Approved. My story
I have done your research for you. To the tune of 6 hours straight comparing two cards I thought were the best long term rewards for travel.
The Amex Everyday Premier card was my other close choice as it offers 3x points on grocery (no Wal-mart or superstores included), 2x points on gas, and 1x on all others. But, it's an Amex and has international fees and not AS widely accepted as Visa. I decided that even though I will get less points per swipe with the Chase card, I can use it anywhere and have no hidden fees or restrictions (both had the same annual fee). Amex likes to add that little "limitations apply" star so you never know if you will have a participating merchant or not with Amex.
Next I looked at which airlines I could use the rewards. Amex has restrictions (as well as a fee capped at $99.00) for transferring points to airline miles and some are not a 1:1 ratio. For domestic flights you are limited to Delta and British Air essentially (with Virgin Atlantic and Hawaiian as skim options) for domestic flights. All other carriers with Amextravel specialize more in international flights. Chase allows use (and points transfers at 1:1) to United, Southwest, Virgin, and British Airways (which you can book American Airline flights on). Most of my discount ticket searches came up AA or United for domestic flights. So I leaned towards Chase.
Next, I looked at hotels and cruises. Again, Chase came out on top with the partners they allow points to be used with such at Hyatt, Merriott and all IHG partners. Not that the Amex card was bad, it just didn't fit my typical travel carriers as all they offer is Hilton and Starwood.
Now let's move to the shopping. Chase wins "hands down" on the shopping partners. The list is too extensive to name here, but most will be happy to know that once you put your Chase card into Amazon, it will link your points to Amazon and you can use them for direct checkout on Amazon's site (just like Discover card). Amex fell short by not offering any online shopping partners and specializing more on classy event discounts like the Kentucky Derby, etc.
So, let's get to the approval. CK said I had very good odds of approval with a 730 score on TU and a 732 on EF. I ran my Experian score for $1 on their site and came back with a 726. I ran my Fico on the Discover card app and it came back as a 696. Remember, a true Fico is not the same as your credit score and some lenders use a Fico instead of one credit reporting agency. While I was nervous about the Fico, I know through research that Chase pulls an Experian only report (my email alert confirmed that after the application was approved) so I applied. Keep in mind I have excellent payment history and 22 total accounts on my report so that might have something to do with the approval, I am just telling my story so you can compare your situation if you are nervous about applying. The application was simple (click the "apply now" on CK and it takes you to Chase). A few basic info things like address and phone and I was instantly approved for $13,300. Card in the mail.
I would like Chase to offer better 2x and or 3x daily rewards, but they have specials here and there from 5x up to 25x, so you need to check their site frequently and be savy. All in all, I think I will be happy and only time and redemption of points will tell if I made the right choice. Don't forget to search online for how to transfer points from Chase to airline miles, as this will bump the rewards percentage and really save you some points and cash!
In case you scrolled to the bottom here are my stats for comparison:
Approved for $13,300.
Trans Union: 730
Equifax: 732
Experian: 726
Fico: 696
Annual income: 63k
Total debt on report: 101k
Number of accounts: 22
Credit card utilization: 2% (4 cards) and I HIGHLY suggest paying off cards below 10% before applying for a high end card. CC companies REALLY look at that.
Deliquencies: 0
Derogitory marks: 1 tax lein from 2009 (paid off)
Oldest open account: 3 yrs
Average account age: 1.7 yrs
Hope this helps a bit.
Great card!
Great sign-up bonus, the Best customer service i have had with a credit company, and thier rewards post at each monthly statement (unlike other companies that can be a month behind). Plus with the transfer points to southwest I saved enough to fly my brother and niece to California, and then fly my family and them too Disneyland (6 people). Awesome card!!!
Get the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited and really rake in the points.
