Best credit card for 1st year associate Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have thoughts on which card makes the most sense. Considering Amex gold, chase sapphire, cap one venture. Not much experience in the credit card game, feel like most of my expenses would be groceries but don’t know if it’s worth the 250 to get the Amex. Also open to other cards…

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

[dazed123]

feel like most of my expenses would be groceries but don’t know if it’s worth the 250 to get the Amex. Also open to other cards…

If you value cash back over points then I'd look at the Amex Blue Cash Preferred. 6% back on groceries and streaming services, and 3% back on gas stations and transit. There's a $400 sign up bonus at the moment (after $3k spend) which might be an all-time high. If you don't want to stomach the $95 annual fee, then the no-fee Blue Cash Everyday card was recently relaunched and has upgraded benefits, with 3% back on groceries, gas, and online retail.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

That said, I vote OP goes big with the Amex platinum. The SUB and perks are well worth the high annual fee at our salary.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

That said, I vote OP goes big with the Amex platinum. The SUB and perks are well worth the high annual fee at our salary.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/co ... _platinum/

[Ultramar vistas]

Amex Platinum has been amazing for me.

If you have a decent salary (which you will!) and enjoy travel (you tell us) then you can get pretty extraordinary value out of it.

Small example - this summer, went on vacation with my wife and booked a hotel through Amex Fine Hotels program. As a result, we got 2 nights out of 7 free, free breakfast buffet at the hotel each day (was otherwise $50PP), early check in and 4pm check out, $100 facility credit (went towards a massage), and an upgrade to a suite. Used the Centurion Lounge at the airport on the way out - great, free food. Had top status at the rental car line through the platinum card and skipped the line despite never using that rental company.

Way more than $700 in value, and that’s just one week.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Amex platinum IMO is overkill for a first year salary. $695 fee and hardly any cash-like benefits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better deal. $550 fee and the $300 travel credit is essentially cash, as it can be used on any travel (subways, buses, taxis, rideshare, train fare, airfare, etc.) and you will always spend that $300 in NYC

[chrysippusofsoli]

Amex platinum IMO is overkill for a first year salary. $695 fee and hardly any cash-like benefits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better deal. $550 fee and the $300 travel credit is essentially cash, as it can be used on any travel (subways, buses, taxis, rideshare, train fare, airfare, etc.) and you will always spend that $300 in NYC

I have the CSR too and it’s a great card. Its categories (dining and travel 3x, which become 4.5x with the book travel with Chase portal multiplier) are international as well, so if you find yourself traveling you can carry on earning the 3x internationally.

Highly recommend getting the “Chase Trifecta” if you get the CSR, i.e. getting both the Chase Freedom (which is the Chase Freedom Flex now I think?) and the Chase Freedom Unlimited as well. With the CSR’s multiplier, the Freedom’s 5x categories become a 7.5x, and the Unlimited’s flat 1.5x becomes a 2.25x. Both are no annual fee cards.

The Freedom’s categories often have groceries one quarter of the year, so pair that with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or another groceries card and you will be earning upwards of 3x on groceries year round.

Just be careful of the Chase 5/24 rule (not sure if still a thing, been years since I applied), which is that Chase doesn’t grant you a new card if you have had 5 new cards (from anyone not just Chase) in the last 24 months. So I would get your Chase cards first and out of the way before getting others.

Chase cards just make a lot of sense for people who don’t travel enough for Amex to be worth the fees (also I’ve found Chase travel redemptions to be better for Economy tickets).

Edited to add: the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited are also Ultimate Rewards cards, so you can easily transfer the points you earn over to the CSR. Therefore my multiplier point above. With most of your spend on these three cards, only one of which has an annual fee, you’ll be racking up UR points in no time.

[Anonymous User]

Does a first year even have the time to travel to make the Amex platinum worth it? Went backed and looked at all the perks, seems like it would pay for itself with at least one big trip per year. Also just don’t know if it’s worth the trouble do manage getting all the value out of it when it seems like free time will be sparse

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

ATM use would be nice but doesn’t any benefit of that get eaten up by the lower interest rate on those accounts compared to something like Ally. I’m assuming your are using fidelity cash management as your checking/savings account rather than a grad bank?

