When you compare the airfare benefit between the AMEX and CSP cards and the AA executive it is important to note that AMEX and CSP give you the multiple on any airline, the AA executive only on AA.

I put out an analysis of my 2014 redemptions here - this can help you determine the "value" you might realize for each point.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...4-numbers.html

Premium Roadside Assistance - https://web.aexp-static.com/us/conte...ce-Premium.pdf

Probably just personal bias, but it seems likely enough to use once in a year to factor it in as a bottom line benefit(I've used the service twice in a year). It should be taken with a grain of salt, I place it somewhere between the other insurances and a credit that is fully under your control (like the Platinum and Prestige airline reimbursements)

There was an error in your formula for AmEx Everyday on groceries.

=if(Spend!$C3>=6000,12000+(Spend!$C3-6000),Spend!$C3)

It should be:

=if(Spend!$C3>=6000,12000+(Spend!$C3-6000),Spend!$C3*2)

Also, if you give PRG 4x on airfare, you should give CSP 3x on airfare to be consistent.

Fair enough. From a practicality perspective, it would be difficult to elegantly incorporate 5x rotating category cards into your spreadsheet anyway.

I see what you're saying, but if you only use a card when there is no fee (like a lot of people on this forum), then there really is no fee. Perhaps it's best for people like that to just compare the benefits earned number, and not "value," which adjusts AFs.

Gotcha, I remember reading that the AmEx rewards portal (similar to the UR Mall) was recently shut down. I must have mixed that up with the AmEx travel portal.

I think 5x toward $1,500 on restaurants, 5x toward $3,000 on gas, and 5x toward $1,500 on department stores would be a decent (not perfect) assumption for the spreadsheet. That's what the bonus categories looked like for 2013 and 2014.

I may be an exception because much of my spend is concentrated in travel and dining, which makes CSP+Ink come out ahead by quite a bit. Plus, I place a premium on UR points since United has a hub nearby and I'm a fan of Hyatt. For people that spend a larger percentage on groceries I can see how the AmEx Everyday cards can be a clear winner.

I agree with your point about people with lower spend levels using cash back. They'd probably be better off just knocking out sign-up bonus after sign-up bonus anyway though.

Whoops, thank you on the formula! I also wasn't aware of the bonus airfare point through UR--is this just a system to find a book flights on the normal market like https://travel.americanexpress.com/ or is it a bonus attributed on award travel? This is new info!


Well, it's worth a shot. I'll probably play around with it. Also, the other columns are open to edit if you want to extend this :)

[QUOTE=bribro;22765931]I see what you're saying, but if you only use a card when there is no fee (like a lot of people on this forum), then there really is no fee. Perhaps it's best for people like that to just compare the benefits earned number, and not "value," which adjusts AFs.[QUOTE]

Sure, fair enough. I assume this covers both completely non-AF cards, and using cards with it waived during the first year (or waived as a retention bonus). Still, one point of this exercise was to understand a little about the business model, and under what circumstances a fee-based product can still generate a greater benefit under standard usage: for different products, where is the sweet spot for maximum mutual benefit between issuer and consumer over several years?

[QUOTE=bribro;22765931]Gotcha, I remember reading that the AmEx rewards portal (similar to the UR Mall) was recently shut down. I must have mixed that up with the AmEx travel portal.[QUOTE]

Yeah I missed the boat on the rewards portal. The travel site is a general public-facing service (I think it's just a white-labelled Orbitz for flight at least).

I'm curious what a good example scenario is? And in the end, bonus rates are probably going to be blown away by how each individual values points. I by contrast am at a Delta/KLM/Air France hub and will be traveling to Euro & SE Asia.

Great conversation, btw. Thank you.

The UR travel portal is basically a travel search aggregator (like Kayak, Ortbiz, Travelocity etc.) and if you book through it instead of the airline directly you get an extra UR point (so 3.21x effectively on CSP). There have been data points about UR travel portal bookings not counting toward United PQD requirements though (because the purchases code as an OTA), but I haven't had this problem myself. You can't book Southwest flights through the UR mall portal either, which I'm assuming is the same case with AmEx's travel portal.

I've already added a Freedom column on my custom saved copy. :) Didn't want to mess with the original. Thanks for putting this together btw!

Makes sense. And spreadsheet users can obviously delete the AF value if they want to see how the math shakes out assuming a waived AF.

Sounds just like the UR travel portal.

I plugged in my actual spending numbers from Mint.com for the trailing 12 months. I'm not comfortable sharing them on a public forum, but I spend tens of thousands in the categories of dining, hotels, and airfare every year. On the other hand, I spent less than $2k on groceries over the last 12 months (I don't cook much...), which is why the AmEx Everyday cards are of little value to me personally. Even when valuing UR and MR identically (0.02 cpp, a common valuation cited) the CSP+Ink combo prevails in my case.

Yes, great conversation. You're like an MR-inclined version of me haha.

For what it's worth, the 1st year and multiple year "returns" do factor in waived first year fees, but not necessarily those that get waived as retention bonuses or whatever.

Hah, yeah that's fair, I didn't include my own numbers in this for the same reason. You should copy in your Freedom column. It would be cool to get new info in there.

Also curious if the non-reward benefits are accurate in there. I don't have the actual terms paperwork.

ah okay, thanks.

I know it wouldn't really be possible to project in a spreadsheet like yours with any accuracy but I rarely see the Amex offers included when measuring a card's worth. I'm new to the bonus/reward game but in the last year I've probably had $120 of gas, Amazon, Lowe's, etc. on the PRG.

Which I guess is why I asked because I thought maybe you were just estimating you could potentially get that kind of benefit if the right offers were available. Are these "offers" specific to Amex or do other cards have them as well?

That's true, I've had $40 credited from their regular running offers and small business saturday in the last 6 months.

Updated credit card analysis spreadsheet version? Kroger fuel points 4X gift cards
 

I started doing one of these myself, but thought that surely somebody has done this already, and Google found these postings! Is there an up to date version, or just one with all the corrections listed? Huge thanks; my version has far fewer refinements, e.g. $6k limit for AMEX Blue groceries. That will be one my favorite rewards, as my Kroger's occasionally has 4x gas points for gift card purchases. 1000 gas points equals $1 off per gallon for up to 35 gallons. So if I buy $250 of gift cards, I get 1000 points (4x250), which gets me $1 off per gallon, or $35 if I fill up both vehicles. $35/$250 = 14% back, add that to the 6% back from AMEX Blue Cash Preferred, and I'll be getting 20% back from the gift card purchases! Kroger's also has wonderful baking bags for fish; just go to the fish counter and order salmon put into a baking bag; I ask for butter, lemon, dill, rosemary, and California garlic seasoning powder also to be put into the bag. Go home, preheat oven to 380, pop holes in the top of the bag, and 25 minutes later you'll be eating the best salmon I've ever had. When you're done, the bags work well to hold the leftovers in the fridge, or just toss the bag in the wastebasket (no mess to clean!):)

Just wondering if anyone knows of an updated version of this.

Thank you so much, it is very detailed. You must have put in alot of work in this. I appreciate it