American Express Credit Card? - Page 4

You are welcome and thanks for the info on cash back.

 

The only difference is that you cannot transfer your MR points to participating hotels & airlines if you have card that participates in MRE.

Both MRE & regular MR can be used for purchasing gift cards, of course.

 

 

to expand on that, transferring to airline miles and redeeming premium class cabins hold wayyyy better value than any other type of redemption. if you are using it for gift cards or actual products, then its more advantageous to get other cards

Absolutely agreed. 125,000 points (which is equivalent for $1,250 in gift cards) for first class on Lufthansa/Singapore/etc is an excellent value. 

 

Sometimes, airlines will have special promotions such as bonus miles for transferring miles (30% on BA, DL, etc), which can make points much more valuable.

i have amex platinum.  best card ever.  you have to pay the balance off at the end of the month but that's exactly why i have it.  for the platinum card i think you have to spend about $3-5 grand a month.  I was a business traveler so that easy when your boss is footing the bill.  (i would never get invited back if i gave up the card.)

 

I once had an issue with an online purchase of a $20 usb device with a website that did not allow returns.  i was so incensed over the situation that when speaking to the amex agent i said i'd rather spend $1000 dollars to not pay these people than to give them the $20.  The Amex agent responded "if that's the case sir send the purchase back with a tracking number give us the tracking number and we'll refund the money."  i shipped it back UPS ground and was refunded the $20.  

 

I'm not sure about the other cards but i know that if i get a offshore agent and i have a problem i can just ask for an american rep and they will transfer me.  I actually don't mind the offshore agents but every once in a while i get a rude one.  

 

You do not have to spend about $3~5 grand a month in order to use the Amex Plat. My younger brother used to have Amex Plat under his own name and he just said his income was around $65k and he got approved instantly. He spent $1k for just one month in order to get the 100,000 MR points and he maybe used roughly around $300~400 / month until the next annual fee hit him. Amex makes tons of money off the annual fees.

 

Amex Plat is great for those who travel frequently
 

 

Service is PERFECT! Never a problem. Always courteous and helpful. Feels like they are not out to get every cent from you like MC/Visa, but are rather providing a service to valued customers.

 

~ H

was not aware i was invited.  i know with the centurion they prefer a specific net worth but you can circumvent that by charging $30K/mo and the will invite you.  

+1. Amex continues to impress me while Visa continues to annoy me.

Not really.  It's rather "how-much-do-you-spend-with-Amex" kind of thing. I think in 2010, the so-called minimum requirement was around $250k a year and they would send an invitation. Nowadays, it probably is higher than that but not many people got an invitation in 2011 according to folks in Flyertalk.

Chase Sapphire Preferred is my current go-to card. Its reward program works better for my needs than AMEX and Chase gives double points on all restaurants and travel (flights, taxis, tolls, subway, etc) and there is no foreign transaction fee. Also, their phone lines are instantly answered by US based agents with no "phone tree" menu to wade through.

My other main cards are the Amex Premier Rewards Gold (for triple points on airfare and double points on gas) and Amex Blue cash preferred (for 6% cash back on groceries).

The info in here is much appreciated -

I'm a dad w/ a small young family, and have been debating various cards for a while. Costco True Earnings Amex sounds to be about what I was looking for.

Citi Simplicity came in and I put in my balance transfer request. Probably another week or so ago before I bury the Amex Just no point paying a $150 annual fee on a card I will not be using anymore. Will miss their service.

Fidelity does an AMEX as well that has 2% cash back into your Fidelity brokerage. Honestly, it's one of the best cards out there as far as pure benefit goes. Redeeming points often involves hidden fees, blackout items / dates, etc., and no matter what you're better off with cash than gift cards. For the Fidelity card, you only need a Fidelity account and you get 2% cash back on everything (gas, groceries, clothes...whatever) and has no annual fee (unlike many AMEX cards). Some people may prefer the frivolousness of getting free hotel rooms or knick knacks from a catalog, but from a purely financial perspective this card is very hard to beat.

Also, OP was wondering what distinguishes AMEX. AMEX was originally a charge card, not really a "credit card" in the sense of how we think about it now. It was basically a line of credit which needed to be paid off in full every month. There are still AMEX accounts out there that need to be paid in full every month, so I think a lot of the assumption is that the people that have them are liquid, reputable clients / customers who can actually afford the stuff they are buying (or their company can, at least). This lends some credibility to cardholders.

That is only true if you spend more than $2500 / month. Also, Fidelity Amex does not offer "no foreign  transaction fee", which can be quite unappealing nowadays.

There are certain charges which becomes applicable after a particular usage of credit card or debit car specifically on International level.