topic Re: AMEX PRG in Credit Cards

AMEX PRG

Harvey26 — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:17:15 GMT

Is it really worth the $195 AF, really want an amex charge and AAoA is finally at 2 years so I was going to try for it or would I be sufficent with like the Green.

EX score is a 691.

Re: AMEX PRG

mongstradamus — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:20:46 GMT

Prg has no af first year so you can test it out. Also green card isn't really a great card other then being a charge card, since amex ed beats it in most cases with no annual fee

Re: AMEX PRG

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:33:11 GMT

I recently got the PRG with the 50K offer. $195 AF does seem steep, but with it waived the first year and $100 airline credit each year by the time you pay first AF you will have $200 in airline credits. Which if you travel frequently can be really useful. It also gives 3x points on airlines which is more than CSP while also giving 2X at restaurants (like CSP) and 2X at grocery stores (unlike CSP). I also paired the app with an ED which with no AF and being a revolver can complement the PRG nicely for MR points.

Re: AMEX PRG

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 18:46:48 GMT

Worth is subjective. Having said that I find the card totally worth the 195 AF and look forward to keeping it after the first year when the waived AF is over.

Re: AMEX PRG

red259 — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:15:00 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
Is it really worth the $195 AF, really want an amex charge and AAoA is finally at 2 years so I was going to try for it or would I be sufficent with like the Green.

EX score is a 691.

It depends on your type of spend I suppose. I've had the card in the past and liked it, but I got it mainly for when I was starting up with amex. The AF is waived first year. Beyond that it culd be worth it if you have heavy airline spend. If you don't have significant airfare spend then the only reason I would consider it is if you needed a charge card, because you can't get a revolver that will cover your charges. The bonus categories beyond airlines are ok, but you can get better deals.

Re: AMEX PRG

jacetx — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:15:48 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
Is it really worth the $195 AF, really want an amex charge and AAoA is finally at 2 years so I was going to try for it or would I be sufficent with like the Green.

EX score is a 691.

Are you traveling and eating out a lot where you can earn the most points? Do you want or need the card? When it reports to the credit bureaus it doesn't show a credit limit only high balance. Amex charge cards all have the same credit criteria.

Re: AMEX PRG

Mattopotamus — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:42:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I recently got the PRG with the 50K offer. $195 AF does seem steep, but with it waived the first year and $100 airline credit each year by the time you pay first AF you will have $200 in airline credits. Which if you travel frequently can be really useful. It also gives 3x points on airlines which is more than CSP while also giving 2X at restaurants (like CSP) and 2X at grocery stores (unlike CSP). I also paired the app with an ED which with no AF and being a revolver can complement the PRG nicely for MR points.

I actually think you get 4 points for travel if you use the Amex travel portal

Re: AMEX PRG

red259 — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 21:34:12 GMT

@Mattopotamus wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I recently got the PRG with the 50K offer. $195 AF does seem steep, but with it waived the first year and $100 airline credit each year by the time you pay first AF you will have $200 in airline credits. Which if you travel frequently can be really useful. It also gives 3x points on airlines which is more than CSP while also giving 2X at restaurants (like CSP) and 2X at grocery stores (unlike CSP). I also paired the app with an ED which with no AF and being a revolver can complement the PRG nicely for MR points.
I actually think you get 4 points for travel if you use the Amex travel portal

Just in follow-up to the post you quoted, If you have the ED card you are already getting 2x at grocery stores and that is without an AF at all. Also, looking at the terms you do not always get bonus points for purchases at restaurants located in hotels/casinos/event venues. It will come down to how these locations are coded. The restaurants have to be in the US. I'm wondering if it is the same thing with the CSP, since I never really looked at this before. One factor in favor of the PRG is that I don't see a cap on the category spend so if you have major spend per year on groceries (well beyond 6k) then it may be worth doing the math.

Re: AMEX PRG

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:48:44 GMT

it's a good card to have

Re: AMEX PRG

Harvey26 — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 03:36:48 GMT

@jace8602 wrote:
@Harvey26 wrote:
Is it really worth the $195 AF, really want an amex charge and AAoA is finally at 2 years so I was going to try for it or would I be sufficent with like the Green.

