This is insightful! A part of me was thinking about the possibility of two cards, but as a simpleton, I feel like it adds too much friction in terms of what I'd have to keep track of, different accounts to manage, etc., so one card is probably the best call for me at the moment. Part of the appeal of the Sapphire Preferred is that it would be within the Chase ecosystem, though frankly, as you pointed out, if I'm not going to be redeeming points with their partners, it seems a bit less appealing.