[Anonymous User]

I have the venture x and like it a lot. simple but great value travel card.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

ATM use would be nice but doesn’t any benefit of that get eaten up by the lower interest rate on those accounts compared to something like Ally. I’m assuming your are using fidelity cash management as your checking/savings account rather than a grad bank?

I am. But I keep so little in cash (for my rainy day fund I use I-bonds and a government money market that used to perform much better when I started using it) that the convenience of not having to worry about ATMs and having all my accounts in one place (I like Fidelities zero cost funds) outweighs the small amount of extra interest I'd earn. That said, the Ally rates have definitely gone up since I last checked, so you've actually got me thinking more about it. It's so easy to transfer funds around these days that it may be worth having two accounts.

[Anonymous User]

Chase Sapphire Reserve is a popular option but I’ve personally chosen the Amex route and have both the platinum and gold card. Some of these below benefits are also also available on Sapphire Reserve.

I can justify the $695/year for the platinum with the $200 uber credit, $200 airline incidentals, $200 hotel credit through Amex portal bookings, $189 Clear credit, global entry credit and lounge access—the last three making flying a much more enjoyable experience. Honestly can’t imagine going back now that I’m used to my airport routine. As mentioned above, you often also get good perks from booking through the Amex portal BUT I will flag that you won’t always find the cheapest prices this way. The platinum card has also become a bit of a coupon card so there are always a large number of promotions offered on the Amex app that could justify the yearly fee further for others.

I can justify the $250/year on the gold card with the $120 Uber credit and $120 food credit that can be used on grubhub, Cheesecake Factory, milkbar and a couple other spots that escape me. That effectively makes the card $10/year for me which is worth it given the 4x points on dining and groceries. Living in NYC, I spend a lot on food/drinks—whether on my own or reimbursed by the firm—so this a great card for me. If you live in a smaller market and don’t eat out much then this card might not make sense for you.

Ultimately, these are mostly expenses that I would be incurring without the Amex cards so the cards just provide me extra benefits at little to no effective cost—like lounge access. However, you have to look at your personal expenses and see what makes for you. If you never travel and don’t use Uber the platinum might not be worth it for you. If you don’t spend much on food/groceries or won’t use the credits to offset the price then maybe that one isn’t worth it.

[Anonymous User]

Amex platinum IMO is overkill for a first year salary. $695 fee and hardly any cash-like benefits. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better deal. $550 fee and the $300 travel credit is essentially cash, as it can be used on any travel (subways, buses, taxis, rideshare, train fare, airfare, etc.) and you will always spend that $300 in NYC

I have the CSR too and it’s a great card. Its categories (dining and travel 3x, which become 4.5x with the book travel with Chase portal multiplier) are international as well, so if you find yourself traveling you can carry on earning the 3x internationally.

Highly recommend getting the “Chase Trifecta” if you get the CSR, i.e. getting both the Chase Freedom (which is the Chase Freedom Flex now I think?) and the Chase Freedom Unlimited as well. With the CSR’s multiplier, the Freedom’s 5x categories become a 7.5x, and the Unlimited’s flat 1.5x becomes a 2.25x. Both are no annual fee cards.

The Freedom’s categories often have groceries one quarter of the year, so pair that with the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or another groceries card and you will be earning upwards of 3x on groceries year round.

Just be careful of the Chase 5/24 rule (not sure if still a thing, been years since I applied), which is that Chase doesn’t grant you a new card if you have had 5 new cards (from anyone not just Chase) in the last 24 months. So I would get your Chase cards first and out of the way before getting others.

Chase cards just make a lot of sense for people who don’t travel enough for Amex to be worth the fees (also I’ve found Chase travel redemptions to be better for Economy tickets).

Edited to add: the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited are also Ultimate Rewards cards, so you can easily transfer the points you earn over to the CSR. Therefore my multiplier point above. With most of your spend on these three cards, only one of which has an annual fee, you’ll be racking up UR points in no time.

As someone who is super deep in the credit card points game, this is the correct answer. Followed very very closely by Amex Platinum as others have described. One thing that gives CSR a slight edge is that, as most credit card points blogs agree, Chase points are a bit more valuable than Amex points because of their flexibility.

