I am looking to book a 7-10 day Europe trip in Q3 of 2025. My credit is relatively new, but in the good range. I am looking to recommendations on a card that will be the most helpful in purchasing flight(s), and potentially has some other travel rewards. I was originally whole-heartedly going to apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred, but I want to see if there is anything I was missing before applying. I honestly prefer using a debit card, but I know that there are so many perks that come from using a credit card that I want to be making the most of my spending.
Current cards: Discover It, $2,000 limit, opened 07/2024
FICO Score: 706
Oldest account age: 2 years 5 months
Chase 5/24 status: ???
Income: ~$60,000 this year
Average monthly spend and categories:
• Dining $300
• Groceries: I live at home currently, so <$100/month
• Gas: $50-$75
• Travel: Not regularly spending
• Other: $250 (retail)
Open to Business Cards: No
What’s the purpose of your next card?: Building Credit, Travel
Do you have any cards you’ve been looking at?: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X
Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card?: No preference, I do like bonuses but not necessary
The CSP is a great one to start with, it’s so simple some people hate it, but it honestly can’t be beat for what it does and it’s the best mid range travel card imo.
Layne said:
The CSP is a great one to start with, it’s so simple some people hate it, but it honestly can’t be beat for what it does and it’s the best mid range travel card imo.
I just wish Chase had a dedicated grocery category on one of their cards.
@Amani
Best you’re going to get is the online groceries with the CSP sadly. I’d even take a dedicated gas category as well. Just give us one of those two please.
Emma4 said: @Amani
Best you’re going to get is the online groceries with the CSP sadly. I’d even take a dedicated gas category as well. Just give us one of those two please.
I’d prefer groceries over gas, but I’ve also driven over 20k miles this year so gas would be nice.
@Amani
I also prefer groceries. But I’ll be happy with a tier down to gas at this point. Just give us something to work with. Even if they increase the CFU to 2x instead of 1.5x.
Layne said:
The CSP is a great one to start with, it’s so simple some people hate it, but it honestly can’t be beat for what it does and it’s the best mid range travel card imo.
it can’t be beat for what it does
what exactly can’t it be “beat at”? It has the worst statement credit ($50 portal credit with no price matching), worst multipliers (3/2/1x which is what starter cards give), worse insurances and protections than Citi and WF-AJ. Is it because you doordash 2+ times per month and the dashpass offsets the AF?
The only think it has is Hyatt, inflating the value of UR points, but the Bilt card is a $0 card with 3/2/1x in same categories, same rental car protections, also has delay/cancellation insurance (with $2k limit), and has 1x rent with transfers to Hyatt on top.
The one standout of the CSP is its amazing elevated spring sign on bonus. 80k+ points into Hyatt.
@Nicholas6
For the price point there is no other card that can offer what the CSP does.
Portal 1.25.
Hyatt 1.7 to 2.
Always transfer bonuses to good partners.
Great protections for flying and renting cars though a lot of their cards cover renting cars.
Multiple other cards that you can open and churn to combine points.
You can even transfer points among your significant other and combine them even further.
If you’re paying $95/year to have an extra 0.75% on dining that can only pay towards a portal with poor customer service and prices that are already marked up, you’re not gonna see valuable returns. 2.5% travel and 1.25% else are also outclassed by free cards with 3-4% travel or 2% catch-all.
Hyatt 1.7 to 2. Always transfer bonuses to good partners. Great protections
The Bilt card does all of these with the same multipliers for $0, even if you don’t put any rent on the card. Higher insurances are also available for $95, but you can just go for a VX and pay eAF of -$5 for far superior insurances too.
Multiple other cards you can open and churn.
Combine points every four years when you get a bonus, and downgrade/cancel other years. No reason to hold.
It blows my mind how people can be so excited to pay JP Morgan Chase $95 for things that can be free, stacked on top of a card with terrible multipliers. Don’t keep and hold this card unless you’re doordashing enough to recoup the fee.
Venture X has a 2x yield against a -$5 effective annual fee is you can portal book every year. Skip the CSP unless you’re planning to cancel/downgrade after year 1, or order doordash 2+ times per month.
I’m guessing by “best travel cards” with no template usage, you’ve been looking at Forbes, Nerdwallet and TPG which each get $100-$200 when you sign up for Amex, Chase, or Capital One cards.
My guess for their current articles would say some crap like “CSP is best 5 star card for a modest fee fit for any traveler. Amex Gold is fit for luxury travelers who want to elevate their benefits, and Capital One Venture is the best card for flat rate travel rewards.” while all of those cards are ass for 99+% of people (long term)
A good rule of thumb: dont get a card unless it has, at minimum, a 2% profit after the annual fee, counting points as 1 cent each. So for example, CSP is 2% gains if half or more of your spending is dining. But then you lose $95 on AF, maybe offset by $50 portal. So you come out to 2%-$45, not worth.
Venture X and WF autograph both are <=$0 annual fees when used properly and have ~2% yields.
@Nicholas6
Thank you! Yes, I have pondered for months but was in the airport trying to write a quick post before I forgot. NerdWallet wasn’t giving me what I needed.
bruh you spend so little. you’d be best off grabbing bonuses on $0 cards. No chance you get annual fee bonuses with that kinda spend. Any % of your spending saved is super small compared to $200+ bonuses.
Capital One has an elevated $250 bonus on Savor after $500 spend, and Savor has great multipliers. I’d get that now (within the next day or two) since it’s been elevated for a while and will go back to $200 soon. Pre-approve yourself and see if you get pre-approved for the Savor (“for good credit” versions have $0 bonuses).
Otherwise, WF autograph is decent at $200 bonus after $1000 spend. Transferable too.
@Nicholas6
Thankfully, I am not having to pay rent but most of my spending is student loans/insurance/various necessary purchases. I do a LOT of retail shopping though, maybe I underestimated but that seems like what I ‘budget’ for. I try to live within my means, which is why I feel so icky getting credit cards (even though I always pay my balance). Adjusting to utilizing a CC compared to a debit card has been a challenge for me.
