Cap 1 Venture Rewards vs CSP

[Anonymous]

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Also, as a follow up question, How much would one need to spend with the CSP to justify the AF?

Again, sorry if its a simple solution, I am new to all this..

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Unless you have several new cards (or can't meet the needed spend) the great thing about the CSP is that is free to try for the first year, with a great bonus.  So if you can spend $4K in 3 months, I would suggest going for it and then seeing how much value you get out of it.

Some find of it of less value than advertised here because of reasons such as:

a) they spend too little to get the needed level of points

b) they don't have enough date-flexibility for award travel to work for them

c) The "best" redemptions such as 1st class international travel aren't appropriate (family wants to travel together and need coach tickets for the cost for example)

Having it free for a year will allow you to see if it makes sense to continue

[Random_idiot]

Perfect. So what i need to do is apply for the freedom once my cap1 reports to the CBs, and after 6 months go for csp.

[Random_idiot]

Kudos to everyone in here for the advice. Appreciate the advice.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Excuse me if I sound stupid with this question, but I am new to the whole rewards thing and am looking for a new card to apply to while my scores update.

Cap 1 VR says 2 miles per dollar on EVERY purchase.

CSP has 2 points per dollar on travel only and 1 per dollar on everything else..

Cap 1 has the lesser annual fee, however CSP has the better sign up bonus..

If you were looking for long term card use.. isnt cap 1 the better rewards card?

Can someone elaborate as everywhere I google or ask, people say CSP is the best travels reward card, etc 

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I like the Venture approach better, because I don't have the brain cells to waste on figuring out how to maximize the CSP travel rewards.

And with Venture you redeem it on Orbitz which has lots of discount travel options, basically everything you could want.

I'm guessing that if you're a very very frequent flier, cards like CSP and Amex Platinum produce dividends for you beyond what the Venture provides, but if not, and if you value (a) discount travel and (b) simplicity, Venture may be the better option.

Some day I intend to get me a CSP just to see if I can play that game, but I have a hunch I will not have the patience for it, and will wind up wasting the time and money just like I've wasted the money I've spent on the Amex platinum.

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Excuse me if I sound stupid with this question, but I am new to the whole rewards thing and am looking for a new card to apply to while my scores update.

Cap 1 VR says 2 miles per dollar on EVERY purchase.

CSP has 2 points per dollar on travel only and 1 per dollar on everything else..

Cap 1 has the lesser annual fee, however CSP has the better sign up bonus..

If you were looking for long term card use.. isnt cap 1 the better rewards card?

Can someone elaborate as everywhere I google or ask, people say CSP is the best travels reward card, etc 

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I like the Venture approach better, because I don't have the brain cells to waste on figuring out how to maximize the CSP travel rewards.

And with Venture you redeem it on Orbitz which has lots of discount travel options, basically everything you could want.

I'm guessing that if you're a very very frequent flier, cards like CSP and Amex Platinum produce dividends for you beyond what the Venture provides, but if not, and if you value (a) discount travel and (b) simplicity, Venture may be the better option.

Some day I intend to CSP just to see if I can play that game, but I have a hunch I will not have the patience for it.

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Usual question though:  if you pay the AF, why is it better than a general free 2% card.  That is what I really don't get.  (Well, assuming you have another no FTF card)

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Excuse me if I sound stupid with this question, but I am new to the whole rewards thing and am looking for a new card to apply to while my scores update.

Cap 1 VR says 2 miles per dollar on EVERY purchase.

CSP has 2 points per dollar on travel only and 1 per dollar on everything else..

Cap 1 has the lesser annual fee, however CSP has the better sign up bonus..

If you were looking for long term card use.. isnt cap 1 the better rewards card?

Can someone elaborate as everywhere I google or ask, people say CSP is the best travels reward card, etc 

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I like the Venture approach better, because I don't have the brain cells to waste on figuring out how to maximize the CSP travel rewards.

And with Venture you redeem it on Orbitz which has lots of discount travel options, basically everything you could want.

I'm guessing that if you're a very very frequent flier, cards like CSP and Amex Platinum produce dividends for you beyond what the Venture provides, but if not, and if you value (a) discount travel and (b) simplicity, Venture may be the better option.

Some day I intend to CSP just to see if I can play that game, but I have a hunch I will not have the patience for it.

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Usual question though:  if you pay the AF, why is it better than a general free 2% card.  That is what I really don't get.  (Well, assuming you have another no FTF card)

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Well that's not exactly a fair question, what 2% card? If you're talking abstractly, would Venture be better if it its rewards could be used dollar for dollar for cash as well as travel, and if it had no annual fee, the answer is of course yes.

But in the real world, the only 2% card I have is the Citi DC, which for me has been a really creepy card in many ways.

