Heh, thanks Strawboy. I'm actually a little surprised too! Thought there would be more numbers geeks on here. I really think it would help cut through the subjective sense of valuation to punch in some concrete numbers and see how/where value really breaks down.
I'm noticing quite a bit of movement, mostly people playing with spend figures (cool) and for some reason creating lots and lots of new, blank sheets. Not sure what people are trying to do. Let me know if there would be any useful changes .(I had to lock the front page because a couple folks started directly entering rewards for some reason)
Hopefully someone is finding it useful to make their own copy and playing with that. I'd love to hear insights!
I for example am surprised frankly at how well stacked the Amex products seem to be (assuming you are targeting award travel) compared to Chase, even though the CSP seems to have stronger mainstream support.
The CSP can have a bit of an advantage at lower spend levels, but if you primarily use one card, it really loses ground quickly.
Why don't more people talk about the Mercedes Benz Amex revolver?
The Everyday cards are killer on paper. The Preferred version has such a lead I don't even bother comparing it.
It's also interesting to see how the cash cards cleanly take a back seat if you are planning award travel. Even the favored Barclay Arrival, which is cashback-like and sounds great for a simple flat 2%, doesn't actually stack up wonderfully compared to any of the travel cards--again, unless you specifically will not use award travel and just want generic statement credit.