topic Re: CSP vs Arrival in Credit Cards

CSP vs Arrival

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 05:46:28 GMT

i have had both and wanted to share my personal experience with both

i am a casual flyer. i fly cross state twice a year and to vegas twice a year. since i live in so cal i also do roadtrips to L.A., san fran & vegas.

so for causual use i prefer the arrival and this is why:

you can book hotels with third party agencies which is often cheaper that chases rewards mall

i rent cars alot, i know all the tricks and coupon codes lol so i like the freedom of booking my car however i like and then redeeming my points to pay for it.

i like being able to book a hotel and have 90 days to build up some points to pay for it. (with csp you have to wait until you have points)

i only fly southwest so transferring points to any airline isnt that exciting

you get two miles for EVERY transaction with arrival but with CSP its only travel and dining.

for all the points you reddem towards travel you get 10% back which is crazy cool!

the only thing i miss about my csp is the better cash back value

with arrival you get 25$ for 5000 points, with csp you would get 50$ for 5000 points.

i personally i enjoy the freedom of booking hotels, cars and flights my way and redeeming them after.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

CreditScholar — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 06:25:47 GMT

As a general rule: for lower-end travel the arrival will often win out. However the more high-end travel one does, the advantage shifts to the CSP.

Yes there are some exceptions to this (short-haul via Avios), but I find that it holds true more often than not.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 06:31:42 GMT

very much agreed. theres a lot of people who apply for csp who would be better served by arrival =]

Re: CSP vs Arrival

CreditScholar — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 06:34:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
very much agreed. theres a lot of people who apply for csp who would be better served by arrival =]

+1. There are a lot of people who (aside from signup bonuses) would be better served with no AF cards, often since they simply don't earn (or spend) enough. It doesn't stop people from applying though.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 06:35:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
very much agreed. theres a lot of people who apply for csp who would be better served by arrival =]

That's certainly true, and there's another subset who don't really travel at all (so the Arrival isn't the solution) and would be better off with Fidelity Amex or Quicksilver, or depending on spending patterns, something like Cash Plus. But even those should probably get CSP for the first year anyway, to get the bonus!

Edit: beaten by creditscholar!

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Open123 — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 06:50:00 GMT

Both CSP and Arrival bonuses are excellent! No reason to just settle for one, especially since Barclay pulls only TU.

Agreed, which card is the better option really depends on an individual spending level and redemption preferences. The CSP is great when one has an overall banking relationship with Chase combined with the INK and Freedom cards. Some UA and Hyatt redemptions were some of the best values in the industry.

The Arrival can certainly be better for general redemptions for statement credits for the person who prefers not to redeem through a specific rewards program. However, unless the FTF is an issue, as Lurker has observed, the FidAmex and Quicksilver are the two best cashback cards, in my view. The former's 2% with no fee, and the latter's 1.5% with no fee and redemption restricitons are both best in class.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

lexrjSD — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 01:24:50 GMT

+1 for the ARRIVAL, I'm going to PC my CSP to a CS and sock drawer it.

CSP only makes sense for ppl that can't afford 1st class travelling but want's to use their hard earned points to squeze a 1st class ticket by transfering points.

CSP looks nicer too but who cares.

Open123 - I couldn't disagree more with you on applying for cards because of their bonuses only.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 01:34:34 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:

Open123 - I couldn't disagree more with you on applying for cards because of their bonuses only.

Why do you disagree with Open123 on that?

Re: CSP vs Arrival

longtime_lurker — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 01:43:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@lexrjSD wrote:

Open123 - I couldn't disagree more with you on applying for cards because of their bonuses only.

Why do you disagree with Open123 on that?

I disagree with the whole idea of apping solely for the bonuses, because I will be apping for the CSP because I have the Freedom. And while I am a full-time student (income like 30k, when you include my fed loan refunds) so the Arrival may make more sense. I see it as getting the 20% reduction in prices of travel through UR redemption even more of a bonus, as I consider the Freedom a 1.1-5.5% CB card, before redemption.

TL;DR: The AF is similar to the Arrival's, I already have a relationship with Chase, I see that I can get more redemption value with UR (I max out the amazon quarter with books, 7,500 points to me is like 6.9% back on travel), and because I work at a Hilton hotel, I really only need to worry about redeeming for flights.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

lexrjSD — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 02:22:39 GMT

I believe credit cards should be used for the following purposes:

1) Improve overall credit (Limits and Score)

2) Maximize returns on spending (not extra spending, but spending that is going to be done regardless).

Getting credit cards for the sole purpose of bonuses it's counter productive if you're trying to grow your credit card limits and overall credit, might even burn you with some financial institutions depending on what you're doing.

I'm a strong believer that you should only have the cards that matches your spending patterns in order to maximize rewards. When you need credit (car, house and etc), it looks much better to the lender if you have less cards with high limits than a bunch of cards with low limits.

There are always exceptions, for example: if you already have established credit and won't be needing credit anytime soon I guess you could get some bonuses to pay for a trip or something, but those are rare situations in my opinion.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Open123 — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 02:43:24 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
+1 for the ARRIVAL, I'm going to PC my CSP to a CS and sock drawer it.
CSP only makes sense for ppl that can't afford 1st class travelling but want's to use their hard earned points to squeze a 1st class ticket by transfering points.

You think it's a better idea for them to use "their hard earned points" to redeem readily available coach flights?

