CSP + Graduate student?

[Anonymous]

Hello all,    (I'm a newb with CCs, i only have 1 from BOA travel rewards)

I want to apply for a Chase sapphire card in the summer, mainly for the bonus points- the 50k point promotion. I'm going to graduate school in the fall, so I expect to be able to meet the requirement for the bonus with tuition, board, travel expense etc... The promotion is probably the biggest reason I want to get the card, after all the nice perks of transfering to other airlines/hotels/etc.

I'm very responsible- never missed payments & actually payed back in full, just because I'm paranoid...
Credit score: 750

 Some concerns came up while looking up reviews/comments:

1) Do I need to have a previous CL 5k from previous CC?
(my current BOA travel rewards CL is at 2k)

2) Do I have to be a big spender all the time? 
(I just wanted to spend a lot for the promotion 50k point & save it, then spend my minimum amounts throughout year; since I will be end up paying for tuition/housing & airfare 8k+ year. Is CSP worth it if I spend about that much? 

3) high earnings/income?
(I'm currently overseas working, but when I return I won't have job when I apply for the CSP, so its not set yet, would it make it more likely to be rejected? I also plan to do part time while studying graduate school, which also won't be much big income)

So, in the end, is it worth it to get CSP just for the bonus + perks in the beginning, because I don't mind slowly gaining the reward points.

Another thought: After 2 months of applying for CSP, I want to also apply for the United MileagePlus Explorer Card to have the perks when I fly with United/combined with the CSP transfers to United.

[sponge_gto]

Your current card portfolio needs to be at least a year old before Chase will consider you for the CSP. Prior banking/card relationships can help. Parking 10 grand or more in a Chase checking account is known to qualify you for special consideration. As for income/spending etc., there's nothing out of the norm about the CSP (I applied with a 30k income). I had existing 5k+ CL's when I got the CSP but when they gave me the United Explorer card with 7k I had not had a high-CL account before.

[Anonymous]

When I got my CSP, I was already a graduate student (but working part-time at school and elsewhere). I also had a Slate for a while and a student loan in my file. You should stand a good chance at getting the card, although your mileage may vary of course. I also banked with Chase.

My advice, since you may have huge tuition bills each semester, is to sign up for a new card each for each one. My wife and I used the sign-up bonuses from my tuition bill cards to go to Japan. I wouldn't do this unless you have enough saved up to pay those bills, of course. I went with all Chase cards.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:
When I got my CSP, I was already a graduate student (but working part-time at school and elsewhere). I also had a Slate for a while and a student loan in my file. You should stand a good chance at getting the card, although your mileage may vary of course. I also banked with Chase.

My advice, since you may have huge tuition bills each semester, is to sign up for a new card each for each one. My wife and I used the sign-up bonuses from my tuition bill cards to go to Japan. I wouldn't do this unless you have enough saved up to pay those bills, of course. I went with all Chase cards.

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On a side note I am trying to pull together a Japan trip with my credit card points. How did you leverage your credit cards for your Japan trip?

[Anonymous]

The following cards should help: CSP, Freedom, Freedom Unlimited (didn't exist then, but we're hoping it will help us on our next trip), United Explorer and Marriott Premiere Rewards.

We converted the Marriott sign-up bonus points to around 25-30,000 United miles, and transferred our Ultimate Rewards points to United as well. It was enough for three tickets. We didn't need hotels.