topic Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX? in Credit Card Applications

I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:14:59 GMT

I have 3 cards with a combined CL > $40K, I've had 3 cards for 8 years, I don't need any new cards (I also have a hidden business credit card with $12K limit).

One of my cards is an USAA Amex

While surfing the forum, I found a link for the AMEX preapproval site, so I checked it out for fun.

Offered

PRG with the 50,000 bonus and AF waived first year

EDP with the 25,000 bonus and AF waived first year with a 12.99% interest rate listed

Also got the Delta offer, but I don't fly.

My EX is 725, do the offers get much better i?

I could easily meet the spend, I could easily run the 30 transactions a month.

I have no idea how to use the points or what I would use them on anyway

Two cards from one pull?

I haven't had a pull on EX since August 2013...

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

mikelo22 — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:22:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have 3 cards with a combined CL > $40K, I've had 3 cards for 8 years, I don't need any new cards (I also have a hidden business credit card with $12K limit).
One of my cards is an USAA Amex
While surfing the forum, I found a link for the AMEX preapproval site, so I checked it out for fun.

Offered
PRG with the 50,000 bonus and AF waived first year
EDP with the 25,000 bonus and AF waived first year with a 12.99% interest rate listed
Also got the Delta offer, but I don't fly.
My EX is 725, do the offers get much better i?

I could easily meet the spend, I could easily run the 30 transactions a month.
I have no idea how to use the points or what I would use them on anyway
Two cards from one pull?
I haven't had a pull on EX since August 2013...

You can't beat that 50k MR bonus for the PRG. The best you'll ever find. And if you get the EDP, once the AF comes due on the PRG, you can cancel it and the EDP will be there to keep your MR balance.

If you don't find the EDP worth the AF either, you can just reduce it to the ED.

I'd go for it!

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

DeeBee78 — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 03:03:37 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have 3 cards with a combined CL > $40K, I've had 3 cards for 8 years, I don't need any new cards (I also have a hidden business credit card with $12K limit).
One of my cards is an USAA Amex
While surfing the forum, I found a link for the AMEX preapproval site, so I checked it out for fun.

Offered
PRG with the 50,000 bonus and AF waived first year
EDP with the 25,000 bonus and AF waived first year with a 12.99% interest rate listed
Also got the Delta offer, but I don't fly.
My EX is 725, do the offers get much better i?

I could easily meet the spend, I could easily run the 30 transactions a month.
I have no idea how to use the points or what I would use them on anyway
Two cards from one pull?
I haven't had a pull on EX since August 2013...

Offers are pretty much the same for everyone, other than some special offers that are being targeted towards Costco Amex customers right now. The only thing that I see your score getting you is the best APR on the EDP - congrats on that!

It's up to you if you think there is room in your wallet for Amex. Times have changed, and they're not the same company they were 10 years ago.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Spanky23 — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 03:40:13 GMT

@DeeBee78 wrote:

It's up to you if you think there is room in your wallet for Amex. Times have changed, and they're not the same company they were 10 years ago.

What do you mean by this?

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

DeeBee78 — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 03:59:06 GMT

@Spanky23 wrote:
@DeeBee78 wrote:

It's up to you if you think there is room in your wallet for Amex. Times have changed, and they're not the same company they were 10 years ago.

What do you mean by this?

Benefits have been removed, or reduced for most cards.

Costco and Jetblue partnerships are ending.

New Plenti card rewards are a joke.

Rewards points continue to lose redemption value.

Annual fees continue to climb.

Caché of being a cardholder is somewhat dead.

There are simply better cards out there nowadays. If you want Amex, you need to seriously justify it.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 05:33:56 GMT

@DeeBee78 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I have 3 cards with a combined CL > $40K, I've had 3 cards for 8 years, I don't need any new cards (I also have a hidden business credit card with $12K limit).
One of my cards is an USAA Amex
While surfing the forum, I found a link for the AMEX preapproval site, so I checked it out for fun.

