Sapphire Reserve and alternatives

[arunkumarmm]

Hi Guys,

I have a travel plan by end of the year. I'm expecting the flight tickets to be around 4K. I do not have a travel card yet but planning to get one. CSR fits my needs and I like the rewards structure and also would be more beneficial as I currently have CF & CFU.

My concern is I'm at 7/24 now and will be 5/24 in Oct and only by Feb'2020 I will go down to 3/24. I'm planning to go to a branch to see for pre approvals, but also need suggestions for an alternate card if they say no.

Below are my DPs, can you please comment on the approval odds for CSR and suggest any other alternate cards...

EX- 765
Inq 15 (should be down to 9 in oct) 2/6, 3/12 (1 boa & 2 from chase)
TU-783
Inq 5 - 0/6, 1/12 (this was to unsecure my USB HD)
EQ- 776
Inq-4 - 1/6, 1/12 (This is from Verizon)

CC:
BoA- 0/300 closed Mar2012
Discover- 0/5000 opened Oct 2017 as secured, unsecured May2018
Credit one- closed (oct2017-Nov2018)
USB HDVisa-0/500 opened Feb2018, unsecured mar2018
Cap1 QS1 - 0/600 opened Feb2018
CF- 0/9500 opened 5 Mar 2019
BoA CR- 150/15000 opened 1 Apr 2019
CFU-0/7900 opened 22 Jun 2019 (This was in branch as I was 6/24 and I had CSR pre approval at that time but couldn't resist the 3% so went to CFU)

Installment:
Car loan: closed Mar 2012
Toyota financial: from Sep2017 ~20000 remaining
SelfLender- Opened Feb 2018-Closed Feb 2019

Income: ~118K.
Have checking accounts with Chase, BoA & USB with DD. But majorly using BoA.
Chase 'Just for you' has 'Already approved to buy 535K home' from the time I got CFU, nothing else.

Thanks for reading thru and please let me know if you need any other info

[FieryDance]

Edit:

I thought it was possible to product change a freedom card to a Sapphire card after 3 months but apparently it is not.  My mistake.  

[arunkumarmm]

Yes, I'm open to do that but I was thinking that it needs to be 1 year before we can request for a PC. Is that not the case?

[Caught750]

Per the CARD ACT a bank can not PC a card that leads to an increased AF within the first year. You could bypass 5/24 with an in branch pre approval or through a green check mark in your account.

[FieryDance]

Edit: I thought there might be a possibility to upgrade from Freedom to Sapphire within a year but apparently it is not true.  

[FinStar]

Yes, a minimum of 12 months before you can PC/upgrade to CSP/CSR.

Based on the preliminary information you provided, and as long as nothing changes dramatically with your overall profile, it's likely you'd be able to get CSR.

Personally, I would go that route for the SUB (once you clear the 5/24 hurdle or another pre-approved offer pops up in-branch whichever comes first).

[FieryDance]

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@Caught750 wrote:
Per the CARD ACT a bank can not PC a card that leads to an increased AF within the first year. You could bypass 5/24 with an in branch pre approval or through a green check mark in your account.

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Aha there you go. I didn’t know that.  So if it was a decrease in AF or a lateral move it would have been possible?  

[arunkumarmm]

Thank you. Now I'm clear about the PC.

My CFU just turned 3 months, I'm gonna go to the branch in the beginning of October and see if I have any pre approval.

But only if they say no, I don't know what other card I can try for? I do not really think the Amex would be a fit for me

BoA PR seems impossible from all the comments here.
CNB crystal, I have to drive 3Hrs to reach a nearest branch.
USB was showing me AR back when they had the pre-qual and seems they have become new account sensitive and I have 3 in last 7 months

[randomguy1]

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@arunkumarmm wrote:
Toyota financial: from Sep2017 ~20000 remaining
SelfLender- Opened Feb 2018-Closed Feb 2019

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Just curious, why did you get a self lender when you had an auto (installment) loan already?

[Anonymous]

Direct competitor will be citi prestige, USB altitude reserve, amex plat. Somewhat similar ones are wells fargo propel, amex gold

To find out which one maybe good, some questions will need to be asked:

1.Whats your spending habit? each month, how much do you spend in each category?

2. How often do you fly?

3. Are you using one airline almost exclusively? if so, which one?

4. How do you fly? economy or business?

5. What are the values of airport lounge to you (consider your flying habit and airports you will use)?

6. How much uber do you use each month (including uber eat)?

7. How often each year do you book hotel for more than 4 nights (including 4 nights)?

8. Do you mind signing up for multiple airline loyalty accounts and comparing values every time you book? or do you just want simple valuation with a fixed, decent, value for the reward points.

9. Do you have the ways to meet the spending requirement of 5k on an amex network card?