topic Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR in Credit Cards

Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 13:24:08 GMT

Are either one of these cards good for a casual traveler? I'm probably going to end up traveling 3-4x a year for personal and business trips. Only one of those trips would be international. I'm preapproved for the Amex platnium.

I currently have a mix of Amex Blue Cash Preferred, (3 years) Chase Freedom, (2.5 years) Amex Simple Cash Plus (2 Years) cards. My credit score right now is 790. If I got either one of these cards, I probably would want to downgrade the Blue Cash Preferred to Blue Cash Everyday if possible to save on the fee but keep the history intact.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

K-in-Boston — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 13:31:55 GMT

Welcome to the forum! Amex lets you product change MR-earning cards to other MR-earning cards and cash-earning cards to other cash-earning cards, so yes you can downgrade your Preferred to EveryDay. 3-4 trips a year is certainly sufficient enough to justify a premium travel card. Freedom and CSR can be a great combo if you want to go the UR route. Platinum pairs well with the ED/EDP cards for earning MRs. Both Platinum and CSR can be great options to dump points into your preferred 3rd party rewards program. Before offering advice as to which is best for you, do you have a preferred airline and/or hotel chain?

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

bourgogne — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 13:38:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Are either one of these cards good for a casual traveler? I'm probably going to end up traveling 3-4x a year for personal and business trips. Only one of those trips would be international. I'm preapproved for the Amex platnium.

I currently have a mix of Amex Blue Cash Preferred, (3 years) Chase Freedom, (2.5 years) Amex Simple Cash Plus (2 Years) cards. My credit score right now is 790. If I got either one of these cards, I probably would want to downgrade the Blue Cash Preferred to Blue Cash Everyday if possible to save on the fee but keep the history intact.

Any ideas/suggestions?

somewhat depends on what you are trying to do and if you favor mr or ur more. I have both as many do. you have a freedom which you could pc to a unlimited which might be a more well rounded everyday card, then you could get either the csp or the csr. look into your category spends to see which fits better. the chase cip has a 80K sign up which is quite nice and besides pp has most everything the csr has. I view the plat as a perks card, not much more. if that is a true fico 8 ex you can get whatever you want. most can get a amex charger, req are very low. with card one has 4 choices, miles, points, cash or nothing, decide what interests you and go from there.

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

UpperNwGuy — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 13:52:04 GMT

You need to look at what categories of costs will make up your travel expenses (and which categories are paid by your employer on business trips). The Platinum is best for airfare, but the CSR is best for the overall travel category. In my case, my airfare is covered by previously earned frequent flyer miles (and was paid directly by my employer before I retired), so Platinum wouldn't help me much, whereas the CSR is wonderful in the way it rewards hotels, railway tickets, taxis, rental cars, parking, etc. The CSR also has a dining category, which Platinum does not.

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 14:06:20 GMT

If you get the Amex Platinum make sure you get at least 75k sign up points. That is what they are offering my wife. I have Ameriprise Amex Platinum which doesn't come with a bonus and has no fee the first year. I don't think the Amex Platinum is that great of a card. It does give you the ability to get 400 dollars in Airline Gift Cards the first year and a Global Re-Entry reimbursement the first year. So if you get the 75k points it is pretty good to have at least for a year. I don't think it makes sense going forward as most every card is giving out airline miles so you aren't going to earn many points with bonus spending through airline ticket purchases. Also the hotels bonus is only if you book through Amex Travel.

The PRG is probably better for the average traveler as it has better reward categories and you can get a 50k sign up bonus. I don't really care too much about lounge access but perhaps if your home airport has a centurian lounge or your city is a Delta hub it makes more sense. As if you fly Delta and you have Amex Platinum you can get into their lounges. You also get a Priority Pass Select which is what CSR gives you. So if you lounge access Amex Platinum is superior in that regard.

Amex transfers to Delta. CSR to Southwest and United. That can be a factor to you as well.

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:05:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you get the Amex Platinum make sure you get at least 75k sign up points. That is what they are offering my wife. I have Ameriprise Amex Platinum which doesn't come with a bonus and has no fee the first year. I don't think the Amex Platinum is that great of a card. It does give you the ability to get 400 dollars in Airline Gift Cards the first year and a Global Re-Entry reimbursement the first year. So if you get the 75k points it is pretty good to have at least for a year. I don't think it makes sense going forward as most every card is giving out airline miles so you aren't going to earn many points with bonus spending through airline ticket purchases. Also the hotels bonus is only if you book through Amex Travel.