Offered
PRG with the 50,000 bonus and AF waived first year
EDP with the 25,000 bonus and AF waived first year with a 12.99% interest rate listed
Also got the Delta offer, but I don't fly.
My EX is 725, do the offers get much better i?

I could easily meet the spend, I could easily run the 30 transactions a month.
I have no idea how to use the points or what I would use them on anyway
Two cards from one pull?
I haven't had a pull on EX since August 2013...
Offers are pretty much the same for everyone, other than some special offers that are being targeted towards Costco Amex customers right now. The only thing that I see your score getting you is the best APR on the EDP - congrats on that!

It's up to you if you think there is room in your wallet for Amex. Times have changed, and they're not the same company they were 10 years ago.

No they aren't. 25k for the EDP is a targeted offer. I haven't seen anyone just get that from a link or refreshing. Its been 10k for the ED and 15k for EDP, and either 15 or 25k targeted offers for either, online or by mail.

OP, go for it!!!! The MR points are worth 2cents a point. 75k points is 1500 bucks, and a low min spend at that! You have the best APR in your offer. And a no hassle way to go straight to 50k on the prg. Most people say to app for the credit card first, then the charge card 2nd. You may have to call in to push the 2nd through. 99% 2 for 1 on the experian pull.

DO IT DO IT!

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 05:43:17 GMT

my only thing is if you don't need amex (which you specifically said) and you don't know how/can't justify how to use the points (which you said) then why bother? yeah they are offering good sign on bonuses for you but beyond that then what's next? you have 76k travel points when you don't travel. sounds like a waste to me my friend.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 05:43:55 GMT

75k* my bad. came from the "worthy" iphone

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 05:46:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
my only thing is if you don't need amex (which you specifically said) and you don't know how/can't justify how to use the points (which you said) then why bother? yeah they are offering good sign on bonuses for you but beyond that then what's next? you have 76k travel points when you don't travel. sounds like a waste to me my friend.

OP never said they didnt travel. Can also redeem points for gift cards at 1cpp or on amazon at .7cpp... but yes, just redeeming them for charges at .6cpp would be a waste. If you don't need the cards then don't get them.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 12:01:46 GMT

my bad there was another person wanting amex that said they didn't travel lol. i combined the two by accident.. sorry.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 12:31:43 GMT

I don't fly, but I do travel so 75000 choice privileges points wouldn't be bad. And if I use it to pay for my rooms, it would effectively doubly my base room points.

I could fly my family to visit, but with Jet Blue ending that may be an issue. Am I correct in thinking a domestic round trip is roughly 25000 points?

Could make a family xmas trip easier on the kids (really me) than driving with them.

I have cards with much better rates and I wouldn't carry a balance anyway.

I resisted the urge all night...

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

kdm31091 — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 13:20:39 GMT

OP you need to stick to your gut. You said you don't need any more cards. Then you don't - regardless of bonus offer.

You will probably just end up spending more to make sure you get the bonus, defeating the purpose.

One's income only really allows them to reasonably get use out of so many cards, especially when we're talking AF cards. If you don't need something, don't get it just because it's popular or because of a bonus. It sounds like deep down, you don't think you can justify it.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:46:53 GMT

What is this place? A war of which member has to be right? What about all the people here apping left and right for Ventures just for the big limits? How is that any different?

I am an extreme couponer, this is a decent deal.

There arent any ther cards out right now that would give this much of a bonus from one pull. I'm sorry but spending 2 grand to get over 1500 in rewards between two cards is a steal. Especially because OP flys. Heck of a lot better than blowing 3 grand for 200-400 with capital one.

You can cancel and avoid any annual fees on the charge card, or just down grade it to one that doesnt have one or has a lower one.

If the OP's score can absorb the new cards and inquiries, and has the income to support it, then go for it. If you dont want this or need to save money, then dont get it.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 21:44:45 GMT

I'm the OP. The spend is no problem for me, I run plenty of business expenses including fuel and travel through my hidden card each month. AAoA is 8 years with 18 being my oldest.

