Mar 7, 2014, 7:25 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: der_saeufer

Why should I keep my CSP?

Possible reasons to keep the card include

ability to earn 2 UR points/dollar on travel & dining expenses
primary insurance coverage on rental cars
- See post #369 for an example of how this has real financial value
7% annual dividend (Note that this benefit ends in early 2016 with the award of the 2015 dividend.)
no forex fees
ability to transfer points at 1:1 (in many cases instantly) to a wide range of airline & hotel partners
the potential difficulty in being approved again later for a second CSP
- See this wiki for details
synergy with Freedom or other Chase card earning UR points
you are among the few customers who receive a retention bonus offsetting the cost of the annual fee

For additional details, see the CSP Benefits Guide.

Why should I cancel my CSP?

Possible reasons to cancel the card include

lack of interest in the UR transfer partner programs (or you hold, or will hold, another transfer-eligible premium card, such as the Ink Plus)
you have a no-fee Freedom card to which you can transfer (and warehouse at no cost) your UR points
you plan to re-apply & earn a second signup bonus at a later date or with a different first-year-free UR card
- Note: In 2015, Chase UR cards became much more difficult to churn
you would rather use a 2% cashback card for most spending
benefits of the card in your particular circumstances are outweighed by the annual fee

Why should I downgrade my CSP?

Possible reasons to downgrade the card include

Opened a new CSR account for that sweet, sweet bonus. The CSP offers nothing that the CSR doesn't, so there's little point in keeping both--the AF is refunded in full if you downgrade within 60 days. There are conflicting reports of prorated refunds for downgrades >60 days after the fee is charged. AF refunds generally post within a day or two.
You plan to re-apply & earn a second signup bonus at a later date or with a different first-year-free UR card, but have a UR balance you want to keep
You're waiting out 5/24 to get CSR and you don't want to pay the CSP AF

What can I downgrade to (no AF), and why would I want to?

Sapphire (non-preferred). Not much point in this. No UR transfers to partners, 2x on dining, 1x on everything else. This card no longer exists for new customers, but it was still a downgrade option from CSP as of 9/16.
Freedom. 5x bonus categories, rotating by quarter, 1x on everything else. If you downgrade and activate the bonus, you'll get the bonus retroactive to the beginning of the quarter. When they overlap, you get both (e.g. Jul-Sep '16 restaurants paid with CSP pre-downgrade get base points plus 1 extra from CSP and 4 extra from Freedom)
Freedom Unlimited. 1.5x on everything.

And, of course, if you have CSR you can move the UR earned with the other cards to the CSR and transfer it to partners. Likewise, if you re-apply or PC to CSP, you can transfer points earned with F or FU to partners as well.

When downgrading, the card number does not change, but the expiration date and CVV will. The downgraded account retains the same credit limit and opening date, so it doesn't change AAoA nor count towards 5/24.

What's the best use of UR points?

Please read about/discuss this issue in Best use of Ultimate Rewards points [Consolidated].

Chase Sapphire Preferred - Keep, Downgrade, or Cancel?

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Jan 6, 2015, 11:00 am

#436

Travel4Points

Join Date: Jan 2014

Location: Chicago

Programs: United MileagePlus, Hyatt Platinum

Posts: 148

When does CSP pay the 7% dividend?

I was just hit with the $125 AF and I'm thinking of downgrading or canceling after I get my 7%.

Jan 8, 2015, 12:45 pm

#437

takeshi74

Join Date: Jul 2013

Posts: 384

Quote:

Originally Posted by litesalt

However, because the CSP is my second oldest credit line, I don't want to cancel it outright.

Quote:

Originally Posted by litesalt

If any seem like common sense, I just want to be very sure of my options and the process before making any irreversible changes.

Keep in mind that your AAoA is not immediately affected by closing a credit card. The account typically continues to show up on reports and factor into AAoA for 10 years after closure.

Utilization, however, is immediately impacted. If you do close the card see if you can transfer the available credit to another Chase card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travel4Points

When does CSP pay the 7% dividend?

February

Jan 8, 2015, 1:48 pm

#438

ericdabbs

Join Date: Dec 2013

Posts: 3,509

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travel4Points

When does CSP pay the 7% dividend?

I was just hit with the $125 AF and I'm thinking of downgrading or canceling after I get my 7%.

Ur lucky. The 7% dividend comes in the February statement which should be enough time to get the 7% dividend and give Chase the boot if you wanted to since you have 60 days to cancel after AF kicks in. I looked at my Jan and Feb 2014 statements and I was hoping it would come on my Jan 2014 statement. But since the Jan 2014 statement period overlaps a tiny bit into December I highly doubt that would be the case. I checked my Feb 2014 statement and sure enough the 7% was posted on there.

In my case I got hit with the $125 AF in December 2014 and even 60 days out would put me until end of January which is not enough time until Feb statement cuts.

Jan 12, 2015, 3:35 am

#439

BooG690

Join Date: Dec 2013

Posts: 20

Is it just me or is the Chase Sapphire no longer available?

