Will you keep CSP after the 1st year? Why?

vwgrrc · ‎07-06-2016

Hi all

I'm now still in the sign-up bonus period of my CSP. I know this is one of the best travel cards out there. But I don't see further usage even after the sign-up bonus period. My understanding is if I use it for travel purchases and redeem for travels, I can get (2% * 1.25 =) 2.5% back per dollor. I have my Discover Miles in its 1st year, 3% CB on everything. There're also other 3% travel cards with no AF. I want to know what reasons make people paying AF to continue using CSP. Will the card benefits justify the AF for you? How?

mongstradamus · ‎07-06-2016

I think you have to run the numbers on how much you spend on travel and dining,to see if it's worth the af. Also you have to look at what partners you would want to transfer to.

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Anonymous · ‎07-06-2016

i'm a newbie here but i believe the appeal is in being to transfer ultimate reward points to the csp for redemption. so 5% from freedom, transfer over to csp for 25% bonus

longtimelurker · ‎07-06-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
i'm a newbie here but i believe the appeal is in being to transfer ultimate reward points to the csp for redemption. so 5% from freedom, transfer over to csp for 25% bonus

The big value proposition for CSP isn't using them at 1.25 cents per point on the Chase Travel portal. It's actually transferring them to partner hotels and airlines and using them in their loyalty programs. Depending on the redemption, it's possible to get much more than 1c per point. Often people quote around 2 cents per UR, but in some cases 3 or 4+

Then transferring from Freedom helps, but as Freedom is capped, it's not all that significant a source

Anonymous · ‎07-06-2016

I like the primary auto rental insurance coverage. I used to pay Amex $16/rental for that. Now it is free on CSP. I rent at least a couple times a year for little weekend road trips. So right there alone pays for itself. I also have the Freedom so I am able to squeeze a little bit more from it as well.

Anonymous · ‎07-06-2016

It's being able to transfer to partners for me. I also combine with with the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. Worth every penny of $95. The travel insurance is nice too, and even at worse case scenario cashing out isn't that bad.

Anonymous · ‎07-06-2016

I kept it for possible travel plans...but my flight to Ireland this year was paid for, I used NFCU card for getting Euros out of ATMS (virtually no fee) and charged everything else on the card. Didn't use CSP at all. I traveled a little last month and charged a couple of hotel rooms but it's basically been sockdrawered since April when I started getting 5% cash back on dining (I eat out a lot). First discover now freedom. Still, I have over $150 in UR points, so there's that. More than pays for the AF which I last did in January.

Anonymous · ‎07-07-2016

if you trust that points guy blogger, he claims you can squeeze 2.1 cents per UR point if you redeem them towards partner programs in the best possible way.

I use them for Korean Air miles for now, but let's be honest here. I'll probably end up keeping CSP even I'm not spending enough through it to make a net gain against the AF for 2 simple reasons:

1) it's my first dream card, personal pride to have finally squeezed in with Chase after they gave me the finger on my AARP app last summer

2) It's metal, and blue. I feel good handing it to cashiers, waitresses, and even swiping it at self-checkout kiosks.

Stupid reasons, admittedly, but they make it worthwhile even if my Freedom Unlimited + CSP UR-> miles doesn't end up being a tremendous value.

longtimelurker · ‎07-07-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
It's being able to transfer to partners for me. I also combine with with the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. Worth every penny of $95. The travel insurance is nice too, and even at worse case scenario cashing out isn't that bad.

Well, as a last resort it's not dreadful, but you certainly don't want to pay $95 (after the first year) for a card that is 2% on just dining and travel

kdm31091 · ‎07-07-2016

If you are just cashing out the points, there's no reason to be paying a $95 AF for basically 1% cash back, with 2% on a few things.

If you assume URs to be 2cpp, then it's a baseline 2% card, with 4% on travel and dining. These numbers are good and may be worth paying $95, but keep in mind you can get 2% base cash back at many places, and while 4% on travel/dining is not common, you can find 3% cards for these with no annual fees. None of this is to say CSP isn't worth it, but in my personal opinion, Chase has removed many of the benefits (annual dividend, 3x on dining one day a month, extra point for booking through Chase) while continuing to charge the same fee. It's a product that needs an update/refresh instead of more small cuts.

There are situations where the URs can be worth much more than 2cpp, and thus those numbers change, but they aren't common redemptions, and you want to assume a lower value rather than higher.