[Anonymous User]

As a starting point, either of the Chase Sapphire cards are good for reward points. I personally started with the Preferred since its a lower annual fee and I didn't see the benefits of Reserved as worth it at the time.

I could go on and on about how great Amex Plat is, but I would wait a year or two and then make sure to research all of the credits beforehand to ensure you can utilize them to have the card pay for itself, which is pretty easy to do if you travel a decent amount (the Uber/Clear/Streaming/Airline credits alone are items I would otherwise incur and by themselves pay for the annual fee, plus you get a lot of other perks like lounge access and automatic status at Marriot/Hilton).

If you want a cashback card and shop Amazon a lot, then they actually have a pretty good card for that through Chase.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

Yup, opening a bunch of credit cards is the first step to manufacturing a GOOD credit score. Then, you just have to (1) set up minimum autopay so you have a perfect 100% on-time payment record and (2) leave the cards open forever (closing one is bad for your credit).

There is a ton of misunderstanding and misinformation about how credit scores work. The absolute best thing you can do is have a ton of open credit lines that you barely use. In the short term yes, opening them will sing your credit, but the primary ding is only for 6 months and drops away completely after two years - if you’re not buying a house or car in that time, just open them now. The other issue is that they will lower your average age of credit... but if you bite that bullet now and then let the cards age, they will eventually be a bunch of OLD cards dragging your average UP.

If you avoid ever opening new cards because of your credit score (and don’t have a major life purchase coming up), then you’re doing it wrong.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

Yup, opening a bunch of credit cards is the first step to manufacturing a GOOD credit score. Then, you just have to (1) set up minimum autopay so you have a perfect 100% on-time payment record and (2) leave the cards open forever (closing one is bad for your credit).

There is a ton of misunderstanding and misinformation about how credit scores work. The absolute best thing you can do is have a ton of open credit lines that you barely use. In the short term yes, opening them will sing your credit, but the primary ding is only for 6 months and drops away completely after two years - if you’re not buying a house or car in that time, just open them now. The other issue is that they will lower your average age of credit... but if you bite that bullet now and then let the cards age, they will eventually be a bunch of OLD cards dragging your average UP.

If you avoid ever opening new cards because of your credit score (and don’t have a major life purchase coming up), then you’re doing it wrong.

Don’t closed accounts remain on your report for multiple years before falling off?

[trebekismyhero]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

Yup, opening a bunch of credit cards is the first step to manufacturing a GOOD credit score. Then, you just have to (1) set up minimum autopay so you have a perfect 100% on-time payment record and (2) leave the cards open forever (closing one is bad for your credit).

There is a ton of misunderstanding and misinformation about how credit scores work. The absolute best thing you can do is have a ton of open credit lines that you barely use. In the short term yes, opening them will sing your credit, but the primary ding is only for 6 months and drops away completely after two years - if you’re not buying a house or car in that time, just open them now. The other issue is that they will lower your average age of credit... but if you bite that bullet now and then let the cards age, they will eventually be a bunch of OLD cards dragging your average UP.

If you avoid ever opening new cards because of your credit score (and don’t have a major life purchase coming up), then you’re doing it wrong.

I have closed credit card accounts before and my credit score is above 800. I think the key is just not closing too many or the oldest accounts.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone like the citi premier, with the current bonus

[Anonymous User]

As a starting point, either of the Chase Sapphire cards are good for reward points. I personally started with the Preferred since its a lower annual fee and I didn't see the benefits of Reserved as worth it at the time.

I could go on and on about how great Amex Plat is, but I would wait a year or two and then make sure to research all of the credits beforehand to ensure you can utilize them to have the card pay for itself, which is pretty easy to do if you travel a decent amount (the Uber/Clear/Streaming/Airline credits alone are items I would otherwise incur and by themselves pay for the annual fee, plus you get a lot of other perks like lounge access and automatic status at Marriot/Hilton).

If you want a cashback card and shop Amazon a lot, then they actually have a pretty good card for that through Chase.

