Chase Sapphire Reserve

[gaspasser127]

Anyone else get rejected for Chase Sapphire Reserve or another elite credit card (or really any type of loan) because of a high debt to income ratio because of med school loans? I'm a PGY1 making a regular PGY1 salary (wife doesn't currently work) and have 300k in med school debt - no other debt.

Apparently my Experian credit report lists the monthly payments for my student loans as $5,000 even though I'm obviously doing IBR. Anyone else run into this problem? i can't possibly be the first person in history but going through google it seems like i might be lol

Hope this makes sense and I'm conveying my situation accurately...

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[ERRES2288]

Why do you need a card with a $450 annual fee in residency? Even with no debt not sure you would qualify if you entered 50k as your salary.

 

[GassmanMD]

Why do you need a card with a $450 annual fee in residency? Even with no debt not sure you would qualify if you entered 50k as your salary.

Because the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the ultimate credit card for travelers. And when it first came out, they offered a sign up bonus worth $1,500. Love this card.

 

[igeak691]

Thought this was gonna be a 4th year about to travel a lot for interviews. It's paid for a trip across the world for my wife and me. Amazing card.

 

[sleepallday]

can't remember the last time i paid for a flight after getting this card

 

[facted]

can't remember the last time i paid for a flight after getting this card

I have this card, got 100,000 pts sign up bonus even. How do you not pay for any flights? 1.5% redemption via Chase Portal isn't all that impressive... Transfer pts to partners? Any good suggestions?

 

[anbuitachi]

I wouldve gotten this card when it had the 100k pt deal. Unfortunately i couldnt because of chase's 5/24 rule.

 

[chessknt]

5/24 rule may have gotten you rejected as above--cant have applied for more than 5 chase cards in past 2 years. I got rejected too but my wife didnt.

 

[aneftp]

5/24 rule may have gotten you rejected as above--cant have applied for more than 5 chase cards in past 2 years. I got rejected too but my wife didnt.

The Unfortunate Expansion of Chase's 5/24 Rule
For those who don’t know about the 5/24 rule

We got 2 chase reserve cards with the 100k bonus. My wife for $600 travel credit since she got it in November 2016. So got $300 for 2016. And travek credit. Will cancel card soon. That’s how u play the game

I got mind end of January. So will wait till beginning of January to book travek credit and will than cancel so I would have gotten $600travek credit for the $450 annual fee.

Plus we redeemed $5500 worth of travel and hotel off those 200k points off those two cards.

 

[sleepallday]

I have this card, got 100,000 pts sign up bonus even. How do you not pay for any flights? 1.5% redemption via Chase Portal isn't all that impressive... Transfer pts to partners? Any good suggestions?

This is the only card I use and I literally charge everything to it. So points rack up pretty quickly. And I've had pretty good luck with deals when I transfer points 1:1 to southwest.

 

[AdmiralChz]

The Unfortunate Expansion of Chase's 5/24 Rule
For those who don’t know about the 5/24 rule

We got 2 chase reserve cards with the 100k bonus. My wife for $600 travel credit since she got it in November 2016. So got $300 for 2016. And travek credit. Will cancel card soon. That’s how u play the game

I got mind end of January. So will wait till beginning of January to book travek credit and will than cancel so I would have gotten $600travek credit for the $450 annual fee.

Plus we redeemed $5500 worth of travel and hotel off those 200k points off those two cards.

That’s a lot of work for $150 in savings. Most airline cards would give you this and are free for the first year.

Seems the point deal is OK but $450 is steep. Better to pick an airline and open a card through them and fly with them as much as possible for interviews. I say that of course knowing it’s often not financially advantageous to stick with one airline. But my normal plebeian Chase United card is free for two years, free checked bag for me and my wife (that’s $50-80 each way!) and early boarding. That’s a lot of savings if you fly with some frequency.

 

[facted]

That’s a lot of work for $150 in savings. Most airline cards would give you this and are free for the first year.

Seems the point deal is OK but $450 is steep. Better to pick an airline and open a card through them and fly with them as much as possible for interviews. I say that of course knowing it’s often not financially advantageous to stick with one airline. But my normal plebeian Chase United card is free for two years, free checked bag for me and my wife (that’s $50-80 each way!) and early boarding. That’s a lot of savings if you fly with some frequency.

The 450 makes up easily. Automatic $300 travel credit a yr for starters. Access to airport longues. They pay for global entry, etc...

 

[anbuitachi]

That’s a lot of work for $150 in savings. Most airline cards would give you this and are free for the first year.