Re: CSP vs Arrival

lexrjSD — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 02:51:50 GMT

I think they should do whatever makes them happy, I just completely disagree with the strategy. I'd rather travel more and fly coach than travel a lot less and fly 1st.

That's the only strategy worth for the CSP unless you're a huge spender, except that huge spenders could care less about saving points for travelling, they just book whatever they want.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 02:58:51 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
I believe credit cards should be used for the following purposes:

1) Improve overall credit (Limits and Score)
2) Maximize returns on spending (not extra spending, but spending that is going to be done regardless).

Getting credit cards for the sole purpose of bonuses it's counter productive if you're trying to grow your credit card limits and overall credit, might even burn you with some financial institutions depending on what you're doing.

I'm a strong believer that you should only have the cards that matches your spending patterns in order to maximize rewards. When you need credit (car, house and etc), it looks much better to the lender if you have less cards with high limits than a bunch of cards with low limits.

There are always exceptions, for example: if you already have established credit and won't be needing credit anytime soon I guess you could get some bonuses to pay for a trip or something, but those are rare situations in my opinion.

Remember that people have different credit profiles here, and Open123 has a nice thick file and excellent credit, so it makes sense for him. There isn't a problem with a bunch of low limit cards, and it doesn't need to be a one-time thing to pay for a trip. Similarly I go for MS as it gives even more income (and it's sort of fun) Neither is for everyone, but to completely disagree in a blanket way is too much in the other direction. Don't do this too often with very thin files, but it can make sense for many.

Also, keeping a credit card for the long-term can be pointless. Cards get nerfed, the value of rewards (esp for transfers) can devalue, and sometimes a card that suits your spending pattern even better might come along. So, if your credit history supports it, feel free to go for cards JUST for bonuses, if you want to!

Re: CSP vs Arrival

lexrjSD — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:10:07 GMT

Like I said, there are always exceptions, however, the majority of ppl that I see posting here do not fall under those exceptions. They seem to be applying for whatever they can as much as they can.

I'm not judging anyone, I just completely disagree with the strategy.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Open123 — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:13:54 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
I'd rather travel more and fly coach than travel a lot less and fly 1st.

There's certainly a value here, which is more than the single premium cabin flight. I can't speak for other rewards enthusiasts, but I think the one thing I try to do is to maxim the return on spending.

I do it more as a hobby, as opposed to a need. For me, it's just lots of fun to unearth pockets of value and opportunistic redemptions. And, of course, if I had a choice, I'd rather fly in business or first, rather than coach.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Open123 — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:15:41 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
I'm not judging anyone, I just completely disagree with the strategy.

I agree with you. App sprees aren't for everyone, and should never be taken lightly. It is a game, but can potentially have serious short to midterm consequences.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

CreditScholar — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 05:19:53 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
I think they should do whatever makes them happy, I just completely disagree with the strategy. I'd rather travel more and fly coach than travel a lot less and fly 1st.
That's the only strategy worth for the CSP unless you're a huge spender, except that huge spenders could care less about saving points for travelling, they just book whatever they want.

This might be ok if you're assuming that the only limitation that keeps people from travelling more is money. However for some of us, the major limiting factor is time.

It's not simply a matter of I have $X to spend, so I'd rather spread it across 5 flights in Y instead of one in F. Instead it could be I only have X weeks off per year, money isn't really a factor, so I want those weeks to be as good as they possibly can. For some, "as good as they possibly can" might mean J or F tickets.

The other issue with your logic is that "huge spenders couldn't care less about saving points for travelling, they just book when they want".

My question is if you don't have to pay for something and can use points instead, why not? Sure one could shell out 10k for an international business class seat, but if you can use points that you've already earned through normal everyday spending, why not put that same 10k to use somewhere else? I refuse to believe that there isn't somewhere else you can use the money. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should always pay the asking price. If there's a way to get it for less, what's wrong with saving money?

Re: CSP vs Arrival

Networth — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:18:40 GMT

I always find the assumption that people with means don't care about points and "free" rewards, and ohh how wrong that assumption is. Oh and CSP > Arrival.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

red259 — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:15:11 GMT

@lexrjSD wrote:
I think they should do whatever makes them happy, I just completely disagree with the strategy. I'd rather travel more and fly coach than travel a lot less and fly 1st.
That's the only strategy worth for the CSP unless you're a huge spender, except that huge spenders could care less about saving points for travelling, they just book whatever they want.

You can get decent coach redemptions as well. You don't need to be a "huge spender" to benefit from the card. Many people here benefit from the CSP. I prefer to fly first/business class on international flights. The prices on those tickets are astronomical. Therefore the only way I would ever be flying that level is through points, since I can't bring myself to shell out that type of money for an airline ticket. There is nothing wrong with getting a card for the bonus. I think you are making too many assumptions about the people on the board. Sure some people are rebuilding or have limited credit card spend or do not travel. The CSP is not designed for them. However, there are also many people here that benefit from credit card bonuses and come to these boards to stay up to date on the latest information.

Re: CSP vs Arrival

blondy250 — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:59:40 GMT

I'm convinced by some of the posts I've read the primary reason many people get a CSP is because it's a metallic card. Actually a brilliant piece of marketing by Chase, you get a large group of holders who pay an annual fee , but never get any of the intended benefit out of the card.