Hello fellow members, I have been following this forum from time to time on guidance as I began navigating my credit journey. It's been a little over a year since I got my first card, Citi DoubleCash. I'm really liking the 2% percent cashback as well as the benefits such as Citi Rewind and etc. I've done quite a bit of research on choosing my first card, I believe its a great domestic general spending card. Anyways, I am planning to start grad school next year and with that, I have accumulated student loan debt that is in defferment. I am also working part-time so, I have some income reporting. My credit reports for all three agencies are basically clean with no lates or anything really negative besides short account history and loan balances. My scores based on Fico 8 for all three agencies are around 750 give or take at the moment.
I was able to snag a BBR card back in Dec. from BoA before they discontinued it 
. Now I am planning to get my third card soon that is geared towards travel. I am thinking about a card with no FTF that is a VISA since I don't have any, as well as one that comes with travel benefits. At first I was looking at the Chase CSP, but it seems the benefits on it changed recently like it used to have baggage and travel delay reimbursement, but now it doesn't have that. Unless I happened to entirely misread another card's benefits on Chases's website.
The other card that has the most benefits with the same annual fee of $95 is the United Plus Explorer card I believe, but I don't really fly United as much so... and as far as cards with no annual fees go, there is the QuickSilver card. It seems Capital One has switched back to the VISA network for it and it has less benefits than when it came with World Elite, so I don't know if I should get the VISA one or not. As I get my first 5 cards, I want to build my relation on each network and the big banks. For my fourth and fifth card, I am thinking of apping for Discover It and AMEX BCE some time at mid of next year. I would prefer to have my first 5 cards with no annual fees but it seems Chase's main cards all have a FTF unless it has an annual fee. So with that said, what is the best general travel card loaded with benefits and no FTF from Chase that has an annual fee and one from Chase that does not have an AF (including the co-branded cards)? Also I am aware that there are other cards by USAA, NFCU and PenFed that have no FTFs and those are cards I will think about getting much later on. I really want a card by Chase for travel (I don't have the income for the CSR nor the free money to pay its heavy AF) unless you guys suggest I end up getting the Freedom (being cash-back focused on my first 5 cards) and then pick one out of the four (USAA, NFCU, PenFed, or Capital One that has no FTF and with the most travel benefits)? That way, I'll have a 6 card line-up by the end of next year I will be gardening for a few years to build that AAoA. I can either get a Chase card as my 3rd or 4th card, I am aware of the 5/24 rule.
I know all of this may sound confusing to read as my post happens to be quite long lol, but I am looking for your guys' insights on which card to pick next. Thanks!
Welcome to the forums and thanks for posting! Both CSP and CSR have Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance. I haven't read anything about it disappearing from the CSP, and it's still touted as a feature of both cards. The fee for CSP is waived the first year. The CSR's fee is really only $51 more a year as long as you use the $300 travel credit, but it also earns at a higher rate for Restaurants and Travel, so depending on how your spend works out, it could actually cost you less once rewards are factored in.
@Anonymous wrote:Hello fellow members, I have been following this forum from time to time on guidance as I began navigating my credit journey. It's been a little over a year since I got my first card, Citi DoubleCash. I'm really liking the 2% percent cashback as well as the benefits such as Citi Rewind and etc. I've done quite a bit of research on choosing my first card, I believe its a great domestic general spending card. Anyways, I am planning to start grad school next year and with that, I have accumulated student loan debt that is in defferment. I am also working part-time so, I have some income reporting. My credit reports for all three agencies are basically clean with no lates or anything really negative besides short account history and loan balances. My scores based on Fico 8 for all three agencies are around 750 give or take at the moment.
I was able to snag a BBR card back in Dec. from BoA before they discontinued it
The other card that has the most benefits with the same annual fee of $95 is the United Plus Explorer card I believe, but I don't really fly United as much so... and as far as cards with no annual fees go, there is the QuickSilver card. It seems Capital One has switched back to the VISA network for it and it has less benefits than when it came with World Elite, so I don't know if I should get the VISA one or not. As I get my first 5 cards, I want to build my relation on each network and the big banks. For my fourth and fifth card, I am thinking of apping for Discover It and AMEX BCE some time at mid of next year. I would prefer to have my first 5 cards with no annual fees but it seems Chase's main cards all have a FTF unless it has an annual fee. So with that said, what is the best general travel card loaded with benefits and no FTF from Chase that has an annual fee and one from Chase that does not have an AF (including the co-branded cards)? Also I am aware that there are other cards by USAA, NFCU and PenFed that have no FTFs and those are cards I will think about getting much later on. I really want a card by Chase for travel (I don't have the income for the CSR nor the free money to pay its heavy AF) unless you guys suggest I end up getting the Freedom (being cash-back focused on my first 5 cards) and then pick one out of the four (USAA, NFCU, PenFed, or Capital One that has no FTF and with the most travel benefits)? That way, I'll have a 6 card line-up by the end of next year I will be gardening for a few years to build that AAoA. I can either get a Chase card as my 3rd or 4th card, I am aware of the 5/24 rule.
I know all of this may sound confusing to read as my post happens to be quite long lol, but I am looking for your guys' insights on which card to pick next. Thanks!
How did you manage to get citi DC with no prior card history?
Starting Score: Ex08-732,Eq08-713,Tu08-717