CREDIT PROFILE
Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
Player 1: Discover IT Cashback
- FICO scores with source: Discover FICO scorecard – 744
- Oldest credit card account age: ~1 years (11 months to be exact)
- Cards approved in the past 6 months:
- Cards approved in the past 12 months:
- Cards approved in the past 24 months: 1
- Annual income $: 140000 (this is expected once I start job in June, pretax)
CATEGORIES
- Ok with category-specific cards?: Yes
- Ok with rotating category cards?: No
- Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below.
- Dining $: 200
- Groceries $: 350 (Walmart, Trader Joe, Aldi, Shoprite)
- Gas $: NA
- Travel $: 250 (occasional trips)
- Using abroad?: No
- Other categories or stores:
- Other spend:
- Pay rent by card? Yes, amount and fee: 1800 with 3%
MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS
- Amazon Prime member: Yes
- Big bank customer: Chase, BofA
PURPOSE
- Purpose of next card:
- Travel Rewards (mainly for now),
- rent/daily use could also be a good option alternatively
- Cards being considered: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Capital One Savor
ADDITIONAL INFO
I will be graduating in May 2026 and will be travelling and exploring until Jun 2026 before I start my full time job. So I'm thinking of getting a card with good travel benefits.
I understand short-term thinking could have flaws, so I'm also open to any criticism on how could i improve my strategy.
Looking for best next card for Cashback or Travel
byu/noshadow09 inCreditCards
Posted by noshadow09
4 Comments
With your short credit history and that income jump coming up, might want to wait bit before going for premium travel cards like CSP. Your current spend doesn’t really justify annual fees yet, especially with that rent fee being so high
Freedom Unlimited could be solid starter since it’s no fee and you can always upgrade later when your income actually kicks in. That way you build relationship with Chase now and qualify for better cards in 2026 when you’re actually traveling more
You have a 5% rotating category card already.. I don’t think your next card should be another rotating category card.. so that would be a no for a Freedom Flex..
1.5% cashback on the Freedom Unlimited is one of the worst catch-all cards you can get.. wouldn’t go that route either.. I’m hoping for a refresh soon..
Pairing your current card, with the Savor would be the best option in my opinion.. 3% or 3x on dining, groceries, and streaming would be the best compliment.. you get that now, wait 6 months and grab a Venture or Venture X which offer great travel benefits and rewards and a solid 2x catch-all..
Get to understand and use those cards.. in a year or when the SUB is good get the Chase Preferred.. like it? Keep it. If not downgrade to a Freedom Flex at that point.
I am not sure about the CSP, but you are a shoe in for the Savor.
CSP, if you don’t get accepted, do freedom rise and graduate it to a real card with them. If you have family with a real chase card, have them add you as an authorized user. It will give you their credit age and should boost your profile. Then try for CSP in a few months.