I’m new to points and didn’t use credit cards much until this year.
I have CSP and just got approved for CFF.
Is 0.5 percent cash back really worth it if I want to earn points with another brand?
I currently have a Venture (not X). I’ve had it for several years. It started as a Quicksilver, and I recently upgraded to Venture but didn’t get the bonus. I earn 2 percent cash back there, so I’m thinking about just using the Venture for everything and building points for Capital One.
After I get the Chase cards I want, my plans include:
Venture X or Savor Duo
Citi custom cash for groceries or gas depending on the quarterly category for CFF to get more into the Citi system
Wells Fargo Attune since I spend in several of those categories like art supplies, books, gyms, and thrifting. It would fill in a lot of gaps for me.
I appreciate any advice you can share and thank you for your patience as I’m new to this.
Maris said:
If you have CSP and already pay an annual fee, you might as well get CFF and CFU just to hit their signup bonuses and be able to transfer points.
Beyond that, it’s about how much you value UR points.
I think I’d rather save one of my 5/24 for a Hyatt or Southwest card for their signup bonuses. Am I missing something?
@Zayden
If you’re considering the 5 free night Hyatt signup bonus, make sure you have a solid plan for where to use those nights. They expire after one year, and the two places I planned to use them (NYC and Hawaii) were ineligible because they don’t have properties below category 5.
@Glenn
Actually, Waikiki HP is a category 4, but they make it hard to use free night awards. I have a standard room booked on points there, but they wouldn’t let me use a free night award because they said they had already met their quota for them. I guess hotels can limit the amount of free nights per night?
Get the Chase Ink Unlimited. It offers 1.5 times points, a higher welcome offer, and doesn’t take a 5/24 slot, but the only downside is the higher spending requirements to earn the bonus. The Ink Unlimited doesn’t have extra multipliers on dining and drugstores, but the Freedom Flex covers that already.
I rarely use the CFU. Even with the CSP multiplier of 1.25 times (when you transfer CFU points to your CSP), you only get 1.87 points per dollar. That’s okay, but soon you will have better cards that cover most categories, and there won’t be many chances to use the CFU. However, the $200 signup bonus is nice and worth getting. Since you don’t have many cards, closing the expensive 2 percent Venture card (you would need to spend almost $5000 to break even with the annual fee) and opening the CFU as a 1.5 percent catch-all makes sense here.
For your next cards, I’d rather get the DiscoverIt (for different 5 percent categories and double cash back in the first year), Bank of America Customized Cash, or Amex BCE for 3 percent on online shopping—all of them have no annual fee.
And I agree with another person here that you should get rid of the costly and somewhat useless Venture card.
I’d honestly suggest checking on the VX now instead of later. Their algorithm is tricky, and it’s better to apply early to improve your chances of approval.
Gracen said:
I’d honestly suggest checking on the VX now instead of later. Their algorithm is tricky, and it’s better to apply early to improve your chances of approval.
Thank you for that. I am pre-approved, but I’m hesitant to apply since I was just approved for the CFF.
Gracen said: @Zayden
That might not show up on your credit report yet. Have you checked the pre-approval recently?
That’s right. It usually takes about a month for a new card to show on your report after being approved. Go for both cards now, as they are great earners with bonuses.
I think you can skip the CFU. Chase fans will say that UR points are more valuable and that it’s easier to get good redemptions because of Hyatt. That’s true. However, your best redemptions are with international airlines, and Capital One is better than Chase for those. So I’d keep using Venture or VentureX and save my points for international airline transfers. You could still get the CFU if they have a good welcome bonus, but those usually only make it useful for the first year.
The 1.5 times points from CFU compared to the 1.1 times on the CSP or another 2 times card like VX or double cash makes the CFU not worth it. It doesn’t even offer great signup bonuses like the CFF, so you’re better off using one of the other cards mentioned or the Hyatt card if you would use your points there.