CSP or Chase United Mileage Explorer?

[Anonymous]

I'm having a dilemma on deciding what card to apply for. 

I don't travel much. Probably twice a year. However, when I do travel, I mostly fly out of SFO and SJC. United seems to be the primary airlines I take considering their large presence at SFO. I don't have any airline loyalty, but I always seem to end up with a United boarding pass. I recently signed up for a Mileage Plus account for my most recent trip. It shows that my miles expire in 2018.

I figure I might as well pick an airline and use them going forward if I can get miles/rewards/perks instead of being all over the place. 

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?

[longtimelurker]

Re miles expiration: do you have a lot you need to protect?  Otherwise I would view as URs don't expire either and you only transfer them to united as needed.

[BeeH11]

CSP in my opinion. I have both cards. The CSP is way more useful and can get more points faster. In fact I will be closing my United card by December (before the annual fee hits again).

[redpat]

CSP 2x travel and transfer partners takes it over United.

[Anonymous]

Longtimelurker.

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.

[redpat]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Longtimelurker.

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.

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An other reason to choose CSP is that you can combine the Freedom for 5x catagories or FU for 1.5x on all spend for more UR points.  There are not many options for United card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Longtimelurker.

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.

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That's not very many but they won't expire if you transfer even a few Chase URs to United.  Get the CSP as its a better rounded card especially when combined with one of the Freedom cards.  You can always add the Explorer later on if needed.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Amex PRG is in the running as well. Too many choices.. it's hard to decide!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm having a dilemma on deciding what card to apply for. 

I don't travel much. Probably twice a year. However, when I do travel, I mostly fly out of SFO and SJC. United seems to be the primary airlines I take considering their large presence at SFO. I don't have any airline loyalty, but I always seem to end up with a United boarding pass. I recently signed up for a Mileage Plus account for my most recent trip. It shows that my miles expire in 2018.

I figure I might as well pick an airline and use them going forward if I can get miles/rewards/perks instead of being all over the place. 

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?

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The problem with the United card relative to some other airlines cards (i.e. American) is that they only give you benefits if you book the flight with your United card. Case in point, priority board and checked bags. So, if someone else is buying your ticket (i.e. work travel) or you decide to use a different card (i.e. to meet minimum spend requirements), you're in the back of the line again. This sucks compared to the AA card where you get the benefits as long as you're a cardholder, AND anyone on your reservation gets the benefits even if you don't pay with your AA card. I'm not suggesting the AA card for you as they don't really service your two airports, but just providing it as a comparison to illustrate how the United card falls short.

Miles expiration already addressed by other posters.

The lounge passes are nice, but for me if I'm going to shell out for the AF, I'd rather have the myriad of other benefits that you get with the CSP, namely the transfer partners, the Chase Trifecta to maximize earnings potential, etc.