Lain
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2014
The Freedom bonus is awarded as 15,000 UR points (2,500 UR Points for adding an AU). So the signup bonus really is 17,500 UR Points. If you have (or later get) a CSP or CSR you can use the 17.5k URs for travel or partners making it worth $250-$300. You also can take $175 cash if you so choose.
You can still debate the merits of using a 5/24 slot for a Freedom card but to say you get no URs for signing up is misleading.
That's fair and absolutely correct. It's been a long time since we got our Freedom and I took Chase too literally when they advertise $150 cash back. Chase's UR cards earn points that are good for cash back.
I've thought about the CSR but I'm pretty new to this hobby and dh isn't quite sold on it yet, so the $450 annual fee is probably a no go right now.
It looks like you're at 3/24, so you have about 2 new card approvals left before you're shut out from applying for the CSR and getting the bonus until one of those 5/24 cards drop off the last two years. If you keep at this hobby, you may never drop below 5/24.
The $450 annual fee is tough to swallow, but it's easily justifiable. There's been a lot of discussion about the CSR annual fee in this thread already, but I'll just go over the highlights. The CSR comes with a $300 travel credit, which can apply to almost anything travel related (e.g. hotels, timeshares, air fare, cabs, ride hailing services, parking garages, tolls, etc.) If you expect to spend $300 towards any of these categories of expenses in the next year, you'll easily recoup that portion of the annual fee. That makes the CSR a net-$150 annual fee card. Don't forget that it also comes with $100 reimbursement credit for TSA Precheck or Global Entry. And Priority Pass access to airport lounges around the world. Even if you're not a jetsetter who can take advantage of these benefits, the CSR has a lot of other cardholder benefits that can justify the price, including car rental and trip delay insurance, and merchandise purchase and price protection. For example, I purchased an iPad back in March for $400, the same model recently dropped in price to $300, and I was able to get price protection claim approved for $100 back. I feel that's just one of the ways I can recoup the $450 annual fee, maybe come out ahead. Meanwhile, I've pocketed the signup bonus and earn 3x on travel and dining spending.
Worst case scenario, you use 45,000 UR points from the signup bonus as a statement credit to offset the $450 annual fee, and you still come out ahead with 5,000 UR points left and $300 in travel credit, and a card with better earning bonuses for travel and dining than your CSP.
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