Trying to figure out which credit card everyone here thinks is the best to have that gives you the most benefits. Ik some people talk about American Express cards but are they really worth their annual fees (some $200-$700 a year!). That might seem like a lot to me since I'm almost done college but is that worth the expense?
If y'all have any recs for cards it would be appreciated. I use BoA Travel Card which is nice but would like to see more perks.
Thanks!
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Amex gold if you like to wine and dine. The Uber credit covers half the annual fee off the bat.
Amex plat if you like to travel and not use public restaurants/restrooms
check R/Creditcards and R/Churning
endless hours of info on this and people who make a living exploiting these loopholes
If I were you I'd get a regular credit card once you graduate with a ~$100 or less fee to get you into your mid-20s - think Chase Sapphire regular card, your preferred airline's co-branded card, or Amex Blue. This will build your credit beyond just your bank card which presumably has a ~$5k or less limit, and give you a decent credit limit to work with ($15k-30k). Hold onto your BofA card though - average years of credit history is a big component of your credit score.
It's absolutely foolish to spend $300-700 on a credit card immediately out of college unless you are a consultant and really need the travel perks. Not to mention you are very unlikely to be approved for these top-tier unless you've spent all of high school and college building your credit history.
Once you've worked for two or three years, Amex Plat and Chase Sapphire Reserve are two of the elite travel cards - both will reimburse various travel expenses (Ubers, airlines, TSA Precheck) that offset a big part of the annual fee. But even cutting the annual fee down to $350 is a lot to spend on a card for a first year analyst... less of a problem for someone in their mid 20s who is traveling more
What do you think of an incoming FT getting the Amex gold and Sapphire Preferred with a 770 credit score? Good idea?
Two excellent cards, but seems like a ton of money to throw away at fees as a first year. IMO pick one. Amex Gold is a bigger fee than I like for someone right out of college, but great for an IB analyst who doesn't mind the fee - card doesn't rely on travel spend, you'll use the Uber credit and 4x on restaurants/groceries is likely gonna be one of your bigger spend categories anyway
Skip the Chase card for now and then get the Reserve when you finish IB and are a bit more able to travel
Get the gold, you won’t regret it. Amex has the best customer service in the game.
Amex Plat has a $200 credit for uber, $300 for equinox, and $200 for hotels. All of that equals the $700 annual fee. Plus you get all the perks of lounges, pre check, etc. Honestly worth it even as a first year analyst
Amex Platinum is worth it for me for the travel perks. The fee sucks when it hits your card once a year (mine was also comped for my first year, although I don't know if everyone gets this deal or if it was because I'm a vet and at the time was a full time student) but the Uber and airline fee reimbursements alone take care of more than half of it, then there are a bunch of other perks that add value as well.
Aside from that if you fly any one airline more than about half the time it's probably worth getting their card, and if your bank has a consumer division you may be able to get some good employee perks on your own bank's card (used to work at a BB that had a card with 2% cash back, doubled for a bonus intro period of something like 6 months, plus doubled for employees, and the 2 stacked--so for those 6 months I was getting 8% cash back on all purchases, and then 4% after that until I left that bank), so consider getting one or both of those.
Keep your old cards open unless you're paying an annual fee on them though (and even then may be worth it if it's <$100 or so), average account age and total amount of available credit are both big factors for your credit score.
If you are a vet reach out to Amex. Vets never have to pay an annual feel for Amex cards if you do a quick verification process
Only applies to active duty (probably drilling reservists too) unfortunately.
Amex Platinum for the travel benefits and the customer service. They’re amazing. I more than make up the annual fee
Also have Chase Sapphire Reserve for more regular usage
Same situation...
Suprised that this thread wasn't tilted "Most Prestigious Credit Card". Great content though.
Agreed on the Amex Platinum maybe not being the best card for someone right out of school, but as a travel card (especially for someone a couple years into their career and up), it is the best. $700 fee is high, but a welcome bonus of 100-150k points is worth 1k-1.5k at worst, so the welcome bonus covers a year an a half to two years fee alone. After that, the card fee is completely covered by $200 uber credit ($15 a month for 11 months, one month is $20), $200 airline credit (covers incidental fees like baggage fees, seat selections, food/drink/entertainment, change fees, lounge access, and more all on your selected airline), and a $300 hotel credit ($200 credit just booking through amex travel and another $100 on upgrades at select hotels). After that, you get 5x points on anything travel related, free lounge access (centurion lounge and delta lounges if flying delta), concierge line, select reservations through Resy, tsa pre-check, gold status at both Marriot and Hilton, as well preferred status with Hertz, National, and Avis.
Not sure why no one has mentioned the Chase Freedom Unlimited. $0 annual fee and a decent SUB as well as earn rates
Yup. Freedom unlimited + sapphire preferred is a fantastic, synergistic combo. Can even add the Flex card as well for more points.
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