Need Credit Card For Work

[withaspark]

I'm curious...who would pay the hefty $175 /yr AF for the PRG? Hopefully if the OP was required to go this route, the charge would also be reimburseable.

[Revelate]

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@withaspark wrote:

I'm curious...who would pay the hefty $175 /yr AF for the PRG? Hopefully if the OP was required to go this route, the charge would also be reimburseable.

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Anyone with call it $30K spend through the card annually.  I got the impression from the OP's post that this wouldn't be hard to hit with large amounts of reimbursable travel as described.  I don't recall the math that a few smarter people than I did, but I think it comes close to break-even around $25K and really shines at $35K+

First year's AF is free anyway, so if it doesn't work out, can go do something else later if needed.  Based on the information posted, they're not going to qualify for the type of card and limit on a revolver to really take advantage of this opportunity for rewards, and honestly this sort of thing is what Amex charge cards were designed for.

It's a good fit, and it's likely obtainable on the OP's credit.  That makes it a good solution.

[withaspark]

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@Revelate wrote:

It's a good fit, and it's likely obtainable on the OP's credit.  That makes it a good solution.

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Oh, I certainly agree it is the best solution given the potentially tough situation as I understood it as well--not arguing even a little.

I'm more questioning the policy. My employer gives us the best of both worlds...corporate AMEX and option to use any rewards card you want. So when I had two weeks of travel sitting on my personal card and reimbursement took over 6 weeks...that was my call not to put it on the corporate card and enjoy the 45+ day grace period in exchange for a ton of points, miles, and cash back. But if I had no choice but to have it on my card...there would have been a lot of complaining...but since I chose it, I just paid it off. I wouldn't be thrilled paying an AF on a card I had to get either though.

Since I'm still curious, how likely do you think the risk of an FR would be? Not sure if these are 1 day trips or multi-week trips; I've racked up 20 times my normal spend on a single trip before...I guess my income still supported it since I could PIF when reimbursement was late so I saw no FR/AA, but I would hate to see the OP suffer repeated FR and/or other AA while in Thailand or something if this is becomes more than an academic discussion. I was hoping maybe we could offer the OP or those in similar situations some comprehensive thoughts and ideas to leave them in a really strong position to handle any challenges they may face in this situation.

[Revelate]

@withaspark:

I think Amex knows this category of expenses exist, and have for a while.  Worst case just call up them in advance and tell them if there's a initial big expense coming up, once you establish a pattern it's fine.

Re: stranger in a strange land: I don't recommend anyone anywhere be reliant on a single transaction network or lender.  I still absolutely carry a Visa or MC in my pocket everywhere and I've only been in two places in recent memory that don't accept an Amex.  Computer failures are a fact of life these days, I even keep a $20 on me for that matter too though it's a once a year use case.

It's a luxury in this age to be offered a corporate card; however, personally unless I couldn't float the charges I'd never take it.  There are too many personal advantages to being able to run reimbursable expenses through one's personal credit that it outweighs any additional hassle.  It's not just about the rewards (though why not take the additional money?), it's also about the lender being spent through and every other lender thinking I'm more of a baller than I actually am, and that's a faster qualification to some of the premier cards in the industry than getting there on my own.  

[withaspark]

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@Revelate wrote:

@withaspark:

Computer failures are a fact of life these days, I even keep a $20 on me for that matter too though it's a once a year use case.

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Great point...I think I forgot about cash (lol). I was thinking since it sounded like a CL on a revolver that could handle even a plane ticket home might not be obtainable, what does the OP do. Cash is a good point...but I've never seen anyone pull out cash and pay at the airline ticket counter, though I would hope it was possible.

[LisaPA]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@withaspark wrote:

I'm curious...who would pay the hefty $175 /yr AF for the PRG? Hopefully if the OP was required to go this route, the charge would also be reimburseable.

---

Anyone with call it $30K spend through the card annually.  I got the impression from the OP's post that this wouldn't be hard to hit with large amounts of reimbursable travel as described.  I don't recall the math that a few smarter people than I did, but I think it comes close to break-even around $25K and really shines at $35K+

First year's AF is free anyway, so if it doesn't work out, can go do something else later if needed.  Based on the information posted, they're not going to qualify for the type of card and limit on a revolver to really take advantage of this opportunity for rewards, and honestly this sort of thing is what Amex charge cards were designed for.

It's a good fit, and it's likely obtainable on the OP's credit.  That makes it a good solution.

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Having just recently acquired this card, I can tell you that $30k in spend is the sweet spot. Once you hit that, they give you a 15k points bonus.