How will Amex counter the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card?
Aug 31, 2016, 8:57 pm
#91
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Southern California
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 88
Amex vs. Chase
Like a lot of previous poster mentioned, the only thing the Chase Sapphire Reserve have going for it is basically: 100,000 UR's. American Express Platinum offers much more in terms of benefits. Citi Thank You Premier offers 3 TYP's on all travel, including gas, and 2 TYP's on dinning/entertainment for much more less of an annual fee.
It seems like the occasional bank/cc "psychology" announcing/introducing another "new" card and bonus usually attracts a lot of attention instantly. It will be interesting to see how the Chase (CSR) offer unfolds over the next couple of months/or year as I suspect "boredom" will set in for most people who jump on the "CSR" band wagon. They will be wavering back and forth between cards.
It seems like the occasional bank/cc "psychology" announcing/introducing another "new" card and bonus usually attracts a lot of attention instantly. It will be interesting to see how the Chase (CSR) offer unfolds over the next couple of months/or year as I suspect "boredom" will set in for most people who jump on the "CSR" band wagon. They will be wavering back and forth between cards.
Aug 31, 2016, 9:20 pm
#92
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,638
I'll apply for CSR just for the 100K but don't see any compelling reason to even use it after the $4,000 spend in 90 days to obtain the 100K bonus.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
Sep 1, 2016, 4:31 am
#93
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ATL
Posts: 802
AMEX Plat might be overrated but at least you are getting instant status with travel partners. Can't say the same for CSR. Without the sign up bonus, what's appealing about CSR? There's really no unique feature exclusive to CSR.
AMEX Plat has Centurion Lounge access.
Citi Prestige has 4th hotel free.
What does CSR offer that another card, whether it be one of the two competitors above or a cheaper anuual fee card, does not already offer?
Chase had an opportunity to implement the "Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit" but choose not to. Instead, they just copied the competition instead of offering something truly unique.
AMEX Plat has Centurion Lounge access.
Citi Prestige has 4th hotel free.
What does CSR offer that another card, whether it be one of the two competitors above or a cheaper anuual fee card, does not already offer?
Chase had an opportunity to implement the "Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit" but choose not to. Instead, they just copied the competition instead of offering something truly unique.
I would also add that of the 3 cards, the Reserve has the weakest roadside assistance coverage. The one thing in the Reserves favor is that the customer service rates better than Citi according to JD Powers rankings.
Sep 1, 2016, 6:02 am
#94
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 530
How will Amex counter Reserve? How did they counter Prestige? By sitting it out and waiting for Prestige devaluation. Reserve is too good atm and it is bound to get nerfed.
1.
If you can get reserve, you want it at least for a year. 300x2 travel credit plus 100k UR is flat out unmatched.
2.
Then you look at the cards that you can combine Reserve with....and bam for 90% of the folks who can get some of the other UR earning cards, Reserve has won over Platinum.
With 1.5 redemption, your earning rate when redeemed towards travel is at worst:
I. FU earns 2.25% on all purchases
II. Ink and Freedom 5x earning get you 7.5%
III. dining and travel is at worst 4.5%
3.
A lot of folks in this hobby have CSP. Now, you can think about replacing CSP with CSR and you would be paying at least $55 more AF. Then you wanna turn around and ask yourself "now do I want to pay at least $250 for some redundant benefits and then some more".
4.
You can also isolate Plat benefits and see how much they are worth it to you.
I. Hilton Gold IMO isn't worth much. Don't get me wrong, it is a great status but there are two cards that you can churn to get the benefit and Hilton often seems to run status match as well. So, you want to look at other benefits.
II. If you live near or don't frequent to Centurion lounge airports then that benefit isn't all that good to you.
III. I would also argue that PP all together isn't all that hot anymore. There are so many cards out there that give you PP now. The only PP membership that stand out is the one from Prestige.
5.
speaking of Prestige, even after devaluation, I personally will rank it over Platinum. Why?
