@dracut77 wrote:
- I will be at 5/24 in August 2025. I can upgrade my Chase Preferred to Chase Reserve. But here choice is, either I keep Chase Preferred till 48 months (May 2027) and I can get another SUB on new card, or just upgrade to Reserve and forget SUB. If I go for second option, then I will close Amex Gold to avoid keep both bigger AF cards.
Other Chase card considerations, @dracut77:
- Chase allows product changes between some of their cards. If you decide to try for the SUB on the Reserve after 48 months, you can product-change your Preferred into a Freedom Flex Mastercard or Freedom Flex (original) Visa, or a Freedom Unlimited Visa. Either of those would help you in building a "fecta" of Chase cards (bifecta, trifecta, quadfecta) without taking up a 5/24 slot to do so. Those cash rewards-earning cards can transfer the cash rewards to the Sapphire cards (Preferred or Reserve) at a penny-a-point for building up your Ultimate Rewards balance and can then be leveraged for higher value on travel through the travel portal. (Sapphire Preferred multiplier 1.25 cpp and Sapphire Reserve 1.50 cpp or transfer to partners at up to 2.0 cpp.)
- Chase allows transfer of most or all of the credit limit of cards you close to be retained and moved to another card. So if you close the Preferred instead of product-changing, you can keep that limit by moving it. (From my experience, if you purposefully keep the card to be closed idle for six months or longer with no new charges or payment activity including the posting of annual fees, they may allow the entire limit to be moved. Otherwise, they may require $500 to $1500 of the limit to be retained on the closed card, which is just sacrificed.)
I dont have a buisness at the moment, but I have heard you can get the buisness cards with your SN.
Why have the Buisness Unlimited over the FU? A lot of people praise the Buisness UR card, but for me I couldnt find the cards useful for me at this time, and tbh quite lackluster, but I am interested in learning how they are beneficial. Lackluster probably due to the uselessness it would be for me.
@dracut77 wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
@dracut77 wrote: Thanks for detailed review and your suggestion, appreciate your guidance on this. Regarding last two points - My focus is to accumulate with some miles for future travels, in form of SUB. I am using Amex Gold most because most of the expenses are giving 4x points on this card (food, grocery, etc.).Few times I thought of applying "Chase Sapphire Reserve", once I will get back under 5/24, but didn't make mind. If I go this route, should I ditch my "Chase Sapphire Preferred" (after 48 months of holding it, so I can get its SUB again later) card as well and just keep "Chase Sapphire Reserve" ?
Chase Sapphire Rules:
- You can only have one Sapphire card at a time. So yes, you'd have to ditch or product change your Preferred to get the Reserve.
- You can product change the Preferred to the Reserve but you would forgo the SUB on the Reserve. Still, this might be a viable choice if you're trying to build an Ultimate Rewards bi-tri-quad "fecta" expeditiously.
- Yes, if you wait 48 months, you can just close the Preferred and apply for the Reserve. And you'd be eligible for the SUB if you wait 48 months. But yes, you would also need to be under 5/24.
- If you are planning to build a bi-tri-quad "fecta" with multiple Chase cards, don't forget to allow 5/24 room for that when planning your app for the Reserve.
- An interesting loophole on 5/24 is with the INK Business cards. If planning to add one or more of these to your "fecta", you must be under 5/24 to be approved. However, once approved, the new card does NOT count against 5/24 since it does not report to your personal credit report! 😄 For example, the INK Cash is a great card, earning 5% cash (or 6.25% to 10% in travel with CSP/CSR) on office supplies and home internet, cable and mobile phone bills up to $25K annually.
Thanks you so much. It has been great help, with very clear details. I wish I would have got such guidance when I started my credit card journey and randomly got some cards, which was not the best strategy of course.
For now, what I understood and planning -
- I will keep my oldest cards (CITI Costco (10.85 years) and BofA rewards (9.19 years)), as both are non-AF and people suggest not to close oldest one.
- Close Citi AAdvantage and AAdvantage Aviator once they will hit 24 months old. I am not at AA hub, so AA is less of my use. If I hold them for 24 months and then close, hopefully in future I may apply again and get SUB. I am in Seattle, so must common are Alasakan Airlines from here.
- Apple Card - I will keep it, as this is non-AF card.
- I am ready to close AMEX Gold and make all my general purchase on Chase Preferred. But I am guessing, if I will ask Amex to close my Gold card, they may give me some SUB as retention.
- I will be at 5/24 in August 2025. I can upgrade my Chase Preferred to Chase Reserve. But here choice is, either I keep Chase Preferred till 48 months (May 2027) and I can get another SUB on new card, or just upgrade to Reserve and forget SUB. If I go for second option, then I will close Amex Gold to avoid keep both bigger AF cards.
- You gave another option of Ink. I don't have any business to show, but few posts tell that it can be still applied. I can think of this card too.
You havent mentioned if you were able to use the Miles/Points from the subs you recieved (or I missed). I would definitely try and use the miles before closing unless there arent enough to be useful. 
