Originally Posted by
surfmonkey89
Thank you for sharing all of this - it really was tremendously helpful. I guess I’ll share a bit about where I am, both to reciprocate and to get opinions from others.
Currently: SPG Amex for 5yrs, Marriott Rewards for going on 3. Gold on both (via linking), and I doubt I’ll ever get close enough or care enough to go for Platinum anything.
Usage: Love Starwood, both for airline miles, offers, and the occasional trip destination. Been using SPG Amex as daily spend with Marriott as Visa backup, but recently switched the to Amazon Prime Visa for the 5% cash back on Amazon & Whole Foods (which is nice, but I’m not wedded to). Got the MR mostly for the free night, which I have a use for every year.
Going forward: I’ve been doing a bit more traveling, and would like to do even more. As a result of that (and this merger craziness) I’m learning a lot about various perks I never knew about or used (even wrt my own cards/accounts). As a result, I’m ready to make the jump to a premium card.
The luxury Amex is interesting for someone coming from SPG basic such as myself. I get to stay in my programs, a $300 credit that I should be able to achieve, Priority Pass access and PreCheck and Global entry. Seems like a pretty nice way to ease into this world. An added bonus is that I can pretty much keep doing what I’ve been doing, and wait and see how everything shakes out next year. New MR card isn’t worth it to me, and my current MR will go in the drawer.
The Amex Platinum has a great airline benefit, but I think I’d have a hard time meeting all of the requirements that everyone just tosses aside to say “It’s really only $150 per year”. But, the Delta and Centurion club access is appealing, as is Starwood Gold Elite. If they keep that, I’d consider it, but unless I’m missing something obvious (let me know), this isn’t as appealing as the Luxury upgrade.
CSR sounds like a great option for my Visa backup. PP, GE, etc are redundant with the Amex, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tentative plan:
- upgrade to the Luxury Amex, use up the $300 credit on travel and take advantage of 6x on Starriott spend
- After the $300 travel credit gets met, get the CSR. Get the 50K signup bonus, use it until $300 credit on travel is met, then move it to Amex backup and start accumulating different rewards as a hedge
- re-evaluate in a year to see what *actually* happened with this merger
Does that make sense? Am I missing something obvious, especially with the Amex Platinum? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.