SUB v. Long-Term

[ToxikPH]

Looking at the cards in my sig and wow I see what y'all meant about impulse, all the ones in my SD really shouldn't have been gotten except maybe Freedom and Disco. An insane amount of bonus chasing; the only problem is I can't get myself out of that mindset. There are still a few cards I want solely for SUB but know there's no long term value. How do I get out of that, or am I fine to do that as long as I do it slowly?

[simplynoir]

You're going to get a lot of conflicting answers here on SUB chasing/churning. Some don't believe you should get a card unless it holds some long term value that can be kept, not to mention the impact it can have on scores if your credit profile does not support chasing multiple cards. Others try to grab whatever they can with their money basically use the card til the SUB is met and move on to the next one giving it the axe when the time is appropriate so they don't spook the banks if they don't want to keep it.

Me, I've gone both ways here. In the beginning two years ago when I discovered this forum I basically SUB chased any bank that would let me and dealt with the fallout later. Several closed cards and two years later I'm more selective in chasing bonuses but only for cards that I can see giving my long term value. Cards change and so do needs as one's spending changes so it's up to you whether you think it's worth it and plan accordingly because the game has changed a lot with rules ranging from Chase's 5/24 to BofA's recent 3/12 and 7/12 rules, not to mention other banks are tightening up compared to before

[addicted_to_credit]

I do my best to have a good reason for a card in addition to the SUB. I travel extensively but don’t want a high AF so I got my feet wet with the CSP 600 sub, the CFU rounds out the CSP and I’m working on 200 for 500 spend currently both of these have a long term value to me. Both bbt cards were soft pull no af so more util padding really Apple Card kinda sucks really but I use Apple Pay a lot and have done ok with the cash back, amazon card gives me 5% and I love dumping money on amazon purchases. I use my usb cash plus for all household bills and have made good cash back with that and the usb platinum had a fantastic 0% intro period so if I want to float something small it’ll go there and I’ll see if I can do a PC once that’s up. I can’t really think of any one card I may want, I’m considering upgrading to the CSR after my first year is up to see if I like the added benefit but I’m not really AF friendly but as far as new apps, nah I’m good.

That’s how I’ve rationalized my card choices short term and long...hope my little bit of insanity helps.

[ToxikPH]

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@addicted_to_credit wrote:
I do my best to have a good reason for a card in addition to the SUB. I travel extensively but don’t want a high AF so I got my feet wet with the CSP 600 sub, the CFU rounds out the CSP and I’m working on 200 for 500 spend currently both of these have a long term value to me. Both bbt cards were soft pull no af so more util padding really Apple Card kinda sucks really but I use Apple Pay a lot and have done ok with the cash back, amazon card gives me 5% and I love dumping money on amazon purchases. I use my usb cash plus for all household bills and have made good cash back with that and the usb platinum had a fantastic 0% intro period so if I want to float something small it’ll go there and I’ll see if I can do a PC once that’s up. I can’t really think of any one card I may want, I’m considering upgrading to the CSR after my first year is up to see if I like the added benefit but I’m not really AF friendly but as far as new apps, nah I’m good.

That’s how I’ve rationalized my card choices short term and long...hope my little bit of insanity helps.

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That's how I feel about most of the cards I got/want but my main worry is spreading my spend too thin.

[Anonymous]

There's a couple of categories for cards in my opinion.

Anchor cards = the ones you have that are the oldest and are good fallbacks that are stable holdings that don't freak out if your profile changes

SUB cards = the ones that make your credit pay you back for all the effort you put into it over time

I suppose some of those SUB cards convert into anchor cards as well when you see how they act over time and grow into nicer limits. Somce of my lowest starting cards burst into 50K+ CL's in under 2 years of just using them regularly and autopaying the statement balances on them.

Out of what you have listed Amex/Disco will grow faster than the others most likely unless you can afford the HP's w Chase.

Cap1 will drag their heels and Citi will be reliable but slow.

Not sure what time span you've been acting on these but, it's a good idea to look at your pattern of applying and where you want to go for apps in the future and makes sure you're not locking yourself out of options due to X/24 situations as more and more banks are implementing these types of restrictions on new accounts.

[randomguy1]

I'm on the side where if you use your credit responsibly, I don't see anything wrong with sub chasing. You're essentially leveraging your good credit and finances for your gain. Within reason, you can keep your credit score in check and gain some valuable points or cash back. 

1. Don't go into debt

2. Don't mindlessly apply

3. Do your research 

4. Measure twice cut once. 
5. Make sure you don't hurt your long term goals (major purchase such as house).

[simplynoir]

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@ToxikPH wrote:

That's how I feel about most of the cards I got/want but my main worry is spreading my spend too thin.

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That's a different discussion there. If you initially got some of these cards to churn there's no such thing as spreading your spend thin since you get such a huge payout for reaching signup bonuses. Once they've been reached then yes you need to evaluate what rewards systems you want to invest in to maximize your spending. Since it seems like you enjoy the AMEX ecosystem it would probably makes sense to go pretty much all in on them presuming you have a plan for the MRs as they start stacking up.