@Gregory1776 wrote:
@dracut77 wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
@dracut77 wrote: Thanks for detailed review and your suggestion, appreciate your guidance on this. Regarding last two points - My focus is to accumulate with some miles for future travels, in form of SUB. I am using Amex Gold most because most of the expenses are giving 4x points on this card (food, grocery, etc.).Few times I thought of applying "Chase Sapphire Reserve", once I will get back under 5/24, but didn't make mind. If I go this route, should I ditch my "Chase Sapphire Preferred" (after 48 months of holding it, so I can get its SUB again later) card as well and just keep "Chase Sapphire Reserve" ?
Chase Sapphire Rules:
- You can only have one Sapphire card at a time. So yes, you'd have to ditch or product change your Preferred to get the Reserve.
- You can product change the Preferred to the Reserve but you would forgo the SUB on the Reserve. Still, this might be a viable choice if you're trying to build an Ultimate Rewards bi-tri-quad "fecta" expeditiously.
- Yes, if you wait 48 months, you can just close the Preferred and apply for the Reserve. And you'd be eligible for the SUB if you wait 48 months. But yes, you would also need to be under 5/24.
- If you are planning to build a bi-tri-quad "fecta" with multiple Chase cards, don't forget to allow 5/24 room for that when planning your app for the Reserve.
- An interesting loophole on 5/24 is with the INK Business cards. If planning to add one or more of these to your "fecta", you must be under 5/24 to be approved. However, once approved, the new card does NOT count against 5/24 since it does not report to your personal credit report! 😄 For example, the INK Cash is a great card, earning 5% cash (or 6.25% to 10% in travel with CSP/CSR) on office supplies and home internet, cable and mobile phone bills up to $25K annually.
Thanks you so much. It has been great help, with very clear details. I wish I would have got such guidance when I started my credit card journey and randomly got some cards, which was not the best strategy of course.
For now, what I understood and planning -
- I will keep my oldest cards (CITI Costco (10.85 years) and BofA rewards (9.19 years)), as both are non-AF and people suggest not to close oldest one.
- Close Citi AAdvantage and AAdvantage Aviator once they will hit 24 months old. I am not at AA hub, so AA is less of my use. If I hold them for 24 months and then close, hopefully in future I may apply again and get SUB. I am in Seattle, so must common are Alasakan Airlines from here.
- Apple Card - I will keep it, as this is non-AF card.
- I am ready to close AMEX Gold and make all my general purchase on Chase Preferred. But I am guessing, if I will ask Amex to close my Gold card, they may give me some SUB as retention.
- I will be at 5/24 in August 2025. I can upgrade my Chase Preferred to Chase Reserve. But here choice is, either I keep Chase Preferred till 48 months (May 2027) and I can get another SUB on new card, or just upgrade to Reserve and forget SUB. If I go for second option, then I will close Amex Gold to avoid keep both bigger AF cards.
- You gave another option of Ink. I don't have any business to show, but few posts tell that it can be still applied. I can think of this card too.You havent mentioned if you were able to use the Miles/Points from the subs you recieved (or I missed). I would definitely try and use the miles before closing unless there arent enough to be useful.
Yes, I have used them earlier. There are no points left in both AA cards. I have points only in Amex Gold, Chase Sapphire Preferred and CapitalOne Venture, and little in Bilt.
@Gregory1776 wrote:I dont have a buisness at the moment, but I have heard you can get the buisness cards with your SN.
Why have the Buisness Unlimited over the FU? A lot of people praise the Buisness UR card, but for me I couldnt find the cards useful for me at this time, and tbh quite lackluster, but I am interested in learning how they are beneficial. Lackluster probably due to the uselessness it would be for me.
Apologies for the belated reply, @Gregory1776. I've been away from My FICO.
For day-to-day rewards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited is a better card if you don't have a business.
Reasons someone might prefer to get the INK Business Unlimited:
- The SUB is very high. I show the current CFU SUB is $200 for $500 in spend, but the INK Business Unlimited is $900 for $6000 in spend. While that $200 is a higher (0.40) percentage back on that spend, the INK still gives a very healthy 0.15% bonus on a higher amount so it comes out ahead.
- 5/24: To be approved for the INK card, you must be under 5/24 just like other Chase cards. However, once approved, Chase business cards don't show up on your personal credit report and do NOT count against your 5/24 limit! In other words, if you are 3/24 and add an INK card next, you could technically raise that 5/24 limit to 6/24. This applies to any of the Chase business cards.
- Since most business cards including those from Chase do not show up on your personal file, they don't raise your "personal new accounts" tally for credit reporting or for lender approval of additional personal cards. While you will get a hard pull for the application, a business card might allow you to get more total credit lines before lenders deny for credit seeking.
- Since business credit lines do not usually report to your personal file, they can potentially lower your reported personal credit utilization, a "hidden line of credit."
- If you have a business, keeping business expenses separate from personal expenses is easier with business accounts.