Greetings MyFico Denizens! A couple of weeks ago I posted asking if Chase Sapphire Preferred would be the card for me. I travel 1-2 times a year. Most of my non-home spend is on dining. Several others gave me others suggestions that might be better for my spend. So these are the cards I went ahead and weighed as my new card options.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Uber Card
- Marvel
- Wells Fargo Propel
With the help of my excel-wiz S.O. we ran the calculations for the different scenarios based on last year's spend and this year's spend with an estimated yearly spend based on this first quarter. My results proved very interesting. Please note I used minimum point values for CSP and CSR, 1.25 and 1.5 respectively.
The first thing to note is that with every alteration of my spend (accounting for things like really good 5% categories with Freedom for about 3/4 of the year) the Chase Sapphire Preferred yielded the worst value for me. I will not be considering this card anymore.
Below are my different scenarios. The first one in both grids is my current setup potential.
Based on Last Year's Spend
| Chase Freedom/Freedom Unlimited (Current) | 142.5 | |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | 140.25 | |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | 106.25 | |
| Uber Credit Card | 208.5 | |
| Marvel Mastercard | 189 | |
| WF Propel | 198 |
Projected Spend this Year:
| Chase Freedom/Freedom Unlimited (Current) | 178.5 | |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | 198.75 | |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | 152.5 | |
| Uber Credit Card | 256.4 | |
| Marvel Mastercard | 235.5 | |
| WF Propel | 237 |
It is obvious to me that the Uber Card is the most profitable. But I overthink every card I get. I dine out a lot right now but I want to make sure that I'm not losing out on CB/Rewards if my spend changes due to life. I like something about all 3 of my top cards.
Uber Card: It is great because I dine out or order in frequently. I like that it also has 3% on partial travel. By the same token, I don't like that things such as toll and parking lots don't count for this card. I don't have a 2% card so this would serve that purpose for online spend (doesn't everyone spend online these days?)
Marvel: Very simple structure. 3% in dining and entertainment would be one of my middling categories, $~1000 spend. I like that stores like GameStop and the PSN store, Apple Store, etc all count as 3% categories. The card is also pretty cool looking as Marvel is very in right now. It does lack in travel so my travel would likely wind up on my Freedom Unlimited.
WF Propel: It's a very bank-type card with few thrills, also pretty straight forward. 3% on dining and travel (includes tolls, I spend ~$800 in tolls alone a year). Besides this I see very few things I would benefit from. The streaming options here are extremely limited and almost not worth mentioning. The signup bonus is pretty sweet, I can hit the 3K spent but doubtful that I could hit the 15K spend as long as the Freedom keeps coming at me with those nice categories. It is an Amex which is a pro and a con for me. I would likely get a large SL but the limit of $25 minimum for redemption in cashback always seemed asenine to me.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: This is the card my soul wants. Lounge access for my once every two year flight seems just lovely. The $300 travel creditis a no brainer. The increased value on my Freedom points is awesome. It's freaking metal. Yet this card doesn't make up for what I'd gain with one of the aforementioned cards. Even assuming I get a lot of spend from Freedom categories, with that AF, it seems like it won't outpace the Uber. Another con with this card is that I don't have the luxury of just using my debit card. With this setup, everything would have to go on it, Freedom, or Freedom Unlimited (besides maybe grocery spend). I'd have to micromanage payments and make sure I don't overspend a lot more carefully.
So in essence, I want more opinions on which card to get. As I alter the numbers in different areas I do notice the gap shrinks between Uber, Marvel, and Propel. I think any 3 would compliment my setup very well. If you have another card you think I should consider, please feel free to share it with me (unless it's Capital One, I don't want to do business with them).
As always, thanks for reading, thanks for your suggestions, ideas, and thoughts. I appreciate this community very much.
TLDR: Should I get CSR, Uber, Marvel, or Propel?
Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA. 
Also, if you are a big mobile app payer, I'd look at the US Bank Altitude Reserve. It's $50 cheaper than CSR, and has a $325 travel credit, so effective AF of $75 (1/2 of CSR). The beautiful thing is you can use this card for 3 points on everything... especially if you have a Samsung phone due to MST. I also believe the points increase as well to 50% through their portal for travel.
Downside? US bank is somewhat conservative, and you must be a US Bank customer before you can get this card. I don't think it has other perks like the CSR does, such as lounge access.
P.S. This card is metal also
P.P.S. If you really do not travel much, very little will beat the Uber card for best value. However, the more you do travel, even if it is subway passes, tolls, trains, etc., travel cards will become more and more lucrative. But don't get a high end travel card unless you know for sure you will use all of the credits each year. It would be a little dumb to get the CSR and do well the first year, but not travel at all the second. Just keep that in mind (lucky CSR has broad travel categories)
Downside? US bank is somewhat conservative, and you must be a US Bank customer before you can get this card. I don't think it has other perks like the CSR does, such as lounge access.
P.S. This card is metal also
P.P.S. If you really do not travel much, very little will beat the Uber card for best value. However, the more you do travel, even if it is subway passes, tolls, trains, etc., travel cards will become more and more lucrative. But don't get a high end travel card unless you know for sure you will use all of the credits each year. It would be a little dumb to get the CSR and do well the first year, but not travel at all the second. Just keep that in mind (lucky CSR has broad travel categories)
Id go for a Credit One Nascar Visa, straight 1% back really simplifies life not having to worry about what gets what. Its the Nu Nu
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Id go for a Credit One Nascar Visa, straight 1% back really simplifies life not having to worry about what gets what. Its the Nu Nu
Silly AJC. Credit One Nacar is for the big spenders.
I dont know @wingennis, @K-in-Boston still cant qualify, i think big spenders are being reserved for the Amex CLD Premium Reserve card
Definitely weigh the Altitude Reserve (I mean for spend, otherwise I can spoil it and say it’s heavier than CSR). It comes with PP passes but not an actual membership, also comes with gogoinflight passes. Both portal and real-time travel credits are 1.5x so mobile payments always earn 4.5% back that way.
Hi all! Thanks for the input. Altitude Reserve does sound like a good option. However, I don't want to take the double hit to my AAOA in the process of trying to get it. One app is all I'll do this year.
Maybe I'll consider the NASCAR CC. It sounds exhilarating! 
I'm going to be hitting the APP button in an hour and a hald. I think ultimately, with my spend the Uber card might yield more results but may not be the best choice long-term. I'm 95% sure I'm going to be choosing the Marvel Mastercard. It is almost as good for dining (my major category spend) but provides with 3% cashback on many entertainment/digital entertainment, and more in place of travel.
If I go with Uber, this card will be of little value if I do get a travel card (still eyeing CSR) later.
If I go with Marvel, I can always choose to get a travel card later down the road when my travel spend increases. In the meantime, I can accrue decent cashback on my biggest category and another pretty big category spend will be covered as well.
Still open for opinions and suggestions for the next hour and a half.