which 2 credit cards to get
 

I want to get 2 credit cards for daily use. I currently use debit for everything and I figured I will try to use credit card, pay it off, and reap the rewards.

I'm not a huge spender. Besides utilities and rent, my biggest expense is groceries.
I plan to doublecheck all my grocery stores on whether they take AE, and if they do, then I want the blue cash preferred. This should give me about 6% cash back.

What about for the other non-grocery expenses?
I know that the chase freedom is popular. However, besides from the rotating categories being 5%, everything else is just 1% right?

If I don't choose the chase freedom, would the next best card be the citi double, where I get a total of 2% cash back?

my concern on choosing the citi vs freedom is that I while I do utilize some of the 5% categories on groceries, my non-groceries expense can be fairly expense (i,e tv, computer, electronics), which would mean it might not all in any of the 5% categories, but be more beneficial getting 2% from citi

Then what about the chase sapphire? I know this has a huge sign on bonus....but once that is over, is it just a regular card with points? I'm not sure if I want to get 2 cards with annual fee.

The Citi Double Cash is a fine 2% cash back card for non-category spend, although it has no signup bonus. One way around that is to get a Citi card with a signup bonus, and then product change it to a Double Cash in a year.
Thread about the card is here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...ted-1-1-a.html

The Chase Freedom and Discover it are rotating 5% cash back cards that complement a 2% card well. Also, the Discover it currently has a promo to double the cash back for the first 12 months. That makes it a 2% cash back card for non-category spend, and a 10% cash back card for category spend for that first year. Threads here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...pend-3-mo.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...12-months.html

If you'll be traveling internationally, you need a Visa or MasterCard with no foreign transaction fees. The BofA Travel Rewards is one such card. It's only 1.5% cash back (limited to travel-ish redemptions) if you have no banking relationship with them. With a banking relationship with BofA, it can get as high as 2.625% cash back, as per this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...l-credits.html

The Chase Sapphire Preferred may not be the best card if you're not using the points for travel, and if you can't justify the $95 annual fee after the first year. Thread is here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...ed-1st-yr.html


What are your current FICO 08 scores? If they aren't high enough, getting any card will be challenging. If you have no FICO scores, you likely won't be eligible for any decent card that isn't secured. Getting one secured card, which is an option available with the Discover it, will allow you to generate a credit history. Six months later, when FICO scores are generated for the first time, you'll have a much easier time getting cards that you want.

If you're not a big spender, you probably want zero cards with an annual fee, and you might want to get just one card that you use for everything. With minimal spend, you don't want to split it between two rewards cards.

You look like a good fit for one of the Amex cash-back cards and/or a Discover card, or maybe a Fidelity Visa, which has no annual fee and is a great 2% card.

Unless there was a recent changed the FIDO visa is 1.5% on first $15k, the 2% thereafter. The Citi Double cash or the Fidelity Amex are probably better options. Chase Ink product should also be considered.

Or go for the card with biggest sign up bonus with first year fee free and then cancel at end of first year then rinse repeat each year.

When people ask what the best combo is and I have limited information, generally the CSP and SPG card are my go to. Use CSP for bonus categories, and SPG for all non bonus categories. But for a low spender, I agree that two annual fees may not be worthit.

I agree with most the suggestions above, particularly having a card with no foreign transaction fees, since this is a bigger expense than most non-frequent travellers think. You can easily save the amount the annual fee cost by avoiding those int'l fees with a premium card that waives them, even if you go abroad once a year.

But if you choose to go with cards such as Freedom or Double Cash, which are both solid choices for no annual fee cards, I would still highly recommend signing up for the premium card - given your credit is decent - and then downgrading to those after a year. This way, you can get the big signup bonuses and not pay a fee. For example, if you think the Freedom might be the way to go, sign up for the CSP instead, get the (now) 50k bonus, take advantage of the bonus categories for a year, then call/SM and ask to downgrade to a Freedom. You won't be charged the annual fee and you'll have a truckload of points. I've heard mixed success going from the ThankYou Premier to the Double Cash, though I believe it's still possible...

If utilities are a big expense, consider the Chase Ink Plus as opposed to the CSP (or both, if you want). This one has 5x in Utilities and can be downgraded to the Ink Cash if you don't want to pay the fee.

Yes, you're right. I don't know why I have it in my head that the Visa is the better of the two Fidelity cards.