Biglaw partner and I agree with all of this. My wife and I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve as our primary joint card, but we also have the Chase Amazon card for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases and it more than pays for itself.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

Yup, opening a bunch of credit cards is the first step to manufacturing a GOOD credit score. Then, you just have to (1) set up minimum autopay so you have a perfect 100% on-time payment record and (2) leave the cards open forever (closing one is bad for your credit).

There is a ton of misunderstanding and misinformation about how credit scores work. The absolute best thing you can do is have a ton of open credit lines that you barely use. In the short term yes, opening them will sing your credit, but the primary ding is only for 6 months and drops away completely after two years - if you’re not buying a house or car in that time, just open them now. The other issue is that they will lower your average age of credit... but if you bite that bullet now and then let the cards age, they will eventually be a bunch of OLD cards dragging your average UP.

If you avoid ever opening new cards because of your credit score (and don’t have a major life purchase coming up), then you’re doing it wrong.

Don’t closed accounts remain on your report for multiple years before falling off?

Yes but they don’t give you any benefit. The benefit is total available credit + a decrease in utilization (higher max) + age of credit, all of which goes away when you close it even if it’s still on the report.

[Anonymous User]

I picked the Citi double cash and the CapitalOne Savor purely based on cash back. Cap1 gives me 4% on dining/entertainment and 3% on groceries; Citi gives me 2% on everything else. If you're like me and won't really use any fancy concierge/travel perks and can impress the ladies without a fancy colored card, then these are some of your best bets.

FWIW, Fidelity also offers 2% on their card. I didn't get that, but I do use them for cash management (in addition to a brokerage account) because they have unlimited reimbursements for ATM fees. I really like being able to use any ATM I want to without fees.

I originally was thinking of a cash back card, just feels simpler. But then started to feel like it’s just giving up free money (e.g. ~750 dollars worth of travel points just for sign on). I’m not big on all that fancy stuff either, but kinda torn whether it’s worth it to go the travel rewards route bc I’ll def take a trip eventually (but figure that’s relatively off limits for the foreseeable future).

Those offers sounded attractive to me, too, but remember that every credit card you open stays on your credit report and bumps your number of recent inquiries. Opening up new cards has a varied impact (good: lower credit usage vis-a-vis a higher credit limit; bad: more inquiries, lower average age of credit lines), so even if a card seems attractive at first it may have a big impact down the line when you need to buy a car or house. I get back over $200/yr in groceries alone, so the Savor works out way better for me on rewards in the long run than a shiny introductory offer. That's based on my preferences/spending habits, though, so YMMV.

I churn 1-2 credit cards a year and my credit score is at 800+, well above the range where it becomes irrelevant. Unless you literally have no credit history or a very very small total line of credit, opening a new account has a pretty modest impact.

Yup, opening a bunch of credit cards is the first step to manufacturing a GOOD credit score. Then, you just have to (1) set up minimum autopay so you have a perfect 100% on-time payment record and (2) leave the cards open forever (closing one is bad for your credit).

There is a ton of misunderstanding and misinformation about how credit scores work. The absolute best thing you can do is have a ton of open credit lines that you barely use. In the short term yes, opening them will sing your credit, but the primary ding is only for 6 months and drops away completely after two years - if you’re not buying a house or car in that time, just open them now. The other issue is that they will lower your average age of credit... but if you bite that bullet now and then let the cards age, they will eventually be a bunch of OLD cards dragging your average UP.

If you avoid ever opening new cards because of your credit score (and don’t have a major life purchase coming up), then you’re doing it wrong.

I have closed credit card accounts before and my credit score is above 800. I think the key is just not closing too many or the oldest accounts.

Yup, that’s right. Old, and ones with a high limit. I didn’t mean to imply that closing a card destroys your credit, just that it will have a detrimental impact. If the rest of your credit is very strong, it’s fine to close one occasionally.

[Anonymous User]

How does all this work with firm reimbursement? So if I get an Amex gold and order food when I’m working late, would I be credited twice - once by the firm and once by the Amex promo for Uber eats. If that’s the case it seems like Amex gold would be a no brainer bc I’d assume I’d need to order food at least once a month which would almost help the Amex pay for itself. Same thing with roses home from the office