Credit Cards

[c3troop]

I travel very lightly, maybe 2-3 times a year of hotel stays and about one round trip flight.  Which of these cards are better?  I always wanted the CSP because it's made of metal and I really like the point structure (already have a Freedom).  I never really looked into the Starwood but nerdwallet makes it sound like a great card.  Any input on which one is better to get?  Currently have 2 amex's and score is 780.

Thanks.

[trumpet-205]

Light travler should consider cashback card instead. I don't think CSP, Starwood, or any other travel CC is right for you.

[iMacDrew]

What are your other Amex cards? If it were me id go with the CSP. Do you care what hotels you would be staying at? I think that the HHonors surpass has better rewards as far as hotels. 

[bribro]

Since you already have a Freedom card the CSP would make more sense IMO. It depends if your CSP annual spend/points accumulation justifies the AF though. You could always downgrade to the no AF regular Sapphire though.

[Crashem]

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iMacDrew wrote:

What are your other Amex cards? If it were me id go with the CSP. Do you care what hotels you would be staying at? I think that the HHonors surpass has better rewards as far as hotels. 

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you aren't understanding the point of the Starwood card.  Starwood points are amazing as they cantransferred at goodexchange rates to a ton of airlines.  As for op, it isn't a matter of how much they travel as much as how much they spend.  Starwood points are good for hotels and airline miles.  So they need to get enough points to get free flights or rooms.

[iMacDrew]

well after reading more into the SPG imo the CSP is a better card to get if OP will use it for transfering points to Airline tickets. The SPG really only gives good rewards for purchases at SPG Hotels. Other than that its a 1:1 pt:$ ratio.. Atleast with the CSP you get 2x Dining and Travel along with the sign up kicker and 7% dividend.

[c3troop]

I have the amex blue cash, blue sky, chose freedom, and citi thank you premier.

We don't usually stay at any hotels nicer than a Hilton.

I lille the csp because we dine out a lot. I was sold on the csp until I read about the Starwood.

[Walt_K]

If you spend enough, you would get both.  You'd put bonus spend (dining and travel other than Starwood stays) on the CSP and everyday spend that didn't fall into a bonus category on the SPG.  For airline miles, if you redeem SPG points in 20K incredments, you get 25K miles, so you are earning 1.25 miles per dollar.  For the same non-bonus categories, you would get 1.07 points/miles per dollar on the CSP. 

If you're only going to get one card, CSP is probably better for your purposes than SPG.  

[c3troop]

Would that be more beneficial than the chase trifecta?

[discernment]

After I have had my Chase Freedom for a year, I want to add the CSP -- AND the Starwood Amex BOTH.  We are also light travelers throughout the year but could become more so if the rewards accumulate accordingly. 

The annual fees on those cards are such small amounts, that's inconsequential.