View of Chase from the Garden

[Citylights18]

What I found was it gets to be all about the number of total points the earn is producing.

Take for example my spend numbers with Chase, Citi and AMEX combined together. Lyft bonus not factored in.

CSP/CFU/CF: 89,030

CSR/CFU/CF: 108,660

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR: 113,545

CSR/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR: 124,755

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR/AMEX Gold: 132,685

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR/Citi Prestige: 151,271

Effective AF in points.

CSP/CFU/CF: 9,500

CSR/CFU/CF: 25,000

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR: 9,500

CSR/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR: 25,000

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR/AMEX Gold: 34,500

CSP/CFU/CF/Rakuten MR/Citi Prestige: 34,000

CSP & CSR are about the same to my earning once you take into consider the AF difference.

Adding Rakuten would increase the earning by 25,000 points. You must have an MR card to pair it with like AMEX ED.

Citi Prestige adds another 38,000 points but against an additional AF of 24,500.

The earning combination of UR/MR/TY points is 70% more points per year than just going with a CSP/CFU/CF. With the effective AF factored in its 42% more points. But it takes 3 additional cards to get there and can close the door on 5/24.

[Anonymous]

@iced that aligns with my current situation.  I'm Hilton loyal but I no longer have to be with the automatic Diamond status from AmEx.  Now, I bank Marriot points with work travel stays.  The weak link is airline miles.  I hate the PQD/PQM model on so many levels.  The ultimate goal is to leverage fixed monthly expenses on the CFU along with Freedom category spend to convert that to UR portal  for travel.  The next question would be is it more value to book through the portal or transfer?  I've read a lot on the site about getting 2 - 8 ccp doing transfer to partners.  I haven't actually seen it when I looked at the conversion for United or American.

I would like to get AmEx to fill the Delta hole in my points strategy.  I also like the idea of having that card in my wallet.

The goal is to have maximum freedom when I book vacation travel.  Hilton or Marriott; United, American, Delta or Southwest.  Keep out of pocket expenses at a minimum.  Look like a jetsetter, flash the nice card but it's all earned from 80% work travel and organic spend.

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@iced that aligns with my current situation.  I'm Hilton loyal but I no longer have to be with the automatic Diamond status from AmEx.  Now, I bank Marriot points with work travel stays.  The weak link is airline miles.  I hate the PQD/PQM model on so many levels.  The ultimate goal is to leverage fixed monthly expenses on the CFU along with Freedom category spend to convert that to UR portal  for travel.  The next question would be is it more value to book through the portal or transfer?  I've read a lot on the site about getting 2 - 8 ccp doing transfer to partners.  I haven't actually seen it when I looked at the conversion for United or American.

I would like to get AmEx to fill the Delta hole in my points strategy.  I also like the idea of having that card in my wallet.

The goal is to have maximum freedom when I book vacation travel.  Hilton or Marriott; United, American, Delta or Southwest.  Keep out of pocket expenses at a minimum.  Look like a jetsetter, flash the nice card but it's all earned from 80% work travel and organic spend.

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I've always used United(either earned or via UR) miles for redemption. When shopping in the portal, the prices are comparable to direct so all it's really doing is letting me use points at a value of 1.5 cpp. I'd rather transfer and find the good bookings on united.com. I get 4-9 cpm that way. If you're looking for the higher valuations, you have to go international, premium cabin (Polaris or business on a *A partner), and throw in a intra-region leg or three. A direct US-EU/APAC business flight will get you 2-4 cpm return, but doing a US-EU/APAC with 2 in-region legs in business (which cost 0 extra miles per leg) is where you really start to see the higher returns.

DL is tougher for me, and they're called SkyPesos for a reason. The flights I'm always interested in booking with DL miles usually end up redeeming to <2 cpm and/or require nearly 1 million miles, so I hold off, pay cash, and just keep bankrolling MR/SkyPesos instead. If you don't fly DL regularly, I honestly don't think you're going to garner that much value from the Platinum. You can recoup the AF with the $200 airline, $100 Saks, and $200 Uber credits, but the other perks are going to be largely useless for you, being that you already have better status with the hotels from stays or other means. $50/year for a pool of airline miles is a pretty small investment though, so the risk is low.

Believe me when I say flashing any card doesn't make you look like a jetsetter. With two exceptions, nearly anybody can get a particular CC if they want it, Platinum included. The quickest way to devalue any status is to make it attainable via CC.

The real jetsetters are the people in worn t-shirts and jeans in the lounge, quietly reading or working on their laptop like they're at home. Because they are. The best way to blend in with the actual jetsetters is to simply know the rules of travel and follow them without prompting. Know what goes and what doesn't to get through security quickly, quietly, and without holding anyone else up. Practice baggage etiquette in the overhead bins. Know when it's your turn to board and don't be part of the gate lice. Don't be the guy who feels compelled to drink booze for the pre-departure drink just because it's free. Stuff like that.

Lastly, don't be afraid to spend a little if the value on points just isn't there. A free or nearly free vacation is usually a poor redemption. I'm not going to spend 250,000 Bonvoy points to save $2,500 when I can use them another time to save $3,500. Draw a line in the sand for minimum value you will accept and stick to it. If you can't redeem for that, pay cash and bank even more points for next time. This is particularly true when there's promotional offers or Megabonuses going on where paying the cash goes much further in the long run.

[Citylights18]

Another case for diversification into TY/UR/MR points is because it gets you access to all the unique transfer partners.

Chase

-Southwest

-United

-Alaska (call in)

Citi

-EVA Air

-Jet Airways

-Malaysia

-Qatar

-Thai Airways

-Turkish Airlines

AMEX

-Air Canada

-Altialia

-ANA Airlines

-Delta

-El Al

-Hawaiian

If you have Chase, Citi and AMEX then you can take advantage of any of the flash sales available. Think of cheap flights for under 25,000 points in those currencies.