Chase is really designed for the 100k+ plus earner that will stick 3,000 on a credit card in a month like its nothing and pay it off.
They'll let you get in if you make less but with modest limits which can be tight if you're traveling a lot.
I'd say in this situation you might want to go the route of the CSP. They are very quick on the bonus. I applied for my CSP on 11/15/19. Earned my bonus on 12/29/19. 60k bonus is scheduled to deposit into my account on 1/14/20 less than 60 days from open.
I'm looking at reedeming 2 direct flights next month for 51,000 points on Southwest which retail at $823 dollars. That means the CSP SUB is worth about $968 on Southwest which is a better discount than what you'll get on the CSR.
After hitting the bonus spend you'll have more overall CSP points. Estimating that as you try to burn the spend about 2/3 will go on at the bonus rate be it x2 or x3 while the other 1/3 is at x1
CSP 3,000 x1.66 = (4,980 + 60,000) = 64,980
CSR 3,000 x2.33 = (6,990 + 50,000) = 56,990
The first 300 travel spend of the CSR doesn't earn points so subtracting that give you 56,090 or 9k less points than the CSP the first 3 months. They you have to pay that 450 Annual Fee on the CSR up front when its only 95 for the CSP.
After another 9 months you don't recover the difference assuming 3k per quarter spend within th bonus category. This is because you are still spending after the travel credit $55 more in AF with the CSR over the CSP which equates to 5500 points.
CSP 9,000 x2 = 18,000
CSR 9,000 x3 = 27,000 - 5500 = 21,500
Of that inital 9,000 deficit you'll have scratched back only 3,500 after one year. Year 2 however is different because you aren't spotting the CSP a 10k lead for the SUB.
Official travel point totals as of 10/21/24 (1,358,177 Total Points)
Chase Ultimate Rewards 696,884 | IHG One Rewards 144,957 | Hilton Honors 144,521 | AMEX Membership Rewards 102,729 | World of Hyatt 76,095 | Marriott Bonvoy 65,343 | Citi Thank You 38,153 | Choice Rewards 32,460 | United MileagePlus 13,316 | British Airways Avios 12,333 | Jet Blue TrueBlue 11,780 | Wells Fargo Rewards 2,858 | Southwest Rapid Rewards 2,447 | NASA Platinum Rewards 1,883 | AA Advantage 1,744 | Navy Federal Rewards 1,087 | Delta Sky Miles 175 | Virgin Atlantic Virgin Points 100 | Lowes Business Rewards 7,102 ($71.02) | Amazon Rewards 2,200 ($4.75) | Discover CB 10 ($0.10)
