Originally Posted by
stainlesspoints
I definitely could be wrong, but it looks like EVA isn't a Starwood transfer partner? I'm guessing there is some airline that is also star alliance, but one thing to keep in mind is the transfer ratio from SPG to United is lousy (2:1). Not that it isn't a good travel card in general.
Assuming you are going to focus on United to fly on EVA, you've identified your best options. Most people on these forums have multiple cards, so you could get one now and one ~ 3 months from now. But you probably want to know which one to get now. How much are the United MPE perks worth to you? I'd say the CSP is a better all-around card, since technically it even out-earns the MPE on United flights (2.14x vs. 2x, if you factor in the annual dividend). There's also the 2x points on dining.
stainlesspoints - Thanks for pointing that out! I did a search on SPG flights and do see EVA flights listed as redeemable (a search just now reveals that a flight from LAX - TPE from 01/10/14 to 01/24/14 will cost about 115,000 points). This does sound different than transfer SPG points to UA MP miles.
I was thinking that I'd use the SPG cards for hotels only (since I mostly stay at SPG properties) and enjoy the 5x points, while use the CSP card for everything else. Perhaps this is a bad strategy? Should I keep all expenses out of a single card for the time being?
Also, I see that many have responded that a single card will not be enough, and that perhaps multiple cards would be required. Wouldn't one want to concentrate spending on one or two cards to rack up the points/miles?