Why is getting in with Chase so important?

[Anonymous]

It's a personal choice. You should app for credit cards that fit your spend & lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

---

@creditguy wrote:
There's no rule that says anyone needs to get in with Chase, it's a personal choice. Most people that have chase cards prefer their rewards structures because they benefit from them more than other cards, not because they were simply getting a card that says chase on it. If the cards don't fill a need for you or serve a purpose in your lineup then use whatever card does. There are lots of choices and not all cards are one size fits all options, variety is the spice of life and there's lots of variety, go for cards that benefit you and you'll be happy.

---

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any Chase cards.  I have recently been considering adding one, but I've gone 15-20 years of credit life without one so clearly it isn't a necessity.

[Open123]

Ah, Chase is a prime national bank, like many others.

The appeal of their CCs are their rewards.  For instance, the only way to maximize rewards if you fly UA/Southwest and stay at Hyatts/Marriotts is to have a Chase relationship.  In addition, the Chase Ink's 5X office/tel/cable category is best in class.  Or, if you prefer DL and Starwoods stays, then Amex is the choice to maximize rewards.  Or, if you prefer flying AA, then Citi may work best.  In other words, your rewards maximization and credit preferences dicated the Issuer/lender.

So, if you find travel rewards unappealing, any no fee 2% cash rewards card will trump rewards cards.  If you only care about a lower interest to carry a balance, then focus on non rewards, such as Simmons, etc...

Just avoid the high interest 1% cashback crap cards.

[kdm31091]

Chase has some very good products (and some average ones) but there is absolutely no reason you "have" to get in with Chase just to build your credit or have a solid set of cards. If none of their cards appeal to you or suit your lifestyle, don't get a Chase card just to get it.

In fact, Chase lags behind other lenders in some respects, such as a CLIs and APR reductions. They rarely give a CLI without a hard pull and they never reduce a customer's APR. Some people don't care about these factors, or they find them unimportant, but Chase is certainly not the most flexible with its customers on these matters.

If none of the options appeal to you, don't worry about 5/24. Apply for cards you actually want, whether they are Chase or not.

On a pure cash back basis, if you are not transferring to travel partners, most Chase cards are pretty much average and not above the competition.

[longtimelurker]

I am against the whole concept of "getting in with X" where it means accept a less useful card from X in the hopes of building a relationship so you can get the card you want.

Just wait until your CR supports getting the card you want!

Now why chase:  This has been touched on in some of the previous posts, and the basic answer is that it has great rewards for those that travel (with the Chase partners).   When viewed as pure cashback, they aren't so special (Freedom categories are often inferior to Discover, 1.5% on the FU is not as good as the 2% cards) but if you use them as UR and transfer them well, you can get exceptional value.   Many people (but by no means all) find the UR program a better fit than MR or TYP, and they also have the advantage that if all else fails, they can be cashed out at 1c per point (or used for travel at 1.25-1.5c per point).

But you need to have travel goals to understand the value (after the sign up bonus anyway!)

[AverageJoesCredit]

Since i dont travel , as i see many of their cards are better suited for those that do, i would eventually like to get a Chase card but only for diversification. If i never get one though i would be ok. Im in agreement with apping for cards that benefit you not just to have so i guess i ll see when the time is right.

[sarge12]

I think for those that travel, the ability to transfer UR points between cards, and then use them with the travel partners can increase the real value of the rewards substantially. If you are like me though and never travel, their cards are less desirable than the 2% cash back cards. The desirability of any card, depends largely on how it is used, and your lifestyle. Credit Cards are not a one size fits all kind of product. I order a lot of my Christmas presents from amazon using Discover for 5% cb due to rotating catagory. I use Citi Costco for gas and resteraunts 4%, and 3% respectively. I use State Farm for 3% insurance cash back. I use Amex BCE for 3% cb at the grocery store. I use Citi DC for 2% cb on every thing else. I do sometimes use Cap One at 1.5% cash back, and like the very simple redemption rules for that card..no minimum redemption amount. These are my most used cards, but YMMV. My Chase cards get little use, as does Barclaycard, and TD card. They were obtained mostly due to sign-up bonuses offered.

[Anonymous]

I love Chase's credit cards. It's all personal preference OP. It just seems to me that Chase is serious about the CC business unlike other lenders.

[Anonymous]

I see the benefit for Chase -- if you have the family of cards, you can pile all of the rewards together, and regardless of how you like to redeem it sure is convenient to have everything in one place.  They have pretty good cards that handle a variety of different bonus categories and have good benefits.

I'm not in with Chase right now and am not sure if I really need to be because I'm not much of a traveler so I'm a little more interested in getting cash back, but I certainly see the benefit of having the Chase family of cards and piling up the points to get to travel for free and all of that.  I have a ton of AA miles right now, though, so I think if I were to want to get a travel card I may need to look a little more into Citi (although I just use Rewards Network to get rewards from dining every now and then to keep my miles alive until I do decide to travel).