@Anonymous wrote:The bonus is good but not unbeatable.
The 1k spend 50k MR points offer for the PRG that was widely available earlier (might still be) is much better. 50k MR points easily can be valued well over $500. Many valuations place it somewhere near 2 cents per point which would put it close to $1000 dollars. The points are less convenient than the same value in cash or more flexible travel spend like the arrival+, but I would take the MR points over the arrival+ bonus anyday. The same applies to the UR bonuses for the CSP, Ink+ etc which are not restricted availability like the MR points offer.
The arrival+ has a solid sign-up bonus, but it is by no means unbeatable. Fixed value points for travel are nice because you can spend them more flexibly. The downside is your redemption rate is fixed. As a constant use card, the arrival+ is not so good for most people since it has an AF and is only slightly higher in rewards rate than cash back cards like the Double Cash or Fidelity Amex (2.2% v. 2%) with more restricted redemptions. Moreover, the AF takes a significant time to get over when you figure a 0.2 cents per dollar gain on these other cards. Even someone like me with 5k/month CC spend will likely not benefit much, especially since I optimize my spend with categorical bonuses and only about 20% (1k) of my monthly spend goes on a general spend 2% card that the arrival plus would replace. In my case, the 1k/month spend would result in 12k/year or 12k x 0.2 cent gain over the 2% cash back cards or about 24 dollars more in less flexible rewards which is not enough to cover the AF.
Don't get me wrong, I think the arrival+ is an excellent card for sign-up bonus purposes. It is even a good card for people with high (3-4k/month) spend on general spend categories (i.e. not a better than 2% card for this much each month). For people like me who have tons of rewards cards, value UR/MR/SPG points at close to or over 2 cents per point, the arrival+ makes sense only for sign-up bonus purposes.
TLDR: Good sign up bonus, but not unbeatable. Decent consistent rewards for some people, but not great for most.
The thing is prg offer is not open to everybody like this offer seems to be. Citi AA and US airways are open to everybody , and have some really good value if you know where you want to go. I actually value AA miles more then UR or MR for where i want to go. This may be situational for me but AA miles to transfer to Cathay is better then either UR or MR multiple partners.
As for PRG offer its only really open to non-amex customers that seems an fairly small portion of population. If it was open to every i would say PRG is good offer due to gas groceries and travel bonus categories.
All good points.
For usage, the Arrival+ only favors big spenders, but when combined with the sign-on bonus it's pretty compelling if you spend $4k+ per month. BTW, I don't currently have the Arrival+; I have us a Venture which has the same sign-on but lower AF. I do also like combining the everyday card with the Sallie Mae; the 5% categories are perfect for me because I like to buy everything on Amazon if I can. The Arrival+ is on my list when I come out of the garden in July.
There are a couple of other cards that have piqued my interested that I'll be targeting at that time as well:
JCB Marukai Premium - Basically 3% rewards on everything after you get to $3k annual spend, with a $50 bonus once you hit $5k annual spend to offset the lower initial rewards and the annual fee of $25. There are two drawbacks that I can see. One is that you have to live in California, Hawaii or a few other West Coast states, but I'm lucky...I live in California! The second is that JCB runs off the Discover network, and you probably can't use it as many places as you can a Visa/MC.
Security Service Power Travel WMC - 3% rewards on gas, travel & dining + 10% bonus on annual points. No other fees, no expirations. If there's one thing I need to compliment the Sallie Mae card, it's a dining card, and a card that pays 3.3% on travel (don't know of any others); it can also backup to the Sallie Mae for gas over $250/mo. The only drawback (that I can see) on this card is rescricted CU membership. Basically, I think you have to live or work in parts of Texas, Colorado or Utah. Lucky me, my company is Headquartered in Denver and I recently became a member. Once I exit the garden in July...
Golden 1 CU Platinum Visa - 3% of gas, grocery & restaurants, no fees. This would also fill my need for a dining card. It could also serve as a backup to the Sallie Mae on groceries or gas if I exceed the $250/mo limit. Not quite as perfect a fit as the Security Service FCU card, but pretty darn good for my needs. I qualified based on living in CA, and they were kind of a pain to sign up with. They asked for all sorts of documentation, and I almost told them I'd just drive over to the branch 10 minutes from my house, but finally got the membership set up. CC applcation going in in July.
For my purposes, I prefer using one everyday card, with a few good supporting cards to generate great rewards on the front end and just redeem for cash or statement credits with the click of a button. I'll leave the points-chasing, transferring and creative redemptions to those who enjoy that sort of thing.
