CSP AU 5,000 Pts...no hope :(

[09Lexie]

@enharu

Not to hijack the thread but as you know I was thinking if adding the Merrill+ in Jan. DH was suggesting that it didn't add anything to my portfolio...maybe he was right. Going to chew on that one a bit.

[enharu]

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@09Lexie wrote:
@enharu

Not to hijack the thread but as you know I was thinking if adding the Merrill+ in Jan. DH was suggesting that it didn't add anything to my portfolio...maybe he was right. Going to chew on that one a bit.

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I think it's a nice 0 AF no FTF card, but I was more concerned about getting my foot in with BofA rather than caring about the card itself (other than its looks ). I figured out of all the BofA / FIA cards this is kinda the best choice for me and I went with it. But after all the hype and excitment died down, this card seems to be pretty useless to me. Others have said the rewards are pretty good, but I haven't really checked it out myself so I don't know. I have like 500 points on it at most, which isn't worth anything significant. 

[09Lexie]

@enharu

At least I have a few weeks to do more research on the card. Or maybe they will allow cardmembers to change the image on the Fid Amex.

[enharu]

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@09Lexie wrote:
@enharu

At least I have a few weeks to do more research on the card. Or maybe they will allow cardmembers to change the image on the Fid Amex.

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I wish they would allow cardmembers to customize the card image, or at least come up with a few choices to choose from with regards to the color scheme (same approach as Chase Amazon). The Fid Amex Private Client card looks nice though, but there's a $200+ AF. It's great for anyone who wants lounge club membership, but $200 annually just to make the card nice is a hefty price to pay.

I just can't get over the looks of the card, especially the visa-signature and college version. 

[CreditScholar]

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@enharu wrote:

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@CreditScholar wrote:
Which cards do you regret getting, and are you planning to cull these anytime soon?

Also how do you find the Amex Plat vs. Ritz?

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The Citi Prestige is probably my biggest regret. Even though they waived the AF, I probably should have gotten something else from Citi instead or not even bother with anything. Everything just seems pretty medicore. Maybe I'll eventually find more use for it. I just bought some air tickets using this card so I'll see if I do get the bonus flight-miles for travel that isn't done by me. I don't plan to renew the card and will either try to consolidate my CL or change it into something else if possible. Otherwise I'll just close it.

The other 2 cards are the Barclay Arrival and Merrill+. The Merrill+ isn't a bad card, but I just don't have much use for it right now, and I don't want to dilute my spending across different rewards program as well. The Barclay card has a nice sign-up bonus, and they pull TU, which was why I went for it. But until now I have yet to redeem any of those miles since I just end up using my other cards for travel purchases. I'll probably use up the rewards during a weekend trip to vegas or something and then close the account. I also haven't used my Bloomingdale's card since Feb'13. They close accounts after a year of inactivity, so I'll just let them close the account on its own. There was a use for the card when Bloomingdale's required purchases to be made on their card in order to get any sales discount, but they have loosened up on their policies now.

I think the Ritz and Amex cards are both nice to have and they can complement each other. If I can only choose 1 out of the 2, I probably will go with the Ritz though, since the other Amex benefits, minus lounge access, are also available on other Amex cards. 

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I'm glad you mentioned this, since it confirmed my previous suspicions. I considered the Citi Prestige at one point, but there were too many question marks about the benefits and I don't fly enough to take full advantage of the flight miles matching feature.

I also completely agree about the Merrill+ card in that it's not a bad card by any measure, but it's not good enough to make me shift significant amounts of spending away from the cards I already have. If I didn't have a non-Chase card already and wanted a backup, then that's another story and it would be on the list of cards I'd consider.

I think the only products from Citi that are worth it are the AA cards and Hilton Reserve (plus the few that the Prestige would make sense for). TY points are inferior to all of the other major point currencies (UR, MR, SPG), and everything else can be found in a superior version elsewhere.

[CreditScholar]

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@enharu wrote:

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@09Lexie wrote:
@enharu

At least I have a few weeks to do more research on the card. Or maybe they will allow cardmembers to change the image on the Fid Amex.

