Amex or Chase for travel rewards

[Anonymous]

I am starting to travel a lot more these days. My fiance hasn't travelled abroad as much as I have so I am trying to take her to as many of the places on our mini bucket list as possible before we settle down and focus on a mortgage etc. My Mom lives in England and I would like to visit her at least once a year also. 

My question is, I am already very familiar with the CSP/Freedom combo.

But I am wondering if Amex has a similar combo that works just as well? Can you transfer points between cards like the PRG and ED points cards? Is it even worth it anyway? Would the PRG be the only card I would need for reward points?

I will be applying for the Amex PRG (replacing my Amex Green) in the next few months and then deciding next year after the intro 12 months which card I want to keep out of the CSP/PRG.

Something that really stands out to me is the 3x points on flights with the PRG but I don't really know how 'valuable' these points would be compared to getting 2x points in UR from my CSP. Also the new featured bonus categories like gas, groceries and dining are very attractive to me. I would also be utilizing at least 50% of the $100 travel credit each year too so the higher AF for the PRG card does not bother me; I just don't want to be paying both AF's as then I would be diluting any rewards too much. On the other hand I love Chases website/point redemption system and their 'Shop Through Chase' portal.

I can tell this is going to be a hard decision for me so would appreciate some input from people who have experience with these cards etc.

Thank you in advance

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am starting to travel a lot more these days. My fiance hasn't travelled abroad as much as I have so I am trying to take her to as many of the places on our mini bucket list as possible before we settle down and focus on a mortgage etc. My Mom lives in England and I would like to visit her at least once a year also. 

My question is, I am already very familiar with the CSP/Freedom combo.

But I am wondering if Amex has a similar combo that works just as well? Can you transfer points between cards like the PRG and ED points cards? Is it even worth it anyway? Would the PRG be the only card I would need for reward points?

I will be applying for the Amex PRG (replacing my Amex Green) in the next few months and then deciding next year after the intro 12 months which card I want to keep out of the CSP/PRG.

Something that really stands out to me is the 3x points on flights with the PRG but I don't really know how 'valuable' these points would be compared to getting 2x points in UR from my CSP. Also the new featured bonus categories like gas, groceries and dining are very attractive to me. I would also be utilizing at least 50% of the $100 travel credit each year too so the higher AF for the PRG card does not bother me; I just don't want to be paying both AF's as then I would be diluting any rewards too much. On the other hand I love Chases website/point redemption system and their 'Shop Through Chase' portal.

I can tell this is going to be a hard decision for me so would appreciate some input from people who have experience with these cards etc.

Thank you in advance

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I have found URs much more useful than Amex MRs. You can pool your points with the amex everyday/prg card. Unless you have high airfare expenses I wouldn't keep the prg and would get the everyday card to maintain and earn your points. you are covered for dining with the csp. I like the SPG card for non-cat spend and have found those points moe useful. They are getting rid of the FTF on the card in august so that will be a nice perk. You really need to look at the travel partners for URs and MRs and see which ones you would be able to use. You could have a ton of MR points but if you are not in a location to use them then what is the point. 

[bz386]

The best redemptions for UR and MR points are when converted to airline miles. If you mostly fly United, BA or stay at Marriott or Hyatt, go with Chase. If you fly Delta or stay at Starwood, go with Amex. If you fly AA or US, go with Citi.

[red259]

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@bz386 wrote:
The best redemptions for UR and MR points are when converted to airline miles. If you mostly fly United, BA or stay at Marriott or Hyatt, go with Chase. If you fly Delta or stay at Starwood, go with Amex. If you fly AA or US, go with Citi.

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You should not invest in MRs and then redeem at starwoods. That is a losing proposition. If you want to stay at starwoods you should get the SPG card, which has its own airline partners. Best redemptions can be airline miles although I have found SPG points a good value for hotel redemptions and URs are a good value for hyatt points as well. United is a decent way to redeem URs as well as BA. You can redeem BA via amex but that is going to get scaled down some in oct so it will lose some value. Redeeming URs for marriott probably not a good value in most cases. Bottom line is to check the travel partners first. Decide which ones fly to your destinations then look at the conversion rates and select best program to build points in. There is no one right program for everybody.  

