HawkeyeFlyer

I would love to hear thoughts. Please take out the sign up bonus and focus on the card benefits

moe8555

I have a CSR and am trying to determine the same thing. There are plenty of blog posts about it, but I'd rather hear from regular people and their experiences.

Basically, the question is if a combination of the Amex Platinum (or Business Platinum) and Blue Business Plus is more lucrative than the CSR and Freedom Unlimited?

747FC

Nah, the basic question is Amex Plat vs. CSR. Comparing card combinations dilutes the basic question.

moe8555

I'm not so sure that I agree with that, because both the Blue Plus and Freedom Unlimited are free, and both improve the overall non-categorized spend point accrual in one way or another.

Blue Plus (considering that you don't surpass the $50K limit) essentially transforms the Platinum to a 2X everyday card and 5X airfare/5X prepaid hotels. If it's a Business Plat., then you can also earn the 35% rebate for paid airfare redemptions. On top of that, Amex offers transfer bonuses every so often (like the current 40% Avios deal), which is something I've never seen from Chase. Also Amex Offers.

Freedom Unlimited essentially transforms the CSR to a 1.5X everyday card and 3X travel/dining. Those points then benefit from the 1.5X multiplier when redeeming for paid travel of any sort. No transfer bonuses (to my knowledge) and no special offers like Amex.

weaseltown

(Disclaimer: This is just my opinion.)

The Platinum Card's real value comes in the benefits provided by cardmembership, not necessarily in the benefits that come from putting spend directly on the card. For example, I value FHR and Sky Club access. Other people value VIP status at various hotel chains. Since the only bonus category for the Platinum Card is 5x on airfare or prepaid hotels, there's not much incentive to charge other everyday purchases to this card unless you find some one-off Amex Offers that catch your eye.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has an effective annual fee of $150 once you consider the $300 travel credit. (BTW, this travel credit is infinitely easier to use than the Platinum Card's ancillary airline fee credit since it's automatic and works against any charge coded as travel from any merchant.) It's essentially a 4.5% cash back card on dining and travel purchases as long as you redeem points for travel using Chase's portal. That's actually a fairly good deal if you have high spend in these categories.

There's both overlap and differentiation between the cards. For example, both cards offer roadside assistance, but the Platinum Card offers stronger protections here than the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Both cards offer various travel insurance, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve tends to be stronger in this category. For example, Chase offers primary CDW insurance on rental vehicles.

One big benefit to the Chase Sapphire Reserve (and pretty much any Visa or Mastercard, honestly) is that it comes with Price Protection for purchases. If you buy a product and its price comes down within a few months of purchase, you can make a claim with Cardmember Services for a retroactive price match. This is especially beneficial around the Black Friday shopping season. Amex doesn't offer anything along these lines.

On the other hand, many loyal Amex cardholders will point out that Amex is much easier to work with than Chase when it comes to things like making extended warranty claims. This peace of mind may end up being worth more than the ability to make a Price Protection claim.

I know you don't really want to consider the signup bonus for either card, but think of the signup bonus as offering a year-long trial period. Even if you redeem the signup bonus as a statement credit (which tends to be the least cost-efficient method), it more than wipes out the annual fee for either card. So you can take the cards for a test drive and keep whichever one ends up working out best for your situation. Or if you find that their benefits complement each other you may end up keeping both.

I maintain a document (updated regularly) at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-...zZJdS0tVURuRkk that serves as a head-to-head comparison between the benefits offered by these cards.

Hope this helps!

Edit: fixed error.

garykung

Allow me to make it even more simple.

CSR is all about rewards. It is not a card that can get you a taste of luxury.

AMEX is all about benefits. It is a card that can get you a taste of luxury.

moe8555

I guess that actually does sum it up very nicely... but there are still rewards to be had!

At any rate, I think the card offers great value for those who do mostly leisure travel and don't rack up enough nights at any given chain for status, and/or fly in economy/premium economy and therefore don't receive free entry to airport lounges. Between the airline credit, uber credit, and free breakfasts/upgrades/executive lounge access over the course of a few hotel stays, the annual fee should be easy to offset.

hawata

I had the Platinum card for many years in the past and canceled it two years ago. I signed up last month to try out the new services but I am closing the card down again.

Profile: United Global Services / SPG Plat / Ritz Plat and I have the JPM Reserve Card

1) 5x travel only works when booked with airline or amextravel and takes over 10 weeks to post what I was told by Amex Rep
2) 200 Airline Credit only for incidentals, such as baggages fees. I never pay that anyhow
3) 300 Travel Credit on JPMR applied to all travel automatically.
4) JPMR gives me UA Club and PP Select Membership, where Amex gives me PP Select and Centurion Club (but only Plat section)
5) Concierge seems better with Amex but the JPM Premier Concierge did a good job on my inquiries as well
6) UR Mall for additional points on purchases. Getting a Tag Watch for 5K will get me 30K points when buying through Bloomingdales.
7) Uber Credit on Amex pretty useless since it has to be 15 USD per month and not 200 Total. Which deludes the offer for me since I don't use Uber constantly.
8) Exclusivity: The JPMR seems far more exclusive and rare to me.

Overall, I am very disappointed in the updated Amex Plat offering.

Cheers

mia

That's the policy, but the practice is different:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...s-ua-only.html


American Express also gives you access to Skyclubs when flying DL, and access to Airspace and Aspire lounges (often at airports where there are no Priority Pass lounges.)

hawata

I see, but since I travel out of EWR Delta is non existent in my travel plans. I go with Star Alliance whenever possible. Flying 400K Miles a year and last Delta flight more than 5 years ago...

mia

HawkeyeFlyer may, or not, be in the same circumstance at ORD, but to be sure there is no misunderstanding, Sapphire Reserve (which is the stated comparison) does not provide any UA club access. JPM Reserve does, but it isn't available to most people.

Rowyourboat

I downgraded my CSR and now just use Plat+Blue for Biz. I use SPG Amex for hotels and try to always stay SPG or FHR.

For me, the main perks of Amex were the 5x on flights and prepaid hotels. The bulk of my annual spend is airfare and hotels, so it makes sense to get the extra points there. That + the transfer bonuses are a sweet deal. The points do take *way* longer to post than Chase, but I'm not looking to burn immediately so not an issue.

Ratamacue

Unless of course one burns a bunch of UR points on the portal to stay at a Four Seasons property. I think that qualifies as a taste of luxury.

Troopers

The two cards are complementary. If you can only have one, I'd pick the Plat. One can get a CSR-light card (aka the CSP).

747FC

I had a friend try out a booking for me using the FHR and compared it to me booking directly with the hotel. At least for this one trial, the rate I got by my own booking was $95 a night less expensive that using the AMEX portal. True, I am not due an upgrade or free breakfast, but you can get a nice breakfast for two for $95 a day...

I'm still searching for the value add. To me right now, it is the 10% off on F and J international bookings with the AMEX IAP. Wish JPMR did that!