Card Recommendation Request (24 yrs old, only have CFU right now)

Hi all,

I have been researching credit cards since I only have the CFU right now. I have to admit I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the options, and would appreciate some opinions on what the best card(s) are for me to consider.

I’m looking for a mid-tier card that’s a step up from the CFU but want to keep my annual fees under $300-400 since I’m just getting started with credit cards and my expenses are relatively low right now. I’m open to getting multiple cards if they work well together – I’d like to identify a good card combo that I can stick with for a while.

I’m also not married to Chase, but as of now I think the CSP (along with the CFF) might be my best option because I live in Chicago and the main travel partners (United and Southwest) are the airlines with the most flights out of Chicago. Also, my main spend categories are dining and travel, with little spend on groceries and no spend on gas (unless I’m renting a car, which I do about 2 times per year). That being said, I’ve seen a lot of negative things about the CSP in this sub recently so I’m not sure if it’s still the best card for my situation given the recent nerfs.

Here’s my template:

⁠Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
⁠• ⁠Chase Freedom Unlimited, $4,200 limit, opened 07/2023

• ⁠FICO Score: 760

• ⁠Oldest account age: 2 years, 10 months

• ⁠Chase 5/24 status: 0/24

• ⁠Income: $100,000

• ⁠Average monthly spend and categories:
⁠• ⁠dining $300-400 (eat out 1-2 times per week, paying for 2 people)
⁠• ⁠groceries: $100 (gf buys most groceries, I pay for meals out. She has the chase trifecta)
⁠• ⁠gas: $0 (don’t have a car)
⁠• ⁠travel: $150 (I want to travel more
which is a motivation for getting a new card)
⁠• ⁠other: $300-400 (Amazon purchases, public transport, uber/lyft, subscriptions, concerts, sporting events, etc.)
Rent: $1500

• ⁠Open to Business Cards: No

• ⁠What's the purpose of your next card? Maximizing point redemption or Cash Back value, with a slight bias towards travel. I’d prefer to not switch ecosystems all the time or apply for new cards frequently, so ideally I’d like to find a good card combo and stick with it for a while. Overall, the most important thing to me is just getting the best bang for my buck given my spending habits.

• ⁠Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Flex, Citi Strava Premier and Custom Cash, Capital One Venture Rewards, Robinhood Gold Card

• ⁠Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card?
I’m okay with category spending. Don’t want anything too complicated but maximizing value is a bit more important than convenience to me