From my calculations if you've relayed all credit cards obtained over the past 24 months, it appears you are 4/24 and your P2 is 2/24 which puts you in a great position since Chase has this rule and they have some of the most lucrative cards.
If you don't have a side hustle such as tutoring, selling on ebay, yard work, baking, etc and are not interested in business cards then I'll make the following suggestions, with 2 options either points/miles or cash back.
Points/miles (but can also receive cash back)
P2 applies for a Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) for a 60,000 Ultimate Rewards sign up bonus (SUB) after $4,000 spend in 3 months. Then P2 would send a support link to P1 for the same card as P2 is finishing up the Minimal Spend Requirement. If P1 is approved then P2 will earn 15,000 URs AND if y'all live in the same house, you can pool your Ultimate Rewards. This represents a potential of 143,000 (bonus+bonus+"support"+spend) Ultimate Rewards which could be used in the travel portal for a redemption rate of 1.25 cent/point OR straight cash back/statement credit of $1430.00 ***Please note, the CSP has an annual fee of $95 which IS NOT WAIVED.***
Pros-this is a good chunk of money as cash or miles that can be used in the travel portal (some of our members have used URs through the travel portal to book expeditions in Alaska) or transferred to a United Miles Plus account.
Cons-the $95 AF (per card) and knowing how URs will work best for you
Now, if you don't want to mess with points/miles and just want straight cash back, the above strategy could still be good, since you can receive either a statement credit OR cash back to your bank account. But, if you don't want to deal with all of that OR don't want a card with an annual fee then Chase has 2 no Annual Fee, cash back cards-Chase Freedom (CF) and Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU).
The CF has rotating categories, per quarter, where you can earn 5% cash back up to $75/quarter. The current quarter categories are Chase Pay, Paypal and department stores, and prior quarters have included gas stations, drug stores and tolls (Q1), grocery and home improvement stores (Q2) and gas and streaming services (Q3). Maxing out equals $75 which is pretty good.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU) has a flat redemption of 1.5% on everything.
Both of these cards are offering $150 bonus on $500 spend in the first month as well as a "support" bonus so P1 could get the Freedom Unlimited and "support" P2 for this and receive a $100 bonus, or vice versa. The Chase Freedom referral bonus is currently $50.
Other non chase cards for cash back are the Citi Double Cash Back card which awards 1% on every purchase and another 1% when the statement is paid. No muss, no fuss BUT Citi has horrible IT and that can cause a headache. Also, I don't believe it has a sign up bonus so taking up a x/24 spot for a card that doesn't have a sign up bonus isn't the first thing I'd recommend.
Finally, the Discover It has rotating 5% cash back categories as well-current Q4 category is: Target,
amazon.com, and walmart.com. In 2020, Q1 includes grocery stores, walgreens and CVS, Q2 is gas station, uber/lyft and wholesale clubs, Q3 is restaurants and paypal, Q4 is amazon.com, target.com and walmart.com. The Discover it card is awesome because they will match your first year's cash back at the end of the year, effectively resulting in a 10% cash back on the quarterly categories (up to $75/quarter).
There is also a "support" link so P2 could "support" P1 and earn more cash back. I feel like the Discover It doesn't receive a lot of love here but it's a great card, especially in the first year, for cash back, especially if you can max out the categories.
A personal note-I maxed out my Discover categories from Feb 2018-Feb 2019 and the money I earned (about $700 from 5% cash back plus other 1% purchases) I used to convert to foreign currency for my DD's high school graduation trip to Europe.
PROs- cash back, no AF for any of these cards
CONS-Discover and CF are rotating 5% categories and some quarters you might not be able to max out the categories, or forget to register your card, or it's just too much of a hassle.
I hope this has given you some options to consider. Please feel free to PM me if you have any other questions and if you want to join our dischurners reddit thread (where you can ask more questions and utilize a "support link" to help out a fellow dis-er please let
@SouthFayetteFan know!