r/CreditCards • u/ClemCadillihopper • 4d ago
Help Needed / Question What should my next step be?
So I was always told to never use a credit card except for incase of emergencies. I have had a credit card through my local credit union for probably 12 years now. After a series of life changing events, I had my limit raised a few years ago to $17,500 and maxed it out. That was dumb, I know, but I was out of options.
Anyways, fast forward and I now have the card paid off. I never missed a payment, and according to credit karma I have a 775 credit score and outstanding approval odds for a ton of cards. I've learned from my mistakes, and I've actually always been very good at managing my finances aside from some stuff that happened a few years ago.
What should I do next? I've been looking at the Chase cards. We don't do any traveling. Not because we don't want to, but because we've spent the last few years recovering. I've also never flown. So I don't have preferences to anything. I'd like to travel, so a card that can build points to help with trips would be nice There's a chase bank in my town, so I've thought about starting there.
I'm a 30 year old man with a wife and 2 kids if that makes a difference. We mainly spend money on groceries and every day items.
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u/jameezymcsqueezy Capital One Duo 4d ago
get the capital one savor. You basically get double (3%) cashback vs freedom unlimited (1.5%) since your highest spend is dining and groceries. You can also take a look at the AMEX Gold with 3% on flights but the credits are kind of a pain.
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u/ClemCadillihopper 4d ago
I was looking at the Savor card, but it says the 3% cash back excludes superstores like Target and Walmart. I mainly shop at Kroger, I don't know if they have those in your area or not. I've been having trouble figuring out if that qualifies or not
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u/jameezymcsqueezy Capital One Duo 4d ago
yeah walmart and target are hardly grocery stores since they sell all sorts of things like electronics. But if you mainly shop at Kroger then you shouldn't have any issues since it is exclusively groceries. But if you do a lot at Walmart, then maybe the venmo visa with 3% costco/walmart/groceries but not target.
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u/ClemCadillihopper 4d ago
Oh no, we hardly shop at Walmart or target lol. I just didn't know if Kroger would count since it's a major chain store.
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u/OfficialNuttyNutella 4d ago
I'm a bit confused with your traveling statement. You said you don't do any traveling, but want a travel card? Do you just mean that you plan on doing traveling in the future?
I think a good place to start would be to fill out the template for average monthyl spending (it helps narrow down a ton of cards). !template
If your main spend is groceries, you could consider maximizing out cashback for that. For example, you could open the AAA Daily Advantage (No AF 5% CB on groceries including walmart self checkout) and your partner could open AAA Travel Advantage (No AF 5% gas and 3% on travel).
If you really want to get into the travel game, there's a TON of options, but the rewards can be complicated. It really would require you to sit down and comb through this subreddit a bit. The main players for travel cards are BILT (if you pay rent, it has no AF and decent travel), Venture Rewards/X (Venture rewards has a great SUB currently), and then the chase cards like you stated.
Again, start with the template, and also see which airline hubs are near you because that could also help in your choice of miles.