CSR and Amex EDP?

[longtimelurker]

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@UpperNwGuywrote:

If you rarely travel, don't get a travel card.  Get a cash back card.  If you travel a moderate amount, make sure your travel cards all operate in the same ecosystem.  Don't try to mix a UR card and an MR card.  Only frequent travellers can make that combo work.  I recommend you get a 2% cash back card and use that alongside a card (or cards) with 3% category rewards for groceries, gas, and dining.

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I agree with this (in general).    One question is the spend.   A big pitfall with multiple programs is that an low/average spender ends up with a small  number of points in each program, and might do better to focus (this is if you intend to redeem for travel, if not, avoid MRs!)

The EDP has an additional challenge when used in a combo.   It's valuable when you do 30 or more swipes a month.  For many, that isn't a problem, but if a whole set of transactions are going to be on the Chase card, make sure that there is enough to get 30 on the EDP.

[MrDisco99]

I would first figure out which points system works best for you and focus on that.  If you live near a Delta hub, then MR points may work best for you.  Figure out what airlines serve you best based on where you live and where you want to travel to.  Then base the rewards you want to earn on that.

It sounds like you're like me.  I love to travel but I don't do it frequently enough to justify paying $450 or $550 per year on a card that gives me a bunch of travelperks I may not otherwise use.  I want cards that will give me rewards on everyday spend that are redeemable for travel.

For Amex MR points, the PRG and EDP seem to be a great combination.  The problem with this is the high fee on the PRG.  $290 per year is a bit much for both cards.  You could downgrade the EDP to the ED maybe or replace the PRG with something that earns well on restaurants for a lower fee.

The Citi TY Premier is a pretty good all-around card that earns transferrable points on a very wide range of bonus categories, at half the fee of the PRG.  However, the transfer partners are different, so it may be difficult to combine those points depending on which airlines work best for where you want to go.  Also there isn't a large US domestic carrier among them.  TY points are also useful on their travel portal, though, which gives you a little more flexiblity vs. MR points which are not worth as much on the Amex portal.

If you go with Chase UR points, then combining the Freedom cards with the CSR and/or CIP is the way to go.  That may be the fastest possible way to earn transferrable points.  The main obstacle to that is being able to actually get the cards if you have a lot of recent new accounts.  This system works great if you fly frequently with United or Southwest, but maybe not so much for Delta.  At 1.5 cents per point on their portal, though, you might not be missing much from being unable to transfer points anyway.

[Anonymous]

Amex Platinum imo is only really lucrative if you fly out of an airport with a Centurion lounge.

Personally, I have 4 cards that get 5% cash back on given categories (chase freedom, us bank cash+, vantage west CU connect rewards, nusenda CU Platinum Cash rewards - 5 if you count my Target debit card) , and will end up with 3 more (discover it, Citi dividend, Chase ink cash).

I also have a CSP, so I consider basically all of the other Chase cards as my primary UR earning force. I will be getting the Amex Platinum for the Centurion lounge benefit, principally - I don't expect to have too many MR points - and the Citi Prestige for the 4th night hotel benefit, 3 hr trip delay and unlimited roadside, principally.

So to me, my core is chase, but I'm still getting MR and TY cards mainly for the perks. The travel cards basically form a base that meshes with the cash back cards so that I am always getting high cash back or higher value, point per point, travel rewards.

[redpat]

I would suggest that you first project your spend on each reward program then apply total spend by having one reward program to see how manny reward point you can accumulate annually.  Also I would sign-up for one of the airline dining programs if you live in an area that has many dining options for an addition 5x miles per dollar spent.  Then take a look at all the shopping portals that are available that you might use for additional points.

In my case for example I spend about 20k in combined personal and business dining and use my CSR which gives me 60k UR,  I also live in an area that has many AA dining program options and get an additional 30k - 40k miles annually from the same spend.  I have also pick-up a fare amount of points on Amex Offers, ur and aa shopping portals.  

Many here don’t like Amex plat but for me it’s the best travel perk card,  this card wasn’t designed for reward point category  spend like the CSR but it now gets all my airline spend because it”s 5x vs 3x on CSR.

There are no right or wrong answers for which cards to get, it’s basic math, spend and what perks you want out of a card.  Both programs are great.  As you can see in my sig it’s MR & UR and I could be a poster child for both.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been thinking of the same combo, actually. I think this duo makes a lot of sense. It all depends on where and how you like to travel. MR points are most valuable transferred out to partners. They’re nowhere near as valuable when used in Amex’s travel portal (unless you have the business Platinum, then everything changes in this respect). With Chase, 1.5 cpp for redeeming through the travel portal is a very decent minimum value to the points. However, their airline transfer partners (except the occasional southwest flight) don’t do much for me. Transferring to Hyatt is the real value in URs to me. I just got 2.4 cpp booking rooms at a hotel in New Orleans. (That’s like a 7.2% return on the CSR or 12% return on spend on the Freedom card, hands down beating anything the BCP or other cash back cards can offer).

So, for me, I collect MR for airline point transfers and Chase UR for everything else. I do also have the platinum card, and I think it can offer a ton of value, but only in certain situations (for example, my home airport only has a Delta Sky Club. I get no lounge access in my home airport with the CSR.) However, as far as point earning potential goes, I think the CSR/EDP route has a lot of potential. Just make sure you’re getting enough extra points out of the EDP to justify the $95 AF over the ED with no AF since the EDP offers no additional benefits.