As far as approval, I think you're golden. I have similar income and CR profile as you but had a 30% util when i apped and was approved instantly for 5k. Good luck!
@ramblin_wreck08 wrote:
I'm in Atlanta which is a Delta hub so I went with the PRG over the CSP. Now my sister and her husband are moving to Tampa with my 9 month old niece. I'd like to visit them several times a year and Delta reward travel from ATL to Tampa is a terrible value. With Southwest, however, the round trip can be made for 10-11k miles.
Goals:
1. Visit with my fiance a couple times a year on award travel
2. Minimize number of outstanding cards (I have 4 right now and honestly it's a bit much)
3. Have at least 1 Visa Sig and 1 World MC
4. Maintain/not hurt my relationship with AMEX
Looking for feedback on this strategy:
1. Transfer my Citi Dividend CL to my Forward (Making the Forward have a $12.95k CL) and cancel the Dividend
2. Apply for Visa Sig CSP and Freedom WMC once my new Forward CL is posted (hoping Chase will match)
3. Use CSP for dining, Freedom for rotating categories, and AMEX for everything else.
I currently push $15-20k through cards and will be in the $25-30k range once married next summer. My FICO is in the 730-750 range. Income of $55k. Perfect history with AAOA of 2.5 yrs and oldest account over 4 years. Accounts include 4 cards, student loans, and a car loan.
I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be approved. Good luck to you!!! 
@Cdnewmanpac wrote:If you are asking if it is worth it to get the CSP for the bonus and then close it in a year, then absolutely. If you are asking if you will qualify, probably. If you are asking about a long term strategy, I'm not sure I agree:
The PRG has an annual fee of 175, the CSP 95. Most of the categories are duplicates, so bonus spending on one will take from the other. Freedom categories are capped at 1500/qtr, but assuming you maximize those, that 30k in points also reduces your points on one of the other two cards. I'm assuming a lot of these charges are reimbursed expenses for work, since otherwise planning 30k in spend on 55k in salary is ambitious. But assuming you have 30k to spend, putting any on the CSP will prevent you from hitting the 30k bonus on the PRG.
Most people value skymiles at 1.2-1.4cpp, so to make up your annual fee, you need about 15k in MR points. SWRR points usually redeem at about 1.7cpp, so you need about 5600 UR points to offset the CSP's annual fee. Being generous and assuming you could achieve all those points with 2x spend, your first 10k or so on credit cards are going to cover annual fees. That's almost a third of your annual spend. If you just took the $95 you would have spent on the CSP and put it towards a RT ticket to tampa, you'd get a better redemption value.
Most people in the credit card game would have a hard time justifying a 175 annual fee on 55k of income to begin with. Adding a 2nd AF card with redundant categories doesn't make a lot of sense. About the only way it works out is if you can spend 30k on the card and get the 10k MR bonus. That was going to be hard to do with just the PRG. Diverting spend to the CSP/Freedom will make it impossible.
Personally, I'd ditch the PRG in favor of the CSP/Freedom combo. Delta skymiles are the least valuable airline points out there. MR partners are great for those seeking international (esp Asian) flight redemptions, but the only real domestic deal is using BA points to book short haul AA flights. You can't do that, since AA avoids ATL. I think SW, United and Hyatt are more useable partners for most domestic travelers.
But if you do plan to keep the PRG, I'd keep track of the math very carefully during your "free" year with the CSP. I bet you find that keeping both doesn't work economically.
Doubling up on the fees was my concern. Right now I can easily justify the AF on the PRG. I just booked a $380 flight after 9 months' use (results in about a 1.5% overall return, after factoring in the AF, if I don't make another purchase with the card over the next 3 months). Adding in the CSP AF is what I was concerned about.
Yes, I have a good amount of reimbursable expenses. I also live in a fairly high-cost area, have little debt, and pay for everything I can with CC's, which explains my high CC spend. Once married, I know the spend will increase greatly from current levels. I will also have more than $55k in income once we join finances.
In the end, I'm a fan of Amex, like the nature of charge cards, and want to remain an Amex customer. Additionally, many of my destination cities require either a layover or are at inconvenient times for work travel unless I fly Delta. So I build up Skymiles with work travel and it just makes sense to rack up MR points to top off my account for award flights. However, I also realize the value benefit of the CSP for short-haul flights to Tampa. Even if I break even on the PRG/CSP/Freedom combo in comparison to using just the PRG, I know I will visit my sister/niece more, so there is some value in that.
In the end it's very much a YMMV situation. Just wanted to hear from others who have tried it before I took the plunge. Thanks for sharing your experience.
