Chase Cards

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

My wife and I paid off all cc debt in 2016 and have been building up a nice savings, retirement contributions and the like. Our credit scores are in the 800s. I signed up for an AMEX Blue Cash Preferred that gives us 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% back at gas stations, and 1% elsewhere. (Currently also 10% back on all Amazon purchases!)

However, that 1% back on everything else was not all that great, so I converted my long worthless Citi MasterCard into a Citi Double Cash Back card--1% back when you buy, and 1% back when you pay (of course I'm not dumb enough to carry a balance, at least not anymore!).

Now, I am looking at converting my Chase "Slate" Visa (no annual fee) to some sort of reward card that will provide a nice complement to these two other cards. Maybe extra rewards for hotels, flights, restaurants? I also want something with no fee, and I want to CONVERT my current card, not get a new one! I could cancel it, but maybe it would be a bad move to dump 15+ years of on time payments!

What card would you go for? I've heard very good things about the Sapphire, but that one carries an annual fee.

Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Nothlit]

Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited seem like the obvious/only choices if your criteria are non-annual-fee + Chase + rewards.

Definitely don't close a 15+ year old account. That will hurt your credit score.

Annual fee cards are not all bad if you are a responsible credit user. For many such cards it's quite possible to squeeze out more in rewards than the annual fee costs, especially if there is an upfront bonus offer, and even more especially if they waive the annual fee for the first year. Then you just have to figure out whether it's worth keeping as an ongoing card or closing or downgrading after the first year.

[geekette]

The Chase Sapphire Reserve, if you qualify, is well worth the $450 annual fee, at least for a year.  Just look at the sign up bonus and benefits.

[TomTX]

What's the aversion to getting a new card? Having multiple cards helps your credit score, and lets you have a "backup plan" when a card number gets compromised.

Getting a new Freedom Unlimited can get you a $150 signup bonus.
Getting a new Freedom can get you a $150 signup bonus
Getting a new Sapphire Preferred can get you a $500 signup bonus, AND travel redemptions of points are boosted. (No annual fee first year)
Getting a new Sapphire Reserve can get you a $1,000 signup bonus and a refund of $300 in travel each year plus other stuff. BUT there is a $450 annual fee and they charge $75 to add an authorized user.

Definitely keep the old card.

[RentSeeking]

This one's easy!

Open a new CSR, get the unprecedentedly large sign-up bonus, and product change the slate into a Freedom (or Unlimited, but with the BCP and DC, the regular version will probably serve you better). Assuming you use the Ultimate Rewards points on travel expenditures through the Chase portal, the CSR gets you 4.5% on restaurants and travel, while the Freedom gets 7.5% on the rotating categories. True travel-hackers will argue that you can frequently get better redemption values by transferring the UR points to other loyalty programs as opposed to using them to purchase travel through the portal, but it's a much more involved process.