I. I effectively pay $100 AF.
II. I stack it with couple of other TYP earning cards.
6.
something that I don't see talked about often is - do you need Platinum to transfer MR to partners? Nope. Do you need CSP, CSR, or Ink+ to transfer UR? Do you need Premier or Prestige to transfer MR? Yeap. This is a HUGE selling factor for CSP/CSR/Ink+ and Premier/Prestige IMO. I'll keep Prestige pretty much because I need a premium card and it effectively costs $5 more than Premier but provides better benefits.
7.
Last but not least, why are we all arguing? There is like 50 different Platinum cards. Just get one every year and enjoy life.
P.S. wrote it early morning so stuff isn't very organized and might be a little hard to read.
1.
If you can get reserve, you want it at least for a year. 300x2 travel credit plus 100k UR is flat out unmatched.
2.
Then you look at the cards that you can combine Reserve with....and bam for 90% of the folks who can get some of the other UR earning cards, Reserve has won over Platinum.
With 1.5 redemption, your earning rate when redeemed towards travel is at worst:
I. FU earns 2.25% on all purchases
II. Ink and Freedom 5x earning get you 7.5%
III. dining and travel is at worst 4.5%
3.
A lot of folks in this hobby have CSP. Now, you can think about replacing CSP with CSR and you would be paying at least $55 more AF. Then you wanna turn around and ask yourself "now do I want to pay at least $250 for some redundant benefits and then some more".
4.
You can also isolate Plat benefits and see how much they are worth it to you.
I. Hilton Gold IMO isn't worth much. Don't get me wrong, it is a great status but there are two cards that you can churn to get the benefit and Hilton often seems to run status match as well. So, you want to look at other benefits.
II. If you live near or don't frequent to Centurion lounge airports then that benefit isn't all that good to you.
III. I would also argue that PP all together isn't all that hot anymore. There are so many cards out there that give you PP now. The only PP membership that stand out is the one from Prestige.
5.
speaking of Prestige, even after devaluation, I personally will rank it over Platinum. Why?
I. I effectively pay $100 AF.
II. I stack it with couple of other TYP earning cards.
6.
something that I don't see talked about often is - do you need Platinum to transfer MR to partners? Nope. Do you need CSP, CSR, or Ink+ to transfer UR? Do you need Premier or Prestige to transfer MR? Yeap. This is a HUGE selling factor for CSP/CSR/Ink+ and Premier/Prestige IMO. I'll keep Prestige pretty much because I need a premium card and it effectively costs $5 more than Premier but provides better benefits.
7.
Last but not least, why are we all arguing? There is like 50 different Platinum cards. Just get one every year and enjoy life.
P.S. wrote it early morning so stuff isn't very organized and might be a little hard to read.
Sep 1, 2016, 8:37 am
#95
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
I'll apply for CSR just for the 100K but don't see any compelling reason to even use it after the $4,000 spend in 90 days to obtain the 100K bonus.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
Sep 1, 2016, 8:48 am
#96
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: NJ
Programs: United Silver, Hyatt, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, Amex Plat, Global Entry
Posts: 751
Like a lot of previous poster mentioned, the only thing the Chase Sapphire Reserve have going for it is basically: 100,000 UR's. American Express Platinum offers much more in terms of benefits. Citi Thank You Premier offers 3 TYP's on all travel, including gas, and 2 TYP's on dinning/entertainment for much more less of an annual fee.
It seems like the occasional bank/cc "psychology" announcing/introducing another "new" card and bonus usually attracts a lot of attention instantly. It will be interesting to see how the Chase (CSR) offer unfolds over the next couple of months/or year as I suspect "boredom" will set in for most people who jump on the "CSR" band wagon. They will be wavering back and forth between cards.
It seems like the occasional bank/cc "psychology" announcing/introducing another "new" card and bonus usually attracts a lot of attention instantly. It will be interesting to see how the Chase (CSR) offer unfolds over the next couple of months/or year as I suspect "boredom" will set in for most people who jump on the "CSR" band wagon. They will be wavering back and forth between cards.
Yes, the AM PL has the $200 air fare credit where you can be creative of course, but in reality the CSR card really is only $150 IMO... so not really fair to compare the benefits between the 2 on an even playing field...
