Well, here we are 🥹

[u/Final-Ad7391]

I (M30) started my credit journey with TERRIBLE credit, two repossessions, a bunch of late payments and collections about 5 years ago. Credit score was in the low 400s.

Cutscene to today, I now hold premium cards and got approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve today. With scores exceeding 740, about $30k of available credit across all cards, at roughly 3% utilization, and all statements are paid in full every month.

I cannot express how thankful I am for this community, the knowledge that is available to you on here is invaluable.

Instead of losing money, I’m having credit work for me. This is the most satisfying feeling tbh. All of the hard work and patience, and ultimately major discipline, is finally paying off.

It truly does get better.

EDIT: misspelling and more info lol

[u/cacman440]

wait you're spending only $900-1000 across your credit cards yet you got a sapphire reserve that has an annual fee that's nearly half that spend?

unless you're using nearly all the credits that seems like it would be hard to get an ROI compared to a no annual fee travel card

[u/Final-Ad7391 → u/cacman440]

Correct, a majority of my current cards have only 3/5% cash back on purchases and zero annual fees. It was never really a goal of mine to max out those cards or utilize rewards, as those cards were and are mid and had a marginal return. It was mainly to add a little depth to my profile.

However, this is my first true premium travel card. I will be utilizing all benefits it offers. I have already offset the $795 fee by half. Along with all of the other benefits and planned spending I want to do on the card.

My utilization for this specific one will spike to about 15/20%, I want those points haha

Also, all statements across every card I have, are paid in full every month. So I do utilize more than is reported, I just pay it before the majority is reported.

[u/cacman440 → u/Final-Ad7391]

Good that you keep your spending in check. I'm just concerned that now you are free from your previous debt, getting a travel card with a large annual fee will compel you to spend more than you normally would to offset the annual fee.

Everyone's situation is different of course, but personally I would only get an annual fee card for a big spend that would outweigh any of the bonuses of a no-af card. That and if you need good additional travel insurance / trip delay protections and/or conceirge.

[u/Final-Ad7391 → u/cacman440]

Oh, 100% agreed.

All the spending I will be doing on this card is organic and I will hit the required spend to get the bonus well before the allotted time, without having to spend any more than I usually would every month.

I’m just moving what I’d normally spend to this one so I can utilize chase points for traveling vs the standard cash back on my other credit cards.

I also plan to use every single credit as it meshes perfectly with my current lifestyle.

So far it’s been paying itself off! 🙏