CSP vs. Venture vs. Arrival - which is easiest to redeem?

[WLRK11]

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@IWOL wrote:

For example I just booked a first class round trip ticket on United from NY to Johannesburg for 180,000 points. The retail price of that ticket is $9653.00. That would take $450,000 in spending on Arrival to get that ticket, only around $150,000 spend on CSP. Ofcourse that doesnt factor in bonuses and miles earned other ways but just shows you the large disparity for first class travel.

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+1

[skigirl916]

Great input from everyone so far!  

I have the Venture already.  I have two cards with Chase, and one with Barclay.  They all were quick and easy to come by, but the dings will take a while to rectify.  Anyway, I was wondering when I come out of the garden (quite a while off, but while I'm gardening, I'm researching/planning), whether to go for the Arrival+ or the CSP.

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

It sounds like I should behave myself with my Chase and Barlcay cards the most to have a good shot, though.  Show them that I can handle the lines.

[Anonymous]

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skigirl916 wrote:Great input from everyone so far!  

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

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You cannot transder to AA with the CSP.   You can transfer to BA and use the Avios on AA, but you cannot combine them into one set of miles. 

[skigirl916]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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skigirl916 wrote:Great input from everyone so far!  

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

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You cannot transder to AA with the CSP.   You can transfer to BA and use the Avios on AA, but you cannot combine them into one set of miles. 

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You lost me.  Transfer from CSP to BA+ and then what? 

[red259]

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@skigirl916 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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skigirl916 wrote:Great input from everyone so far!  

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

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You cannot transder to AA with the CSP.   You can transfer to BA and use the Avios on AA, but you cannot combine them into one set of miles. 

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You lost me.  Transfer from CSP to BA+ and then what? 

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Then book an award via BA for an AA flight. 

[Anonymous]

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@skigirl916 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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skigirl916 wrote:Great input from everyone so far!  

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

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You cannot transder to AA with the CSP.   You can transfer to BA and use the Avios on AA, but you cannot combine them into one set of miles. 

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You lost me.  Transfer from CSP to BA+ and then what? 

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You transfer from CSP to BA.  Then the BA points, called Avios, can be used to book flights on AA.  (As they are the same alliance).  Avios can be very good for short-haul domestic flights on AA, as the redemption is distance based rather than say "a domestic flight costs 25,000 points".  ( There are also some other great Avios  price points, e.g Boston to Ireland on Aer Lingus, because the distance falls just below a boundary making this one of the lowest cost transatlantic awards)

[IWOL]

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skigirl916 wrote:

Great input from everyone so far!  

I have the Venture already.  I have two cards with Chase, and one with Barclay.  They all were quick and easy to come by, but the dings will take a while to rectify.  Anyway, I was wondering when I come out of the garden (quite a while off, but while I'm gardening, I'm researching/planning), whether to go for the Arrival+ or the CSP.

As a side note, I have about 200,000 miles with American, but am not interested in the Citi AAdvantage card. (I have a bone to pick with Citi.)  So, it sounds like the CSP might be better just so that I can transfer points to AA.  Yeah?

It sounds like I should behave myself with my Chase and Barlcay cards the most to have a good shot, though.  Show them that I can handle the lines.

If you want AA Miles you should look at the Amex SPG, You can transfer SPG points to  AA.  If you transfer atleast 20,000 points you get 5000 bonus points, so if your transfer 100,000 SPG points to AA you'll get 125,000 AA miles. 

The sign up bonus is 25000 points with $5k spend and you earn 1 point per $1 and 5 points per dollar for SPG stays.

[carlosjgg]

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@IWOL wrote:

In terms of easist to get, I would say the Arrival is easiest, then CSP and Venture I would say are close.

Thast was my experince atleast. I think the Venture is Cap 1's top tier card so more stringent requirments than their other cards.

As far as travel redemption goes, I think it depends entirely on where you wanna go and how you wanna get there.

If your a jet setter and your want to travel to Bora Bora first class then you need a card that can transfer points to airlines such as CSP and/or SPG.

For example I just booked a first class round trip ticket on United from NY to Johannesburg for 180,000 points. The retail price of that ticket is $9653.00. That would take $450,000 in spending on Arrival to get that ticket, only around $150,000 spend on CSP. Ofcourse that doesnt factor in bonuses and miles earned other ways but just shows you the large disparity for first class travel.

If your just staying local (somewhere in the US) an dbooking domestic flight  then the Arrival will probably be more valuable since you get 2.2 points per dollar spent on everything.

I think the Arrival beats the Venture in almost all ways.....2.2 instead of 2, Chip and Pin, Travel Blog for earning points, rewards boost mall.

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i think the csp is betterand and  it has way better customer service  but you have to consider this if you purchase that same ticket with venture, arrival or csp as cash back you you will earn over 25k miles good for a round trip domestic flight plus silver status, plus with award tickets you have to pay for taxes and fees cash. tickets are not always abelible as reward also if you are the type of person that likes to get a status in the airline or hotel programs transferring point to miles will never get you there if you are not a heavy traveler  both ways have their ups and downs. with csp you have the option of choosing to transfer the points for miles or used the points as cash back