CSR Benefit Question- Visa Infinite

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Climbflier - I've never flown anything but economy, unless you count Spirit's "Big Front Seats".

I would definitely be using CSR for this benefit if it had it.

I fly domestically from LA to Minneapolis to Las Vegas throughout the year and $100 off each flight would definitely add up for me.

If I had a business that paid for my flights I would of course take business or first class flights all the time, but I don't so for now we fly economy which hasn't been much of an issue. Except I will never fly spirit without Big Front Seats it's torture.

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Right, but the point is that the CSR trades vastly higher earning potential across the board for the loss of that benefit. You're almost certainly coming out ahead using the CSR over the Ritz. People daily driving the Ritz are likely doing so to earn Marriott/SPG Platinum status, which takes 75k spending in a year. Most of these people are not flying economy.

Now, you might find the Ritz to be worth the fee if you would use this benefit a lot. Same deal as people picking up the Citi Prestige because they'll use the 4th night benefit all the time. The reality is that no card has the perfect benefit and earning package for all situations. It sucks, but this is why people have big libraries of premium cards.

[Anonymous]

UpperNewGuy - To answer your question,

I would honestly prefer the $100 airfare discount to the $300 Travel Credit. And here's why.

Let's just say I fly roundtrip 4 times a year from LA to Las Vegas, Minneapolis, or Denver.

That's a $400 discount right there which outweighs the $300 Travel Credit.

Now if you don't fly much then sure keep the Travel Credit for Rental cars or hotels. But for me the $100 would be worth more. Actually if I had it I would be flying from LA to Vegas once a month! The total fare would be like $40 after the Travel Credit, there is no limit to how many times you can use it. Only that 2-5 people must be on the itinerary and the Visa Infinite member must be on one of the tickets.

If you went once a month roundtrip to Vegas from LA you'd save $1,200 a year.

But YMMV

[UpperNwGuy]

Matt:  In that situation, the $100 airfare credit would indeed be better for you.  However, it isn't being considered for the CSR.  If you've been following news about Chase, they're cutting benefits, not adding new benefits.  They say they're losing money on credit cards, even though they're making money overall.  They've recently conducted a survey on alternatives that would either devalue or eliminate the famous "trifecta" of Ultimate Rewards cards.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by this,

"They say they're losing money on credit cards, even though they're making money overall".

How can they be losing money if they're making money it doesn't add up.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean by this,

"They say they're losing money on credit cards, even though they're making money overall".

How can they be losing money if they're making money it doesn't add up.

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They sell other financial products, not just credit cards.

Think mortgages, commercial loans, car notes, interest earned on cash in checking and savings accounts, service fees, etc.

[UpperNwGuy]

http://www.investopedia.com/news/chase-sapphire-card-perks-costing-company-millions-jpm/

[MrDisco99]

Yeah... they've loaded that card so full of perks already that apparently it's cut 40% off their profits.  They're in no hurry to add even more.

And they don't have to.  It's already the trendiest card on the market right now.

If the existing perks aren't good enough for you then don't get it.

[Anonymous]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

http://www.investopedia.com/news/chase-sapphire-card-perks-costing-company-millions-jpm/

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That is from when the card had 100,000 point sign up offer.  Which if they give you 1.5 percent bonus to redeem on travel is 1500 + 300 for travel credit = 1800 - 450 = 950 dollars of value from the card.  Subtract 50,000 points and it goes from 750 + 300 = 1050 - 450 = 600 dollars of value.  600 dollars is pretty average for a sign up bonus for a travel card.  Most people will never use the TSA/Global thing.   Seems like the Preffered has slight more value.  50000 + 5000 for authorized user * 1.25 = 687 dollars of value for travel.  

Also as you pay for 450 dollars up front and don't get rewards until later there is time value of money involved.