Seems the point deal is OK but $450 is steep. Better to pick an airline and open a card through them and fly with them as much as possible for interviews. I say that of course knowing it’s often not financially advantageous to stick with one airline. But my normal plebeian Chase United card is free for two years, free checked bag for me and my wife (that’s $50-80 each way!) and early boarding. That’s a lot of savings if you fly with some frequency.

Uh just apply for the card and use it. Not that much work.

 

[aneftp]

That’s a lot of work for $150 in savings. Most airline cards would give you this and are free for the first year.

Seems the point deal is OK but $450 is steep. Better to pick an airline and open a card through them and fly with them as much as possible for interviews. I say that of course knowing it’s often not financially advantageous to stick with one airline. But my normal plebeian Chase United card is free for two years, free checked bag for me and my wife (that’s $50-80 each way!) and early boarding. That’s a lot of savings if you fly with some frequency.

U forgot the part where we got 100k chase reserve bonus.

So the $450 annual fee. We netted $150 ($600 travel credit). So didn’t really pay the annual fee. PLUS the 100k points bonus that we redeem for travel hotel worth about $2750 per 100k chase bonus.

So we netted $2900 off a credit card. (Even accounting for the steep $450 annual fee)

 

[facted]

U forgot the part where we got 100k chase reserve bonus.

So the $450 annual fee. We netted $150 ($600 travel credit). So didn’t really pay the annual fee. PLUS the 100k points bonus that we redeem for travel hotel worth about $2750 per 100k chase bonus.

So we netted $2900 off a credit card. (Even accounting for the steep $450 annual fee)

The 100k points is def key (about $2000) depending on how you redeem. The travel credit is only $300 though, not 600. Is yours somehow 600?

 

[chessknt]

Its 300 per calendar year so the first year you have the card you get it twice unless you opened it 12/31 or something like that. Its 600 travel + free TSA precheck + sign up bonus.

 

[deleted50478]

.

 

[deleted50478]

Citi double cash is 2% cash back for everything you charge. No categories, no one time sign up bonus, no fee, no blackout dates, no points with difficult to quantify dollar value (that probably equals about 1.5%).

Do you think the cash value of redeemed points is more than 2% of what you spent? If you want to have a card for travel, and a card for groceries, a card for eating out, and a card for gas you can beat 2%, but if you want to have 1-3 cards, it's unlikely you'll best 2%.

 

[urge]

Anyone else get rejected for Chase Sapphire Reserve or another elite credit card (or really any type of loan) because of a high debt to income ratio because of med school loans? I'm a PGY1 making a regular PGY1 salary (wife doesn't currently work) and have 300k in med school debt - no other debt.

Apparently my Experian credit report lists the monthly payments for my student loans as $5,000 even though I'm obviously doing IBR. Anyone else run into this problem? i can't possibly be the first person in history but going through google it seems like i might be lol

Hope this makes sense and I'm conveying my situation accurately...

Have you considered that you might be the first highly indebted person with a total household income of 50k, who can't even afford to pay his loans back, that applies for a high roller credit card way out of his league?

 

[nimbus]

Have you considered that you might be the first highly indebted person with a total household income of 50k, who can't even afford to pay his loans back, that applies for a high roller credit card way out of his league?

I agree. Experian is doing OP a favor.

 

[deleted50478]

I agree. Experian is doing OP a favor.

I agree too. If you spend a lot on gas, restaurants, and travel get the Costco Anywhere Visa, otherwise get the Citi Double Cash.
Even if your Sapphire points are worth a high percentage cash back, you'd have to spend a fortune to even break even with the $450 fee (and you don't make enough money to put a fortune on that credit card.

 

[POW16]

I disagree completely. I am a resident and I have several co-residents who have it as well. First off the annual fee is basically $150 as its very easy to reach the $300 reimbursement for travel (includes uber, cabs) Then on top that you save money/pay nothing via the Chase Rewards website. And you save money on food at airports with Priority lounge access, Global entry, etc.

 

[facted]

Citi double cash is 2% cash back for everything you charge. No categories, no one time sign up bonus, no fee, no blackout dates, no points with difficult to quantify dollar value (that probably equals about 1.5%).

Do you think the cash value of redeemed points is more than 2% of what you spent? If you want to have a card for travel, and a card for groceries, a card for eating out, and a card for gas you can beat 2%, but if you want to have 1-3 cards, it's unlikely you'll best 2%.

