Credit Cards

[altayar]

So for those who had good experiences with this card, I have some questions.

What makes this card so special in terms of the rewards? I mean compared to the Freedom or Citi Forward.

Also, knowing that this card starts at $5000 of CL ... does that make it hard to get? Do you have to have limits close to $5000 at the time of application to be approved for that limit?

How about AAoA ?

[Koop10010]

The regular Sapphire isn't that special in terms of rewards.  If you mean the Sapphire Preferred, then the most special element of the rewards program is transferring to partner loyalty programs.  Points also go 25% farther when using them like cash towards travel.  There are also nice benefits, like no forex fees, dedicated US customer service team, concierge.

Yes, as cards go it is one of the tougher ones to get.  You will need a mix of good credit and income (the higher your credit score the less income you need and vice versa).  Having existing $5K or higher limits helps with approval, but is not a firm requirement.  My AAoA at time of approval was 2.2 years.

[iMacDrew]

that pretty much covers it. plus the 2x points on dining. the CSP you get 2x on travel such as airfare, cruises, taxis etc. plus the 7% points dividend.

[mwm1212]

The biggest benefit to me and many others is the generous sign on bonus and the extensive list of travel partners that trade for UR points at a 1:1 ratio (United, Hyatt, Southwest, etc etc). Mind you this is a benefit of the preferred version of the card only. The signup bonus + a little spend got me a free flight to Thailand for my honeymoon. This would not have been possible without the card.

Anyways, when I applied my score was in the 730-740 range. No negative marks ever, AAoA of about 1.5-2 years, ~50K income and one open credit card with a 6K limit. Hope this helps!

[Voodard]

The preferred card is metal like the United Club Card, so if you're into getting attention when paying for things this is for you. It's amazing how many people comment on it.

My two favorite things about this card:

1. The Ultimate Rewards Mall for this card. It routinely has some of the best bonus point shopping opportunities around.
2. Point transfer program on a 1:1 basis with 3 of my frequent flyer programs; United, British Airways, and Southwest.

[webhopper]

The regular sapphire rewards areny that great. Take a look at the amazon rewards, or the freedom.

[rtw]

just got approved today on recon. They gave me a 5k CL. I have a 4 yr old Citibank Card with 8.5K CL and a 2 month old PSECU Visa with a 15K CL. They've pulled TU for me in the past. My TU file has 5 INQ. One is from Chase in July(applied and was denied for the Freedom on recon TU Fico was 648 and UTI was about 36%).i have a paid collection which is 6 months old, 3 lates (30 day from 2009 and 2 60 day from July 2010). My oldest account is 13 yrs. and my AAOA is 6 years. Uti is reporting at 4% and TU Fico is 679.

[altayar]

Thanks for sharing. I guess I have to wait at least a year or maybe more to qualify for this card. I'm still sitting at $1,500 for most of my cards. 

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rtw wrote:

just got approved today on recon. They gave me a 5k CL. I have a 4 yr old Citibank Card with 8.5K CL and a 2 month old PSECU Visa with a 15K CL. They've pulled TU for me in the past. My TU file has 5 INQ. One is from Chase in July(applied and was denied for the Freedom on recon TU Fico was 648 and UTI was about 36%).i have a paid collection which is 6 months old, 3 lates (30 day from 2009 and 2 60 day from July 2010). My oldest account is 13 yrs. and my AAOA is 6 years. Uti is reporting at 4% and TU Fico is 679.

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[jsickz32]

they denied me due to too many new accounts (14)

[rtw]

Altayar,

Maybe you should pick up a card from a credit union they seem to be pretty generous with limits.