Amex Charge No Longer Trendy?

[redpat]

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@simplynoirwrote:

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@redpatwrote:

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@simplynoirwrote:

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@redpatwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

The only travel insurance I care about is medivac myself -- and I was under the impression that CSR and Amex Platinum were basically identical with that part.

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FYI, they are not.  You don't have to use your plat card for the trip to get coverage and there is a no cap cost.  CSR is up to $100k and you have to use the card for your trip to get the benefit.

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The whole trip, part of it, what is the criteria?

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This had to do with Emergency Medical Evac, less than 90days for amex and 5-60days for CSR.  I don't understand the question.

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Like what is considered "you have to use the card for your trip" to get the perk if someone has the CSR to get the medevac benefit. Sorry for the confusion there.

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You don't have to use your amex card to get the benefit, so you can use any card you want to book the trip even if it doesn't have that benefit.  If you only have CSR, to get that benefit you have to book the trip on that card.

[arkane]

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@redpatwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

The only travel insurance I care about is medivac myself -- and I was under the impression that CSR and Amex Platinum were basically identical with that part.

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FYI, they are not.  You don't have to use your plat card for the trip to get coverage and there is a no cap cost.  CSR is up to $100k and you have to use the card for your trip to get the benefit.

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Apparently Amex Plat doesn't even offer medevac insurance according to this: http://www.creditcardpro.com/2017/11/does-my-premium-credit-card-offer-free-medevac-insurance/

Interestingly enough, AAA Premier Membership also offers $25k in medevac coverage, but only within the "policy territory". Their trip interruption insurance also seems to be restricted to travelling by vehicle as well. 

[iced]

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@simplynoirwrote:

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@redpatwrote:

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@simplynoirwrote:

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@redpatwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

The only travel insurance I care about is medivac myself -- and I was under the impression that CSR and Amex Platinum were basically identical with that part.

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FYI, they are not.  You don't have to use your plat card for the trip to get coverage and there is a no cap cost.  CSR is up to $100k and you have to use the card for your trip to get the benefit.

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The whole trip, part of it, what is the criteria?

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This had to do with Emergency Medical Evac, less than 90days for amex and 5-60days for CSR.  I don't understand the question.

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Like what is considered "you have to use the card for your trip" to get the perk if someone has the CSR to get the medevac benefit. Sorry for the confusion there.

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A travel portion of the trip qualifies - airfare ticket, bus tickets, cruise, train...some core component of the trip was purchased with the CSR. You don't have to put the entire trip on the card.

https://www.chase.com/content/chasecom/en/card-benefits/benefit-details/Sapphire_Reserve/sapphire-emergency-evacuation.html

[imaximous]

Since some of you seem to be interested in emergency evacuation, I'd just like to add that the BofA Premium Rewards card also has that benefit. Although the coverage is measly compared to that of the premium cards, you get the following:
$15k of maximum coverage for emergency transportation and medical coverage.
It includes spouse and children under a certain age or enrolled in college.
Trip has be to at least 5 days long up to a maximum of 60 days
It excludes adventure / race sports
It covers international trips, not just domestic.

I mentioned this card because it's pretty much free to have it - in fact, you kinda get paid to. The $95 annual fee is offset by a $100 travel incidental reimbursement, and it also offers up to $100 every 4 years for Global Entry or TSA.
No, I don't work for BofA.

[Miner]

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@finfreewrote:
>>If AMEX still backdated newer accounts like they use to, I think more people would apply.<<

Would you please clarify what “backdat[ing] newer accounts” means? If I upgrade from Gold to Platinum my new Platinum account will still be considered to include my Gold history and age of account, right? Or is this no longer true???

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You are talking about something else.  Product changes on an existing card should still keep the history.

I'm talking about opening a new account and AMEX using your existing membership join date from a previous card as the date opened on the new card.  And in fact, my experience with this was with a closed Green Card with a few years lapse with no AMEX cards before opening a new Gold Card where they backdated my membership date to the one from my closed Green Card's opening date (which I believe they still do) and then AMEX using that date as the opening date on the new card.  They didn't always do this automatically, but would do so if you called and asked. It was a great way to improve your opened account's average age.  Unfortunately, this is what they no longer do.

[Anonymous]

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@AverageJoesCreditwrote:

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@arkanewrote:

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wrote:

WTH does canada get all the cool cards!!👎🏽👎🏽😡😡

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Have you seen the competitive landscape for credit cards in Canada? It's an absolute disaster compared to the US. I would know because I'm from Toronto originally, and our cash back cards are a complete joke.

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Yeah but you got great medical

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Cheap medical, for sure.  You get what you pay for!

[wasCB14]

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@arkanewrote:

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@redpatwrote:

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@Anonymouswrote:

The only travel insurance I care about is medivac myself -- and I was under the impression that CSR and Amex Platinum were basically identical with that part.

---

FYI, they are not.  You don't have to use your plat card for the trip to get coverage and there is a no cap cost.  CSR is up to $100k and you have to use the card for your trip to get the benefit.

---

Apparently Amex Plat doesn't even offer medevac insurance according to this: http://www.creditcardpro.com/2017/11/does-my-premium-credit-card-offer-free-medevac-insurance/

Interestingly enough, AAA Premier Membership also offers $25k in medevac coverage, but only within the "policy territory". Their trip interruption insurance also seems to be restricted to travelling by vehicle as well. 

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I just read the Sept 2017 revision ("Current Policy" according to Amex's website) and find the benefit still exists on my Schwab Platinum.

I think it's more likely that one blogger and three generalist CSRs got confused than it is that everyone else missed this.

[Anonymous]

I would have to agree with the other posters on the average rewards and POT only to the select few.  

On the flip side of that coin, you also have to realize that not even one puts cards in there sig, so there is a majority that do but you'll never know.    I think it also depends on the forum pages you frequent as well.  Less likely to see Amex Plat in the rebuilder forums 

[Anonymous]

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@Minerwrote:

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@finfreewrote:
>>If AMEX still backdated newer accounts like they use to, I think more people would apply.<<

Would you please clarify what “backdat[ing] newer accounts” means? If I upgrade from Gold to Platinum my new Platinum account will still be considered to include my Gold history and age of account, right? Or is this no longer true???

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You are talking about something else.  Product changes on an existing card should still keep the history.

I'm talking about opening a new account and AMEX using your existing membership join date from a previous card as the date opened on the new card.  And in fact, my experience with this was with a closed Green Card with a few years lapse with no AMEX cards before opening a new Gold Card where they backdated my membership date to the one from my closed Green Card's opening date (which I believe they still do) and then AMEX using that date as the opening date on the new card.  They didn't always do this automatically, but would do so if you called and asked. It was a great way to improve your opened account's average age.  Unfortunately, this is what they no longer do.

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I think backdating credit cards is now illegal. That’s why you don’t see it anymore. They clamped down on that in the laws. 

[Anonymous]

My point is on simplicity and transparency, not spend level. In fact, a couple of years ago, I read an article that stated that rich people (assuming they spend a lot) prefer cash back cc to points cc.

Many years ago (idk the exact date, could be 30 years.... nonetheless, a decades old federal law) a law was passed that forced mortgage companies to clearly state their interest rates in annual rates so that consumers can easily compare mortgages.

This law translated to deposit accounts so you can easily compare deposit interest rates. It has translated to cc, auto loans, etc., you get the idea.

Chase is the only cc company I have seen that clearly informs consumers what the dollar equivalent of points are before they apply.

That is my point.

I will continue to stay away from point cc's (in case amex charge cards).

The transparency is needed.

So that consumers can easily compare dollar point value equivalents BEFORE applying and before any transferring out tricks.