If I'm only traveling once a year, trying to get good value out of the $300 portal credit on the Venture X would be difficult. The CSP, while more expensive on paper when valuing credits at 100% face value, would not tie me in nearly as much into portal usage (at most I just ignore the $50 Chase hotel credit and it's a full $99 AF.) The Venture card could also work and has a better base earning rate, but I still think I'd rather have the rotating 5x categories and Hyatt transfers over the extra 0.5x on unbonused spend.
this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2023
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You are correct in that, however I think Capital One mentioned a price-match guarantee? I would personally only book hotels through portals (I would be traveling once a year myself) since I don't have any loyalty memberships. For flights, I would transfer to partners.
Do you get enough value out of your CSP to justify the $99 price tag? I would be very interested to know how you use your Chase trifecta
Right now I only have the CSP for the SUB (plan on cancelling after the year is up,) but I also travel a few times a year - enough that I feel comfortable being able to use the $300 somehow most years, and that I'm willing to do that for lounge access. My comment was more thinking to a point where if I was only traveling (at least by air) only once a year - and at that point I'd prefer a simpler, less credit-based setup. Although at that point I might just go completely no-annual fee, using Bilt to get some Hyatt points (since they have a lot of decent sweet spots) and then cash-back cards for the rest.
One big thing to note is that the Cap1 portal doesn't have every hotel listed. They do have a lot, but I have a stay coming up that I couldn't book through them and so had to book it through Expedia. Cap1 also won't price match member rates, which most chain hotels have, so it's quite possible that someone would pay more on the Cap1 portal vs. a direct booking.
Thanks for your comment. Sorry, but what is "SUB"?
I plan to travel once every year, mostly to farther destinations like Europe or Asia. I would like to be able to have enough points to purchase business class for most of my travels (since they will be long); I do not like the pricing of a lot of the bigger hotel chains like Hyatt and Marriott (especially because I don't really do much in hotels anyway, although maybe having free meals would make it easier to consider). I would mostly be looking at AirBnbs/short-term rentals (if something like 2 weeks could be arranged), amongst others. Would you have a suggestion for a card that might fit my needs?
I started my life with Chase and have the Freedom Flex. The plan was to move up to unlimited and CSR, but the fees put me off and I'm considering aiming for the CSP as the easier option. Capital One is hard to get since they are so picky, and I'd have to change things around at work (deposit some cash at one bank, deposit the rest at the other to save transfer fees). I do not want to go the Amex route, especially for international travel.
Thanks, and apologies for the monologue!
SUB = sign up bonus.
Realistically, for international business class travel, unless you're spending high-five-figures each year through a card (at minimum) you'll likely need to supplement everyday earnings with one or two large sign-up bonuses each year. I haven't dug into international business class redemptions personally as they're often quite expensive and/or require a lot of flexibility and positioning (at least from my home airport, MSP) and so hopefully either someone else can provide more insight on that aspect as to which cards have the best transfer partners on that front.
That said, I don't think you can go wrong by starting with a CSP + CFF setup, probably adding in the Unlimited for the 1.5x base earnings on unbonused spend. Cap1's transfer partners are a bit more lucrative, but from my reading they also are more difficult to book/use (e.g. Turkish has cheap rates but for partner rewards may require calling in or emailing a bunch of ticketing offices - I've never done this but I've read about it on Flyertalk.) Chase has many decent ones, and most are relatively easy to use.
Thank you!
Could you mention the relevant feeds on Flyertalk that I should take note of? I'm new to the game, so to speak, only really found out about Flyertalk from the pastebin from the mods at r/Creditcards.
Thanks!
How did chase trim their bonus categories?
Realistically everyone who is going to daily drive a trifecta should categorize their current spending, assign a value to points, and see which card sets maximize their value with google sheets or something. Make sure you factor in all of the credits you can reasonably spend and try to assign a conservative value to things like priority pass, travel insurance, hotel/rental status, etc. If you don't care much about that make it zero.
When I did this Chase was second to the Amex trifecta because I can enough of the credits to cover the AF with minimal work.
What killed my interest in the Venture X was when they switched to providing credit for the travel portal instead of cash back to your card when doing the price match. Portal credits are basically useless to me since the only reason I would have them is because the portal was charging more than booking directly. If you travel a lot, you might be able to use the credits on a flight/hotel that is priced the same as booking direct, but there's no guarantee that opportunity will arise.
Indeed. We currently have a somewhat bad market for travel credit cards at the moment: CSR is too expensive for most people, same with the AMex line. Venture X and Chase have portal-only bonuses, which is useless if you transfer out to travel partners. I guess the CSP is simply the economical option right now, but it's not very good either (I hate that so many categories are missing)
Agreed. As someone who only travels a handful a times of year, I've been using the BILT card as my travel card since it has pretty good travel protections and transfer partners for $0 AF. And I recently picked up the Hilton Honors Surpass for the SUB & 10 free Priority Pass visits per year. I think that combo works well for my current travel needs.
I plan to get the BILT card myself at some point for travel points. I'm still thinking about the Chase trifecta, but since I only plan to travel once a year, I also need to question the need for a premium travel card like the Venture X and CSR. Great to hear about your setup with the BILT. Thanks
The Bilt card actually works better with the Chase ecosystem than Capital One due to overlapping transfer partners (United, Hyatt, SouthWest)
Thanks, good to know
I'm really debating on the Altitude Reserve. If you don't travel the bonus annual credits can also be used on dining. Plus effective 4.5% back on contactless.
I had never heard of this card before. Thanks, I'll take a look
This is going to sound backwards but hear me out: The Amex Trifecta (Platinum, Gold, BBP) can actually be a very good combo for less frequent travel, if you can effectively use the credits. You need to be already paying for Hulu, Disney plus, and some other entertainment credit options, be able to use the uber and grubhub credits (I get pickup once a month from each and use it easily). FHR is a great option for a weekend trip if you find one in the $200-$300 range due to all the benefits.
If you can justify the (very) high AF with the credits without spending more than you normally would, you get a lot of perks that you would only get by travelling a lot otherwise (hotel/rental status, more lounge access, FHR).
Absolutely, if someone uses the credits well, the Amex cards are great! I'm just trying to be more frugal in my life, which is why I can't justify the price of said cards. And I don't eat out that much.
Thanks
In that case I would say take a look at the US Bank Attitude reserve if you are able to pay with mobile wallet.
Its really going to depend on your spending profile to determine which is better though the CSP and CSR target people who eat out and travel more.
Do you fly when you go on your 1 trip or drive? Another option would be to get one of the hotel cards. The Ritz Carlton card is basically a supercharged Marriott card with many of the same benefits as the CSR.
I usually fly to my destinations. I don't live lavishly and like to stay in inexpensive lodgings when I'm traveling. The major area where I might spend points is likely on flights especially the longer flights which I might book a business class seat for.
Ha I'm the opposite, I'd fly economy to spend more on a bit nicer hotel.
The Ritz card gets Bonvoy points and has a couple benefits for super expensive Ritz stays but is still a great general Marriott card. It also has an airline incidental credit.
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. The card does sound interesting