Edit: after more research, it's no longer available for new applicants. Has anyone had any luck downgrading to a regular Sapphire?

Last edited by BooG690; Jan 12, 2015 at 3:45 am

Jan 13, 2015, 12:09 pm

#440

Blueskyheaven

Join Date: Jul 2013

Posts: 1,872

if I wait till Feb, it would be more than 60 days since the fee is charged! Charged $125 on Dec 1. Didn't get 7% bonus on my Jan statement. I think I should just give them a call now. I don't need regular SP & I have 2 freedoms. Will see if I can downgrade to freedom

Jan 13, 2015, 10:39 pm

#441

andres17

Join Date: Oct 2013

Posts: 252

Guys,

How do you transfer the UR points from CSP to the Freedom? It seems Chase changed the website, and I can't find it!? I need to transfer them prior to downgrading my CSP to a Freedom.

Jan 13, 2015, 10:48 pm

#442

beltway

Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: On strike

Posts: 8,135

Quote:

Originally Posted by andres17

How do you transfer the UR points from CSP to the Freedom? It seems Chase changed the website, and I can't find it!? I need to transfer them prior to downgrading my CSP to a Freedom.

See discussion in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...-accounts.html

Jan 17, 2015, 11:29 pm

#443

ericdabbs

Join Date: Dec 2013

Posts: 3,509

I am debating about whether to keep the CSP card or not and pay the $125 AF. I have until the end of this month (from the 60 days 12/1/14) to decide if I want to still keep it. I looked at my 2014 yearly summary and I calculated that I will get about 2900 UR points from the 7% dividend.

I don't really need this CC for the transfer partners or the no FTF features since I have the Ink cards. I actually have other cards that I can find substitutes for this card. The main question is, should I pay the $125 fee to keep my 2900 UR points or is this bad value and I should cancel?

Another thing I want to ask is, lets say I decide to cancel the CSP and my current balance is $0 (with all URs transferred out) and I move my CL to my Chase Freedom, how does Chase refund you the $125 AF? Do they just provide me a $125 credit to my Chase Freedom card? Also is a person allowed to have 2 Chase Freedom cards or just 1?

Last edited by ericdabbs; Jan 17, 2015 at 11:55 pm

Jan 18, 2015, 2:00 am

#444

TMM1982

Suspended

Join Date: Dec 2014

Posts: 8,460

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericdabbs

2900 UR points are not worth $125. The question you need to ask yourself is can you squeeze value out of the card that you couldn't on something else. Do you take advantage of the first friday of the month dining promo where you can get 3 points per $1 at restaurants? That's pretty unique to CSP.

No credit to Freedom. Even if you close the card, Chase can and will still post the credit to the closed card. So once you see that happen, just call and ask them to cut a check to your address.

Jan 18, 2015, 9:18 am

#445

DaveInLA

Join Date: Sep 2012

Posts: 4,431

I had the CSP for 2 years and paid the AF once. I know all the bloggers call this the single best card to have, but I just don't feel that way. The signup bonus is good, but not great (40K). The versatility is nice, as is the 7% points dividend, but probably not worth $95. There are VERY few reports of people getting Chase to waive the AF. I kept it after the first year because I had earned 75K points that year and I figured that 5K+ UR would be worth the $95, but I couldn't justify it for another year. Instead, the Ink gives a higher signup bonus, still gets 2x at hotels, and is much easier to waive the AF.

Jan 18, 2015, 12:47 pm

#446

yOyOYoo

Join Date: Feb 2012

Posts: 731

I've been using the Chase Ink Cash card to get 2x points at restaurants, effectively eliminates my need to keep the CSP. The Ink Cash card has no annual fee.

Jan 18, 2015, 3:28 pm

#447

TMM1982

Suspended

Join Date: Dec 2014

Posts: 8,460

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveInLA

I signed up for the CSP at a time when they offering 100k points back in 2012. I wouldn't sign up for the 40k offer.

Jan 18, 2015, 3:40 pm

#448

winsteven13

Join Date: Oct 2014

Posts: 374

Will be getting the CSP downgraded to the sapphire no fee. I put my dining expenses on my forward that earns 5x points (as well as 5x amazon). My Ink plus will be housing all my UR (currently at 300k UR collectively). I'm already paying $450 for the Biz Plat and $95 for the Ink plus, no need to tack on another $125 on the CSP.

Jan 20, 2015, 12:05 pm

#449

nsr

Join Date: Jun 2006

Posts: 795

Anyone knows if the two cards, CSP & CS ("non-preferred" version) look and feel the same?

Jan 20, 2015, 12:28 pm

#450

DaveInLA

Join Date: Sep 2012

Posts: 4,431

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsr

Anyone knows if the two cards, CSP & CS ("non-preferred" version) look and feel the same?

No. I had the CSP and downgraded to the CS. The CSP is metal, heavy and shiny. It looks impressive. The CS is the same plastic used in other credit cards.