Originally Posted by
kdm31091
I actually think for many typical consumers the Prestige is a better card than the Platinum (if you're going to pay a high annual fee either way). You can cash out at 1 cent per point with Prestige without any Schwab workarounds. You effectively get 5% cash back on dining, hotels, and airfare, which is really not bad if those are valuable categories for you. The $250 credit is easy to use. I know everyone complains about the 4th night free cap but even one use a year can wipe out most of the remaining annual fee. The downside would be the lack of travel protections of course, and lack of outsized value redemptions in many cases but it is much easier to redeem TY points for 1 cent than it is to do so for MR (with MR even a large chunk of gift cards go for less than 1cpp).
Now of course you need to do the math on the fee vs other available no fee dining cards, etc, but I'm just saying I think the Prestige is not a terrible option.
Let's remove the $250 credit from the Prestige AF. Now we're at an effective $245 for the AF. Even with a free card like Freedom, you can get 3% on dining. You would have to spend over $12,225 in dining to start seeing the benefit of the extra 2% vs the annual fee. Sure there is a lot more to consider. However, the point is the 5% in dining sounds more attractive than it is practical for many. Hotels are 3% back unless I missed something.
The 4th night free is overrated. Booking through their portal, you are rarely getting the cheapest rate. Even if the stars align, it is at BEST a 25% discount. That's if you do 4 days. No more (except for 8), no less. Too much restriction for minimal reward. Meanwhile, the CSR portal is a 33% discount on EVERY hotel stay if that is your thing.
At the end of the day, each card benefits each person differently. Even many who vigorously defend their choice, may actually be better elsewhere considering their spending habits. 5% is the holy grail of return. However, the actual math tells no lies.