I have both and the CSR does come out on top of you're willing to put in a little work. (Citi 2% is great too if don't want to be bothered). The easy redemption is 1.5% through their portal. But if you do a little digging, you can easily get hotel rooms through Hyatt for good values (3-4% a point). The sweet spot is some luxury flights where you can do first class to Europe or Asia for good redemptions . Plus I get 3% on restaurants and all travel and the card has excellent perks including airport longue access at many places. The card also doesn't have foreign transaction fees, solid trip insurance, will give you money for flight delays and cancellation, etc

The 450 fee is really $ 150 from the start ($300 travel credit, incl flights, uber, hotel, etc...) I also got 100,000 pt sign up bonus that is worth at least 2500-3000 dollars depending on the redemption which pays for that $150 for a few years 🙂

 

[amp3r5and]

I don't have opinions on this but noticed your avatar icon, wolfpackMD - I'm also an NCSU alum. (ch/che 2007) Go PACK!

 

[droliver]

If you aren't spending $15-20k annually on travel and related expenses, this probably isn't the card for you. From the OP description and your debt level, you better off with the cash back type rewards

 

[nimbus]

I do think sometimes these cards encourage lifestyle creep. "Oh look I get free airfare and points. Think I'll take a vacation I can't actually afford." Or "I'll go to that fancy new bar/restaurant I can't afford." It fools you into justifying expenses you don't need as a resident or even attending for that matter. But definitely as a resident. Keep it simple. Work on debt.

 

[epidural man]

Those who have the card - question for you.

I have several cards - and I put little labels on them to keep track of all the cash back categories (chase for one, rotates there 5% cash back every 3 months), costco has it's categories, etc. My USAA American express has it's own categories. Anyway, it is a huge pain in the arse.

I also have American Express Platinum - so already have Global Entry Fee, entry into airport lounges, no foreign transactions, insurance, etc (and it is free for me because of military).

Question - does anyone have both the Chase Saphire reserve AND American Express Platinum?

(Also, it looks like they are only offering 50K points right now).

 

[deleted171991]

The main idea with this card, as with any subscription, is that one will either forget or be too lazy to cancel the card (hence the huge membership fee). They obviously don't lose money overall.

The only cards worth having are those which are either free or pay for themselves every year. Same goes for other subscriptions and "club" memberships. That's why I never subscribe to magazines or services that automatically renew for my "convenience", or that cannot be cancelled online. Anybody who's had the pleasure of wasting time cancelling WSJ or Barron's, for example, will never subscribe again, not even for a "free trial".

 

[med2010]

Those who have the card - question for you.

I have several cards - and I put little labels on them to keep track of all the cash back categories (chase for one, rotates there 5% cash back every 3 months), costco has it's categories, etc. My USAA American express has it's own categories. Anyway, it is a huge pain in the arse.

I also have American Express Platinum - so already have Global Entry Fee, entry into airport lounges, no foreign transactions, insurance, etc (and it is free for me because of military).

Question - does anyone have both the Chase Saphire reserve AND American Express Platinum?

(Also, it looks like they are only offering 50K points right now).

I have both Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve. They each have roles if you are someone who travels even just a few times a year but is willing/able to spend money.

Amex Platinum has given us thousands of dollars in benefits through Fine Hotels and Resorts (free nights, free meals, significant room upgrades, late checkout, spa/dining credits etc). Now they have raised their annual fee but added Uber credits, which we utilize. We consistently fly the same airline, which makes their $200 airline credit useful to us. Their customer service is far superior to CSR, and as a charge card, your balance doesn't count against your credit utilization (we cared about this while spending heavily on furniture/decor while concurrently applying for a mortgage).

Many of the Fine Hotels are expensive, but prices can be comparable to Expedia, the stays come with a lot of benefits, and you are treated much better than if you had booked on a discount site. They're not always expensive though - we recently stayed in Montreal for under $200/night, hotel credit which covered parking, generous breakfast a la carte credit which we used for a big brunch every morning, and upgrade to a huge two bedroom two bathroom suite - completely unnecessary but it was fun.

Chase Sapphire Reserve is really only a $150 fee as their $300 travel credit is effortless to redeem, the 3x points add up fast, and like someone else said, redeeming points strategically through Hyatt or a similar partner can really extend their value. I believe their rental car insurance is superior to Amex Platinum.

They have some duplicate benefits like Global Entry, but with a little planning you can make both of these work for you.

 

[pgg]

The main idea with this card, as with any subscription, is that one will either forget or be too lazy to cancel the card (hence the huge membership fee). They obviously don't lose money overall.

