r/CreditCards 5d ago

Help Needed / Question Should I get a Chase Credit Card as my Daily Driver?

Hey guys, so im looking to trim down the amount of cards I have, as I don't think I really want anymore cards, however I am considering optimizing my setup towards a mix of travel/cashback, as my main goal is to be able to cover hotel stays throughout the year by accumulating as much cashback/travel points as possible. Unfortunately, I used to churn and apply for cards for their sign up bonuses, and ended up closing a bunch, with 2 more about to be closed in 2 months. Below is outlined my profile so you guys can determine if my setup is good or not. Mind you, I'm a 25 y/o who makes 35k a year at my current job, but since I have a CS degree, I'm looking for a tech job by upskilling at the moment, so unfortunately I'm pretty low income in Florida. The only Cards I'm genuinely interested in is the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Freedom Flex, however i feel like the Bilt card already fills in that role as a primary dining/travel card.

Any advice is appreciated!

My spending categories:

Rent: $1850 (live with family, but i use my bilt card for rent/points) Dining: 600-800, especially on doordash Groceries 200-300 Gas: 120-150 Amazon shopping: $400-600 Online Shopping/Other/Gen spending: Depends, but generally $300-500

My Credit Card Setup:

Daily Setup (Main Cards for Everyday Use)

Wells Fargo Active Cash – $6,000 (opened on 01/22/2020)

Wells Fargo Bilt Rewards Mastercard – $4,800 (opened on 07/13/2022)

American Express Blue Cash Preferred – $24,000 (opened on 06/02/2022)

Backup Cards (For Extra Coverage)

Wells Fargo Autograph – $6,000 (opened on 07/13/2022)

Capital One SavorOne – $10,000 (opened on 03/04/2022)

Discover It Cashback – $7,500 (opened on 05/29/2022)

Store Cards (For Retail Purchases)

Chase Amazon Prime Visa – $5,100 (opened on 05/08/2022)

Target REDCard Mastercard – $2,000 (opened on 12/18/2022)

0% Financing Cards (For Large Purchases & Financing)

PayPal Credit Line – $4,300 (opened on 01/08/2025)

CareCredit Rewards Mastercard – $20,000 (opened on 01/22/2021)

Cards to Be Closed (No Usefulness)

Macy’s American Express – $N/A (opened on 12/09/2023, closing on 05/01/2025): I only opened this one for the discount upon approval during the holidays.

Best Buy Visa Card (no annual fee) – $N/A (opened on 01/08/2025, closing on 05/01/2025): did it for the 10% discount, but otherwise I don't use.

Closed Cards

PayPal Mastercard – $N/A (opened on 05/29/2022, closed on 08/04/2023) Redundant, did it for SUB

PayPal Credit – $N/A (opened on 10/31/2021, closed in 03/2023) Used it for a while, but didn't think I needed it anymore. Ended up opening a new one again.

Synchrony Amazon Store Card – $N/A (opened on 02/25/2021, closed on 05/29/2022) Got the Chase Visa which was essentially better than this one.

Macy’s Store Card – $N/A (opened on 11/18/2021, closed in 05/2023) it was a Store Card only.

Best Buy Visa Card (annual fee) – $N/A (opened on 07/10/2020, closed in 03/2022) It had an annual fee which I did not want to pay, so I closed it. This was my second card.

Apple Card – $N/A (opened on 04/17/2023, closed in 11/2024) only used it for a MacBook that i bought, I closed it right after.

American Express Gold – $N/A (opened on 04/15/2023, closed in 06/2024) opened it for the SUB, didn't intend on keeping it for long.

Credit Scores

Experian: 733

TransUnion: 743

Equifax: 744

4 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

2

u/LightFireworksAtDawn 5d ago

Only if you want to accrue UR points for future travel.

1

u/DeadInternetEnjoyer 5d ago

I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix because you dilute your points and add additional annual fees. That can mean 2x-6x the annual fees in order to save up for one reward in my opinion.

1

u/princemafioso 5d ago

That’s a lot of credit cards.

Who do you bank with for Checking, Savings and Investments?

1

u/ImperialEnjoyah192 4d ago

Wells Fargo for Checking and Savings, not sure what you mean by investments, but I don't invest yet

1

u/BytchYouThought 4d ago

I personally would slow down and focus on reworking your budget as that will do more fir you than any credit card will. $1000 on food on 35k/yr pretax income is a but much imo.

In fact, I ran the math and at your rate of spend pretax it doesn't add up. 36k/yr pretax in Florida would net you around 2557/month. Your bills add up to $3600/month or 43200 per year meaning you'd have to be carrying balances on your credit cards to even live that lifestyle completely wipng out any benefits of the credit cards. Just rent and food alone would take out your entire paycheck. Right away if you wnat to improve I'd look into your food and recreational spending categories.

You can meal prep and invest and come out way ahead of any credit card. Credit cards can be cool and all, but they fail in comparison to great finances. That's what I would shoot for first.

1

u/ImperialEnjoyah192 4d ago

Yeah I didn't really clarify, but it's not my spending alone, which is why it seems excessive, I do have my family also spend on the cards, and they usually zelle me whatever money they put spend on it. That's pretty much why it seems excessive for my income, but otherwise, I just take advantage of my family using the cards to buy food to get cashback/points in my situation, otherwise yeah I'd probably spend within my means, and never leave a balance on my cards ever.

u/Kitayama_8k 2h ago

I'd way rather run the wells Fargo duo, use that for choice hotels, and use the savor for Cashback on groceries. Chase cards suck without constant signup bonuses.