@xgac12x wrote:
I currently have the Trifecta except with the CSP. I just read something on wallaby that saying that even without spending a dollar more that the CSR would still be the better card? What would be the better card?
Depends on your spend across the Trifecta but the pool of people who would actually use the CSP over the CSR is pretty small in my estimation: either your spend aligns and it doesn't take much to spank the CSP, or it doesn't and other than bonus chasing there isn't a reason to apply for either.
As Revelate said, it comes down to spend and perhaps sign-up bonuses. If you travel, eliminate $300 of the annual fee from travel credit and you're comparing $150 to $95 AF. If you spend a lot on dining and travel, you're getting 3x points instead of 2x points on those with CSR.
If you are going to be redeeming your UR points through Chase for travel the CSR is a no-brainer due to the 1.5 multiplier instead of the 1.25 one for CSP, as this what your perfect spending allocation (using the right card for every purchase) would net you in travel per dollar spent:
Freedom (5% categories) - CSP=6.25 cents, CSR=7.5 cents
Dining/Travel on CSP or CSR- CSP=2.5 cents, CSR=4.5 cents
Freedom Unlimited (everything else) - CSP=1.875 cents, CSR=2.25 cents
That adds up quickly!
Agreed, if you can utilize the $300 credit, which should be easy, there is almost no way that a CSP is better. You could sign up for both the CSP and CSR to get the sign up bonuses, and then PC the CSP to Freedom or FU and combine limits
@enjoimorenow wrote:Agreed, if you can utilize the $300 credit, which should be easy, there is almost no way that a CSP is better. You could sign up for both the CSP and CSR to get the sign up bonuses, and then PC the CSP to Freedom or FU and combine limits
There's this spreadsheet available online that says if you total at least $220 in monthly travel and dining spend (any combination of this, $0 Travel+220 Dining, or $20 Travel, $200 dining, etc. ) then CSR is the clear winner. If you spend less than that, CSP is better. However, this spreadsheet does not account for having Freedom and Freedom Unlimited...I presume because then it becomes a mess to mathematically find that out. I don't spend $2,640 in travel and dining a year so if I had to choose one, CSP would be better for me....again, in this imaginary world where Freedom and Freedom Unlimited don't exist. I don't know how the math works out...that's just what it gives me at 0.021 UR valuation. Make of this info what you will but I don't think it's as clear-cut as people on the forums are making it out to be, CSR is not better for everyone.
Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA. 
@SecretAzure wrote:
@enjoimorenow wrote:Agreed, if you can utilize the $300 credit, which should be easy, there is almost no way that a CSP is better. You could sign up for both the CSP and CSR to get the sign up bonuses, and then PC the CSP to Freedom or FU and combine limits
There's this spreadsheet available online that says if you total at least $220 in monthly travel and dining spend (any combination of this, $0 Travel+220 Dining, or $20 Travel, $200 dining, etc. ) then CSR is the clear winner. If you spend less than that, CSP is better. However, this spreadsheet does not account for having Freedom and Freedom Unlimited...I presume because then it becomes a mess to mathematically find that out. I don't spend $2,640 in travel and dining a year so if I had to choose one, CSP would be better for me....again, in this imaginary world where Freedom and Freedom Unlimited don't exist. I don't know how the math works out...that's just what it gives me at 0.021 UR valuation. Make of this info what you will but I don't think it's as clear-cut as people on the forums are making it out to be, CSR is not better for everyone.
When you get down to 2640 in travel and dining a year, at that 1 cpp valuation you're using via the portal to roughly get that number, you don't even break even on the CSP ergo you shouldn't have either at that point if you ignore Freedom/FU, better off with a flat 2% card among others (probably better ones like that newer FBNO) so I would define your use case as spend not aligning 
.
If you're valuing higher than 1 cpp, then that skews.
Stupid napkin math on the the rest though assuming I haven't done something silly (which happens for all that I took a bunch of math courses in my life):
If you max out one quarter on the Freedom, you've earned an additional 1875 points via the CSR, 2 quarters which is reasonable for just about anyone, 3750 or 37.50 at 1 cpp or 68% of the additional AF.
Or if you spend $14666 in default (which seems high I'll admit, though I get close in tax payments) it justifies the CSR; but looping it in with the Freedom two quarters, now you're down to what, $4666 in default and that's a different colored cat.
Basically what it comes down to is if you can justify the CSP, it's really really not that hard to make the jump to CSR land assuming you spend at least $300 annually in travel when we're talking Trifecta, and that's before any spending on the CSR itself. That's why I would suggest if it makes sense for you to have the CSP at all when talking trifecta, you should probably be in the CSR flat out... I'm sure there's some small window in there where maybe you can win with the CSP, but I'd argue there are better products to be with than the Trifecta at that point.
