Torn between which Chase card to apply for first to start the Chase Trifecta

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone and happy holidays! I have an update from my original post below:

After doing a little bit more research and assessing my travel and spending habits. I decided to go for the CSP. I paid $1 for Experian Premier 7 day trial membership to get access to all 3 FICO scores before I applied. Here are my data points: My Experian score was a surprising 770, Equifax 767 and slow to update TransUnion 712 (These scores are now reflecting my 23% credit utilization). From reading many blogs, I heard Chase pulls from Experian so I decided to apply today for the CSP and I got an instant approval of $7,500 I was so excited to get an instant approval. Let alone a SL of $7,500. Thank everyone for their advice and support. I now have another question. I want to apply for the CFU before the promotion runs out on 1/20/20 (to continue with the Chase Trifecta), but I'm not sure if it's too soon after the approval of the CSP. What should I do? Please help!!!

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum and I have been on my rebuilding credit journey for almost two years. I am torn on which Chase credit card to apply for first to start the Chase Trifecta. I have been with Chase bank for almost two years. I have a checking and savings account with them. I travel for business and pleasure. I received an email from Chase two days ago offering me the FU with the $200 cash back if I spend $500 within the first 3 months of account opening. I was excited for the invite until I watched a few YouTube videos on which 3 cards to choose to complete the Chase trifecta. The CSP spark my attention. A couple of videos suggested getting the CSP first, then getting both the freedom and FU to complete the trifecta. I know about the 2/30 and 5/24 rule. I am at 0/24 so I'm good there. I am just wondering was my credit score not good enough to get the CSP invite on my "just for me" portal page or via email. Should I blindly apply anyways? I'm confused and not sure what to do, especially since the FU invite has an expiration date of 1/20/20. My data points are below. Please advise!

Ex:

722 FICO 8

2 hard Inquiries (none credit card related)

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently) I'm sure scores will go up after update

EQ:

719 FICO 8

1 hard inquiry (non credit card related)

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently) I'm sure scores will go up after update

TU:

677 FICO 8 (have not updated since 11/24/19)

2 hard inquiries

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently)  I'm sure scores will go up after update

****Capitol One Platinum MasterCard $2500 CL, Wells Fargo Platinum $300 CL, Fingerhut $3700 CL****

[NRB525]

Congrats on your rebuild.

The CFU would be the best place to start. The likely reason you got that invite, CFU is no AF. CSP has an annual fee on day 1.

CSP also requires a $5k CL, and it is not certain you would get that.

Getting the CFU gets a nice early bonus, you earn 1.5 UR everywhere, and that’s not so different than CSP with 2 UR on only Travel and Dining, but 1 UR everywhere else. After a few months, the CSP will probably be available. You may even get a CL more than $5k, for another positive indicator.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum and I have been on my rebuilding credit journey for almost two years. I am torn on which Chase credit card to apply for first to start the Chase Trifecta. I have been with Chase bank for almost two years. I have a checking and savings account with them. I travel for business and pleasure. I received an email from Chase two days ago offering me the FU with the $200 cash back if I spend $500 within the first 3 months of account opening. I was excited for the invite until I watched a few YouTube videos on which 3 cards to choose to complete the Chase trifecta. The CSP spark my attention. A couple of videos suggested getting the CSP first, then getting both the freedom and FU to complete the trifecta. I know about the 2/30 and 5/24 rule. I am at 0/24 so I'm good there. I am just wondering was my credit score not good enough to get the CSP invite on my "just for me" portal page or via email. Should I blindly apply anyways? I'm confused and not sure what to do, especially since the FU invite has an expiration date of 1/20/20. My data points are below. Please advise!

Ex:

722 FICO 8

2 hard Inquiries (none credit card related)

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently) I'm sure scores will go up after update

EQ:

719 FICO 8

1 hard inquiry (non credit card related)

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently) I'm sure scores will go up after update

TU:

677 FICO 8 (have not updated since 11/24/19)

2 hard inquiries

0 collections/derogatory

100% on time payments

9 installment loans

3 revolving credit

6 years credit average

13 years oldest credit account open

38% overall credit utilization as of 12/06/19 (haven't been updated)

24% overall credit utilization once all 3 bureaus update soon (currently)  I'm sure scores will go up after update

****Capitol One Platinum MasterCard $2500 CL, Wells Fargo Platinum $300 CL, Fingerhut $3700 CL****

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Depends on what your goals are. CSP is  a travel card where you can transfer points to travel partners. If you are not interested in doing that then why bother with the AF? That freedom card offer is the current offer for everyone right now. The CSP offer is 60k for 4k spend. Don't listen to youtubers or bloggers until you have experience and know they are trustworthy. Some well known bloggers push less than stellar cards because that is where they get the biggest kickback from. ALWAYS take what bloggers/youtubers say with a grain of salt and do your own homework.

