Congrats on the IHG card. This is the next on my app list and since I am not ready for a new app now (gardening) I will take the risk with 5/24 for co-branded cards. After June my "allotment" should allow to app for 1 card but I might try to test what would happen with a double app in 4th quarter this year if the restriction 5/24 gets in place. The best hotel cards are only cards for hotel chains that you actually stay. So the "best" is not the same for everybody. I would never apply for 2 card from the same lender but that is just me. But if the 5/24 gets placed on co-branded cards I will do it just for the sake of testing what would happen if 1 app goes into limit and the other exceeds. Fully expect a denial for the 2nd app but curiosity will get me to try outcome but with the app for IHG first as this is the card I would like to get. The Hyatt or Ritz I can wait until another space gets free on the 5/24 allotment 
@lg8302ch wrote:Congrats on the IHG card. This is the next on my app list and since I am not ready for a new app now (gardening) I will take the risk with 5/24 for co-branded cards. After June my "allotment" should allow to app for 1 card but I might try to test what would happen with a double app in 4th quarter this year if the restriction 5/24 gets in place. The best hotel cards are only cards for hotel chains that you actually stay. So the "best" is not the same for everybody. I would never apply for 2 card from the same lender but that is just me. But if the 5/24 gets placed on co-branded cards I will do it just for the sake of testing what would happen if 1 app goes into limit and the other exceeds. Fully expect a denial for the 2nd app but curiosity will get me to try outcome but with the app for IHG first as this is the card I would like to get. The Hyatt or Ritz I can wait until another space gets free on the 5/24 allotment
I feel you! I was in the garden for over a year and got a bit stir crazy and went for the IHG card. I want to close some cards like my Citi TYP, Chase Amazon, Chase Sapphire (not preferred version).. but I don't have the guts to do it. I just keep them around God knows why!
The only card I want to get after this would be the Huntington Voice card as it has 3x I would want to use on utilities. Then I should be done for a good while.. lol
Do you usually keep your inactive/unused cards open?
@Anonymous wrote:
@lg8302ch wrote:Congrats on the IHG card. This is the next on my app list and since I am not ready for a new app now (gardening) I will take the risk with 5/24 for co-branded cards. After June my "allotment" should allow to app for 1 card but I might try to test what would happen with a double app in 4th quarter this year if the restriction 5/24 gets in place. The best hotel cards are only cards for hotel chains that you actually stay. So the "best" is not the same for everybody. I would never apply for 2 card from the same lender but that is just me. But if the 5/24 gets placed on co-branded cards I will do it just for the sake of testing what would happen if 1 app goes into limit and the other exceeds. Fully expect a denial for the 2nd app but curiosity will get me to try outcome but with the app for IHG first as this is the card I would like to get. The Hyatt or Ritz I can wait until another space gets free on the 5/24 allotment
I feel you! I was in the garden for over a year and got a bit stir crazy and went for the IHG card. I want to close some cards like my Citi TYP, Chase Amazon, Chase Sapphire (not preferred version).. but I don't have the guts to do it. I just keep them around God knows why!
The only card I want to get after this would be the Huntington Voice card as it has 3x I would want to use on utilities. Then I should be done for a good while.. lol
Do you usually keep your inactive/unused cards open?
I do not have any cards that do not get any use. Each of my cards has its purpose. Of course if I had to select 4-5 cards I could perfectly live as well. But I like the diversity of lenders not only cards. I would really hate to place all my eggs in the same basket. For the past 30 years I have never closed a card 
all cards applied approved and never closed. Wonder how this looks in a manual review..lol
@kdm31091 wrote:How much do you travel? Where do you like to stay? Don't apply just because of the (chance of) merged inquiries, or the impending 5/24 on cobrands. Apply if something sticks out as useful to you. In other words, don't app just because you may not be able to get a cobrand for awhile.
It looks like you got the IHG card and now will "try to stay" at their properties. Word of caution, don't adjust your lifestyle/spending habits around a rewards program. If you focus only on IHG, you could miss out on a better deal elsewhere. Not saying it's a bad card; actually the perks are pretty good for the fee. But don't select a card and then try to force it to make sense for you.
