jdsnyder

Hi all -

Newbie here. Long time reader, first time poster.

Up until recently, my two credit cards were the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Reserve. I finally got approved for the Amex Platinum, so I think I can get rid of one of the Chase Sapphires. The question is...which one? It seems odd to have two premium credit cards, so I wanted to know what you think.

In 2018, I spent over $16k on Food and $53k on travel, two categories that get you either 2x or 3x points on the Preferred and Reserve, respectfully. Travel is mostly Ubers and flights booked directly with the airlines, so it makes sense to move my air travel purchases to the Amex Platinum which gets me 5x. The question becomes, do the Uber and Food transactions warrant me keeping the Reserve?

My initial thinking is that I keep the Reserve and dump the Preferred, because with the $300 travel credit, it brings the annual fee down to $150, only $55 more than the fee of the Preferred, and that's certainly worth it for the more points, right? Or is there some other thinking I should be following here?

Any thoughts appreciated.

mia

This is an arithmetic question. What is the value of a UR point, based on your own redemption history? How much do you spend on travel (aside from airfare), and dining?

Other considerations are that Sapphire Reserve includes somewhat better travel insurance than Preferred, and Reserve includes a somewhat better Priority Pass membership than the one provided with American Express Platinum.

evor1

come on this is a no brainer. reserve.

xooz

Maybe replace the Reserve card with the Chase Freedom Unlimited (no AF) to get 1.5 points/$ on non-bonus spend... if you are liking those Chase points.

And... Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Super Mario

I honestly can't think of too many scenarios where the Preferred is a better option, aside from those who get commission from pushing it over the Reserve.

hotturnip

The overlap of benefits between the Platinum and Reserve is pretty extensive. And consider that you'll be booking your airfare on the Amex now, to get the 5X points.

I'd probably dump the Reserve and keep the Preferred. Try that a couple of years, and if you find you really need those 3X points simultaneously with Amex, then you can get a new bonus offer when returning to the Reserve!

mia

Perhaps. We are not eligible for another Sapphire bonus until 48 months after the last Sapphire bonus posted:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...st-2018-a.html

cuthroat

I would keep the CSR and PC the CSP to CFU.

Another option Ink Preferred and Amex Gold. But I assume you got the Platinum for 5X flights/Hotels and Centurion lounge access.

jdsnyder

you're saying dump the reserve? why?

pallhedge

Perhaps you misread. The comment preceding yours says:

expressboy

I would keep the CSR if I were you. The big difference is that you get 16K extra UR points for your restaurants and that translates to at least $240 (1.5 cents/UR) if you redeem for travel. Also you can redeem any UR points you have or will earn at 1.5cpp instead of 1.25cpp with the CSP.
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time_stamp

After I got the Plat Amex pretty quickly sent me a pre-approval for the Gold with a nice bonus. If you are willing to switch your restaurant spend to AMEX Gold I don't see any good reason to keep the CSR. I don't really see any good reason to keep CSP either, but it's the cheaper of the two ways to keep your UR alive, if you have any left and are still looking for some partner to transfer them to.

jdsnyder

sorry I was responding to a different poster who just said "reserve. no brainer" but not sure if they meant keep or dump.

Dr Jabadski

Excellent points, completely agree. It’s incredibly annoying to see laudatory raves about Preferred being better than Reserve by those with a vested interest in the Preferred, almost as annoying as penis enlargement ads😊!

Keep the Reserve. At 3x vs 2x points for travel and dining and $0.015 vs $0.0125 it takes only $3425 in annual travel and dining spending to make up the (effective) $55 difference in annual fees. Your 16K dining alone could be a $320 difference (if redeemed thru Chase) and potentially much more (if points transferred and redeemed skillfully).

Super Mario

The way I see it. the difference is only $2750 in spend. The rate of return is essentially 2.5% on CSP (if rewards redeemed through Chase) while the CSR is 4.5%. So it's about a 2% difference. If you are spending $3800 total in travel and dining on your CSP, you are just breaking even with the annual fee. Go big or go home.

Not the mention, the CSR fulfills its duty as a travel card by giving you (arguably the best version of the) Priority pass, Global Entry, and really good travel insurance coverage. The Preferred's travel insurance is not bad though for a $95 card.