@Anonymous wrote:
the arrival plus is also pretty darn good compared to venture, pair it with a cash forward app, and you have the same rewards for a third of the inquiries.
You seem really quick to encourage people to apply for multiple cards for little reason other than merged inquiries. To each their own of course, but I don't see why just because the inquiries would (potentially) be merged, OP should app for two separate cards, neither of which really address what they were looking for anyway.
Arrival+ costs $89 a year, which is steep for someone with a $600 a month spend. It's 2% only usable for travel. I don't see what makes it much better than a Venture, considering it costs $30 more for the same benefits (and isn't Barclay more picky about what's considered "travel"?). The Cashforward is a better option in that it's flexible, but again, with spending $600 a month, it will take OP awhile to reach the $50 cashout threshold. I would say the Cashforward is a better option if they were considering the Barclay's route, but neither of these cards jumps out as a great option for the OP. It's not just about what you can get for less inquiries. To me, it's more important to go for things that will actually benefit you, regardless of less or merged inquiries.
If OP wants a Cashforward, I'd probably suggest Quicksilver instead. Yes, you get the triple pull, but if you aren't constantly applying for cards it's not that big of a deal, and no redemption threshold to worry about. Or of course go for a Double Cash. But a card with a $50 cashout threshold( and $100 threshold for Arrival+!) seems like a poor choice for the OP's budget.
