topic Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold... in Credit Card Approvals

Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Azza — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:49:05 GMT

Was pre-approved for Amex BCP with $300 SUB for $2k spend over 6 months.

Applied online, instant approval with a soft pull and no SL provided yet on their site or in email. Pretty excited though, this has been one of my goal cards for a very long time!

Will be using that for the 3% back in gas most definitely, and now I am trying to decide what to do with my Amex Gold... right now it's nice because I can use its dining credit, but with the 6% cash back at grocery stores, it will most certainly trump the Gold's benefits.

I am most certainly open to suggestions and wisdom from the community members that have multiple cards with AFs. Thanks

Info Points:

20% Util (stacked up my discover with medical bills with 0% APR)

0 lates

5y5m AAoA

edit: chatted in to ask about the SUB, the site says two things, $300 at $3k spend, and $300 at $2k spend. He said wait to get the card to see what is required. While in chat, I asked about my SL. $25k!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

OmarGB9 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:22:43 GMT

Congrats!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

CreditAggie — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:34:17 GMT

Congratulations on your BCP approval!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

FinStar — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:54:10 GMT

Congrats on the approval 👍

How long have you had the Gold Card? If you don't see it as sustainable for the long term (given your BCP approval), then you might consider downgrading to the Green Card, but you'll have to do the math to see if that's a good fit for your needs.

Do you currently hold a sizable amount of MR points?

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Azza — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 03:59:45 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
Congrats on the approval 👍

How long have you had the Gold Card? If you don't see it as sustainable for the long term (given your BCP approval), then you might consider downgrading to the Green Card, but you'll have to do the math to see if that's a good fit for your needs.

Do you currently hold a sizable amount of MR points?

A year, about. Right now I have 93,435 MR points.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Elpadrino1 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 04:00:07 GMT

Congratulations on your Amex approval!!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

FinStar — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 04:03:36 GMT

@Azza wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
Congrats on the approval 👍

How long have you had the Gold Card? If you don't see it as sustainable for the long term (given your BCP approval), then you might consider downgrading to the Green Card, but you'll have to do the math to see if that's a good fit for your needs.

Do you currently hold a sizable amount of MR points?
A year, about. Right now I have 93,000 MR points.

Well, you definitely don't want to close it or downgrade before the year is up. Typically, the recommended timeframe for doing so is after the AF posts. Any plans for your MR points?

O/T -- it looks like your signature still displays the Blispay Visa -- that's gone/RIP. Some folks reported it no longer reports.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Azza — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 04:13:26 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Azza wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
Congrats on the approval 👍

How long have you had the Gold Card? If you don't see it as sustainable for the long term (given your BCP approval), then you might consider downgrading to the Green Card, but you'll have to do the math to see if that's a good fit for your needs.

Do you currently hold a sizable amount of MR points?
A year, about. Right now I have 93,000 MR points.
Well, you definitely don't want to close it or downgrade before the year is up. Typically, the recommended timeframe for doing so is after the AF posts. Any plans for your MR points?

O/T -- it looks like your signature still displays the Blispay Visa -- that's gone/RIP. Some folks reported it no longer reports.

Hah, well I had plans for them, but now I'm going to pilot school to become a commercial pilot, so free flights are in my future. However, I might still continue to save them for a splurge "free" trip with my wife in three years.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

FinStar — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 04:37:01 GMT

@Azza wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@Azza wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
Congrats on the approval 👍

How long have you had the Gold Card? If you don't see it as sustainable for the long term (given your BCP approval), then you might consider downgrading to the Green Card, but you'll have to do the math to see if that's a good fit for your needs.

Do you currently hold a sizable amount of MR points?
A year, about. Right now I have 93,000 MR points.
Well, you definitely don't want to close it or downgrade before the year is up. Typically, the recommended timeframe for doing so is after the AF posts. Any plans for your MR points?

O/T -- it looks like your signature still displays the Blispay Visa -- that's gone/RIP. Some folks reported it no longer reports.
Hah, well I had plans for them, but now I'm going to pilot school to become a commercial pilot, so free flights are in my future. However, I might still continue to save them for a splurge "free" trip with my wife in three years.

Sounds like a plan. If the Gold Card's AF is of concern, then you can entertain downgrading to the Green Card so you can preserve your MRs. Definitely weigh your options when your Gold Card's AF comes up for renewal.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Trini88 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:50:35 GMT

Congrats on your BCP approval!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Reviewers — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 09:01:47 GMT

Congratulations on your BCE approval @Azza

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Irv02 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 09:55:35 GMT

Congrats on your BCP approval!!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

M_Smart007 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 14:42:57 GMT

Congratulations on your Amex BCP Approval

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

gdale6 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 14:59:34 GMT

Grats on your Amex BCP approval!