The PRG is probably better for the average traveler as it has better reward categories and you can get a 50k sign up bonus. I don't really care too much about lounge access but perhaps if your home airport has a centurian lounge or your city is a Delta hub it makes more sense. As if you fly Delta and you have Amex Platinum you can get into their lounges. You also get a Priority Pass Select which is what CSR gives you. So if you lounge access Amex Platinum is superior in that regard.

Amex transfers to Delta. CSR to Southwest and United. That can be a factor to you as well.

I personally would wait for the 100,000 offer.

The AMEX Platinum is good for those who stay in Hilton's, Starwood's, need TSA PreCheck, need lounge access, and buy airfare (5x category which adds up to a ton of points if you fly freqently).

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

bourgogne — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:16:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
If you get the Amex Platinum make sure you get at least 75k sign up points. That is what they are offering my wife. I have Ameriprise Amex Platinum which doesn't come with a bonus and has no fee the first year. I don't think the Amex Platinum is that great of a card. It does give you the ability to get 400 dollars in Airline Gift Cards the first year and a Global Re-Entry reimbursement the first year. So if you get the 75k points it is pretty good to have at least for a year. I don't think it makes sense going forward as most every card is giving out airline miles so you aren't going to earn many points with bonus spending through airline ticket purchases. Also the hotels bonus is only if you book through Amex Travel.

The PRG is probably better for the average traveler as it has better reward categories and you can get a 50k sign up bonus. I don't really care too much about lounge access but perhaps if your home airport has a centurian lounge or your city is a Delta hub it makes more sense. As if you fly Delta and you have Amex Platinum you can get into their lounges. You also get a Priority Pass Select which is what CSR gives you. So if you lounge access Amex Platinum is superior in that regard.

Amex transfers to Delta. CSR to Southwest and United. That can be a factor to you as well.
I personally would wait for the 100,000 offer.

The AMEX Platinum is good for those who stay in Hilton's, Starwood's, need TSA PreCheck, need lounge access, and buy airfare (5x category which adds up to a ton of points if you fly freqently).

100 for sure and the tks need to be purchased from amex or the carrier so it makes a bit more sense if one is getting reimbursed as there are often better fares available

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:26:58 GMT

frogman1 brings up a good point regarding your travel habits. I also think the PRG will be better for you. BUT, if you really want to choose between AMEX Platinum and CSR, I personally would choose CSR. Better travel credit, accepted in more places, better travel credit redemption, etc. Not sure where you will travel, but it is hard to find places in Europe where AMEX is accepted, see by thread below on my bad experience with AMEX while in DIFFERENT citties in Europe.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/AMEX-Platinum-experience-in-Spain/m-p/5023342#M1468347

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

mongstradamus — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:51:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
frogman1 brings up a good point regarding your travel habits. I also think the PRG will be better for you. BUT, if you really want to choose between AMEX Platinum and CSR, I personally would choose CSR. Better travel credit, accepted in more places, better travel credit redemption, etc. Not sure where you will travel, but it is hard to find places in Europe where AMEX is accepted, see by thread below on my bad experience with AMEX while in DIFFERENT citties in Europe.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/AMEX-Platinum-experience-in-Spain/m-p/5023342#M1468347

For me having 3x dining is a pretty big deal for me why i like csr over platinum.

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

driftless — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 17:26:44 GMT

I like both cards. For me, it comes down to two factors:

Which airlines and hotels do you use most.
What is your feeder system into the cards, i.e. - business cards, other point generating cards like Freedom, EDP, etc.

Whatever system that you pick I would use only reward generating cards in support of that ecosystem and not cash back cards.

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 03:44:53 GMT

Like Driftless, I suggest both!

I understand the annual fee is a bit to swallow, but look at the perks you'll have with both. They compliment eachother very well and both offer very different yet rewarding perks.

The best thing about AMEX Plat (IMO):

1. Uber Credit

2. Airline Credit

3. Gold status at SPG/Marriott as well as Hilton.

The best thing about CSR (IMO)

1.$300 travel credit (automatic credit)

2. 3x points on almost everything you buy when traveling... their travel category is HUGE!

3. Best rewards point value

I travel roughly 20-30 times a year on average, so i'd like to say i have a decent understanding on what's important when traveling. When traveling, comfort is king! Having gold status as a minimum with most hotels is a huge plus (AMEX). Couple that with maximizing your points with the CSR and you'll feel great about spending your hard earned cash!!

Negatives:

i've found that the AMEX Membership Rewards don't have nearly the purchase power that CSR's Ultimate Rewards have. Also, Amex doesn't give you the ability to transfer points to United!!!!

A turn-off with CSR... you're going to be very hard pressed to find one!

Re: Amex Platnium vs CSR

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:04:30 GMT

I vote for the Centurion Card.