Beautiful
Im 20 years old with a 730. I have 2 credit cards already. With credit lines of $5,500 and $8,500. About 24% utilization. I applied for this card at 6am on a Tuesday and got the whole "we are reviewing your application. You'll get a letter in 30 days". So I called at 10am and said "what's the hold up" and she asked some employment questions. Then I was put on hold for a few minutes then she came back on and said "congrats! You've been approved". I then asked her to express the card, and it is now Thursday afternoon and I have my new CSP in my hand :).
Great card
No brainer - great sign up bonus and the first year is free!
what should I do?!!!!
CK odds at "very good". TU & EQ both at 740. i have the chase freedom w/ 700 CL, Amex everyday 1k CL & cap1 w/ 1250. im a student/part time worker earning 24k a yr. you guys think chase would approve me for the CSP based on my income???
obiously not a card holder. mistake as i posted
That's a tough one. I can't say they wouldn't, but with your income (is 24k before or after taxes?) and somewhat low limits on the other cards, it may be an uphill climb that could start with calling the reconsideration line if not instantly approved online. My CK scores at the time of my approval were around 710 or something like that...but my FICO score, which Chase is more likely to concentrate on, was roughly 680-ish. Try to find out your Experian FICO score, and if you pay down all your CC balances to 0 monthly, then I would estimate that you MAY have a slight chance of approval. $5k is the minimum credit limit though, and your current overall limit might dictate that you're not quite ready for the CSP just yet. Don't despair though...if you don't get it on the first try, I would recommend building up your credit history for 6 months to a year, and then trying again. :)
your advice is very helpful! thank you. I've thought about it a little bit more & I think im going to be a little more patient before applying & work on increasing my credit limits on my other cards first & also keeping my utilization rate below 10%. maybe early next year I'll pull the trigger & apply.
Good call. :) I'd say the best time to apply would be right after you file your taxes. That way, if you're approved, you'll have an easier time meeting the minimum spend for the sign-up bonus on the Sapphire Preferred. You won't be disappointed. :)
I LOVE THIS CARD!
I LOVE THIS CARD! Rewards are so easy to get an redeem! I have recommended 2 people so far. I love the security i feel when i travel! I just wish it had a better option for CLIs.
Great Card to have, I have no complaints with it so far. Hopefully I can move up to the Reserve in a few months because I would like to take advantage of the lounges when i travel. Application process was smooth CK said i had a very good chance and so I went for it and got it CL 6K as of now
THANK YOU CHA$E 19k!!!!
TU & Ex 745... AAOA 10months.. been working on my credit for 2 years... applied wasn't instantly approved. Received 30 day review.. Received phone call from chase verified few questions approved immediately 19k... Thank You chase can't wait to earn rewards...
Gotta love Chase!
Applied for the Chase Freedom Unlimited and instantly recieved a 10k limit. Decided to wait 30 days before applying for the Sapphire and with a 770, 753, and 743 credit score amongst the bureaus, 130k income, 0% utlization between 30k in credit I was instantly approved for 21k. Didn't even use the Freedom once. Recieved card in a week and probably the nicest card I have to date. In Florida and pulled on Experian only for me. Let me know if you have any questions!
Approved for $10K!
TU - 708 , EQ - 677, EX - 605
Applied and wasn't immediately approved. I received an email from Chase saying they would review my application and give me their response via US mail within 30 days. About 3 days later, I got a call from Chase's Fraud Prevention line to do an identity verification. Once I verified my identify I was approved for $10,000 on the call! The card arrived about a week later. I'm excited because I've been rebuilding my credit, so adding this to my portfolio of available will really help. I even have a defaulted/charge-off student loan with Chase, so that made me even more surprised when I got the approval.
The pulled my Experian report...FYI
Best card for the casual traveler
Credit Karma told me I had a very good chance of being approved of this card as well as the Reserve. My wife has the Reserve and because we always travel together I figured it's no use of having the same card. So I went with the preferred instead. Approved for 5k, I needed a little higher limit sometimes my business trips cost a little over 5k so I call them and told them that. They gave me an extra 1k switch works for me. Really good card, I received my 50k bonus points in no time and I'm looking forward to more free flights in the future. Highly recommend this card!!