TLDR: I got approved for the Marriot-Bonvoy Boundless from Chase in January and was able to complete the spend requirement for the 5 free night award bonus. I have three other cards open- 1 being the discover it card I got when first building credit and two other cards I opened with my mom I may close sometime.
Currently being a 4/24, I looked to open a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. I decided to go with that over the Reserve because I'm still new to building a card rotation and churning, so I don't want to spend $795 on an annual fee for a card I can't maximize just yet. I was denied for the card and reconsidered twice. Both reconsiderations point to not having enough history with Chase as my reason for denial (I've only had the Boundless for about 3 months now.
I want to ask would it be worth it to get another card that is non-chase knowing I would be at 5/24. I know it would take too long to go back to 4/24 (if it goes down after cards have passed two years), but I don't know if it's better to do that or just get all the Chase cards I want first before opening with other competitors.
Info to keep in mind: I don't travel much now but my goal is to gradually increase travel over time. I want cards that give good travel benefits but also have categories I can build with. I intend to hold the Boundless simply for the free night award certificate every anniversary but I don't have any cards that maximize certain categories as of right now
Should I get non-chase credit card to put me at 5/24
byu/Fit_Organization_562 inCreditCards
Posted by Fit_Organization_562
5 Comments
Given that the Chase Sapphire SUB has lifetime language instead of every 48 months, you will probably want to wait until the next 100,000 point offer anyway.
The reason people were so big on keeping spots open for Chase was because the Sapphires and their business cards were so much more lucrative bonus-wise than the alternatives that you would want to plan to get as many as possible. Now, there’s lifetime language on most of the cards which mean it doesn’t really matter as much.
> and two other cards I opened with my mom
Joint card accounts are exceedingly rare, and I doubt you have two. Are you sure these aren’t authorized user accounts? If so, they aren’t really helping your credit at all given your other individual accounts, and they also don’t count toward 5/24.
Or rather, they *may* trigger a denial that can trivially be overcome with manual recon because they don’t formally count toward 5/24.
getting denied twice for the csp is rough, especially when you’re already planning your strategy around chase cards. in my experience with these applications, chase really wants to see at least 6-12 months history with them before approving premium cards like sapphire.
if you’re focused on travel rewards long term, i’d probably wait and try for chase cards again in few months rather than burning the 5/24 slot now. you mentioned wanting cards with good categories – maybe look at upgrading your discover or optimizing the cards you have while you build that chase relationship. once you get past sapphire approval, you can grab the other chase cards you want before moving to other issuers.
I would wait a few months and try again for the CSP for sure.. then apply for the freedom flex in like 6-12 months after you got the preferred..
Chase is loosening up on the 5/24..
I would wait to build the credit history. As you can’t even get Sapphire approved, you should cool down, build credit history and wait for the next big SUB.
And you may want to keep some old cards to make your average credit age longer. Helps your credit.