CSP or CSR

[Hanaleiradio]

By focusing on biz cards over the last couple of years, I've fallen to 3/24 this week. I've not had a signup bonus for either the CSP or CSR (authorized user only). Signup bonus is 10k UR higher on CSP now. I already get 1.25 uplift on travel via my Ink cards, and have all of the other extra benefits offered by CSR from other cards. I'm likely to cancel a few of those cards early next year, at which time the CSR would be worth having in order to continue primary auto coverage and Priority Pass. My plan is to signup for the CSP now to get the higher signup bonus, and then product change to the CSR next year when the annual fee hits Does anyone know if that's possible without another credit pull next year? Anything I'm not considering?

 

[asc8u]

By focusing on biz cards over the last couple of years, I've fallen to 3/24 this week. I've not had a signup bonus for either the CSP or CSR (authorized user only). Signup bonus is 10k UR higher on CSP now. I already get 1.25 uplift on travel via my Ink cards, and have all of the other extra benefits offered by CSR from other cards. I'm likely to cancel a few of those cards early next year, at which time the CSR would be worth having in order to continue primary auto coverage and Priority Pass. My plan is to signup for the CSP now to get the higher signup bonus, and then product change to the CSR next year when the annual fee hits Does anyone know if that's possible without another credit pull next year? Anything I'm not considering?

What you're planning sounds just fine. You won't get another hard pull for a product change.
You just need to make sure you have $10k credit limit on the CSP to move it up to a CSR.

Increased CSP bonus is just OK because while they're giving you 10k more UR points, they aren't
waiving the first years annual fee of $95. It's still worth it; just not as great as it might sounds at first.

 

[lpaca]

Depending on how you're planning to use your current UR balance (e.g. if you use it via the portal), you may come out ahead with the CSR even with the lower initial bonus. For instance, if you're planning to redeem via the travel portal, CSR will give you an incremental 0.25c value per point.

A quick calculation assuming difference in AF is $55 ($450 minus $300 travel credit for CSR, $95 for CSP), and assuming that you'll have 10k more points to redeem if you get the CSP, due to the higher sign up bonus:

Break-even point: 72k points with CSR redeemed for $1,080, or 82k points with CSP redeemed for $1,025
If you plan on redeeming more than ~$1k or so worth of travel via the Chase portal in the next 12 months, the CSR is likely the better bet for you.

This, of course, ignores the better 3x earning structure on CSR, PP, better travel insurance (shorter delay before it kicks in), etc. If you are planning to primarily transfer UR to partners, then getting CSP in year 1 and converting to CSR makes more sense.

 

[projectx]

Keep in mind for the short term, you'll be getting far less value for your UR points IF they are used through the travel portal. 60k URs with the CSP are worth the exact same amount as 50k UR with the CSR (1.5 uplift). If you only use your UR points to transfer to other programs it doesn't matter.

If you plan on using the portal a fair amount in year one the CSR is likely the better way to go. Sure, your effective AF is $50 but again, you'll likely come out ahead with the higher uplift plus 3x categories instead of 2x.