Chase vs Capital One travel card

[Anonymous]

We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sapphire plus Freedom Unlimited. Put the categories with the bonuses on Sapphire (restaurants, travel that counts, etc) and the rest on the FU for 1.5x on everything. You can transfer chase points freely between the two.

Agreed this is probably the best relatively simple strategy. These cards have free authorized users so just need 2 cards for a couple if you don't want to each get your own and manage 4 cards. Also the Sapphire Preferred is probably the "flavor" which works best for OP.

[Anonymous]

Shame Hyatt is gutting their award chart but would still go for a CSP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:neutral on lounge access as we always try to fly non stop.

For me, the lounge access is useful upon departure. I tend to get to the airport early (due to unpredictable traffic) but then I dont' midn as I sit in a lounge at IAD and get some work done.

Becuase Capital One has lounges at both IAD and DCA, that would do it for me. Chase has a good lounge at IAD but nothing at DCA .

[Anonymous]

I have both. I use the Capital One for lounge access and find I have better points redemption with Chase. I travel a lot for work and fly out of DCA and IAD equally so the lounges are important to me. We spend enough with Capital One that we still get the kids in for "free".

For your situation, it sounds like Chase might be the better of the two cards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:neutral on lounge access as we always try to fly non stop.

For me, the lounge access is useful upon departure. I tend to get to the airport early (due to unpredictable traffic) but then I dont' midn as I sit in a lounge at IAD and get some work done.

Becuase Capital One has lounges at both IAD and DCA, that would do it for me. Chase has a good lounge at IAD but nothing at DCA .

Yes but OP is mostly traveling as a family, which means you are now paying I think $100 for 2 guests for each lounge visit, plus $125/year for the spouse as authorized user with lounge access. That's with the new CapOne guest restrictions. Doesn't make sense for their travel patterns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

Different PP here, but personally I think the Amex Plat is a stretch in terms of value of all the credits, it's become a real "coupon clipping" thing which annoys me to no end, and I think its pretty easy to overvalue these credits, since a lot of the times you wouldn't necessarily buy these things, or buy them as much without the credit.

A great simple Amex card is the Blue Business Plus, it gives 2x points on everything and has no annual fee, so it can be a place to hold your Amex points if you close everything else. Great keeper card if you want to be in the Amex points system but don't want the high fees/credits.

[Anonymous]

Chase is good for flights, but we like the Capital One travel eraser for our family of 5 because we can stay at any hotel/resort chain and then erase. Sometimes that is better value than needing to get two rooms at a Hyatt through Chase. So if you like to stay at more boutique hotels or resorts outside of the major chains, the Cap One can be helpful because you have more flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

Amex Plat is one of these cards where you really have to value the benefits to make it work. Not everyone does, and it's okay. I got it primarily for the fat sign up bonus. If you get it in December, you can triple dip on the benefits and then cancel since they reset every calendar year. I used the airline credit to fund United Travel Bank, I use the hotel credits for girl night staycation with my daughter, I use Lululemon for odds and ends, I use Uber credits for takeout once a month. Not sure if I would do all that if it wasn't prepaid so some of it is definitely changing behavior to use the credits. Every time I try to cancel it, they throw a retention bonus at me so I cave. It's perfectly fine to decide you don't need it anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

Different PP here, but personally I think the Amex Plat is a stretch in terms of value of all the credits, it's become a real "coupon clipping" thing which annoys me to no end, and I think its pretty easy to overvalue these credits, since a lot of the times you wouldn't necessarily buy these things, or buy them as much without the credit.

A great simple Amex card is the Blue Business Plus, it gives 2x points on everything and has no annual fee, so it can be a place to hold your Amex points if you close everything else. Great keeper card if you want to be in the Amex points system but don't want the high fees/credits.

The Amex Blue Business card sounds like a great option for us to transfer our Platinum points to before closing that card. Unfortunately, I’m not working though (some health issues) so I’m not sure I can get a business card. DH works a salaried job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

Different PP here, but personally I think the Amex Plat is a stretch in terms of value of all the credits, it's become a real "coupon clipping" thing which annoys me to no end, and I think its pretty easy to overvalue these credits, since a lot of the times you wouldn't necessarily buy these things, or buy them as much without the credit.

A great simple Amex card is the Blue Business Plus, it gives 2x points on everything and has no annual fee, so it can be a place to hold your Amex points if you close everything else. Great keeper card if you want to be in the Amex points system but don't want the high fees/credits.

Yes, that's a very good card. I also personally feel that Amex Green is undervalued in the ecosystem since it gives x3 on all travel costs interpreted very broadly, from airline tickets to tolls, from hotels to vacation rentals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have the CSR, CSP, 3 Chase Inks, and Chase Freedom.

I also have the Venture and VentureX.

I feel like if you want to get into the points game and get a lot of free travel, Chase is the way to go. If you just want lounge access and to get reimbursed for some travel, VentureX.

I'm canceling my VentureX this year because I got it only because they didn't limit authorized users and AUs got lounge access, and that was immediately changed after I got the card. We use the Chases all the time and I've learned that system pretty well, plus we go to a lot of Hyatts so the partner system works for us.

I feel this way about Amex points. I like Chase too and Hyatt is definitely a crown jewel of their system, but their point acquisition policy limits you. Once you have both Sapphires and one each of Inks, you're done. They used to give out Inks freely (I had five at one point) but that time has ended. You are now limited to one per category. Once you've exhausted bonuses on this limited lineup of cards, you're essentially done earning points except with regular spending.

Whereas Amex has a long list of cards you can continue getting with SUBs, they give retention bonuses and their bonused categories are much more generous. Amex gold has x4 on groceries, Amex green has x3 on all travel, Amex Plat has X5.

What benefits do you use on the American Express platinum? Do you book travel through American Express to make it worthwhile? I feel that with some of the high fee cards, you’re using benefits to offset the fee rather than making additional money/benefits.

We got an American Express platinum card with an additional user last year, but I don’t think I can justify keeping now that the fee for both has increased from $890 to $1090. Made a big effort to use the benefits for a year and came out $620 ahead but don’t think I would be able to do that for another year. I can get 6x points on groceries and streaming on my American Express preferred card for $95 fee per year (they reduced to $50 for me year). Also extra points for travel on Sapphire preferred.

Amex Plat is one of these cards where you really have to value the benefits to make it work. Not everyone does, and it's okay. I got it primarily for the fat sign up bonus. If you get it in December, you can triple dip on the benefits and then cancel since they reset every calendar year. I used the airline credit to fund United Travel Bank, I use the hotel credits for girl night staycation with my daughter, I use Lululemon for odds and ends, I use Uber credits for takeout once a month. Not sure if I would do all that if it wasn't prepaid so some of it is definitely changing behavior to use the credits. Every time I try to cancel it, they throw a retention bonus at me so I cave. It's perfectly fine to decide you don't need it anymore. [

Can you use the $200 United travel bank credit for flights? I thought you could only use it for things like baggage fees, seat allocation, etc.

How much of a retention bonus did they give you?

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can use United Travel Bank for flights. It's true that airline credit via Amex is primarily for the things you list, but Travel Bank was one loophole.

Retention bonuses over the years ranged from 25 to 40K.