yugi

I think CSR is superior to Amex and is much easier to use. No choosing airline nonsense, no idiotic Uber credit once a month, better coverages and insurances. I don't understand the value you find in FHR, and Centurions are too rare. I see much more PP than Centurions. So far used it once in LAS, and that's it for now. Planning to cancel Platinum when AF hits, especially after MPX stopped giving 5x. As for 5x on airfare, I rarely buy any airfare, so 3x is good enough.

Diplomatico

You can get Global Entry fee reimbursed, if you haven't already done that with another card.

Also, you'll need to downgrade your CSP to apply for a new CSR due to the "One Sapphire" rule.

Since you aren't eligible for the CSR sign-up bonus, if you were to get the card, may as well just upgrade the CSP to the CSR.

pallhedge

Because of this, you're actually not eligible to be approved for the card, not just the bonus. Assuming it's been at least 24 months since your last Sapphire product signup bonus, you'll need to product change the Sapphire to one of the Freedom products, wait a week, then apply for Sapphire Reserve. If approved, you'll get the card and qualify for the signup bonus.

mia

jags86's calculation is based on the assumption that you will use the points to pay for travel through the Chase portal operated by Connexions. If you have Sapphire Preferred the portal value is $0.0125/point, if you have Sapphire Reserve it is $0.015/point. Any higher value comes from transferring the points to an airline or hotel partner, and there is NO difference between Preferred and Reserve when transferring.

This feature is also offered by American Express Platinum, but if you have used the Amex entitlement for yourself, you could use the Sapphire Reserve credit to enroll someone else.

Kacee

Priority Pass is the most overrated benefit out there. That's why it's offered by so many cards . . . the lounges suck.

How do you get into DL SkyClubs with your CSR?

Well that's kind of an important distinction. I probably net an extra 40k points per year using Plat.

yugi

I rarely fly Delta, because of their "award chart". Too many miles needed. And also Platinum only allows 1 person for free into DL lounges. Useless for me.

Gig103

I don't blame you, the card isn't right for everyone and even a vehement "Chase hater" like me can't ignore CSR's value. But, that said, I suggest we try to keep on topic of "having both". The last Plat vs CSR thread got closed and I'd hate to see that happen again if this one goes off topic.

krazykanuck

indeed. Unfortunately there are some posters on FT that have trouble grasping the concept that just because it doesn't make sense for them to have both cards or one over the other, doesn't automatically mean that it doesn't make sense for somebody else.

I'm glad we have different personal situations and that companies create varying products. Can you imaging if we were all forced to have the same card product regardless of out lifestyles? Oh the horror!

yugi

Where do you see offtopic in my post?

Gig103

My interpretation of your answers (quoted below) were more about why not to have Amex, rather than why you might have both. It wasn't even the first post that "triggered" me, by the way, it was more the fact it started to prompt follow-on questions. I frankly believe the thread I linked to shouldn't have been closed because the topic is relevant, but I'm not a moderator.

jags86

I think the reality is there are 4 types of users:

1) CSR & Platinum makes no sense (majority of people)
2) CSR alone or with other UR cards (smaller subset of people)
3) AMEX Platinum alone or with other MR cards (even smaller subset of people)
4) CSR & Platinum makes sense (very very small subset of people)

On this forum you have 2, 3, and 4.

CSR is a better option for most people because most people want to fly economy. Most airline miles sit right around that 1-2 point range in value when booking economy. A 1.5cpp redemption value means you can book any flight, the cheapest cash flight or the most convenient flight, on any airline, from any airport, at any time for a good redemption value plus you'll earn miles from the flight. If this is you, the Chase will always beat AMEX. If you want to book hotels, the CSR points are worth more than 2x what MR points are worth. If this is you, Chase will always beat AMEX.

AMEX Platinum is better in a more limited circumstance since you get many more soft perks than you do with the CSR. Low level hotel status and DL lounge access are the most commonly cited. Platinum can be worth WAY more than CSR if you for example pay cash for international business class tickets often and can save big bucks using their international airline program. If you save $2k/yr using that, you will likely come out way ahead vs the CSR.

Both together means you need to combine the above and see if paying $1000 in annual fees is worth it. Sure, you get $300 travel credit, $200 uber credit, and $200 on an individual airline, but that's still all money out of your pocket. You may or may not be getting 100% value out of that. For example if you're taking uber just to use the credit instead of driving yourself, then are you really getting $200 of value? If you're ordering uber eats to use up the credit instead of cooking are you getting $200 of value? I'd argue not. If you're buying snacks on a flight are you getting $200 value out of the incidental credit? I'd argue not.

The CSRs value is for the mass affluent everyman who spends enough to overcome the net $150 fee making it better than a 2% CB card and maybe travels on their own dime once or twice a year. They can guarantee themselves a minimum redemption value and not have to worry about having the total number of points to make a redemption or finding saver award space on their preferred airline.

Statman

IAP is the main reason I have the AMEX Platinum. I have already saved thousands on a few international J class fares this year alone. FHR has also saved me a few hundred dollars with the free nights and the cash amenities.

I use the CSR solely for non-airfare travel purchases (3x points) and dining (3x points), but every other charge goes on my AMEX.

conde

I previously had both the AMEX Platinum card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I canceled the Chase Sapphire Reserve before the annual fee came due. Earning points on the CSR was nice, particularly for dining. Airline transfer redemption options left me cold though, in comparison to other options.

Having both the AMEX Platinum and the CSR makes the most sense, if one uses these for specific targeted common transfer partners like Singapore Airlines Krisflyer or Air France/KLM Flying Blue. That way one could pool the points and gain bonus points from different sources. Using CSR could gain more points from dining, hotels (direct bookings), and other travel, while using AMEX could gain more points from flights and Membership Rewards purchase offers while taking advantage of the various card perks. Unfortunately, AMEX Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards don't share many airline or hotel transfer partners, so it is difficult to leverage value on common points transfers by keeping both.

I keep the AMEX Platinum and the Citi Premier card to primarily accrue points for use on Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific), which is a shared transfer partner. AMEX and Citi ThankYou also share Singapore Air Krisflyer and Air France Flying Blue as transfer partners. There are other transfer partners I may utilize such as ANA (AMEX) and EVA Air (Citi). Citi ThankYou may not work for everyone, but perhaps the approach of shared transfer partners could be valuable for either holding both AMEX Plat & CSR, or both AMEX Plat & Citi ThankYou cards.

ferric

Just wanted to point out my experience in Year 1 on Plat Amex. I think I would've maybe got more value out of the CSR, the *ONLY* big difference I see is that the free Plat Gold AU cards give you free Global Entry, whereas CSR AU's need to be paid for. I don't think this is a huge benefit because global entry might be the easiest card benefit to get after priority pass.

APeverell

I have both personal Amex Centurion and Platinum, and biz platinum, and JPMR, and Citi Prestige and Premier, and a bunch of other reward cards with AFs. Every card has its own set of benefits and reward scheme, they all make sense to me