The only cards worth having are those which are either free or pay for themselves every year. Same goes for other subscriptions and "club" memberships. That's why I never subscribe to magazines or services that automatically renew for my "convenience", or that cannot be cancelled online. Anybody who's had the pleasure of wasting time cancelling WSJ or Barron's, for example, will never subscribe again, not even for a "free trial".

They make their real money off this card the same way all card issuers make their real money - from the people who carry a balance month-to-month and pay 16% or 22% on that balance.

There’s probably a smaller % of CSR cardholders who do that, compared to the average Target-branded Visa ... but there must be some, and they probably carry a large balance. (Because they’re “rich” ...)

The $450 annual fee is probably a drop in the bucket compared to the finance charges some of them are incurring.

Merchant fees of 2-3% keep the lights on and fund the perks to attract cardholders, but CC companies are in the business of revolving debt and wealth extraction via finance charges.

The premium rewards card companies like to put on airs of affluence (its part of their sales pitch), but what they absolutely don’t want are actually rich people who pay he balance every month. They want middle class people with barely enough income to reliably make interest/minimum payments on maxed-out cards, who want to act rich by living beyond their means.

 

[btbam]

The main idea with this card, as with any subscription, is that one will either forget or be too lazy to cancel the card (hence the huge membership fee). They obviously don't lose money overall.

The only cards worth having are those which are either free or pay for themselves every year. Same goes for other subscriptions and "club" memberships. That's why I never subscribe to magazines or services that automatically renew for my "convenience", or that cannot be cancelled online. Anybody who's had the pleasure of wasting time cancelling WSJ or Barron's, for example, will never subscribe again, not even for a "free trial".

They actually lost $200 mil the first quarter they offered this card. Part of the reason they cut the sign up bonus from 100 to 50k points.

 

[deleted171991]

I believe their rental car insurance is superior to Amex Platinum.

They have some duplicate benefits like Global Entry, but with a little planning you can make both of these work for you.

They can't pay me enough to get an Amex ever again.

I had a rental car accident a few years ago, and I had charged the rental on a Costco Amex. They had no problem charging me the automatic premium for primary rental car insurance that was active on the card. Come accident time what do I hear? We're sorry, but you have moved to a state where we don't offer this product, so you only have secondary coverage. (I had announced them 6 months before that we were moving, and they had no problem charging us the primary insurance premium every time even afterwards.) When I asked to have at least the $20 premium refunded, since they fraudulently charged it for a service they didn't offer, they refused to do even that. That's AmEx for you. They couldn't care less they lost me as a customer after 10 years. It's not what it used to be.

 

[deleted50478]

They make their real money off this card the same way all card issuers make their real money - from the people who carry a balance month-to-month and pay 16% or 22% on that balance.

There’s probably a smaller % of CSR cardholders who do that, compared to the average Target-branded Visa ... but there must be some, and they probably carry a large balance. (Because they’re “rich” ...)

The $450 annual fee is probably a drop in the bucket compared to the finance charges some of them are incurring.

Merchant fees of 2-3% keep the lights on and fund the perks to attract cardholders, but CC companies are in the business of revolving debt and wealth extraction via finance charges.

The premium rewards card companies like to put on airs of affluence (its part of their sales pitch), but what they absolutely don’t want are actually rich people who pay he balance every month. They want middle class people with barely enough income to reliably make interest/minimum payments on maxed-out cards, who want to act rich by living beyond their means.

Thanks for legalizing usury you South Dakota and Delaware a holes! It gives you a few thousand jobs while helping facilitate a debt spiral nationwide!

 

[med2010]

That's AmEx for you. They couldn't care less they lost me as a customer after 10 years. It's not what it used to be.

I agree that they are less focused on customer retention than they have been previously, and I also have had some issues with utilizing extended warranty coverage. I should have clarified that I believe their customer service is superior specifically when it comes to disputes with merchants and in the travel arena.

 

[deleted171991]

I agree that they are less focused on customer retention than they have been previously, and I also have had some issues with utilizing extended warranty coverage. I should have clarified that I believe their customer service is superior specifically when it comes to disputes with merchants and in the travel arena.

After almost two decades, I still have to dispute even one transaction (besides fraudulent charges, which every single card issuer has fixed promptly and easily). There is very little wait when one is reporting CC fraud, because it's the bank's money and liability.

The one time I had to call Amex for a CC problem they were borderline unpleasant. I only remember it because I had been expecting something way-way better. Definitely not the 4-star experience one would expect. That was years before they denied my rental car insurance, but I kept them for Costco. I am so glad Costco has moved on. To be fair, I used their extended warranty once, to replace my laptop's battery, and it was piece of cake.