I'm trying to learn to make my cards work for me. I've never looked into it previously, generally I hate credit cards. But we all need to play the game. 3 plane tickets or a week in a hotel each year based upon my regular spending seems like a decent deal. Based on my current spend I think I could knock down 5000-9000 points a month that I get a whopping $30-$60 back in cash rewards each month now. Transactions arent a problem, I fill up with gas every day before work, that's 30 transactions in itself. I guess I need to keep reading on rewards. If anyone knows of a good link, please post it.

According to the estimator, 5 cards is optimal. I like that I have no EX pulls in two years and this would work out for me to keep inquiries down. Based on the fact that the AMEX offers don't get much better than what I was offered, its appealing.

The hardest part for me is I already have a USAA branded AMEX and AMEX still isn't accepted everywhere. Thanks for everyone's input.

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 22:40:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm the OP. The spend is no problem for me, I run plenty of business expenses including fuel and travel through my hidden card each month. AAoA is 8 years with 18 being my oldest.

I'm trying to learn to make my cards work for me. I've never looked into it previously, generally I hate credit cards. But we all need to play the game. 3 plane tickets or a week in a hotel each year based upon my regular spending seems like a decent deal. Based on my current spend I think I could knock down 5000-9000 points a month that I get a whopping $30-$60 back in cash rewards each month now. Transactions arent a problem, I fill up with gas every day before work, that's 30 transactions in itself. I guess I need to keep reading on rewards. If anyone knows of a good link, please post it.

According to the estimator, 5 cards is optimal. I like that I have no EX pulls in two years and this would work out for me to keep inquiries down. Based on the fact that the AMEX offers don't get much better than what I was offered, its appealing.

The hardest part for me is I already have a USAA branded AMEX and AMEX still isn't accepted everywhere. Thanks for everyone's input.

Believe me, I hate credit cards too. I made the mistake the last decade or two and just being anti everything. I had no clue what the potential was for earning rewards or bonuses. I have been an extreme couponer since 2012. I have learned a lot in the last few years. Being wealthy and couponing is not always a priority. But why not use the savings towards a retirement? Or just enjoy more of the good things in life?

My favorite sites for deals/rewards are: thepointsguy.com flyertalk.com slickdeals.net totallytarget.com cuckooforcoupondeals.net krazycouponlady.com reddit ebates.com livingrichwithcoupons (their database specifically)

Heck not long ago folks were buying $50 shell gas cards for only $25 bucks of their discover cash back...

Also, you may find some flights/trips to be much less if you book them out far in advance. Most of them give you a full point refund if canceled 48hrs before.

This will be an adjustment for you. The worst thing would be for you to get overwhelmed or just give up. Things wont always work out in the beginning. You will often find a better deal after the fact. Ya gotta act fast sometimes or else you could miss out on certain opportunities though.

It may be risky to run too many business expenses through a card that reports to your personal CR. An accountant would be better qualified to answer that. But for me personally, I have made quite a bit just on the quicksilver and reimbursing for expenses...plus all the hhonors points I earned and delta miles.

I would maybe research this for the rest of the week. Find out what major airline hubs are near you. Make sure there arent any better partner specific deals. There is a great calculator that lets you input your monthly spend. Break it down by categories, and it shows you the best deal.

http://millionmilesecrets.com/new-to-miles-points-start-here/

Just be aware many of these deal sites do get a kickback for what they are doing for referrals. Many of the sites will be honest and say there is a better targeted deal and to not try their click through link first.

Sounds like you have the potential here to earn a lot of free trips. We can keep this going if you have more questions. I may learn something myself along the way.

GOOD LUCK

Re: I may have caught the apping disease, do I want AMEX?

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 12:12:10 GMT

I would love to get that EDP offer....more bonus points + AF waived? AMEX has some real nice target offers....now how to get targetted...