Try out the IHG for awhile and see how it goes. If you don't know much about the other hotel cards, chances are they won't benefit you. If you never stay at Marriott for example, the card is unlikely to be of much benefit. You can also just start off by joining the respective loyalty programs (rewards with no CC) for the chains and see what works better for you. This allows you to get a taste of what the program is like. All the CCs do is accelerate the earnings and provide bonuses etc, so if you are unsure, just join the free loyalty program without wasting HPs on cards you may later find useless.
It sounds like at this point, you aren't ready to add more hotel cards, and it sounds more like it would just be adding for the sake of adding. There's also the fact that your portfolio is already quite Chase heavy. I wouldn't put any more eggs in that basket, especially with no really defined need.
Thanks for the insightful response, it's very appreciated! I actually got the IHG because I do already stay at their hotels for business trips / one nighters for lay overs etc. I thought it would be a good card to have just for the free night in itself will pay for the annual fee and plus the point bonus can help me get other nights for later on in the year. I got the card based on that need to fulfill these stays throughout the year. If I'm planning a proper vacation, I usually do not use reward points but wanted to test the waters with a hotel chain that offers a variety of price points that will help me explore hotel reward structures.
I agree that getting another hotel card at this point may not be the best idea so I will stick with this one and see how things go. You did mention my Chase-heavy portfolio.. which I know is a problem. I don't plan on getting anymore Chase cards for a while, I do want to eliminate either my Amazon Rewards Visa or Chase Sapphire (not preffered) but I keep them around because there are no AF and I cant pull the trigger on closing them. From Chase's current offerings I do want to eventually get the Hyatt card once I am more comfortable with using hotel reward programs but that wont be until the next 2-3 years.
I'm not really sure what to do now with my Chase offerings as I agree it's gone a bit too far. I may just bite and close my Amazon card just to not be so overboard with Chase... *Conflicted* 
Your feedback would be appreciated
@deltatee wrote:I really like the Hyatt card! It's less useful since you have the CSP and can transfer points to Hyatt, but it does have a few nice perks.
Thanks for the response! I see in your Sig you have both the Sallie Mae and Amazon Visa. Can I ask why you have the Amazon Visa open still or what value you see in it as the Sallie Mae card offers more rewards? I am thinking of closing my Amazon card and gotta figure out if there are any benefits to keeping it open. Thanks
@kdm31091 wrote:How much do you travel? Where do you like to stay? Don't apply just because of the (chance of) merged inquiries, or the impending 5/24 on cobrands. Apply if something sticks out as useful to you. In other words, don't app just because you may not be able to get a cobrand for awhile.
It looks like you got the IHG card and now will "try to stay" at their properties. Word of caution, don't adjust your lifestyle/spending habits around a rewards program. If you focus only on IHG, you could miss out on a better deal elsewhere. Not saying it's a bad card; actually the perks are pretty good for the fee. But don't select a card and then try to force it to make sense for you.
Try out the IHG for awhile and see how it goes. If you don't know much about the other hotel cards, chances are they won't benefit you. If you never stay at Marriott for example, the card is unlikely to be of much benefit. You can also just start off by joining the respective loyalty programs (rewards with no CC) for the chains and see what works better for you. This allows you to get a taste of what the program is like. All the CCs do is accelerate the earnings and provide bonuses etc, so if you are unsure, just join the free loyalty program without wasting HPs on cards you may later find useless.
It sounds like at this point, you aren't ready to add more hotel cards, and it sounds more like it would just be adding for the sake of adding. There's also the fact that your portfolio is already quite Chase heavy. I wouldn't put any more eggs in that basket, especially with no really defined need.
If you visit bigger cities mostly like LA, NYC, Philly, and even smaller mid size cities you'll probably find an IHG branded hotel like holiday inn that has reasonable prices compared to the other brands. If you go to some place in the middle of Montana or elsewhere thats small you might run into issues "forcing to use a brand".
