@noobody wrote:
In the world of DC, these fixed points "travel" cards with AF (ie arrival+,venture) became worthless for most people beyond first year.
Totally not true for the Arrival+ because it gives a 10% bonus on points. For those that spend over $45k per year, the Arrival+ is always better than the DC, and of course it crushes it in the first year with the sign-on bonus. For people who travel a lot of business, $45k annual spend is a small hurdle.
@Anonymous wrote:
@happypill wrote:
@noobody wrote:
In the world of DC, these fixed points "travel" cards with AF (ie arrival+,venture) became worthless for most people beyond first year.Totally not true for the Arrival+ because it gives a 10% bonus on points. For those that spend over $45k per year, the Arrival+ is always better than the DC, and of course it crushes it in the first year with the sign-on bonus. For people who travel a lot of business, $45k annual spend is a small hurdle.
But wouldn't you rather have the PRG or CSP so you can redeem at over 1.1¢/mile value? They aren't 2 points/$ on everything, but if you use them for travel, their categories should still be attractive.
Personally no. I don't like points or miles because I'm usually not able to book more than a few weeks in advance and never get any of the good deals. I also don't have the time or patience to keep up with point transfers & redemptions. I know it's a hobby for some people and they seem to get amazing returns, but that never works out for me.
With cash-back rewards I can take advantage of bonuses and special events offered by travel partners - the last minute ones work best for me. Airlines and hotels send out special promotions to destinations with reduced fares and special perks like a free dinner, bottle of wine or spa treatment (GF loves those) that could be worth a lot. I also get good deals booking through sites like Hotwire or other travel sites, and of course you need to pay for those with money, not accumulated points. Again, these are just my personal experiences and preferences.
@happypill wrote:
@noobody wrote:
In the world of DC, these fixed points "travel" cards with AF (ie arrival+,venture) became worthless for most people beyond first year.Totally not true for the Arrival+ because it gives a 10% bonus on points. For those that spend over $45k per year, the Arrival+ is always better than the DC, and of course it crushes it in the first year with the sign-on bonus. For people who travel a lot of business, $45k annual spend is a small hurdle.
Waiting on my Arrival to arrive! Booking 2 vaca's on it. 
@kdm31091 wrote:
@Ghoshida wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
Both Arrival+ and Venture to me are the most overrated cards around. Why would you pay a fee for a restricted 2% back when other cards offer it unrestricted and free?
The explosive popularity of Venture really threw me off. Yes I get the large limit thing but what good is a large limit on a fairly useless card? To each their own I guessLarge limit + spend bonus.
Convert to zero-fee lower-level card later on.
Also, stepping stone for big cards with other lenders, say Chase, who might want to see other lenders giving you Signature cards first.
The limit part I get to an extent but really the no AF Arrival is very lackluster, and can be beat with almost any cash back card. Same for the Venture One. So neither no fee option is really worth having for those cards IMO.
Here's my take on this:
I apped for Venture a lot because of the signup (which is also easy to redeem) and the limit; and partially because I would have the opportunity to change it to a card of my choice later when Cap One offers an even better card. This is a bit of speculation, but doesn't hurt. For e.g. Citi DC almost never comes with a sign-up bonus; if you have a zero-fee card handy you could probably swap if that's allowed.
Pure economics:
Signup bonus: to be redeemed on travel expenses. (+) $400
Spend required: $3,000. I'm splitting this roughly into $2k of travel/dining and $1k of non-category. I'm not spending any of my 5% categories on this. That includes gas, groceries, cell phone, car rental, airlines, and department stores. So yes, a lot (almost all) of spend which could have gone to CSP will go here. Plus some non-category.
I value CSP UR points at 1.5-1.7cpp so for $2k, I'll lose approx (3.4-2)%*$2,000 = 1.4*$20 = (-) $28
On non-cat I could either use Discover or QS. QS gives 1.5% flat. Discover will give 2% (optimist) or 1% (pessimist) so again 1.5% (unbiased). So I gain approx (2-1.5)%*$1000 = 0.5*$10 = (+) $5. Net gain $377. I'm not going to spend overboard for achieving this bonus. Our normal household expenses (cat + non-cat) are to the tune of $4k so even with removing 5% categories, this could easily be met in 3 months and then SDed 
Oh and after 1 year it's anyways becoming a Quicksilver. Unless there's a better card by them. Or if they don't allow me to do QS. I could use 1 QS (if they let you combine) or 2QSes totalling $23k. Keeps util low