Begrudglingly Benefiting – Lame Credit Card Perks I Keep Using
Lame Credit Card Perks I Use
Beyond earning and redemption methods, perhaps no other area is more focused on in our shared points and miles obsession than credit card perks. Part of the fun madness of such benefits is debating how good or bad certain ones are. But I must also remember that I can simultaneously love and loathe the same benefit. I’m focusing on such today. These are just a few of the very-imperfect benefits I continue to use.
Credit Card Perks I Love and Loathe
Chase Sapphire Reserve’s Exclusive Tables Benefit
The Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 Exclusive Tables benefit, biannually doled out in $150 increments. That’s a solid amount, even if it’s less compared to the Amex Platinum’s Resy Credit at $100 quarterly. And Chase offers a bit more flexibility over six months without losing out.
But in my opinion, Exclusive Tables is way too exclusive. Approximately 400 restaurants participate. In my view, many are seemingly pretentious affairs, often with one-word names, that simply don’t match my dining wants or needs. The Resy program comes with many thousands of U.S. locations to use that Platinum credit, towering over Chase’s offering. Making things worse for the Reserve’s benefit, Chase can claw back this credit if it is used within 90 days of closing the card. This effectively makes the benefit (and others) a nine-month one for individuals looking to try the Reserve for one cardmember year before canceling.
I didn’t return to the Reserve for this benefit but have happily used it once in May, and I shouldn’t have any trouble using it again in the back half of the year.
Chase Sapphire Reserve’s DoorDash Benefits
I’m not through with the CSR, though. (Technically, I could make this whole article about that one card, or maybe I already have.)
Chase plugs “$420 in total value with DoorDash” on the Reserve. I do like the DashPass membership perk, but the bank values it at $120. My opinion differs. Regardless, the bigger $300 number Chase assigns are for the monthly credits, which are substantially limited in practice. Each month, a primary cardmember can receive:
- A $5 promo for restaurant orders
- Two $10 promos for groceries, retail orders, “and more”
That first promo is stackable with others in-app, but that’s the best it gets. But that $5 is largely negated (or more) by DoorDash’s inflated rates. The second promo is for a small portion of DoorDash offerings, ones I’ve found to be extremely overpriced and generally limited to deliveries. Costs related to that final requirement render the promo largely useless. These promos do much to create the opposite of a credit card benefit, where they tempt cardholders to unnecessarily spend to use the credit.
As of right now, I’m having no issues using both credit types, as I can easily stack the first with an additional restaurant-specific promo, pickup, and gift card balance. That second promo is on life support, where I can and have used it at one convenience location for pickup of orders right around $10.
Amex Gold Dining Credit
For years, the Amex Gold has offered a monthly $10 credit good for purchases at a rotating selection of restaurants/providers. The current participants are:
- Cheesecake Factory
- Grubhub
- Buffalo Wilding Wings
- Wonder
- Five Guys
Since this credit’s inception, prices have headed one way. Meanwhile, this credit has stayed at $10 monthly. This benefit is less valuable with every passing month, as using it entails coming out of pocket incrementally more over time. Unfortunately, I can’t easily combine this benefit across multiple Golds like the Uber credit. The only method those with multiple Gold cards have for doing so is splitting payment during the transaction or making multiple orders. Regardless, that’s more paperwork for realizing this small credit without coming substantially out of pocket.
That said, I usually get around to this credit on our multiple Golds toward the end of the month without too much extra effort.
Amex Platinum’s Global Lounge Collection
I value the Platinum’s Global Lounge Collection at $100 for my situation. Centurion Lounges contribute zero to this valuation, though. And the Platinum card is still worth it to me without any lounges.
It’s been almost two years since I visited a Centurion Lounge without being disappointed. Despite Amex’s moves to limit access, crowding issues seem to continue. I notice worse behavior in Centurions than any other lounge type (not technically Amex’s fault, but it’s something I can’t unsee). I enjoy Sky Clubs more than Centurion Lounges, and I know that’s not saying much. But most of my $100 valuation is due to my infrequent Delta Sky Club visits. Regardless, those clubs come with a catch – 10 visits annually. Priority Pass Lounges are just okay, at best, in my experience.
But I keep visiting a combination of all three of these over the years and plan to continue doing so.
Conclusion
These and more credit card perks are far from perfect, but I’ll use what I can, anyway. As long as the positives incrementally deliver over the negatives, I’m in. Unfortunately, I’m betting this conundrum will permeate even more credit card perks over time. But as long as certain perks are convenient enough, I’ll hold my nose and opt in.
What frustrating credit card perks do you continue to use and why?
