I realize the incredible irony of this coming from me, but if the chase card is one that is really perfect for you, or works very well for your spend habits and reward preferences, then apping for 2-3 cards every 6 months and never getting under 5/24 isn’t a great idea.
Being strategic means apping for things that benefit you. What good is $200k in credit lines on cards that don’t match your spend and/or have rewards that work for you? That’s being non-strategic if you’re preventing yourself from being able to get the best rewards.
Again-I recognize the irony.
Being strategic means apping for things that benefit you. What good is $200k in credit lines on cards that don’t match your spend and/or have rewards that work for you? That’s being non-strategic if you’re preventing yourself from being able to get the best rewards.
Again-I recognize the irony.
@tparks5961 wrote:I was holding out to free up slots so that I would qualify for a chase card. The infmaouns 5/24.. In the end, I decided it just wasn't worth it and that being strategic about new apps and accounts was the way to go.. My choice was to either wait for 1 potential chase card (If approved) or apply for 2-3 cards every 6 months for 2 years...
@Anonymous wrote:
@JNA1 wrote:
I kinda made that same decision, but besides the mystique of having a Chase card, it didn’t make sense for me. If Chase has cards a person really needs and can use, I agree. In my case though, Chase has only 1 card that would be of use to me, and even it seems to be mediocre compared to other offerings.In the real world, there is no mystique about having a chase card (or not!)
@Gmood1 wrote:
I'm in the minority. As I could care less about the majority of Chase cards. They only get a very small portion of use compared to others in the fold here.
Definitely nothing mystical about them, that is for sure! Lol
I agree there's nothing "mystical" about Chase ... or any other lender. I've been a Chase advocate on My Fico recently so I'll chime in. I've been on both sides of this situation. While their cards may not be the right fit for you now, they might be later if your situation is like mine. Life changes, and your lifestyle and needs may change with it.
I've had at least one Chase card for almost 20 years but they've not always received a lot of my spending. Most of my current (six) Chase cards were acquired in the past two years. Until then, they were mostly just another credit card. As with any lender, they have their strengths and more attractive cards depending on the consumer profile. Even though I PIF, I wouldn't have Chase cards exclusively because their APRs are generally higher and don't give me good options if I ever want or need to carry a balance.
For people who can use them, they have great travel cards. That applies to either people who DO travel or people who WANT to travel more or to save their credit card rewards for use on travel. In my case, I'm at a point in my life approaching retirement that I wanted the option to use credit rewards for future travel. The ability to consolidate Ultimate Rewards points on the Sapphire cards for more value is what really changed the dynamic with me. Freedom Unlimited was just a 1.5% cash-back card (same as my Capital One Quicksilver) until I factored in getting 2.25% on it for travel redemption through UR point transfer to Chase Sapphire Reserve. Likewise, getting the equivalent of 7.5% return on Freedom and some of my INK card spending is very attractive. Plus getting 4.5% rewards (3% x 1.5) on all my travel and dining-out spend was much better than other options I already had at the time. I really appreciate the great travel protections on the CSR and most of the credits against the AFs. Any one of those cards without a Sapphire card, or a Sapphire card by itself, is worth much less than the total package of a bi-fecta, tri-fecta, and quad-fecta. Likewise, the hotel cards I carry (Marriott and Hyatt) more than pay for their AFs if you have a use for a (free) hotel room once a year.
Here are some of the strengths I see in Chase and the reasons to carry their cards:
(1) As I mentioned, they have a great selection of travel cards if travel is your aim. Only a handful of other lenders offer cards equivalent or better, depending on your needs.
(2) Highly competitive SUBs. On my new Chase cards, I got well over $3000 value for travel redemption in SUBs combined with the spending rewards to meet them, even after subtracting AFs.
(3) Chase is by far the largest US bank. Not that big is always better, but they are motivated to provide good customer service and to keep their credit products competitive for the market.
(4) Customer Service provided 24/7/365 by US-based representatives. Easy contact by "Secure Message" if you prefer not to call.
(5) Chase allows easy credit line consolidation across cards, which some lenders do not allow.
(6) Chase allows easy product changes, which some lenders do not allow. My oldest Chase card is a Slate that was PC'd to a Freedom Unlimited.
(7) Chase was one of my lenders who offered frequent 0% or low APR Balance Transfers to me a few years ago when I was paying down significant debt. Some of my other lenders have offered fewer or no BT offers.
(8) Chase has good smart phone apps and web site support to service your accounts. Pending charges show up promptly for me to monitor my spending, unlike a few other cards I have. I've rarely if ever had technical issues with my Chase account access.
(9) Chase "Offers" (similar to ones from AMEX or Bank of America) allow me to further magnify my rewards.
(10) Chase has good fraud protection and has been easy to deal with when I've had fraud issues on my accounts.
(11) While Chase cards are not known for super-high SLs or CLIs, they will gladly approve additional new cards over time (which can later be consolidated to build limits.) They are by far my highest lender in total credit lines of over $138K. Most other banks probably would have stopped at a much lower total limit for my profile.
All that being said, I wouldn't exclude other needs in building a credit profile just to "wait" for Chase and 5/24. In particular, many younger and thinner profiles might be better-served with focusing more on non-Chase cards. They aren't for everyone. And building business with Chase would only be one part of an overall card strategy. I agree with that prudent applications for new cards should be part of the big picture and is not just applicable to Chase. The "5/24" rule is simply so well-known since Chase is a large lender so there are plentiful data points available for identifying it on the online forums. As often said on My Fico, building a good credit file is a marathon, not a sprint. Applying for cards should be treated more like Chess, not Checkers, with forethought put into the implications and timing of each one as a long-term plan.
I'm surprised there's no Mystique about a Chase card.
Disney owns Marvel, after all... 
@longtimelurker
I’m in no way meaning to bash Chase, it’s just that when I ran the numbers of what benefitted me the most, their cards were down the list. I was 2/24 in November before I went on my mini-spree and I had 750+ scores across the board with perfect payment history on both my cards. I was prequalified for the Freedom card, but the AMEX, BBVA, PPMC, and PNC cards has rewards that were more valuable to me than the Freedom. If I could trade any of my cards for a Freedom heads up with the same limits, the only cards I had that would be less valuable to our spend would be the Summit, and the BB&T card, which I mistakenly applied for in the first place.
That doesn’t make Chase bad, they just weren’t my priority.
I do plan on acquiring the Freedom card later on, but I want a few other cards first to round out my arsenal. The Cash + and NFCU Flagship are the 2 cards I want the most at this point, and will probably be the next I’ll go after, unless I have to take another NFCU card before getting the Flagship.
I’m in no way meaning to bash Chase, it’s just that when I ran the numbers of what benefitted me the most, their cards were down the list. I was 2/24 in November before I went on my mini-spree and I had 750+ scores across the board with perfect payment history on both my cards. I was prequalified for the Freedom card, but the AMEX, BBVA, PPMC, and PNC cards has rewards that were more valuable to me than the Freedom. If I could trade any of my cards for a Freedom heads up with the same limits, the only cards I had that would be less valuable to our spend would be the Summit, and the BB&T card, which I mistakenly applied for in the first place.
That doesn’t make Chase bad, they just weren’t my priority.
I do plan on acquiring the Freedom card later on, but I want a few other cards first to round out my arsenal. The Cash + and NFCU Flagship are the 2 cards I want the most at this point, and will probably be the next I’ll go after, unless I have to take another NFCU card before getting the Flagship.
