@Citylights18 wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Citylights18 wrote:
@coreysw12 wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:Many of the comparisons on dining for example fail to take into account that there are no foreign transaction fees to completely negate any dining earnings as is the case on the lower tier cards. They are after all travel cards.
Excellent point. My CSR actually gets all of my foreign spend (both for bonus categories and otherwise) simply due to no FTF, but it only barely beats my lowly Cap1 Quicksilver that also has no FTF and offers 1.5% back on everything. Which gives me another idea: 1.5x on all foreign spend would be a great CSP/CSR feature, even if domestic spend stays at 1x.
You can get 1% everything foreign travel on the CSR but you can do the same with the CSP.
CSP trifecta I've always said is the way to go over trying to eat the large CSR annual fee. I said it even before the CSR moved its AF to $550. The 1.5 redemption on travel portal purchases is overrated. A point is worth 1.33 cpp when redeeming that way. A CSP point is worth 1.20 ccp with the 1.25 redemption.
I opted to carry a CSP and an AMEX Green instead. Green has the 3x categories but one difference is it also generates a lot of cash back offers, not just at Starbucks or Krispy Kreme for 5% but solid $5 to $10 dollars off on local vendors and transit. Then there is no individual card utilization. A normal card you stick 10,000 on it and your score drops by 50 points.
Huh?!? Not sure how you came up with those numbers. With the 50% bonus, URs are worth 1.50 cpp with CSR. With the 25% bonus, URs are worth 1.25 cpp with CSP. A $750 plane ticket is 50k with CSR and 60k with CSP; that's 1.5 and 1.25. While I've done Marriott and Virgin Atlantic transfers, I primarily use URs for travel portal airfare purchases. With the 50% multiplier and SkyMiles earned I'm at around 2 cpp net.
CSR makes much more sense if you're spending in the 3x categories. Since I do the travel portal most of the time, it's comparing 2.5% back to 4.5% back and that can easily overcome the difference in AFs after the travel credit is taken out.
As for score points, that's entirely dependent on profile. I can lose zero points or almost nothing by adding a $10k balance on most cards.
Take something that is $100 dollars on the UR travel portal. Then you divide it by 1.5
$100/1.5 = $66.66
That is 33% off the original price of $100. A 33% discount.
Two $150 travel purchases ($300 total) can be redeemed for 10,000 points each. You save 5,000 points each time. If you say you had those points back against what would initially be a 30,000 total point purchase that means 30,000 is like 40,000 and that 3x earning then is like 4x earning, not the 4.5% commonly touted.
It's not 3 x 1.5 and $100 x 0.5.
@Citylights18 I mean this in the most FSR way possible, but your order of operations is incorrect. 10,000 points are worth $150.00 in the Chase portal with a CSR.
$150.00/10,000=$0.015 or 1.5 cents per point.
Your equation assumes the value is 1 cpp and works backward to a discount amount.
@Citylights18 wrote:This how I'm planning to use my points with the new rules to maximize the ROI
UR to Hyatt (redeem for vacations at high category hotels)
MR to Airlines (if I have enough for the flights)
CFU to buy airfare (points then go to CSP->WoH)
WoH to buy Hyatt (for shorter stays)
AMEX Green to buy OTA (for non-Hyatt travel)
This way I'm concentrating my Chase points where I can get 3 or 4 ccp. I might be able to score 2.0 ccp with AMEX on flights. For buying non Hyatt hotels I can triple dip though an OTA (MR, Shopping Portal, OTA rewards).
That is why I don't see the point in using the 1.5 of the CSR to scalp for a measly 33% discount when I can get a 66% (3 ccp) or 75% (4 ccp) discount over at Hyatt. The CSP 1.25 scalp is 20% so the CSR is not that much better. The new 5x travel earn on the CFU is better than the 1.5 redeem.
One thing the Sapphire twins have going for them is the primary rental car coverage. This is a rare bird without having to pay extra (like Amex asks). I'm hoping this stays as it's more than covered my CSP AF in itself.
As for overcoming the new Freedom twins, a solid 3/4 on grocery spend almost feels like a gimme during these times, but Chase obviously needs to look well into the future for where they want their premier cards to land. I do think it'd be worthwhile to bring Disney back to the travel portal, as well as nix the Disney credit card (which is really a ho-hum value to begin with). While doing this, add a 2/3 or 3/4 UR category for entertainment (which would pick up Disneyland spend, along with movie theatres, musicals, zoos, museums, concerts, etc. Once the world opens back up, people are going to be busting out of their cages and I sure there's going to be significant spend in these categories.) This would go right along with Chase targeting Capital One cardholders. Upping the ante on dining and also being a no FTF card would aim squarely at Savor and neuter its value. Savor card holders would mostly have credit profiles that Chase would be interested in doing business with as well.
For travel, the Sapphires could at least match the 5% travel portal offering, but with this already being on a no AF card, it would be redundant in my book and having this separate gives enticement to have more than one Chase credit card product. Book your flights and hotels through the portal on one card, go spend internationally on the other. Transfer UR's as necessary.
One thing that would literally cost Chase some IT work would be adding Chip+pin ability and add a great deal of value for international use and give it a one-up on most travel cards offered in the USA. Add 2/3 for fuel purchases, bump CSP's AF to $135 and leave CSR at $550 and I think you've got a solid, all around travel card. Possibly up the ante by a point on CSR when transferring UR's to partner point networks if you think more value for $550 is needed.