My assessment is this (this assessment is assuming mainly domestic travel if you are doing international travel for work then we need to talk about the FTF and it changes things). Get the freedom unlimited now. Since its your first chase card I doubt you will get an amazing credit line, maybe you will because of the chase accounts but maybe not. Build up your score and credit card history with chase. Why do I say this? Well first its a no AF card. Second, with your travel you may or may not want the CSR in the future. The CSP and CSR share a signup lockout of four years. The CSR is harder to get and I think you may need a credit limit of at least 10k (I could be wrong about this part) where the CSP only requires 5k credit. In my experience Chase was willing to give much more credit on subsequent cards than they did on my first card. Some recommend getting the CSP over the CSR and then upgrading to the CSR later if needed. The reason they recommend this is that the CSP has a higher SUB. It is a sound logic but there are a couple of caveats. One, if you do this under the law you can't upgrade the CSP to the CSR during the first year, so then you get stuck waiting or have to do a new app without getting a SUB and have to pay two AF and two as I mentioned above I am not sure how much of a credit line Chase will give you on the CSP since its your first chase card. Maybe they don't give you enough credit to convert to the CSR later without another HP. I dunno maybe you don't ever want the CSR, but its nice to keep the option open over the next four to five years.  

In summary I would go with the freedom unlimited now, unless you have significant need of the CSP or CSR right now instead of a few months from now. 

[Anonymous]

@NRB525 Thank you and great advice. This makes sense!

[Anonymous]

@Red259

Thank you for explaining your reasoning in details. It was very helpful. Great advice about the YouTubers. I never looked at it that way. We'll see how everything goes. I'll keep you all posted

[Citylights18]

I decided to go for the CFU first. My bonus was x3 earn for the first 20k spend within 12 months.

Essentially I had a x3 card for everything for the past 6 months which beats almost any combination of point earning cards. Th spend $500 an earn $200 is the same from a point perspective as a 20,000 point bonus which is fairly good for a no AF card. It wasn't as good as my bonus, the equivalent of 30,000 points. I picked that up in the summer. The bonus then isn't at its historical maximum but still good and easy to make.

CSP is going to give you a more immediate boost to your points with the SUB. Travel category is x2 so you can put your transit bills on there. From day 1 you'll also have a 1.25% discount on point redemeptions. So if a hotel is advertised on Chase at $50 dollars a night the normal redemption is 5,000 points. With a CSP that redemption is going to come out to 4,000 points or 20% off the price. Chase travel engine is basically hotels.com so you're getting about the lowest advertised prices at the outset w/ a discount on top.

I'd say the determing factor in your case might be the SUB and wether you can make that. CFU will allow you to BT which is another perk if you are running some utilization.

[Anonymous]

I would carefully examine your flying routine, AND your spending categories, to see if chase makes sense to you.

Chase is paying every bloggers and their mother to push for their cards. Truth is csp has a terrible earning rate, even csR is middle of the pack in that regard. IMHO, chase trifecta only makes sense if you can get AF+2% worth of value out of:

1. Lounge
2. Car rental
3. Point transfer
4. freedom quarterly 5%

If none of them applies, I would reconsider if TYP or MR, or even Wells Fargo GF system works better for you.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would carefully examine your flying routine, AND your spending categories, to see if chase makes sense to you.

Chase is paying every bloggers and their mother to push for their cards. Truth is csp has a terrible earning rate, even csR is middle of the pack in that regard. IMHO, chase trifecta only makes sense if you can get AF+2% worth of value out of:

1. Lounge
2. Car rental
3. Point transfer
4. freedom quarterly 5%

If none of them applies, I would reconsider if TYP or MR, or even Wells Fargo GF system works better for you.

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This!   The Chase Trifecta has become a holy grail here and other places, and certainly for some there is nothing wrong with it (and I have it!)  But there are many alternatives with fewer hurdles, and in some cases much cheaper, that may work as well or better for you.   And if you are transferring points, you need to make sure that the Chase partners make sense vs Amex and Citi for example.  And if you aren't transferring, Citi, Wells Fargo, and US Bank AR all have some advantages and disadvantages vs Chase

[Anonymous]

@longtimelurker:

Thank your for the advice. I really appreciate it, especially being a beginner at this. I am definitely going to research a bit more before making any moves. I just know Chase has the 5/24 rule so I wanted to get their cards out the way first. I'll keep you all posted!

[Anonymous]

@FortifiedHM

Thank you for the advice. Being a newbie at this can be a bit overwhelming and confusing when trying to come up with a strategy lol. I will definitely look into the Chase Trifecta strategy more before making a decision. I will also look into your other suggestions. I'll keep you all posted