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
@Ghoshida wrote:
@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
Let's tackle venture rewards first.
Suppose you spend $10,000 on it. That gives you 20,000 miles. This is redeemable for $200 of travel spend (can be redeemed against the same spend multiple times) or $100 of regular cashback. That means, you better spend something on travel. Not dining, not entertainment, but travel. That way, it's restricted cashback. The value is never more than $200, and can be less. Further, there are no point combination options from other kind of cards.
Now looking at CSP, suppose you spend the same amount.
If you spent it all on travel and / or dining, you have 20,000 UR points. Otherwise, you have something between 10,000 and 20,000 points. For argument's sake, you have 15,000 points. It's worth at least $150, if you simply redeemed it for cash. But that's the lowest value.
For the next best value, redeem it for travel. First option is simple: book through Chase's Ultimate Rewards. It'll give you 20% more value, so $150 cashback becomes $180 in travel. But you can get even more value by transferring to frequent flier partners.
Again, simplest option is generally Southwest. Typically, one mile transferred to Southwest is worth 1.6c, therefore that 15,000 UR points is now worth $240 in travel. Already doing better than venture.
You can do even better, but for that you need some patience and timing. Transfer to airlines with international routes and premium classes. You can often get 2-3cents per point, or even more. That way, the same 15,000 UR points is worth $300.
Another way to look at is, the same spend in venture will give you at most $200, while with Chase, you can get definitely more.
Then, there are better travel perks, like primary car rental. I used to rent almost on a weekly basis. Can't even begin to estimate how much I saved.
One more thing. With CSP, you can have another card like the Freedom, which allows you to get 5x rewards on quarterly categories. Chase allows you to combine the points if you have a CSP and then transfer it to the frequent flier accounts. That way, you magnify the rewards from the Freedom as well.
With the bonus, CSP's 55,000 UR points (50k bonus + 5k AU bonus) will land you $900 worth of airfare (conservative estimates) while 40,000 points from venture will get you $400, at best.
Well explained!! Thank you! +1.
Tbh, my personal preference is for the Venture, if only b/c I only travel by air once a year at most, if even that (and some years not at all). In mho, Venture is also a lot easier to redeem rapidly -- I like the simplicity of how the Purchase Eraser feature works; you don't have to work out a lot of complex math in your head or on paper, lol 
I have the Cap1 card that was the predecessor to the Venture and has pretty much all the same features. Most of my travel goes towards the local subway again though, not to the airlines.
@galahad15 wrote:Tbh, my personal preference is for the Venture, if only b/c I only travel by air once a year at most, if even that (and some years not at all). In mho, Venture is also a lot easier to redeem rapidly -- I like the simplicity of how the Purchase Eraser feature works; you don't have to work out a lot of complex math in your head or on paper, lol
But how do you justify the AF since you already have the free 2% Blispay for example.
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..
@Anonymous wrote:
@galahad15 wrote:Tbh, my personal preference is for the Venture, if only b/c I only travel by air once a year at most, if even that (and some years not at all). In mho, Venture is also a lot easier to redeem rapidly -- I like the simplicity of how the Purchase Eraser feature works; you don't have to work out a lot of complex math in your head or on paper, lol
But how do you justify the AF since you already have the free 2% Blispay for example.
A very good and valid point -- the Cap1 EO was willing to permanently waive my AF in 2015 when they re-opened the card for me; had closed it a few months prior for that very issue, b/c I was unhappy with the AF that I had been paying since I first got the card in 2012. If they had not been willing to perma-waive the AF though, I would not have reopened the card. Unfortunately, that was before the EO later became much more limited, in what they can do for customers 
I had contacted them at the time when you could actually still call in and speak with the EO directly.
@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..
Well, there are a couple of approaches here. All approaches assume that you are going to spend the UR points on travel (at least on Southwest).
Caveat: Don't book Southwest close to travel date. Points get bad values then. I'd suggest 2-3 weeks in advance if not more (rough guide).
Approach one:
Do you have a Freedom? And if yes, do you get close to maxing out the category bonuses?
If yes, then the cost of owning a CSP is zero. Suppose you spend $5000 per year in category spend alone. That nets you 25,000 UR. Without the CSP, your value is $250 (or $300 if using Chase travel). But if you have the CSP, you're almost guaranteed to get 1.6 cpp on Southwest. That gets you $400 worth of value. This is $100 more than the next best value of $300, and it covers the cost of the CSP AF. If you get any further points off the CSP, it's simply added bonus.
Approach two:
Suppose approach one doesn't work for you. What's your next best general purpose card? Nowadays, it's typically a 2% card like Blispay or Citi Doublecash.
Now you need to give me your spend %age. How much of dining / travel vs other categories?
If I assume it's 50-50, then on an average, $100 gets you 150 points, which are typically worth $2.40 when redeemed for Southwest (1.6 cents per point). The same spend on Blispay / Doublecash gets you $2. So you're better off by 40 cents per $100, or $4 per $1,000. To make up for the $95 annual fee, you should therefore spend ($95/$4)*$1000 = $23,750.
If you are able to get greater values off your UR points, which some on these forums are known to get, your spend threshold will come down. You should be able to do the math from here.
Edited to add:
A third approach will be a combination of the two approaches outlined here. You may be able to spend some fraction on the Freedom, and the rest on the CSP, and come ahead on the annual fee. I have paid the AF on the CSP once and I'm happy to pay it again