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Excuse me if I sound stupid with this question, but I am new to the whole rewards thing and am looking for a new card to apply to while my scores update.

Cap 1 VR says 2 miles per dollar on EVERY purchase.

CSP has 2 points per dollar on travel only and 1 per dollar on everything else..

Cap 1 has the lesser annual fee, however CSP has the better sign up bonus..

If you were looking for long term card use.. isnt cap 1 the better rewards card?

Can someone elaborate as everywhere I google or ask, people say CSP is the best travels reward card, etc 

---

I like the Venture approach better, because I don't have the brain cells to waste on figuring out how to maximize the CSP travel rewards.

And with Venture you redeem it on Orbitz which has lots of discount travel options, basically everything you could want.

I'm guessing that if you're a very very frequent flier, cards like CSP and Amex Platinum produce dividends for you beyond what the Venture provides, but if not, and if you value (a) discount travel and (b) simplicity, Venture may be the better option.

Some day I intend to CSP just to see if I can play that game, but I have a hunch I will not have the patience for it.

---

Usual question though:  if you pay the AF, why is it better than a general free 2% card.  That is what I really don't get.  (Well, assuming you have another no FTF card)

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Well that's not exactly a fair question, what 2% card? If you're talking abstractly, would Venture be better if it its rewards could be used dollar for dollar for cash as well as travel, and if it had no annual fee, the answer is of course yes.

But in the real world, the only 2% card I have is the Citi DC, which for me has been a really creepy card in many ways.

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OK, but not everyone finds the DC creepy.   I wasn't talking abstractly, I meant compared to DC, Fid Visa, Blispay.   Is it worth $59 a year to avoid using a creepy DC (or apping for another 2% card).  

Just my reaction to people promoting cards with AF when (obviously IMO) there are free cards that are the same or better.

[SouthJamaica]

I don't have Fidelity or Blispay so can't compare.

Can just say I much prefer my Venture card to my Citi DC

[Anonymous]

To OP,

Be very careful because Chase has the dreaded 5/24 rule...they will decline practically any application if you have received 5 credit cards in the previous 24 months.  According to your signature, you have 2 credit cards hence you are in the clear to apply for both the Freedom and CSP.  However, if you have more then choose wisely which card to app for.

[takeshi74]

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@Random_idiot wrote:

If you were looking for long term card use.. isnt cap 1 the better rewards card?

Can someone elaborate as everywhere I google or ask, people say CSP is the best travels reward card, etc 

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Better is always highly subjective, regardless of topic.  You can't just poll or Google to determine what's best for you.  You need to understand your needs, wants, spend, etc and do a proper analysis to determine what suits you best.

With programs like Ultimate Rewards. Membership Rewards, etc you need to look beyond just the earn rates and carefully research redemptions and run the numbers for your spend to determine the value you can get per point and to ensure that you have sufficient spend to accrue points and redeem in a reasonable timeframe.  Eg. you don't want to have to spend 5 years accumulatinn enough points to redeem for a high value reward.

No card is going to be universally best.  The CSP is best suited to me because I travel on United who is a UR transfer partner and because I can redeem with United for high value fares.  By contrast, with MR the best value I can attain with redemption options I can use work out to a much lower value.  You can always redeem UR points for cash back at 1 cent per point but that isn't the highest possible value depending on how well you can leverage the redemption options.

As others have stated, the Venture is really a resticted cash back card.  If you have enough spend that you can redeem against then it could possible be a good option but many find that a 2% on all spend card without the redemption restrictions is a better fit.  If you don't have a lot of spend to run through a program like UR, MR, etc then cash back may be better suited to you.

Of course, that doesn't consider the CSP's sign on bonus but, again, the value of the sign on bonus is dependent on how you can redeem the UR points and what value you can attain.

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@Random_idiot wrote:

Also, as a follow up question, How much would one need to spend with the CSP to justify the AF?

Again, sorry if its a simple solution, I am new to all this..

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You just have to think it through and do the math.  You need to be able to do this to perform your analysis.  At only 1x earn and 1 cent per point redemption you'd need $9,500 in spend to offset the AF.  $9,500 at 1x is 9,500 UR points.  9,500 UR points * $0.01 = $95.  Obviously if you can earn at 2x you'd need half that spend.  If you can redeem at 2 cents per point you'd need half that spend.  If you can earn at 2x and redeem at 2 cents per point you'd only need a quarter of the spend.

However, you need to consider much more than just offsetting the AF.  If you only have enough spend/redemption to cover the AF then the CSP is probably a poor fit IMO.  My rewards with UR are many, many multiples of the AF.  Generally speaking, programs like this require a large amount of spend run through them for one to really benefit.

What you really need to do is crunch the numbers for the cards you're comparing and see which provides the best rewards for your spend.  You want to understand in terms of $ to compare the different options so it's not just which is more but by how much.