Originally Posted by
Zeromus-X
I've got both a Premier and a Prestige card, and was planning on keeping the Premier for the 3x gas. However, running the numbers I'm not sure it makes sense, the 1.6 redemption is hurting my brain. Am I doing this right?
Assume: $126/month average in gas (per Mint.com), or $1,512.00/year.
Also assume: All flights are American Airlines (they're the big regional one here anyway)
Premier = 4,536 points * 1.6 redemption rate = 7,258 effective points
Points valued at $0.016/point = total flight value of $116.13
Prestige = 1,512 points * 1.6 redemption rate = 2,419 effective points
Points valued at $0.016/point = total flight value of $38.70
$116.13 - $38.70 = $77.43, less than $95 annual fee = drop the card.
Given these numbers, if the only real perk to the Premier over the Prestige is 3x gas, you'd need to spend about $150/month to break even over just using the Prestige (assuming of course you have no better gas reward card).
I picked both Premier and Prestige recently and will be in your shoes at renewal. The reason why I would consider keeping Premier would be the broader definition of travel, beyond just gas: parking, tolls, public transit, cabs. etc.
But, depending on how much someone spends in these categories it maybe better to just use one of the cash back cards. Looking at my personal card portfolio I would consider a combination of Fidelity 2% and BofA 3% for gas. plus Freedom when it's paying 5x for gas.
I am optimistic at Citi retentions, compared to Chase and Amex, so we maybe able to score something that will incentivize to keep it open