PRG vs Venture

[northface28]

Which is the better card for miles? I'm in the market for one.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you mean. The Venture card will always get you $0.02 per dollar spent (or 1 cent per "mile"--note that "mile" is a marketing gimmick for the Venture card). No more, no less. The PRG gets you 3x on airfare, 2x on gas, groceries, and restaurants, and 1x on everything else. Each point is worth a variable dollar amount. You can spend them directly through Amex's travel portal, but that redemption is not as great (I think it's below one cent per point on the PRG but I could be wrong, I've never looked closely). You can transfer the points to Amex's travel partners; and those can be worth well over 1 cent per point. You need to look and see if any travel partners interest you and what points are able to buy you for those airlines. It varies from airport to airport and flight to flight. But in most cases you will earn more than 1 cent per point. In instances where you earn more than one point per dollar spent, you will far exceed the value of the rewards from the Venture card, which has no bonus categories. However, on the 1x point, general purchases, you may earn more with the Venture card.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Depends on what you mean. The Venture card will always get you $0.02 per dollar spent (or 1 cent per "mile"--note that "mile" is a marketing gimmick for the Venture card). No more, no less. The PRG gets you 3x on airfare, 2x on gas, groceries, and restaurants, and 1x on everything else. Each point is worth a variable dollar amount. You can spend them directly through Amex's travel portal, but that redemption is not as great (I think it's below one cent per point on the PRG but I could be wrong, I've never looked closely). You can transfer the points to Amex's travel partners; and those can be worth well over 1 cent per point. You need to look and see if any travel partners interest you and what points are able to buy you for those airlines. It varies from airport to airport and flight to flight. But in most cases you will earn more than 1 cent per point. In instances where you earn more than one point per dollar spent, you will far exceed the value of the rewards from the Venture card, which has no bonus categories. However, on the 1x point, general purchases, you may earn more with the Venture card.

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Pretty much this. I think the only appeal of the Venture card is getting the sign-up bonus and the consistency of point value. Past the sign-up bonus you're just getting a flat 2% back in travel rewards. It is one of the easiest travel systems to use, 1 mile = 1 cent. Whereas systems like AMEX MR and Chase UR have variable returns, based on how, where, when, and for what you redeem them. Overall, AMEX MR cards and Chase UR cards will give you more value per dollar spent, but the Venture card offers stability and simplicity. 

The Venture card is also cheaper ($59 AF, waived first year) than both AMEX and Chase travel rewards cards. If you are under 5/24, I'd highly recommend considering CSP/CSR over Cap1 or AMEX for best flexible travel value.

[northface28]

Due to a bk I'm pretty limited as far as Chase is concerned. I can get a PRG I currently have a BCE and a BCP. I think I'm at my max exposure with C1 at $42k so I'd have to PC to a Venture.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Chase is the best. But Chase is not friendly towards bankruptcies. You may be able to successfully get them to reconsider if you have good cards with high limits elsewhere though.

You may want to consider the EDP if you are looking to earn Amex points and don't pay for a lot of flights every year.

[UncleB]

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@northface28 wrote:
Due to a bk I'm pretty limited as far as Chase is concerned. I can get a PRG I currently have a BCE and a BCP. I think I'm at my max exposure with C1 at $42k so I'd have to PC to a Venture.

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If the sign up bonus isn't factored in (like if you do a PC) keep in mind that you'll need to spend more than $12k/year on a Venture to make it earn more rewards than a Quicksilver (due the the Venture AF). 

[Anonymous]

If the choice is between PC to a Venture or a fresh account with PRG, then the answer is PRG. Sign-up bonuses are generally where you derive most of your value unless you plan on spending a lot on the card. For example, the Venture Card has a 40,000 mile sign-up bonus at the moment. That would usually require $20,000 dollars in spending to earn. 

[longtimelurker]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@northface28 wrote:
Due to a bk I'm pretty limited as far as Chase is concerned. I can get a PRG I currently have a BCE and a BCP. I think I'm at my max exposure with C1 at $42k so I'd have to PC to a Venture.

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If the sign up bonus isn't factored in (like if you do a PC) keep in mind that you'll need to spend more than $12k/year on a Venture to make it earn more rewards than a Quicksilver (due the the Venture AF). 

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If you don't count the sign up (and ignore FTF) you need to spend infinitely more on the Venture over BlisPay, Citi DC, Fidelity Visa etc, which give the same 2% without an AF.

[kdm31091]

I wouldn't PC to a Venture; there's no point unless you are going to be putting a ton of spend on the card to where it will make sense to pay the AF (and have more limited redemption options). Without an initial bonus, the Venture is really not a compelling product IMO.