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

But I am wondering if Amex has a similar combo that works just as well?

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Depends on how well you can leverage the travel partners associated with each rewards program as that has an impact on rewards values.

In my particular situaiton all of my travel is on United and I never travel on any of MR's travel partners because I live in a United fortress hub city.  United monopolizes 3 of the 5 terminals at our large airport and has gates in a 4th terminal as well.   That makes UR a clear choice for me.  YMMV.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Can you transfer points between cards like the PRG and ED points cards?

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MR is not like UR.  You have one MR account.  All your MR cards feed into that account.  There is no need for transfer.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is it even worth it anyway? Would the PRG be the only card I would need for reward points?

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Your call.  Worth is highly subjective.  You need to look at your spend and determine what best fits you.  For some it's the PRG.  For some it's one of the Everday cards.  for some it's a combo, possibly including other MR cards.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Something that really stands out to me is the 3x points on flights with the PRG but I don't really know how 'valuable' these points would be compared to getting 2x points in UR from my CSP.

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Research redemptions with both programs.  You're going to have to look into redemptions with the travel partners and what the cash equivalents are for those rewards.  Run the numbers for your spend to compare.  Don't just rely on the earn rates or assumptions on a value per point.  I, for example, cannot redeem for the higher value for MR points so an MR point is not worth much to me.  If you can leverage the transfer partners properly you may be able to get more value per point.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would also be utilizing at least 50% of the $100 travel credit each year too so the higher AF for the PRG card does not bother me

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You might be able to easily use 100%.  I'd suggest looking at FlyerTalk but you need to select an airline for the travel credit.  FT has a threads for the different airlines.  Definitely check the thread for the airline you would select.

While I said that MR points aren't worth as much to me we have been trying out the platinum and easily used 100% of the $200 credit with United.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I can tell this is going to be a hard decision for me so would appreciate some input from people who have experience with these cards etc.

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It's not really experience that matters.  It's running the numbers and ensuring that you can make enough value per point to make it worthwhile for yourself.  One person could experience getting great value from one program and your experience could be entirely different if your needs/wants/situation/etc are sufficiently different.

[Kellan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am starting to travel a lot more these days. My fiance hasn't travelled abroad as much as I have so I am trying to take her to as many of the places on our mini bucket list as possible before we settle down and focus on a mortgage etc. My Mom lives in England and I would like to visit her at least once a year also. 

My question is, I am already very familiar with the CSP/Freedom combo.

But I am wondering if Amex has a similar combo that works just as well? Can you transfer points between cards like the PRG and ED points cards? Is it even worth it anyway? Would the PRG be the only card I would need for reward points?

I will be applying for the Amex PRG (replacing my Amex Green) in the next few months and then deciding next year after the intro 12 months which card I want to keep out of the CSP/PRG.

Something that really stands out to me is the 3x points on flights with the PRG but I don't really know how 'valuable' these points would be compared to getting 2x points in UR from my CSP. Also the new featured bonus categories like gas, groceries and dining are very attractive to me. I would also be utilizing at least 50% of the $100 travel credit each year too so the higher AF for the PRG card does not bother me; I just don't want to be paying both AF's as then I would be diluting any rewards too much. On the other hand I love Chases website/point redemption system and their 'Shop Through Chase' portal.

I can tell this is going to be a hard decision for me so would appreciate some input from people who have experience with these cards etc.

Thank you in advance

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I have many points with both Chase and Amex. Honestly it depends on where you want to fly. I personally perfer UR points over MR points but that is only because I personally like the chase card better. Now that the PRG has an increased categories it is a decent card. Assuming you spend in those categories. To answer your original question I don't think you can really say there is a combo that is powerful as the Chase combo.

You have the EDP and the PRG. With the EDP you can get 4.5 points per dollar on category spend. Personally I am going to ditch the PRG card this year. I think the card is worth it for the bonus and then drop it after that. 

The combo I like the best is Chase combo and I use the SPG card for non category spend. This is becaue of how flexable starwood points are.