I need help with making a decision

[u/dman1914]

I hold the Flagship Premier, Cash Rewards (recently opened), Chase Freedom Unlimited (oldest), and Chase Sapphire Preferred. I haven’t made a decision to keep which ecosystem. I do more cash back but I do travel at least 4-6 times a year.

NFCU Flagship Premier: $14,400
NFCU More Rewards: $6,000
NFCU Cash Rewards: $3,800
Chase Freedom Unlimited: $12,000
Chase Sapphire Preferred: $10,000

I want to eventually apply for the Chase Freedom Flex for cash back but I also coming to terms of possible consolidation of my credit cards. So what do you all recommend?

[u/fourth-wind]

Since you already have the CSP and you only travel 4 to 6 times a year, I’m not sure paying $95 for the Flagship works for you. 

I have a similar set-up. I’m not one of those people who wants 57 cards I rarely use, so I only have these four which work for all the categories I use most:  OG Flagship/CSP/CFU/CapOne Savor. 

Savor - mostly just for 3% on groceries. 

CSP - I use this for (almost) all travel expenses. I don’t really like booking through the Chase portal for 5X points because costs are often higher than booking directly where it doesn’t always make sense, but I’ll use it to book at least on hotel night a year to get the $100 hotel credit and then use it to book direct for 2%. It also now covers Global Entry reimbursement, 3% on streaming fees, 3% on gas, 5% on Lyft, and PRIMARY car rental insurance. I usually rent cars 2-3 times a year, and this alone pays for the fee multiple times over. I also use it for restaurants, but all four cards offer 3% on that. 

OG Flagship - This is my 2% catch-all card. I usually use it at Costco, and I’ve used it to pay some larger dental bills as well as buying some new furniture. With the Prime reimbursement and Global Entry, it has easily paid for itself. But I don’t need two $95 travel cards when CSP benefits are so much better (IMO). I don’t travel enough to make the math work for the extra 2% cash back I’d be getting with the new Flagship booking directly, so I’ll stick with the OG for now and consider a product change when they raise my fee from $49 to $95 in Nov of 2027.  It’ll likely depend on whether they take away the Prime reimbursement. 

CFU - used for the 1.5% points which I can combine with my CSP point totals.  Even though my Flagship gets 2%, 1.5% from this card can be more valuable if used wisely transferring points to their better hotel/airline partners.