Barclay Elite vs. Sapphire Preferred for travel..Why would you ever choose Barclay???

[bfpri]

I've been seeing the Barclay elite card being highly publicized for travel rewards. What I don't understand is how it is in any way better than the Sapphire Preferred. Sure you earn 2x for everything, but the Sapphire also gives 2x for travel AND you can transfer it to airlines at a 1:1 ratio. So 2 Sapphire points can give you 2 AA miles which can be worth 4 cents while with barclay, 2 pts is essentially only worth 2 cents, ( a little more if you include the bonus they give back). 

The only instance where I can understand where you would use the Barclay card is for anything not dining, gas, travel..or groceries as there are better cards out there for thatl...so basically its only good for shopping? 

Seems like yet another card you get for the rewards bonus  (which isn't even that great compared to the rewards sapphire plus gives out) and then downgrading or canceling..

Am i missing something here? 

[IWOL]

I could be wrong but. I don't think AA is a Chase partner, so you can't transfer points to AA. United is the main partner and other airlines. 

I think the main advantage of the Arrival card is that you can redeem the points against any travel, not only airlines and not only specific airlines.

Ther are no black out dates since you can book any available flight and then redeem rewards against that flight.

I think it really depends on how and where you travel. If you transfer UR points to airline programs at 1 for 1 and you use them for international first or business you will get more value for your money.

if you travel domestically on economy flights the redemption rates will be similar but yout won't have any restrictions with the Arrival. If you can book a discounted flight on Expedia you can use the Arrival points for that but cant use the CSP for that.

[lg8302ch]

Heavy spenders = CSP, low spenders = Arrival +

I just got mine but think that for me the Arrival + will still bring better results, but we will see and I might change my mind. Worth for the sign up bonus no matter what the result  will be for me

[nachoslibres]

Arrival + is going to lose against the CSP if you are using it strictly for travel purchases.  Where the Arrival + shines is the effective 2.22% rate it earns on every single purchase - whether it is travel or not.  CSP can't compete with that unless you are able to get and average of 2.07 cents out of every UR (2.22 Arrival rate / 1.07 unbonused CSP UR rate).  Even if you were partnering the CSP with a Freedom + Chase Checking you would need to get an average of 2.018 cents out of every UR (2.22 Arrival rate / 1.1 unbonused Freedom + Chase Checking UR rate).

You could get more than 2.07 cents out of every UR if you were using your points for high end travel (i.e. first class airfare tickets, luxury Hyatt stays) but I plan on using my miles for coach travel and mid-range Hyatts where it is hard to get 2.018 cents for each UR.  Therefore, I put all my non-bonused spend onto the Arrival + (so anything that isn't an office supply store, gas, cable/internet/phone, or a quarterly bonus category on the Freedom).  The other perk of the Arrival + is that it allows you to redeem the 2.22% effective earning rate against anything travel related.  I use my rewards to redeem against an annual Disney cruise we have started taking as a family - and while I know I could do that over the phone with a CSP rep if I had the CSP card, I would only earn 1.25 cents per UR if I were to do that - far below the Arrival + effective rate.

The other thing you have to look at is annual spend, because even for non-bonused spending for most people it would make more sense to use something like the Fidelity Amex since it has no AF.  You have to spend over $40k annually to justify the AF on the Arrival + compared to the Fidelty Amex.

[longtimelurker]

---

@nachoslibres wrote:

The other thing you have to look at is annual spend, because even for non-bonused spending for most people it would make more sense to use something like the Fidelity Amex since it has no AF.  You have to spend over $40k annually to justify the AF on the Arrival + compared to the Fidelty Amex.

---

Yes, I think this is the key when people compare Arrival against CSP etc.   My rules would be:

1) Where your CR supports it, get both CSP and Arrival for the bonus, and get Fidelity Amex (spreading it out as necessary for meeting required spend and impact to CR)

2) Keep CSP after first year if you can really use high value redemptions and get the value nachoslibres discusses from your URs and you can earn enough URs

3) Keep Arrival only if spend exceeds $40K a year or if most spend is at places that don't take Amex.