EX score is a 691.
Are you traveling and eating out a lot where you can earn the most points? Do you want or need the card? When it reports to the credit bureaus it doesn't show a credit limit only high balance. Amex charge cards all have the same credit criteria.

I eat out literally ALL the time and also saw the gas thing too

Re: AMEX PRG

takeshi74 — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 04:23:19 GMT

@Harvey26 wrote:
Is it really worth the $195 AF, really want an amex charge and AAoA is finally at 2 years so I was going to try for it or would I be sufficent with like the Green.

Worth is always highly subjective, regardless of topic. It's up to you to detemrine if something is worth it to you. We can not tell you that. Like anything else in life, some find it worthwhile. Some do not. It's not about the card itself. It's about how well the card suits the individual.

Why do you want a charge card? How would a charge card be of benefit to you? You haven't provided your need/wants. You should start with those and then find cards that suit you versus selecting one or more cards and trying to justify them. Do the features and benefits of the PRG suit you?

Do you have major spend in the spend categories that earn at a higher rate? Can you leverage redemption options with Membership Rewards that yied higher point value? Have you looked at the program and the redemption rates for the different options? Do you have sufficient spend to benefit from MR or will it take you years to earn enough points to redeem? Programs like MR generally require a significant amount of spend.

Same applies to the Green. Most of us would not recommend the Green because it only earns 1 MR/$ but it rewards are not a priority then that may not matter to you.

I have no use for the PRG but I have no idea if your requirements are similar enough to my own for that to be relevant or not.

@Harvey26 wrote:
EX score is a 691.

It's never just about score. However, you can refer to the Credit Pulls Database, if desired.

@Anonymous wrote:
it's a good card to have

"Good" is also highly subjective. Cards are not one-size-fits-all. Each needs to do his/her own due dliigence to determine if a given card is a good fit.

Re: AMEX PRG

creditguy — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 04:29:56 GMT

You posted on Jan 5th that you were in the Recon process for an Amex Green, and your EX was 724. Just curious of the outcome since you are again posting about applying for Amex. I assume you did not end up with the green, but what is causing your denials with Amex?

Re: AMEX PRG

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 06:41:16 GMT

In addition to the $100.00 reward credit, the no fee for additional AU cards was a plus for me. I was spending $35.00 for the extra green card. Also, the roadside assistance (reinburse for up to like $500 or something) not just a gives us a call and we will call the toe truck for you. Easier in that case to just google a local tow truck.

PRG is the best Charge card out there IMHO.

Even with that siad, if you spend $10K a year in just base 1ppd you cover the annual fee by purchasing a $100.00 gift card when combine with the airline refund.

Their customer service for me is top notch.

Discover and PRG is whats in my wallet

Re: AMEX PRG

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 16:29:55 GMT

I just signed up for PRG. With $2k spend in first few months, I rec'd an additional 25,000 miles. Used it to buy airline tickets. Also going to get the $100 credit because I am going to check my bags on it this month when we fly. So with no annual fee for the first year, I am getting free checked bags, and bonus 25K miles. For me, it is worth it. Now next year may be a different story, but for now, it is working for me.

Additional note however! I put $2.1K on the card for airline tickets and hubby bought a sports watch. I had a call from Amex asking about my payment. I told them I had an autopay for 5 days later to pay off the balance in full, before the statement cut. Rep says okay, thank you. I logged in after the phone call, and all 3 of my cards are frozen until I paid off half the PRG, $1K! WTH? I paid the thousand they asked for, and they reinstated all 3 cards within seconds. But I was furious. Why give someone a NPSL and then cut off all their cards? My other two cards were at 0 balance, BTW.

I made a few phone calls to Amex and one rep basically said for the first six months, don't put more than 1K on the PRG before paying it off.

Honestly, I am going to use it for checked bags to get my cash back, but I don't have any plans to use it again, except maybe for airfaire points. I am afraid to even touch the stupid card. I understand they get spooked, but my goodness. I haven't been paying every single bill diligently for years to get a lousy $2k and run from Amex. Oh well.... I was excited to have the card but quite frankly if I hadn't logged in to see I was frozen, I would have been declined had I used any of their cards. Unless there is a direct benefit for me, I won't use the PRG again. Just my humble two cents