@Anonymous wrote:
So is it worth getting the United card with the $95 AF (waived first year) so that my miles never expire and start building a rewards relationship with them or should I look at the CSP which is a better all around card AND is a parter with United BUT won't offer me free checked bags/priority boarding/lounge access/Miles WILL expire?
Worth, better, etc are always highly subjective. If you're having trouble then you probably need to spend more time analyzing your needs/wants and priorities.
If you don't travel much then how much benefit are you going to get with 2x spend on United and the travel benefits that come with the UMPE? How does that compare to 2x on travel and dining spend? Take a look at Chase's rewards FAQ for details on what falls into each od those categories.
Personally, I find both very useful. I actually earn most points on the CSP and transfer to United and make use of the flight benefits with the UMPE. However, I have a lot of spend that can be run through the CSP to benefit from the UR program and I fly quite a bit with United so the checked bag fee alone easily overcomes the AF on the UMPE many times over. If your spend differs enough and if you don't travel as much then you may not benefit from one or both of these cards. Run the numbers to help you compare.
@Anonymous wrote:
I have about 11k miles. They expire 1/31/2018. Is that alot? Probably not. I don't know. This is all uncharted territory for me.
Look at United''s redemptions. You need to include redemptions are part of your due diligence when looking into rewards cards.
There's certainly a possibility that none of the above are best suited to you and that you'd be better served with a cash back card but there isn't enough info in your OP for us to help you with this analysis.
@Anonymous wrote:
I love my CSP, it just gets very little useage because I find my PRG to be more useful. (Not to mention the 20% interest rate Chase gave me still baffles me to this day, even though I PIF religiously). The PRG may be something to think about with 2x on groceries, gas, and dining- you can't transfer to United directly but you can book United by transferring to several of their partners that are often better values than booking with United directly
You can't just look at earn rates and need to consider what value you can get per point with each rewards program which requires running numbers for your spend all the way from earning on spend to redeeming.
Your APR and whether or not you PIF aren't directly related as you seem to be assuming. Your credit profile at time of consideration determines the APR that you qualify for. With some creditors you may get stuck with a high APR if your credit profile didn't qualify for a lower rate when you applied. Some creditors, however, will consider APR reductions on request.
Do you really have enough spend to split among multiple programs anyway? Typically just one of these requires one to run a large spend through the program in order for an individual to benefit. Make sure you're carefully doing your analysis before applying.
@Anonymous wrote:
11k miles isn't a lot? It cost me 12,500 for a one way flight on AA to Los Angeles a few months ago.
11K is not in the grand scheme. It may seem like a lot to you but a round trip saver (i.e. the lower redemption rate that tends to run out quickly with United) requires 25K and those are typically low value fares. There are a number of times where I've paid for a fare versus using 25K miles because the fare was so cheap that I could make much better use of the 25K miles.
Whether or not any X number of miles makes it worthwhile to the individual is up to the indivudal to determine. If you're looking at it from the perspective of "anything free is good" then it will be very easy to justify just about anything out there. However, if you're in a situation where one option can provide much greater value than another then you might want to perform a more careful analysis.