Similar stuff with the MR cards.  It's probably the case that many would be better off (after first year) with Fidelity, except for those that can use redemptions that give high value (international premium cabin, high end hotel stays, short haul flights using Avios for example)

[takeshi74]

---

@bfpri wrote:

I've been seeing the Barclay elite card being highly publicized for travel rewards. What I don't understand is how it is in any way better than the Sapphire Preferred.

---

---

@bfpri wrote:

Am i missing something here?

---

It's never about which card is better.  Better is always highly subjective regardless of topic.  It's about which suits the individual better.

Where's your major spend?  How do you intend to redeem and with which companies?  How much in the way of travel charges do you have?  If you don't have much then the Arrival may not be worthwhile since you have to redeem against travel charges.  However, the Arrival offers more flexbility in optimally using rewards with any travel company versus the CSP where you really are limited to transfer partners to eke out the most value from UR points.  If you want feedback you need to give us more info on you: your spend, your preferences. etc.

Also sounds like you need to do more due diligence.  You can't transfer UR points to AA as mentioned above.  Nerdwallet seems to have an analysis of the Elite that you might find handy and it's just the first Google hit on "Barclay Elite". 

---

@bfpri wrote:

Sure you earn 2x for everything 

---

It's not just 2x.  Don't just look at earn rates.  Look at other factors and redemption as well.

Also, some prefer simplicity and 2x for everything is simple.  That sort of preference for simplicity is why some carry 2% and 1.5% cashback cards.  Some carry such cards as a supplement to their cards that offer higher rates on specific categories.  You have to tell us where your preferences lie in this area.  Everyone is not identical in terms of preference, spend, etc.

---

@IWOL wrote:

I could be wrong but. I don't think AA is a Chase partner, so you can't transfer points to AA. United is the main partner and other airlines. 

---

https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/marketing/page/ultimate-rewards-transfer

[-NewGuy-]

---

@longtimelurker wrote:

---

@nachoslibres wrote:

The other thing you have to look at is annual spend, because even for non-bonused spending for most people it would make more sense to use something like the Fidelity Amex since it has no AF.  You have to spend over $40k annually to justify the AF on the Arrival + compared to the Fidelty Amex.

---

Yes, I think this is the key when people compare Arrival against CSP etc.   My rules would be:

1) Where your CR supports it, get both CSP and Arrival for the bonus, and get Fidelity Amex (spreading it out as necessary for meeting required spend and impact to CR)

2) Keep CSP after first year if you can really use high value redemptions and get the value nachoslibres discusses from your URs and you can earn enough URs

3) Keep Arrival only if spend exceeds $40K a year or if most spend is at places that don't take Amex.

Similar stuff with the MR cards.  It's probably the case that many would be better off (after first year) with Fidelity, except for those that can use redemptions that give high value (international premium cabin, high end hotel stays, short haul flights using Avios for example)

---

Yes, as pointed out, redemption matters just as much as accrual, it just doesn't get as much focus.

There are other options too, depending on needs. Let's assume that someone uses a majority of their UR points for Hyatt transfers. The Hyatt card might actually be a better options. Usually co-branded cards return horrible value for general spend, but Hyatt points are pretty valuable. The Hyatt offers the same point earning as the CSP (minus the 7% dividend) on the same categories, not including the 3x at Hyatt properties. Note, the CSP has a $95 annual fee, whereas the Hyatt has a $75 fee. However, the Hyatt has the free room at a 1-4 property. Let's value the free night conservatively at $150 (could be less, could be a lot more). So now, the CSP costs $95 and the Hyatt comes with a yearly credit of $75, making the CSP $170 more expensive to own on a yearly basis.

Now, there are a TON of variables here that might not work for everyone. Maybe you don't value the free night at $150. You lose UR Mall access to earning bonus points without CSP. You transfer mainly from the CSP to United or Avios instead. Just throwing out there that there is more than one way to do things, and the best way may not be immediately apparent.