Sep 1, 2016, 9:23 am
#97
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 5,050
I'll apply for CSR just for the 100K but don't see any compelling reason to even use it after the $4,000 spend in 90 days to obtain the 100K bonus.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
Sep 1, 2016, 2:25 pm
#98
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
EDITED TO ADD:
It came back to life a few hours later. Still 100k for now.
Last edited by sdsearch; Sep 1, 2016 at 7:05 pm Reason: status update
Sep 2, 2016, 10:23 am
#99
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,028
I'll apply for CSR just for the 100K but don't see any compelling reason to even use it after the $4,000 spend in 90 days to obtain the 100K bonus.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
Sep 2, 2016, 10:55 am
#100
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 665
I'll apply for CSR just for the 100K but don't see any compelling reason to even use it after the $4,000 spend in 90 days to obtain the 100K bonus.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
For air tickets, I'll use the Citi Prestige. Trip Delay protection kicks in after a 3 hours delay instead CSR 6 hours.
For car rental outside US, I'll use Citi Prestige as coverage is $100K USD vs. Chase $75K USD.
For car rental inside US, Chase Sapphire Preferred as primary with annual fee $95.
CSR = effective annual fee is $150
Advantage: CSR
Earning structure comparison:
Amex plat = 1x everything
CSR = 3x dining, travel, 1x everything else
Advantage: CSR
Air travel credit:
Amex plat = $200 and a bit more difficult to use
CSR = $300 and very easy to use.
Advantage: CSR
Hotel, car rental status:
Amex plat = SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, National Executive, more?
CSR = none.
Advantage: Amex plat
Lounge access:
Amex plat = priority pass, guests are $26/pp, Delta Skyclub with Delta flight, Centurion Lounge
CSR = priority pass with 2 free guests
Advantage: Amex plat
Rental car insurance:
Amex plat = extra cost
CSR = free up to $75000
Advantage: CSR
Fine Resorts/luxury Hotels:
IMO, Amex version gives better benefits and is more exclusive than the Chase version.
Advantage: Amex plat
Make your own decision.
I value Centurion Lounge access the most out of all the benefits.
Plus Amex customer service is much better than Chase, especially when you need to do a chargeback.
I will probably keep both cards.
Last edited by Travelchurner; Sep 2, 2016 at 11:21 am
Sep 2, 2016, 11:07 am
#101
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Delta Diamond, Bonvoy something good; sometimes other things too
Posts: 5,050
Haven't used it yet, nor explored in detail, but the CSR offers a "Luxury Hotel Collection" that appears to be similar to FHR. I looked in Vegas, a popular FHR destination, and the Chase offering appeared to have about the same benefits at most of the same properties plus some additional ones not in FHR.
That said FHR may still have incremental value; if nothing else in my experience staff at many FHR properties seem to be thoroughly familiar with the FHR program while they are not always as familiar with other similar programs (like Visa Signature Hotels), so the FHR experience can be more seamless. But Chase offers something.
That said FHR may still have incremental value; if nothing else in my experience staff at many FHR properties seem to be thoroughly familiar with the FHR program while they are not always as familiar with other similar programs (like Visa Signature Hotels), so the FHR experience can be more seamless. But Chase offers something.
Sep 2, 2016, 11:12 am
#102
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 665
Haven't used it yet, nor explored in detail, but the CSR offers a "Luxury Hotel Collection" that appears to be similar to FHR. I looked in Vegas, a popular FHR destination, and the Chase offering appeared to have about the same benefits at most of the same properties plus some additional ones not in FHR.
That said FHR may still have incremental value; if nothing else in my experience staff at many FHR properties seem to be thoroughly familiar with the FHR program while they are not always as familiar with other similar programs (like Visa Signature Hotels), so the FHR experience can be more seamless. But Chase offers something.
That said FHR may still have incremental value; if nothing else in my experience staff at many FHR properties seem to be thoroughly familiar with the FHR program while they are not always as familiar with other similar programs (like Visa Signature Hotels), so the FHR experience can be more seamless. But Chase offers something.
For Amex only the Plat + Centurion card can use this benefit.
With Chase I believe any Visa Signature card has access to this.
Sep 2, 2016, 11:17 am
#103
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 1,277
Sep 2, 2016, 11:41 am
#105
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: SFO
Posts: 3,881
I will probably keep both cards.