re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion

He already has an Amex Platinum which would be largely duplicative on the benefits side and CSR is worse on airfare. However, it would give him 3x on other travel that Platinum doesn't. In this scenario, the Sapphire Preferred may be better to the Reserve, as it avoids a lot of the bloat and fees, and forgoes 1 point on dining and travel but otherwise fills in that gap.

Also, CSR 3x dining is essentially worthless because the no fee Freedom Unlimited gives you 3x dining (not to mention Amex Gold is 4x here), and you also get 1.5 everywhere else. I don't have a Reserve for many of these reasons. That card has lost its luster and place within the Chase lineup and against competitors.

As for Amex Gold, for me the Uber credit takes $120 off easy. I also get $10 a month off GrubHub easy enough doing $10 pickup orders once a month. While not a "travel" benefit, 4x groceries is nothing to scoff at.

I don't have it, but another to consider is Capital One Venture X. Some diversification, 2x everywhere, and offsetting the annual fee in total should be relatively easy.

For hotels, with your spend you maybe interested in having Hyatt Personal and Business. If not enough nights from stays, you could spend your way to Globalist.