@Anonymous wrote:
@redpat wrote:It's very simple, CSR is a great credit card for reward travel and Plat in a great travel card for perks and benefits.
There is really no sense to compare both of them because that would be like comparing apples and oranges.
I have both of them and I wouldn't drop either of them.
That's what I always thought to in general about Amex Plat, but it seems like CSR covers most of those perks and benefits. What I'm wondering is which ones exactly doesn't it cover.
CSR doesn't give you as many perks.
Amex gives you centurion and delta lounges, hilton, spg and marriott gold status, The Hotel Collection, Fine Hotel Resorts benefits which has better perks than luxury hotel and resorts (CSR has) along w/ better car rental status. Also new you can call to see if you can get better AA flight pricing though concierge.
Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
@Anonymous wrote:Because it hasn't been mentioned yet, it is also worth noting what OTHER cards you have in your portfolio. If you are someone who is already using the INK, FU, or F than the CSR can be a great multiplier for UR points you are already earning. Likewise an ED, EDP, Gold Rewards can help you earn MR points.
While you don't need to be a big spender to take advantage of multiple reward programs, the average individual would get more benefit of sticking within a single rewards network and not diluting points across networks.
This is a good point.
Most people do well to stick with a single network, just for pure point-generation ability. I do a fair bit of business travel that is paid out of pocket and reimbursed, so in addition to our normal spend, I probably average around $1k per month that's not on my personal books. That helps me with spreading out the dollars to whichever program I'm targeting at the moment.
Just as a personal note, though, I would think that most people considering Amex Plat or CSR have a healthy spend rate. I could have afforded the AF 10 years ago, and would have used some of the benefits, but I would've been hard-pressed to actually recoup that $450 annually in any quanitfiable way. I'm sure that some see it as a status thing, but the majority keep it around for practical purposes.
@accidentalpancake wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Because it hasn't been mentioned yet, it is also worth noting what OTHER cards you have in your portfolio. If you are someone who is already using the INK, FU, or F than the CSR can be a great multiplier for UR points you are already earning. Likewise an ED, EDP, Gold Rewards can help you earn MR points.
While you don't need to be a big spender to take advantage of multiple reward programs, the average individual would get more benefit of sticking within a single rewards network and not diluting points across networks.
This is a good point.
Most people do well to stick with a single network, just for pure point-generation ability. I do a fair bit of business travel that is paid out of pocket and reimbursed, so in addition to our normal spend, I probably average around $1k per month that's not on my personal books. That helps me with spreading out the dollars to whichever program I'm targeting at the moment.
Just as a personal note, though, I would think that most people considering Amex Plat or CSR have a healthy spend rate. I could have afforded the AF 10 years ago, and would have used some of the benefits, but I would've been hard-pressed to actually recoup that $450 annually in any quanitfiable way. I'm sure that some see it as a status thing, but the majority keep it around for practical purposes.
The annual fee for the CSR is only $150 per year if you include the yearly $300 travel credit. That $150 is easy for me to recoup without spending at baller level. I prefer the CSR over the Platinum because it gives me 3X pts across all travel categories while Amex would only give me 5X pts only on air travel. I dont fly all that much but I do commute a lot living in NYC. So right there my travel spend is huge.
