AMEX Gold still worth it?

[longtimelurker]

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@Shadowfactor wrote:

Chase UR is a good currency if your plan is to redeem points for domestic flights as the portal 1.5CPP is a really good safety net given it is quite hard to get a good CPP out of domestic flight redemptions without some sort of sale. I can see the advantage of UR for those which will redeem that way.

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Or even international coach.   But... from what I have seen here, the Propel+WF Visa Sig is a much cheaper way of achieving the same 1.5cpp travel redemptions!  (I don't have the WF cards so can't confirm first hand, but that is what has been said!)

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Shadowfactor wrote:

Chase UR is a good currency if your plan is to redeem points for domestic flights as the portal 1.5CPP is a really good safety net given it is quite hard to get a good CPP out of domestic flight redemptions without some sort of sale. I can see the advantage of UR for those which will redeem that way.

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Or even international coach.   But... from what I have seen here, the Propel+WF Visa Sig is a much cheaper way of achieving the same 1.5cpp travel redemptions!  (I don't have the WF cards so can't confirm first hand, but that is what has been said!)

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It is true, WF combo has the same rate as CSR, sans AF.

Downside is WF combo doesn't have a CFU equivalent 2.5% base earning card, and obviously, propel is an Amex card, and has no lounge access.

[wasCB14]

CFU with CSR is 1.5x1.5= 2.25% towards UR travel, not 2.5%. Of course, even if you expect to redeem at 1.5 cpp, there is still some value in flexibility if there is a small chance you might transfer points to an airline.

It can be hard to estimate the value of CSR's travel protections and customer service but they are important to me. It's not all about rewards.

[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:
CFU with CSR is 1.5x1.5= 2.25% towards UR travel, not 2.5%.

It can be hard to estimate the value of CSR's travel protections and customer service but they are important to me. It's not all about rewards.

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It's 1.5x1.5x1.1=2.47 (~2.5%), at least for me. I am counting the flight ticket earning miles at ~10% rate.

[Anonymous]

I feel I can get $150 in value with the CSR just from some of the nicer travel benefits alone, even if it never is one of my heavy lifters.

I think the CSR complements the gold pretty well, fills in some gaps. I use the CSR for travel (Chase’s definition of it at least), and the Gold for everything else. It isn’t great having two separate sets of rewards points but UR’s have a floor of .01/p. I book 1 $5k trip with them a year and not only is it insured 15 different ways, but I’ve covered my net AF too.

[mongstradamus]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I feel I can get $150 in value with the CSR just from some of the nicer travel benefits alone, even if it never is one of my heavy lifters.

I think the CSR complements the gold pretty well, fills in some gaps. I use the CSR for travel (Chase’s definition of it at least), and the Gold for everything else. It isn’t great having two separate sets of rewards points but UR’s have a floor of .01/p. I book 1 $5k trip with them a year and not only is it insured 15 different ways, but I’ve covered my net AF too.

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I usually use my CIP for travel 3x since gold covers restaurants.I don't get the 1.5 CPP value but i rarely use that anyways I will transfer mostly to Hyatt these days.

[Anonymous]

Does the delta gift card trick of $50 still work?

[Anonymous]

I used to have but I cancelled the card (I generally carry a balance of 10-15%). If you're someone who'd like to PIF at the end of the month, the the rewards are pretty good.

[Shadowfactor]

There’s some rumors that AA giftcards are back in play. Not enough DP currently to make a determination.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Does the delta gift card trick of $50 still work?

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it does, so is paying small ticket price (last time I tried).