The Best Chase Credit Card to Get Depending On Your Stage in Life

Which is the best Chase credit card to keep in your wallet? That depends on your age, income, and travel habits, but there’s an excellent card for just about anyone who can be diligent about always paying the balance in full. If you cannot do that, read no further.

If you are responsible with credit (I always set up autopay on any new card, which helps a ton), Kevin from Just Start Investing has picked out a card for you based on your profile. You don’t have to settle on just one; I happen to have several Chase cards that I use for different reasons.

Are you a frequent traveler? Have a preferred airline? Prefer simple cashback? Own a small business? Chase has a card for you!

While there are great cards from other issuers, Chase has the top travel perks and is the only issuer that offers primary rental car insurance by default on many of its cards.

Let’s see what cards Kevin prefers.

Chase credit cards are some of the most popular credit cards that you can get your hands on – and for a good reason. Chase cards generally offer sizable sign-up bonuses, top-notch rewards programs, and above-average customer service.

In fact, in 2017, Chase had over 80 million cardholders with an active account, making them one of the world’s biggest credit card companies.

What enables Chase to appeal to such a large number of consumers is the variety of credit cards they offer. Chase has a credit card offering for just about everyone, from students to avid travelers to high earners.

Plus, Chase recently revamped some of their credit cards in 2020, so even if you think you are familiar with what Chase has to offer, you might find some new and relevant info in the recap of the best Chase credit cards below.

The 5 Best Chase Credit Cards (Depending on Your Stage in Life)

1.card_name Best for The New Resident

• Annual Fee: annual_fees

• Rewards Offered: 5% cash-back on travel purchased through Chase Travel Rewards, 3% cash-back on dining, 3% cash-back on drugstore purchases, 1.5% cash-back on every purchase made for your business.

• Sign-Up Bonus:  bonus_miles_full
   Let’s pretend you just graduated from school.You have a job and an income, but you’re not making a ton of money, and you still have pesky student loans to pay off. You’re probably not ready for a premium credit card, but you want something a little better than your student card.If you used your student card responsibly to build up a good credit score, you can probably get approved for the card_name.The card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, a slight step up from the student card. Plus, in 2020, it updated the credit card rewards program to be even more generous. It now offers higher cash back percentages on travel, dining, and drugstore purchases, including the ability to earn 5% cash back on travel (through Chase). For a no-annual fee card, that is very hard to beat!All of the perks above are on top of the sign-up bonus points, which is essentially free money if you can hit the spending limit in the three months allotted.You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better rewards program for a free credit card. Bonus: The Chase Freedom Flex SM Credit Card is another no-annual fee option to check out.

2.card_name: Best for The Locums Doc or Traveling Nurse

• Annual Fee: annual_fees

• Rewards Offered: 2x miles on dining, 2x miles on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel, 2x miles on purchases from United, and 1x miles on all other purchases.

• Sign-Up Bonus: bonus_miles_full
   

Chase offers several top-notch credit card options for anyone who loves to travel and has the flexibility to do so frequently.For example, the card_name is a great option for a traveling nurse who likes to fly to new cities every couple of months for a new job at a new hospital.The card offers a good miles program, with a annual_fees, has no foreign transaction fees, and provides two one-time passes to the United Club lounge. Even if you just use the card for one year to collect the sign-up bonus, it’s probably worth it.However, if you don’t use United for airfare or want more flexibility in your travel options, there are other cards you can explore from Chase. Includes the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card, or credit card #4 found below…

3. card_name: Best for The Established Doc

• Annual Fee: annual_fees
• Rewards Offered: 3x points on dining, 3x points on travel (after spending your $300 annual travel credit), 1x points on all other purchases

• Sign-Up Bonus: bonus_miles_full

The card_name is one of the best general rewards credit cards on the market and is a superb card for high earners, like an established doctor without student loans bringing in a high six-figure salary.

The annual fee is steep with this card, but it’s offset by its awesome perks such as its $300 annual travel credit (making the annual fee effectively $250), an extra 50% redemption value on points when redeemed for travel through the Chase portal, and its other premium travel benefits.

To showcase how well this card works for a high earner, let’s run through a simple example. Let’s say a high-earning doctor who earns $250,000 per year also spends $100,000 per year. Half of that spending is on a mortgage and non-credit card expenses, but the other half goes onto the card:

• $5,000 – Groceries
• $15,000 – Travel
• $5,000 – Dining and eating out
• $25,000 – All other expenses (gas, clothing, etc.)

In the past year, assuming the higher grocery payout, this cardholder would have racked up 100,000 points in rewards. And that’s not including a sign-up bonus.

If those rewards are redeemed for travel, they would be worth 150,000 points, roughly equivalent to $1,500. This rewards value offsets the annual fee and then some to make this rewards credit card worth it.

Bonus: The card_name is another premium credit card to check out.

4. card_name: Best for The Doctor with a Side Hustle

• Annual Fee: annual_fees

• Rewards Offered: 1.5% cash back is on every purchase made for your business

• Sign-Up Bonus: bonus_miles_full

The card_name is a great no-frills business credit card for the physician with a side hustle.

I use it for my business, Just Start Investing, and enjoy not worrying about the annual fee while still accumulating points. I also have a Chase business checking account, and keeping all my accounts in the same location keeps things easy.

And as any doctor with a side hustle I’m sure can attest to, time is valuable. Keeping things easy and minimizing the amount of time you need to spend worrying about admin tasks, like maintaining business accounts, is essential.

How to Combine Chase Credit Cards to Maximize Points

The key to maximizing your Chase Travel Rewards Points is to combine and use the right credit cards.

When you are starting to use your first credit card you should not worry about this extra step. Just use a student card or another credit-building card to start to establish a good credit score.

However, if you match the criteria for card and life stage #3 or higher from above, you should start to consider how to make the most of your points. The short answer is to transfer all Chase Travel Rewards Points to the card_name.

This is because the card_name lets you redeem points for 1.5x their value in the Chase travel portal. So if you are earning 1.5% back on your Chase card_name, you can transfer those points to the card_name and realize a real rewards rate of 2.25%, as long as the points are redeemed for travel.

The same goes for the card_name or any other card in the Chase family that lets you transfer Chase Travel Reward Points.

Now, technically, you could also scour the web for better uses of your points (for example, transferring them to another travel partner offering a great deal), but that will require a little more time and effort on your part to find the best deals.

Summary: Best Chase Credit Card

Chase offers some of the best credit cards out there, not limited to the ones reviewed today:

1. card_name: Best for The New Resident
2. card_name: Best for The Traveling Nurse
3. card_name: Best for The Established Doc
4. card_name: Best for The Doctor with a Side Hustle

As you can see, Chase has a wide range of offerings too. While they are certainly not the only good credit card issuer worth exploring (American Express, Capital One, and Citi all come to mind as good alternatives), they are one of the most popular because of their generous rewards programs, sizable sign-up bonuses, and large banking footprint.

Just remember, when dealing with any type of credit card, you need to pay your credit card bill on time and in full every month to avoid dealing with unwanted debt and high-interest rates!

Do you have a Chase credit card? If so, what kind? What is your favorite credit card? Comment below!

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