My Amex Platinum offers up to $100 in statement credits every quarter to Resy restaurants. Last quarter, I used this map to buy a gift card to one of the listed restaurants. My credit was applied to my account shortly thereafter.

I plan to follow the same process this quarter, purchasing another $100 gift card for them to use whenever they want.

Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables map

Just like the Amex Resy map, Use Your Credits offers a Chase Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables map. However, more than 10,000 restaurants use Resy in the U.S., while more than 400 restaurants participate in Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables through OpenTable. So, it'll take a bit more luck and patience to utilize your $150 semi-annual dining credit through the Sapphire Reserve.

Unfortunately, there are no Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables in Wilmington, so I'm buying a gift card to a restaurant in Raleigh. However, I'm a new Sapphire Reserve cardholder, and this will be my first time attempting to buy a gift card to trigger the credit, so I can't attest to its effectiveness.

Start with a $5 test

Both credits' terms officially exclude gift card purchases, so there's no guarantee this will work. I recommend testing with a small amount before spending your entire credit. I purchased a $5 gift card for a Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurant, and the charge is still pending. However, at least for now, the transaction shows it was made in person at the restaurant, so I'm hopeful I'll receive the credit.

Restaurant availability can change on Resy or OpenTable at any time. If American Express or Chase catches this workaround, they might implement a measure to prevent any gift cards from triggering the credit. The way I look at it is that the worst-case scenario is that I spend some money out of pocket to get my parents a gift card, and my credit goes to waste. However, the best-case scenario is that I use my card benefits and my parents eat for free.