Preapproved for VentureX, should I get it now or wait a year?
CREDIT PROFILE ** I AM CURRENTLY 20 and likely going into a consulting-esque field Current cards: Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards, $6,000 limit, opened May 2024 Chase Sapphire Preferred, $5,700 limit, opened July 2026 Vantage Score: 715 from Chase…
CREDIT PROFILE ** I AM CURRENTLY 20 and likely going into a consulting-esque field Current cards: Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards, $6,000 limit, opened May 2024 Chase Sapphire Preferred, $5,700 limit, opened July 2026 Vantage Score: 715 from Chase Credit Journey. Usually higher, but currently lower due to recent hard pulls/new account. Fico Score: 717 from BofA Oldest credit card account age: 2 years, 2 months Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 1 Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 1 Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: 1 Annual income: ~$16,000 as a student Assets/savings: ~$8,000 Current banking relationship: Bank of America CATEGORIES OK with category-specific cards?: Yes OK with rotating category cards?: Maybe, but I prefer simple setups Dining: moderate/high, especially when in NYC Groceries: moderate Gas: low to moderate Travel: uncertain right now, but likely more later Online shopping: moderate/high Other/general spend: moderate CURRENT SETUP I currently use my Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card for the 3% online shopping, and it also gives me 2% at grocery stores/wholesale clubs. I was recently got the Chase Sapphire Preferred with the 100,000-point offer. I already completed the sign-on bonus. The Chase card is fine but I really wanted a second line solely to get more credit lines as that'll increase my credit score over time. PURPOSE I’m trying to decide what the realistic long-term path should be. I’ll be a student for about three more years and will likely be in New York City next year. I’m not sure how much I’ll travel yet, but I could see myself using points later for a bigger trip. I am preapproved for the VentureX and it's credit offer. I can afford the card and I am responsible with credit, I have never missed a payment, etc. I’m considering three possible paths: Ignore the VentureX and keep the Sapphire Preferred long term and maybe add Chase Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex later. Get the VentureX now (to start that credit line so my average credit history isn't that impacted), and after one year, product change the Sapphire Preferred to a no-annual-fee Freedom card with a subscription on it and put it in a sock drawer. Stay simple with BofA Customized Cash + Sapphire Preferred and avoid new cards for a while. The Venture X is interesting to me because of the 2x catch-all earning, lounge access, $300 Capital One Travel credit, and 10,000 anniversary miles. I would likely fly out more if I had this card because I'd utilize the miles to go visit family and justify my spending for a flight. QUESTION Given my profile, would you recommend staying with Chase Sapphire Preferred for now, planning to add Freedom Unlimited/Flex later, or moving toward Venture X as the premium card and downgrading Sapphire Preferred after year one? Again, I'm preapproved so getting the card is not an issue, it is more a matter of logistics. I am also not concerned about hitting the sign up bonus for the VentureX, that is basically guaranteed and I will get the 75,000 miles. Thank you so much for your advice!
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I have both, and plan on keeping them as both have credits easy to justify/offset the annual fee. I would use both for the year to see how much you prefer the different transfer partners (if you’re insistent on using points for travel) and decide then if you wanna downgrade the CSP or add more Chase cards or add to your Capital One setup. Since you like simple setups, getting the Venture X and adding the Savor later is as simple and efficient of a setup you could get. I’m sure getting the Venture X now will help you get a Savor if you decide to. Also being in NYC having 2 lounges is great IMO for now: Dining, streaming, gas spend on CSP. Online spend on BofA. Then everything else on Venture X since you said you have moderate spend in general/other. Reevaluate setup whenever you feel if the Savor is better than the CSP for you as that’ll give you 3% for dining, grocery, streaming, and entertainment
Thank your for your input that was really helpful! This is basically the setup I’m considering. My main hesitation is timing. I’m still a student, so right now I probably only fly around once a year. I do expect that to increase later if I end up going into consulting, but for the next 2-3 my travel may still be limited. I also already have a flight to California coming up in two weeks, but that was booked before Venture X, so it would not help with the $300 travel credit. The reason Venture X is tempting now is that it would give me a simple 2x catch-all card (the lounge access is nice but just an addition).But I’m trying to figure out whether it makes sense to take on the $395 fee now as a student, rather than waiting until I’m traveling more consistently. My current setup already covers a lot: CSP: dining, gas, streaming, online grocery, travel/transfer partners BofA Customized Cash: online shopping at 3%, plus 2% in-store groceries/wholesale no catch-all So I agree that Venture X would slot in well for “everything else,” but I’m trying to decide whether flying once a year is enough to justify it if I can use the $300 Capital One Travel credit naturally. If I do not fly or travel in a given year, then the value gets a lot weaker. Would you still get Venture X now in my position, or would you wait until travel becomes more predictable and just keep CSP + BofA for now? I also run the risk of not getting approved next year... Again, the SUB isn't a problem and I will definitely hit that.
If you have absolutely no plans to travel or book hotels up until August 2027 to use the credit then yeah it does become harder to justify. In that case of 0 flights a year, I def would not apply. I think if your credit profile is still thin next year, you'd still have a good shot of approval based on datapoints I've seen? I'll say that at your age while in college as well, I only had the CSP and 1-2 other cards and I wasn't traveling and was uncertain about future travels, so even back then for me it was tough justifying the $95 when it didn't have TSA/GE credit or Doordash grocery credit. But accumulating the points and SUBs during that time to pay for travels that I had after college and travels now feels like a great investment, if you wanna call it that 🙂
Agree on this, especially considering it's a pretty good value as a luxury-lite card if you travel 1+ times per year. I've found the portal credit to be effectively equivalent in price to booking direct for flights and hotels. 2X is nice but note that C1 points can only be redeemed for .05 cents per point in statement credit so if you would rather have cash back instead of miles I would look elsewhere. YMMV but If you want to get this card later on in your credit card journey you'll likely get denied. I have a lot of friends who have 6+ open cards and can't get time of day from C1 for the VX.
Now. C1 doesn’t like people who have an established credit profile, which means VX is really rough to get if you don’t get it early. If you want it, do it now.
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There are people addicted to credit cards on this subreddit that will suggest you get VX just because you can. But is it actually worthwhile for you? Probably not. You already have a travel card and don't travel much, nor have you established a career with known long-term travel behavior. If your family is overseas and you are sure you will be regularly flying to visit them, then by all means get Venture X. But this is unlikely, so congratulations, you've just paid $395 a year for a 2x catch-all card. You can get good 2%/2x catch-all cards with no AF. Wells Fargo Active Cash, Citi Double Cash, Fidelity Rewards, Navy Federal Cash Rewards Plus, etc. I am partial to Active Cash, as you can pair it with Autograph (also no AF) and have that travel card experience with the safety of 1cpp redemptions if travel doesn't work out. VX redemptions are only 0.5cpp if you don't travel enough to use the travel eraser tool. I had the C1 duo (VX + Savor) for several years and only managed 1cpp redemptions. So far with WF I have been around 2cpp. I just booked a 2-night hotel stay for 3.3cpp.
It depends on which transfer partners you value more, chase’s or capital ones. I’d say get a Freedom Flex/Freedom Unlimited just because it’ll pair well with your sapphire preferred and your still under 5/24
VX is much harder to get compared to any other cards so i would get it early in the cc game