@SuperKirby wrote:
@red259 wrote:I downgraded the CSP to CS, but that is only because I have the ink card. In the end I think both cards are very different and they work in tandem. The CSP is good to earn UR points on restaurant/travel spend and allows transfer to travel partners. The SPG card is good for spend where I do not have a category bonus and can provide me access to different travel partners than chase. For me both work in the context of my spending because they don't really overlap. Chase URs are easier to generate than SPG points though, but SPG points can give me more value with low redemptions for hotels or transfer bonuses.
These are probably the two best traveler credit cards out there, IMO. It really depends on what program you redeem your points mostly on. If AA, SPG, or Alaska airlines is your primary program choices, then SPG is better. If you like United, Southwest, or Hyatt, then CSP (Ultimate Rewards) is better. I only listed the most popular programs (at least in value) as examples. As you can see, both programs have excellent partners.
SPG earns 1.2 points/dollar on all purchases (assuming you transfer points at 20,000 increments to airlines).
Ultimate Rewards has a far superior earning rate if you can get your hands on the Ultimate Rewards Triple Threat:CSP: 2x points on Dining/Traveling
Freedom: 5x points on categories
Ink: 5x Internet/phone/cable/TV
Ink: 2x Gas
Since Freedom and Ink have no annual fee then essentially the UR Triple combo's AF is only $95, same as SPGs.
For me I found myself flying United the most so it felt right using UR to pad my account points/miles. I do not want to diversify points into two seperate programs (I.e UR and SPG both).
Part of this depends on how you travel. When I travel I tend to move around quite a bit staying at different hotels. Other people who travel like to go to one location and spend a week there staying in same hotel. I have found that diversification worked really well for me in that I was able to cap my AA account with starpoints to make a redemption and I needed spg points to cover some stays at locations where there were no hyatts around for my Chase UR points. Obviously the amount of spend you have to put towards credit cards is a factor as well, because if you have too little in each program then you won't be able to redeem anything!
;