Amex Pre-screened offers/ MR points questions

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2015

I got another mailer from AmEx today for the green card. I definitely would like to get in with AmEx this year, but wasn't going to apply until this fall. I never get any pre-approvals from their website, so I figured they'd just deny me anyways.

Well tonight, I went ahead to the site and used my maiden name that they send everything to, and I have 3 cards coming up with "We have found the following special Card offers for you. We invite you to apply for one today." Are these pre-approvals or just them getting my hopes up so I can get denied?

Also, are MR points worth anything to someone who doesn't fly? What about just hotel rooms and/or Amtrak? We don't travel a lot, so I'm not sure any of these are worth it. I tried searching, but I can't seem to find anything mentioning anything but flights and the word travel in general.

My 3 offers are

Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card 50,000 Bonus Miles and a $50 Statement Credit
Platinum Card® from American Express 100,000 Membership Rewards Points
American Express Gold Card 15,000 Points

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
I got another mailer from AmEx today for the green card. I definitely would like to get in with AmEx this year, but wasn't going to apply until this fall. I never get any pre-approvals from their website, so I figured they'd just deny me anyways.

Well tonight, I went ahead to the site and used my maiden name that they send everything to, and I have 3 cards coming up with "We have found the following special Card offers for you. We invite you to apply for one today." Are these pre-approvals or just them getting my hopes up so I can get denied?

Also, are MR points worth anything to someone who doesn't fly? What about just hotel rooms and/or Amtrak? We don't travel a lot, so I'm not sure any of these are worth it. I tried searching, but I can't seem to find anything mentioning anything but flights and the word travel in general.

My 3 offers are
Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card 50,000 Bonus Miles and a $50 Statement Credit
Platinum Card® from American Express 100,000 Membership Rewards Points
American Express Gold Card 15,000 Points

My suggestion is to take the a Platinum offer. A lot of us would sell our souls for 100K MR points.

What is your minimum spend for that offer? However if you don't travel a lot I'm not sure it's worth to you because it has a high AF. You can use it for other redemptions but travel is certainly the best use for the reward points. If you do end up getting an Anex, don't go with the green, it's useless. Instead go for the Gold PRG or one of the EveryDay cards.

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2015

The min. spend is $3k in 3 months. Assuming I can use it to pay some bills and the local gas station accepts AmEx, I can definitely do it.

I was reading on the AmEx site about MR points, but I have no idea what 100,000 MR points would be worth as far as monetary value. Would that be a nice weekend getaway in a 5 star hotel or would that put me in a Holiday Inn for the weekend? To me, if the points are worth at least $450, then it's worth it to me, since we'd be paying $450 for hotel rooms anyways.

So do you think it means I'm pre-approved or would it be a complete gamble?

kdong1996 · ‎01-15-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
The min. spend is $3k in 3 months. Assuming I can use it to pay some bills and the local gas station accepts AmEx, I can definitely do it.

I was reading on the AmEx site about MR points, but I have no idea what 100,000 MR points would be worth as far as monetary value. Would that be a nice weekend getaway in a 5 star hotel or would that put me in a Holiday Inn for the weekend? To me, if the points are worth at least $450, then it's worth it to me, since we'd be paying $450 for hotel rooms anyways.

So do you think it means I'm pre-approved or would it be a complete gamble?

They're worth atleast $1000 for travel and most times much more if you use them wisely. Looks like you got approved! Congratulations!

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2015

Thanks! I couldn't resist, and I was terrified if I closed the window, the offer would never return and I'd be kicking myself for months.

I did some research and it seems like there's absolutely no way to get hurt on the AF if you meet minimum spend and use it in some way for travel. It seems like flights are definitely the best way to go, but even $1000 hotel credit would be a pretty nice vacation!

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks! I couldn't resist, and I was terrified if I closed the window, the offer would never return and I'd be kicking myself for months.

I did some research and it seems like there's absolutely no way to get hurt on the AF if you meet minimum spend and use it in some way for travel. It seems like flights are definitely the best way to go, but even $1000 hotel credit would be a pretty nice vacation!

Congrats! I'm jealous for those 100,000K points.