Starwood AmEx v. Chase Sapphire Preferred

I'm going to be a first year IB analyst and I'm looking to get a good rewards credit card. I know there have been forums about this topic before but looking to get some thoughts on these two cards. I know the Chase Sapphire is a popular choice but I was considering the AmEx since my corporate card will be AmEx and I'd be able to transfer my points from that. Thoughts?

 

As a banker, I assume you won't be traveling too often.. SPG is only a good choice if you stay in hotels 50+ nights a year. Otherwise, CSP is the way to go. Also, consider Capital One venture rewards if you aren't traveling internationally.

Although lately, I'm not sure why anyone would get CSP or Capital One venture over Citi double cash (2% cash on every purchase).. Only reason not to get Citi double is international use in which case the CSP comes out ahead.

 

I think the only card better than both of these might be the Barclays arrival+. Its debatable, but worth looking at. You get 2.2% cashback on every dollar spent on anything. You also get a massive initial spend bonus.

The optimal answer is to get all of the above-listed cards, get all of the initial spend bonuses, and then decide which one you like the most.

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You can transfer your corporate amex points to SPG if you want, but at a bad ratio (3:1 I think) - more than likely not worth it. As others have said, if you want to travel internationally (especially in business or first) CSP is a good bet. Between that and the membership rewards points from the corporate amex, you will have a bunch of options to transfer your points and book travel

 

Is the Starwood card worth it if you're not a consultant? I travel a fair bit for my job and was thinking about getting it, but the thing is, it's not guaranteed that I would stay at a starwood property. As such, I thought it was better to just go with something that is more general, which is why I went with preferred, although I may look into the amex everyday preferred because I don't eat out much when I'm not on the road.

 

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