TLDR: Choosing your 5th credit card? This article weighs a card with a big, short-term bonus against a long-term travel keeper card, showing the strategy behind building a powerful wallet.
Currently, I have four credit cards in my wallet. These cards are the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. I got each and every credit card for a different strategic reason.
I got the Capital One Savor Student card because I decided it was a better fit for me than other student cards, such as the Chase Freedom Rise®.
I wanted to establish banking history with Capital One to set myself up to get the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card in the future, and the Savor Student card seemed better as a long-term credit card to keep in my wallet since it has no annual fee and earns unlimited cash back across multiple categories.
I got the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card for two important reasons: I was working on and building my own tutoring/website consulting business, and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card was offering an elevated welcome offer at the time: $900 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening (expired).
The cash back I earned from the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card was given in the form of Chase points, but I was unable to transfer them to any of Chase’s transfer partners, such as United and World of Hyatt. However, I’d be able to transfer my points to a Chase credit card that allowed for point transfers, which set me up for my third credit card.
I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for three major reasons:
As I mentioned previously, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card allowed me to earn points via its introductory offer and any purchases I made on the card, but my usage of the points was limited since cash back was the only redemption option I'd realistically take advantage of.
Any points you earn on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can be freely transferred to any of Chase’s transfer partners, and Chase allows you to transfer points between your credit cards. When I got the 100,000 points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (this offer is no longer available), I transferred the 90,000 points from my Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card over to my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
This meant I easily had 190,000 Chase points at my disposal, which I could easily transfer to redeem for powerful redemptions. For example, I’ve already used 59,000 points to book a week’s worth of Hyatt hotel stays in Kyoto and Osaka, saving me over $1000 in the process.
Since I travel often, it was also a priority for me to have a travel-oriented credit card in my wallet. Neither the Savor Student card nor the Ink Business Unlimited offered any travel protections that would be helpful for me.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a variety of travel protections, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, etc.
My fourth and most recent credit card is the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. I decided to get this credit card for two major reasons:
I’m currently in the process of planning a family trip to Hawaii, and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was perfect for my situation since there are plenty of Marriott hotels in Hawaii.
Each free night award can be redeemed for up to 50,000 points a night, meaning that all five free night awards are worth up to 250,000 points. I’d be able to save over $1000 on booking my hotel stays for my trip to the Aloha State.
Additionally, a lesser-known benefit about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card is that it unlocks access to the highly sought-after Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card. Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card is one of the best premium travel credit cards out there, and is arguably better than the Chase Sapphire Reserve® since it has a lower annual fee, offers premium travel benefits, and allows access to Chase Sapphire Lounges for yourself and an unlimited number of guests.
When it comes to deciding what credit card I will apply for next, I have to step back and decide which card is best for me, according to my situation.
Currently, I’m eyeing two credit cards that could likely be the next card to end up in my wallet: the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Currently, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is offering an elevated summer special welcome offer: 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 on purchases within the first 4 months from account opening.
As I explained in a detailed review about the AAdvantage Platinum card, 80,000 AAdvantage miles are very valuable and can unlock very powerful redemptions because of the value of AAdvantage miles.
For example, business class flights between the U.S. and Japan on Japan Airlines start at only 60,000 AAdvantage miles. Japan Airlines is generally considered an excellent airline, and its business class product is highly rated for its exceptional experience.
However, the major con regarding the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is that it is likely not to be a keeper card in the long run. While the card does unlock benefits with American Airlines, such as a free first checked bag and preferred boarding, the earning rates for the card are pretty weak, as you can earn a maximum of 2x miles per $1 spent on select categories.
I do like that the card’s $99 annual fee is waived for the first year. However, I don’t know if I’d be able to find enough use out of the card to justify the $99 annual fee in the coming years.
The major motivator behind getting the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is that it is generally considered a strong travel rewards credit card, providing a variety of benefits that make it a keeper card, which will amplify my wallet for years to come as a frequent traveler.
However, the current welcome offer for the Venture X isn’t considerably all that strong. Right now, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
This welcome offer has been higher in the past, as the Venture X once offered 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first 6 months from account opening. This is more of a premium spend requirement, making it potentially more difficult to hit the spend requirement.
There is some good news, though. Through targeted mail offers, you could get the Venture X with an introductory offer of 90,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
The Venture X also comes with additional benefits that I could utilize to justify the $395 annual fee, making it possibly a card that I will hold onto for a while. These benefits include, but are not limited to:
There are many additional benefits on top of these, as well as cons, that could make or break the Venture X as a solid card to add to my wallet. I’ll dive into a deeper review and analysis of the Venture X in another article.
An unofficial rule that is stopping me from applying for credit cards frequently is Chase’s 5/24 rule. Chase’s 5/24 rule is a guideline regarding applying for new credit cards.
If you’ve opened more than 5 credit cards in the past 24 months, you will be denied for any new credit card applications from Chase. This is a strict guideline, and there are very few exceptions to this rule.
My card application lineup as of current is as follows:
Even though I’ve applied for 4 credit cards in the past 24 months, I’m technically considered 3/24 for Chase’s 5/24 rule. This is because Chase doesn’t consider business cards as part of your 5/24 standing, including my Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. There are some notable exceptions, however, as Capital One business cards do count towards the 5/24 rule.
I want to try to stay under 5/24 as much as possible, as Chase cards are often the best cards for me to get. This is evidenced by my current credit card portfolio, where 3 out of the 4 of my credit cards are issued by Chase.
I heard that the elevated summer special welcome offer for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is ending September 30, 2025. When the last day for the offer comes, I might step back and assess whether it’s worth it or not to use another one of my 5/24 slots. My 5/24 status won’t start decreasing until April 2026.
Choosing my next credit card is a decision I’m approaching with strategy and patience. Both the AAdvantage Platinum and Venture X offer compelling benefits, but my choice ultimately depends on timing, welcome offers, and long-term value.
As someone who travels frequently and values transfer partners, airport lounge access, and premium redemptions, I want to make sure my fifth card continues to support my lifestyle goals, but I want to be careful about being locked out of future Chase applications. I’ll likely revisit my options in September when the elevated AAdvantage offer expires, and see whether it’s worth using one of my 5/24 slots.
