Questions and Answers

Hey guys! My fiancee already has a Chase Sapphire card, and I’m looking to get a travel rewards card of my own. We travel abroad about once a year (domestically about 2x/year), don’t check bags or otherwise care about airline-specific perks, don’t care if we fly economy (we just want a good deal), and always find places to stay through Airbnb, so for our purposes I think the Sapphire card is pretty good.

But I’ve been looking at adding something like the Capital One Venture Rewards or Barclay Arrival card for flexibility so we aren’t limited to the airlines partnered with Chase Sapphire, for the sign-up bonuses and for purposes related to my second question. My questions are: (1) Am I headed the right direction on those cards or should I look somewhere else, and (2) can we use the Sapphire and Venture card on the same airline tickets (like, transfer points from Sapphire to United Mileage Plus, buy the tickets with the Venture card, then redeem Venture points after the trip)?

Thanks so much.

[USER=1621]@Ryan B[/USER]

Welcome.

I would stay far away from the Capital One Venture if I were you, it essentially a cash back card and not a good one at that.
[URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/08/04/capital-one-venture-card/[/URL]

If you’re considering any kind of cash back card, I dont think there is a better option than the Citi Double Cash card. 2% back on everything and no redemption restrictions. With the cards you mentioned, its not 2% cash back on everything and/or you can only redeem for travel.

I would consider the Venture and/or the Arrival Plus cards but only use them for their sign up bonuses and then put them in the sock drawer. As [USER=29]@David W[/USER] mentions the Citi DC gives you 2% back and flexibility to use the money however you want.

Also, to clarify, the point of transferring UR to UA would be to buy tickets with those points. You wouldn’t then use your Venture cards unless it is to pay for taxes and fees.

Thanks, guys. This is humbling — much more complicated than I thought. I don’t [I]think[/I] we care about cash back; we’re just trying to find ways to make our flights (especially international) cheaper, and it seems I vastly underestimated how valuable the miles are.

I guess it makes the most sense, then, to get a card that transfers 1:1 to an airline we might use (probably United or Air France) and that earns double or triple points for expenses where the Sapphire card is only 1x. To my simple mind that’s one of the Amex cards or Citi ThankYou Rewards. Am I on the right track?

I’d start with your own Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom cards and then later on consider adding the AMEX Premier Rewards Gold/Platinum cards and the Citi Premier/Prestige cards. The AMEX SPG cards are also worth considering but I’d go with the Chase/Citi cards first

And it really depends on your travel style so spend some time thinking about this before you start applying. Miles are immensely valuable but they really shine when you want to travel ong distance in premium cabins or when paid fares are high (and once you get started, it’s hard to go back) but if you are ok with economy seats, especially domestically, cash is awesome too. It gives you the most flexibility and you don’t have to worry about award availability etc. If this fits your style I’d look at things like the SW companion pass, the DC/Arr+/Venture mentioned above and then TY points from Citi (1.6c towards airfare with the Prestige) and UR (1.25c).

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 13897, member: 29″]I’d start with your own Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom cards and then later on consider adding the AMEX Premier Rewards Gold/Platinum cards and the Citi Premier/Prestige cards. The AMEX SPG cards are also worth considering but I’d go with the Chase/Citi cards first[/QUOTE]

I won’t have any issues getting my own Sapphire Preferred card even though I’m already an authorized user on my fiancee’s?

Also — and I’m really sorry for asking what’s probably one stupid question after the other — but what the best use of the Freedom card be if I’ve already got a Sapphire card? Would it just be to get the 5% from the quarterly bonus categories?

You shouldnt unless you’ve applied for more than 5 credit cards in the last 24 months.

And yes, that is the main purpose and best use of having a Freedom card when you have a Sapphire Preferred card. if you wanted a pure cash back card, Citi Double Cash is the way to go

[QUOTE=”Ryan B, post: 13907, member: 1621″]I won’t have any issues getting my own Sapphire Preferred card even though I’m already an authorized user on my fiancee’s?

Also — and I’m really sorry for asking what’s probably one stupid question after the other — but what the best use of the Freedom card be if I’ve already got a Sapphire card? Would it just be to get the 5% from the quarterly bonus categories?[/QUOTE]

-No problems getting your own
-That is the best use of the Freedom (and it extends your overall credit history as a no AF card).