Best Credit Card to get for incoming IB Analyst in SF
I will be graduating college this May and moving to SF to work as an IB Analyst. I am looking to see if anyone has credit card recommendations for my current circumstance.
Salary:
$110,000 Base, $18,000 Sign On, $40-80k Bonus
Biggest Spends:
Rent (~ $2,000-$2,400), Food (~ 200 a week), Lyft/Uber (~$100 a week)
Current Cards:
Bilt & Amex Blue Cash Everyday
Cards I’m looking at:
Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Green Card, Amex Gold Card, Capital One Venture X.
I will also be traveling around Europe this summer so I wanted to get a travel card with lounge access. Does anyone have recommendations for which cards I should get or start looking at?
Bilt covers you for rent and lyft.Capitol One savor card is good for food
Current cards seem fine for local spend.
Might be worth getting an Amex Plat (if you qualify) for a year given your travel plans.
Airline credit, sign up offer, Uber credit, great lounge access, 5x pts on flights. Should pay for the fee.
Not a great card for local spending, though. Can downgrade to green or gold later, then cancel eventually.
I’m not sure if I would be able to make that card work considering the annual fee. I think the CSR would be easier because of the travel credit it also gives you.
Amex is showing me a 150,000 point sign up offer for the Platinum right now.
Fee $695
-$200 airline credit
-$200 Uber credit
-$whatever you value the sign up offer
-$whatever you value the best lounge access of any common retail card (def better than CSR)
-$whatever you value Marriott status
And the below less useful things:
-$100 global entry (if you still need it)
-$100 SAKS credit (can buy gift cards for gf or something)
-$200 for WSJ or streaming
I probably forgot some stuff.
PS: Don't travel to Europe without a Visa or MC.
Forgot, Amex cellphone insurance is one of the few that cover display cracks. (Bilt doesn't.)
Amex also gives CLEAR credit and Hilton status.
CSR car rental insurance is better than Amex, but the Bilt one is good enough and free.
CSR is a better card for everyday spend, given higher earning. CSR has much better acceptance in Europe. (But Amex + BILT as backup is fine).
TL;DR, I think AMEX Plat would be the better choice at least for the first year. Bilt is making CSR obsolete, given it fills the gaps that Amex Plat has.
Get the CSP, they have a 100k point offer rn if you spend 5000 in 3 months. Plus the Preferred has a cheaper annual fee compared to the Reserved and similar benefits.
Bro wants travel perks like lounges and status boosts, how does CSP help with any of that? Can just keep using Bilt. Amex Plat has 150k points sign on.
Would make more sense to do CSR/Chase Freedom Unlimited combo, that used to be the move (not sure if it still is).
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