Chase vs Capital One travel card

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to be all about the VentureX card, but after they started charging guests and family members for lounge access, it was no longer worth it.

For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.

I have 4 chase cards, Freedom, Sapphire, Marriott, and United last month. They always give me a new one.

[Anonymous]

There is a huge yearly fee difference for Venture X ($300ish) and Sapphire ($795ish)

I can’t justify the $795 price tag. What are the benefits and perks to make up that cost?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge yearly fee difference for Venture X ($300ish) and Sapphire ($795ish)

I can’t justify the $795 price tag. What are the benefits and perks to make up that cost?

My husband's work pays so easy for us but this year we got $500 credit on SW and elite status (for whatever that is worth), elite status at IHG and some rental car company. Free Lyft , $300 travel credt, explorist status at hyatt. Statement credit for chase shops (we got an ipad). Lounge access and other random stuff.

I am sure there is more but using benefits can be complicated like getting points. Luckily my husband is good at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge yearly fee difference for Venture X ($300ish) and Sapphire ($795ish)

I can’t justify the $795 price tag. What are the benefits and perks to make up that cost?

My husband's work pays so easy for us but this year we got $500 credit on SW and elite status (for whatever that is worth), elite status at IHG and some rental car company. Free Lyft , $300 travel credt, explorist status at hyatt. Statement credit for chase shops (we got an ipad). Lounge access and other random stuff.

I am sure there is more but using benefits can be complicated like getting points. Luckily my husband is good at it.

I wish my husband would agree to just have a Freedom card so we can use that for groceries and the Sapphire for everything else. He thinks it's not good to have more than two cards (we have a Citi card from years ago) and insists that his credit will be affected. SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge yearly fee difference for Venture X ($300ish) and Sapphire ($795ish)

I can’t justify the $795 price tag. What are the benefits and perks to make up that cost?

My husband's work pays so easy for us but this year we got $500 credit on SW and elite status (for whatever that is worth), elite status at IHG and some rental car company. Free Lyft , $300 travel credt, explorist status at hyatt. Statement credit for chase shops (we got an ipad). Lounge access and other random stuff.

I am sure there is more but using benefits can be complicated like getting points. Luckily my husband is good at it.

I wish my husband would agree to just have a Freedom card so we can use that for groceries and the Sapphire for everything else. He thinks it's not good to have more than two cards (we have a Citi card from years ago) and insists that his credit will be affected. SMH.

You know you have your own credit too? Just get one yourself, your credit score may dip slightly because if the inquiry but good chance it goes up the long term because you likely will be adding additional available credit and utilization (likely again) will go down.

[Anonymous]

That is such nonsense about your credit score dipping. Just this year I got a Marriot Bonvoy, two Amex Hilton cards and a Bilt Palladium. And it's not even June! My credit score never dipped below 800. As long as you manage your spending responsibly, your credit score is not only not affected but is probably improving, since your available credit is going up but utilization is going down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is such nonsense about your credit score dipping. Just this year I got a Marriot Bonvoy, two Amex Hilton cards and a Bilt Palladium. And it's not even June! My credit score never dipped below 800. As long as you manage your spending responsibly, your credit score is not only not affected but is probably improving, since your available credit is going up but utilization is going down.

Also unless you are buying a house or a car (though car really doesn't even matter) in the next few months, what difference does it make anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is such nonsense about your credit score dipping. Just this year I got a Marriot Bonvoy, two Amex Hilton cards and a Bilt Palladium. And it's not even June! My credit score never dipped below 800. As long as you manage your spending responsibly, your credit score is not only not affected but is probably improving, since your available credit is going up but utilization is going down.

Also unless you are buying a house or a car (though car really doesn't even matter) in the next few months, what difference does it make anyway?

Right???

But you bring up a really important point. From my observations, people who excel in this hobby have a slight adventurousness to them, a higher than normal risk tolerance. They are okay with getting multiple cards by the fistful. There are still lots of folks who prefer a more conservative line with their finances, and that's totally fine too. Just an observation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is such nonsense about your credit score dipping. Just this year I got a Marriot Bonvoy, two Amex Hilton cards and a Bilt Palladium. And it's not even June! My credit score never dipped below 800. As long as you manage your spending responsibly, your credit score is not only not affected but is probably improving, since your available credit is going up but utilization is going down.

Also unless you are buying a house or a car (though car really doesn't even matter) in the next few months, what difference does it make anyway?

Right???

But you bring up a really important point. From my observations, people who excel in this hobby have a slight adventurousness to them, a higher than normal risk tolerance. They are okay with getting multiple cards by the fistful. There are still lots of folks who prefer a more conservative line with their finances, and that's totally fine too. Just an observation.

There’s no risk involved in having more cards. But there is more work figuring out how it all works and maximising benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

Curious how much you spend per month across the cards to get the free travel? And is it worth paying the annual fee on these?

Spend about 6-12k/month, almost entirely on the CSR and Freedom. One Ink I use for all business expenses, but it's not even $500/month. The other Inks/CSP/VentureX I only spent money on to get the sign up bonus. I don't think the VentureX is worth it to me anymore, but between lounge access and never paying for rental insurance on cars (plus some other stuff - $10/month toward Lyft, $10/month toward Peloton, etc.), the CSR is a keeper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is such nonsense about your credit score dipping. Just this year I got a Marriot Bonvoy, two Amex Hilton cards and a Bilt Palladium. And it's not even June! My credit score never dipped below 800. As long as you manage your spending responsibly, your credit score is not only not affected but is probably improving, since your available credit is going up but utilization is going down.

Also unless you are buying a house or a car (though car really doesn't even matter) in the next few months, what difference does it make anyway?

Right???

But you bring up a really important point. From my observations, people who excel in this hobby have a slight adventurousness to them, a higher than normal risk tolerance. They are okay with getting multiple cards by the fistful. There are still lots of folks who prefer a more conservative line with their finances, and that's totally fine too. Just an observation.

Yes this is a good point, it's not for everyone, which is fine. I usually tell people they should probably get a 2% cash back card if they don't want the work/attention of managing a bunch of cards/points/miles, etc. Once you open up 10 cards in a couple of years it seems like nothing to you, but most people still think of it as a somewhat big financial transaction.

Also, a lot of people seem to have read one of these financial old wives tales about credit scores and mortgage applications, and even if you have specific knowledge of how it actually works today, you can't convince them the thing they heard from a boss 10 years ago is wrong.