Originally Posted by
Super Mario
Fair enough for the perks. I still question the CSP though in this thread of "math". I see no mention of where you actually earn rewards. I would assume it is through Chase since you talk the most about point redemption there. Using PYB would net you 25% less. If you are earning travel rewards, it is also another 25% less. Dining would be another 25% loss, but that is easily mitigated through CFU or CFF. If we can talk about the Ritz retention, we can also talk about no one really paying $550 for CSR yet either.
I actually didn't say that the cost of CSR is $550, you did
But even taking the existing AF into account, with one AU, the total fee for one year of holding CSR is $525. Using the existing $300 credit on groceries, the effective fee can be $225.
With the CSP being $95 AF (and no AU fee), the difference between CSR and CSP is $130. If you take into account CSP gives 20k more UR in SUB than the CSR, that is an extra $250. This is a total of $380 in the first year a CSP card holder will save in AF and SUB.
As far as redemption goes, using PYB, a CSR card holder can redeem each point for 1.5cent. Since a CSP holder can redeem each point for 1.25cent, this is a difference of 0.25cent (not 25% as you pointed out, but 20%).
On dining and travel:
CSR: charge $1 = 3 points = 4.5cents PYB
CSP: charge $1 = 2 points = 2.5cents PYB
This is a difference of 2cents
$380 / 2cents = $19000
One will have to charge $19000 on dining and groceries before the end of Sept (when the existing PYB categories will end) to make the CSR fee worth its while for a first year card holder. This is a lot of money committed to dining out and groceries. Not to mention, there are several cards with lower or no AF that will give great or even better returns on dining and groceries.
After Sept, the PYB categories will end. It is hard to tell at this moment if it will be extended again or if there will be other categories that will be as lucrative. If one will continue to spend thousands on dining and travel, sure, I can see that the CSR being worth its while.
It's really hard to do the math for everyone as everybody's usage pattern is different. To each his own. For my household, these are the numbers I ran with in my head and decided that I'd much rather sign up for the CSP than the CSR.
I am curious - how do you figure that your CSR that makes it so much more valuable to you compared to CSP? I wonder if I am missing something. The appeal of CSR is truly lost on me.