Do I need to diversify?

[Anonymous]

Hi

So I'm a big chase fan.

I use CSR, FU or Amazon for 99% of my spend

My only other card is an Amex BCE which I use at grocery stores other than whole foods

My next card will be Chase CIP for business

I'm 100 satisfied with my current lineup, I get UR points and some cash back.

I do worry however, that I should diversify even if that cuts into my rewards. I don't even know what I would do because discover, Citi, boa or neither convenient for me nor do they provide more benefit over my chase cards.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

If you like Chase then great.  A word of advice and I believe many people would agree with me.  Don't put all of your eggs in 1 basket.

[NRB525]

You are doing it right.

You have a good base of earning, UR are a good point system, and the Freedom Unlimited is an easy choice for everyday spend.

You also have plenty of cards for scoring purposes.

There are a few reports of Chase closing down accounts, but that Adverse Action almost always has a backstory of strange actions / risk factors of the cardholder. As long as you are just using the cards to pay for your regular purchases and paying Chase, there will be no issues.

Trying to move to add more cash back cards, or a different points ecosystem, will only dilute your earnings into UR and the BCE cash. There is no requirement to do such diversification.

The only reason to add other cards would be if those provide specific benefits you do not get already from your lineup. If you travel regularly with one airline, or stay regularly at a hotel chain, that would be an example of a possible reason to get another card. Since you haven't mentioned that, it seems like not a near term concern.

[kdm31091]

You are fine, don't overthink the diversity thing. I mean, what's the worst case scenario? If Chase suddenly closed all your accounts or something, maybe then you could worry about getting a non-Amex card. But since that is pretty unlikely, don't app for additional cards just for the sake of it. Remember that most consumers use one or two or maybe three cards for everything, and seem to get by just fine.

I also find that the more cards you spend on, you're just diluting your rewards and benefits overall.

[Anonymous]

If you can make use of MR and/or the Centurion lounge, Amex is definitely worth a look. You can actually run a 'trifecta' of both Chase and Amex to earn lots of points in both ecosystems without having any significant overlapping:
Chase Sapphire/Freedom/Ink Cash, Amex Platinum/Gold/Blue Business Plus

2 or 3x UR for travel and dining (CSP or CSR), ability transfer points to partners
5x UR rotating categories
5x UR internet/phone/tv/office supply stores (you can get gift cards for Amazon and other places at office Depot)
5x MR on amextravel (might just use Sapphire for travel protections though)
4x MR for groceries/restaurants
2x MR all other purchases

The only real overlap is when Freedom has grocery, which isnt that big of a deal tbh, and the sapphire dining category with the gold card, but also not a big deal imo, sapphire makes a good international dining card since gold is 4x dining domestic only. In terms of point earning, the Ink Preferred is inferior to the Ink Cash, but it does have a bigger bonus and could be used in lieu of a sapphire for point transfer purposes. I'd still recommend having the ink cash regardless of whether or not you have the ink preferred though.

I would agree with the above poster that besides all this it's just smart to diversify in case of devaluations.

[Anonymous]

Are all these amex? If so, wouldn't having a visa come in handy for places that dont take amex?

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Are all these amex? If so, wouldn't having a visa come in handy for places that dont take amex?

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OP has one AMEX, the BCE.

All the other cards are Chase VISA cards.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the great replies

I won't overthink it

I'll get the ink preferred and after a year decide to keep it or downgrade to cic

[UpperNwGuy]

You have an Amex card and several Chase cards.  You're already diversified.

[longtimelurker]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

You have an Amex card and several Chase cards.  You're already diversified.

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This (sort of).  The risks associated with lack of diversification include:

1) Card shut down.   e.g. some fraud activity and the card gets locked.  Solution is to have more than one card.   You pass that test!

2) Bank shuts you down.   An issuer, rightly or wrongly, closes all your cards because you appear to be a bad person.   As  said above, Chase does do this, but for cause.  (The only problem is that sometimes people aren't aware that they are doing wrong, so get surprised).  Solution is to have more than issuer.   You pass this too.

3) Network issue.  The Visa (e.g.) network goes down and no Visa cards work for a time.  Solution is to have more than one network, and you pass that too.

Only caveat: if you are spending time out of the country, Amex isn't a great backup against 2 or 3.   But 3 is very rare, and usually you would know if 2 is a possibility, so evaluate the effort/cost of getting a new card (MC) against the small risk.   Note that you don't really need to use a new card, just have it available.