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I wish they would allow cardmembers to customize the card image, or at least come up with a few choices to choose from with regards to the color scheme (same approach as Chase Amazon). The Fid Amex Private Client card looks nice though, but there's a $200+ AF. It's great for anyone who wants lounge club membership, but $200 annually just to make the card nice is a hefty price to pay.

I just can't get over the looks of the card, especially the visa-signature and college version. 

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+1. That card is one ugly-ass mofo.

Lexie: if it doesn't add anything significant to your portfolio you may want to pass on it. Unless it comes with a sign-up bonus you want, or you just want to keep it since it has no AF and will add to your AAoA over the next ~20 years, why get an extra card that you don't really plan to use? It doesn't come with an annual retention feature like the Chase hotel cards either.

When the question shifts from "why?" to "why not?", IMO that's the time to double-check both reasoning and purpose.

[09Lexie]

@CreditScholar

The initial thought was the card could add something but it looks more and more less likely that it would be beneficial. I always re-evaluate my plans when considering adding cc's and it's worked well for me.

Now, I will reassess my Jan plans.

[IcEWoLF]

The card I regret most for having is the AMEX from BoA, probably used it less than 20 times since I got it few years back.

Other than that, I've used my other cards well because of the sign up bonus, the NFL Card with the $400 sign up bonus was great because it helped me pay for my car repairs for an accident I was involved in back in February of this year.

I also do agree, I am somewhat regretting getting the Merrill+ Card, but oh well, it's good to have a No Annual Fee card with no FTF as a backup besides my CSP.

My main cards I use now are the following:

CSP - Everyday spending

AMEX Costco: Costco+Gas

Freedom: 5% Categories

Discover it: 5% Categories

TY Preferred: Using it to get bonus.

BoA Privileges: Using it to get bonus.

Other than that, unless there are some crazy sign up bonus offers, I don't really see any other cards attracting my attention.

Back to topic, My father is considering applying for the CSP and possibly adding me or my mom as AU's to get the 5K sign up bonus on top of the 50K.

[enharu]

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@CreditScholar wrote:

I'm glad you mentioned this, since it confirmed my previous suspicions. I considered the Citi Prestige at one point, but there were too many question marks about the benefits and I don't fly enough to take full advantage of the flight miles matching feature.

I also completely agree about the Merrill+ card in that it's not a bad card by any measure, but it's not good enough to make me shift significant amounts of spending away from the cards I already have. If I didn't have a non-Chase card already and wanted a backup, then that's another story and it would be on the list of cards I'd consider.

I think the only products from Citi that are worth it are the AA cards and Hilton Reserve (plus the few that the Prestige would make sense for). TY points are inferior to all of the other major point currencies (UR, MR, SPG), and everything else can be found in a superior version elsewhere.

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The Prestige may seem somewhat similar to Amex Plat / Ritz in terms of benefits but it's still lacking in many ways. Some of the benefits seem to be just marketing hype, especially after I read the whole T&C in detail. A lot of the claims / warranty coverage for example, is the same as a regular WMC / Visa Sig. I tried talking to a claims rep for more details and it does seem that they place a lot more restrictions and make people jump through more hoops as compared to JPM and Amex. 

Enrolling in certain benefits wasn't exactly a smooth experience for me either because both reps I talked to were pretty clueless, even though they were supposed to be the best CS department for Citi cards. The worst part of customer service is that I still had to talk to a machine and answer several questions before I can finally reach someone. I do have to select from some options as well for Amex Plat, but I can easily reach a rep in less than a minute since the automated system is set up in a much more efficient manner.

If I can accrue TY points by buying air tickets for others, accumulating flight miles won't be an issue. However I will need to spend in equal amounts to get those flight-miles, and I'm not really interested in moving my spending away from my other cards since TY points aren't that great as you have mentioned.

[09Lexie]

I am the guilty party that got this thread so off topic.

Here's my attempt to steer it back...

Has anyone been successful in getting the additional 5,000 AU points?