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

HeavyResist — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 15:12:06 GMT

Congrats @Azza , Im looking forward to joining Amex one of these days. Enjoy the points.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

EAJuggalo — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 15:29:16 GMT

If you close the Gold and don't hold another MR card you have 30 days to use the points before they are forfeited back to AMEX. I would never consider closing my Gold, 4x on grocery and dining means I'm getting about 7% value back since I tend to get about 1.7cpp on my MR redemptions. Add in the $10 effective annual fee after using the Grubhub and Uber credits each month and I'm way ahead with the Gold rather than the BCP. The only big thing I'm missing on the Gold compared to the BCP is gas stations. I got a Business Blue Plus which is 2x MR for everything. That would be 3.4% value back.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Aim_High — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 21:46:22 GMT

Congrats on your AMEX Blue Cash Preferred approval, @Azza!

@Azza wrote:
... now I am trying to decide what to do with my Amex Gold... right now it's nice because I can use its dining credit, but with the 6% cash back at grocery stores, it will most certainly trump the Gold's benefits. I am most certainly open to suggestions and wisdom from the community members that have multiple cards with AFs. Thanks

For most of us, Gold and Blue Cash Preferred are not really a complementary pair, so I can see why you'd want to close one of them. The first issue is that the earnings (MRs and Cash) are separate and don't allow you to consolidate all earnings in one type of currency; it was suggested to me that it's better to choose a focus on either MRs or Cash back with AMEX. The other is the overlap of earnings on groceries. When I was choosing between them, I wanted to experiment with MRs and I though I might be able to get 1.5 to 2.0 cpp in value for them, making the Gold worth 6% to 8% (or more) in earnings on grocery and dining. I also liked that the grocery spending cap on Gold is much higher ($25K versus $6K) to get the higher rewards payout and that makes it easier to manage. In practice and after having the Gold for awhile, I'm seeing that I may only get 1.0 cpp on MRs, and I've found that earning the monthly 2 x $10 credits is more of a chore to me than I thought it would be. So my Gold is earning closer to 4% in rewards, less the spoiled credits and the $10 gap. Meanwhile, it's worth pointing out that BCP doesn't really earn a full and true 6% (net) on groceries after accounting for the $95 AF. If you spend exactly $6K, you earn 4.4%. Any more and your rewards erode due to the 1% earnings and any less gives you less of the 6% earnings to overcome the fee. Adding streaming services at 6% can add slightly to earnings but you're unlikely to reach 5% or more without very heavy streaming usage. My point is that the breakeven-point for you may be closer than you even realize. Depending on how you will value MRs, you *MAY* be able to outearn the BCP's "6%" (4.4%) if you can net at least 1.1 cpp in value on MRs, if you spend over $6K on groceries, or if your dining out spend is also high and you don't have a card earning 4% or above on that category. As others have said, it all comes down to doing the math for your own situation and weighing the options. As suggested, it's best to keep the Gold until at least the end of year one if not longer before making a decision, not only at avoid burning bridges with AMEX but to compare the value. I could see it going either way for you. And if you do close the Gold, have a solid plan for where you'll be able to redeem your MRs with another MR-earning card.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

Spectre7_Reup — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 15:31:07 GMT

Congrats! The Amex BCP was one of my goal cards as well. Well done 👍😎

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

SouthJamaica — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 13:53:35 GMT

@Azza wrote:

Was pre-approved for Amex BCP with $300 SUB for $2k spend over 6 months.

Applied online, instant approval with a soft pull and no SL provided yet on their site or in email. Pretty excited though, this has been one of my goal cards for a very long time!

Will be using that for the 3% back in gas most definitely, and now I am trying to decide what to do with my Amex Gold... right now it's nice because I can use its dining credit, but with the 6% cash back at grocery stores, it will most certainly trump the Gold's benefits.

I am most certainly open to suggestions and wisdom from the community members that have multiple cards with AFs. Thanks

Info Points:
20% Util (stacked up my discover with medical bills with 0% APR)
0 lates
5y5m AAoA

edit: chatted in to ask about the SUB, the site says two things, $300 at $3k spend, and $300 at $2k spend. He said wait to get the card to see what is required. While in chat, I asked about my SL. $25k!

Even though it might not make economic sense, personally I would hold on to the Gold card for another year and just try to make the best of it; reason being that Amex doesn't like it if you close that type of card too soon. After the annual fee comes up, call them and ask if there are any retention offers. If you get one that might lighten the burden of carrying the card on your shoulders for another year.

Re: Approved Amex BCP! Now I need help with my Gold...

coreyb80 — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 14:32:22 GMT

Congrats on the nice approval!