Ttrevi88

With the goal of minimizing the time involved with accumulating and redeeming points - and cutting cards down to near the bare minimum - I was looking at the Prestige card to hold as my main personal card. Spending wise, I can benefit pretty well from the travel and dining categories. Airline and GE benefits reduce the cost for me, I like the 1.6 value towards AA cash tickets to simplify things instead of navigating redemption mazes, and maybe the hotel benefit will be a bonus for me too. I'd plan to renew, so I don't think it matters I missed signing up last month.

Right now I have Freedom/CSP and AmEx SPG for business. Looking further out, I'm thinking cancel CSP and SPG as soon as I can qualify for Ink (currently blocked by 5/24) so I can still use Freedom UR properly. And then I'd just put all personal expenses on Prestige and all business on Ink - maximizing bonuses wherever possible.

I've only been doing this for about a year, and would appreciate feedback from more experienced members. Would you recommend a different strategy? Main goals are maximizing value, while simplifying and minimizing time on this as well.

umc

5/24 does not apply to Ink Plus.

Ttrevi88

Thank you for the clarification on Ink Plus. I currently have Chase United business, and initially got rejected twice before talking them into giving me a shot with it with follow up calls. Since then - satisfied spend and went back to using SPG. When evaluating me on chase united, they complained about number of accounts opened. This was last July. Is it worth risking the denial?

mia

You can earn $0.02 per dollar with several cards, some of which are free. The only way that $0.016 is greater than $0.02 is if you can average more than 1.25 points per dollar when spending on Prestige. This is mathematically possible because some categories earn 2 or 3 points, but it will depend on your personal transaction mix. It's much easier if you happen to still hold a Citi Forward card which earns 5 points per dollar in several categories.

Brussels

Good questions. I agree the Prestige is a fine card, not expensive after the annual $250 airline credit, giving access to AA lounges (when flying AA) and Priority Pass lounges, and with some nice bonus rewards categories. I prefer the 3X gasoline rewards of the TY Premier, however, when Freedom isn't paying 5% (and Premier is offering 50,000 miles right now with $3K spend). Also, I use TY points for international flights so I value them at around 2 cents each, exceeding that 1.6 cent per point cash benefit for AA flights.

While I think the Ink Plus has primary car rental insurance for work travel (as does your United Business Visa), CSP provides primary rental car coverage for all rentals. I do value the increased flexibility of UR points, however, and the CSPS 2X travel/dining earning opportunity. I also appreciate the benefits of the Prestige's 3X travel earnings.

Tough call. Thus far, I've kept the Prestige, CSP, Ink Plus and Freedom (not to mention Premier and SPG). Are you sure about closing the SPG? It's nice to have when staying at Starwood properties and offers the opportunity to earn 1.25 AA miles (about 2.5 cents) per dollar on regular spending.

You might want to consider keeping the CSP and SPG open at least until the annual fees are due. You could enjoy the benefits they offer for no additional expense and I think it's generally acknowledged that one should keep credit cards open for at least one year unless there's a compelling reason for closing them early (like the refund of a $450 annual fee).

runb4fun

1) don't get rid of CSP
2) get Ink Plus and downgrade it to Cash
3) CSP + Cash + Freedom is too good to pass on
4) Prestige is a great card. You get too much value for $100 AF. Forward goes great with it.

discloser: CSP and Prestige are the only AF cards that I keep.

Wendigo

Ink Plus is a permanent keeper. The Ink Cash downgrade has a 25K annual 5X category limit. The Plus is double that. You won't get an annual fee with the Plus if you have any retention skills at all.

The Citi Premier and Prestige are pretty remarkable and if you're AA friendly, they can't really be argued against.

SPG is your call. I get a lot of value out of it, but Marriott looms.

I'm signing off on your proposed consolidated strategy. The only place you lose out is biz dining. Assess what that means to you.

Ttrevi88

Thank you all for the feedback and some great ideas - this forum really is a great community.

As for using the 1.6 valuation, I kind of figured that as a floor, and maybe cash tickets will eventually get cheaper with oil at $30. Redeeming miles has been frustrating for me, which makes a decent cash alternative a lot more attractive.

krazykanuck

lol. Airlines are making their first decent profits in over a decade and planes are full. I don't expect them to pass along their savings on jet fuel to us.

rrgg

Until someone undercuts them or they get greedy and expand