All of my friends have the exact same credit card – but after doing my research, I’m not jumping on the bandwagon
Personal Finance Insider writes about products, strategies, and tips to help you make smart decisions with your money. We may receive a small commission from our partners, like American Express, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
- I’m planning to open a new credit card and asked my friends for their recommendations.
- All of them said they use the
Chase Sapphire Reserve® – but I’m not convinced it’s right for me. - The
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a higher welcome bonus and is a better fit for my needs. - Read Insider’s guide to the best rewards credit cards.
I’m currently in the process of breaking up with the only personal credit card that I’ve had and used in the past five years. I’m parting ways with that card because the benefits are limited and I’m eager for change. After doing research online there are a handful of options that I’m considering, which led me to wonder about my friends and the credit cards that they adore.
I recently sent an email to all of my close friends (about eight people in total) and asked them what credit card they use and how they felt about it. Every single one of them replied back saying the same exact card – the
Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve card review
It turns out, while my friends might adore the
The Sapphire Reserve charges a very high annual fee
I’m very picky about credit cards with annual fees. My current credit card does not have one and the most I have ever paid for an annual fee (and that was only for two years) was $99 and then I eventually downgraded to their lower-tier card with no annual fee instead.
Read more: The best no-annual-fee credit cards
The
When I brought this up to my friends, they shared that the
Read more: 11 benefits that make Chase Sapphire Reserve a must-have for frequent travelers
While some of the perks balance out the
The welcome bonus is better on the Sapphire Preferred card
Since this is the first time I am applying for a new credit card in a very long time and I’m looking forward to traveling a lot this year, I want to open a new card with a big welcome bonus.
Read more: Preferred versus Reserve: How to decide which Chase Sapphire credit card is right for you
During my research, I found that the
Overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred makes more sense for me
While I’m considering a variety of different credit cards at the moment, I felt comfortable crossing off the
Not only is the annual fee drastically lower on the
Since most of the purchases I put on my credit card fall into the “everything else” category (shopping, everyday items, miscellaneous items, etc.) there’s not a huge loss in redeemed points for my lifestyle by going with the
Jen Glantz is a personal finance writer, small-business owner, and the author of Amazon-bestselling books “All My Friends are Engaged” and “Always a Bridesmaid for Hire.”
Powered by WPeMatico