topic Re: AMEX Platinum? in Credit Cards

AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 03:32:00 GMT

Hello all, new guy here!

I guess some quick backgrond about me. I currently have 4 credit cards:

AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($34,500 limit)

Capital One Quicksilver ($10,500 limit)

Barclay Apple Rewards Visa ($8500 limit, got for 0% financing on MacBook)

Chase Freedom ($24,000).

The Capital One at a straight 1.5% is my everyday card, and I like it for its simplicity. AMEX Blue Cash Preferred is for groceries and gas. Chase Freedom is for if any of the rotating categories sound good (restaurants!), and the Barclay I really just use every once in a while to keep open. I pay for everything with credit, and pay in full at the end of the month. I don't spent a ton, but around $4,000 or so per month.

My credit is pretty solid, though I have one red mark from 2012 from a late payment. Still, it's pretty good and while I don't have anything recent directly from a bureau, I'm seeing:

Credit Karma: 744

Capital One's Credit Monitoring: 801

AMEX Fico Score: 725

CreditCard.com: 745

I take some of those, like Capital One's, with a grain of salt. Some of the scores dipped recenly several points due, I think, to a high balance on my Capital One card, as we were traveling internationally and racked up some $$. Copenhagen's expensive!

Anywho, I am interested in the AMEX Platinum Card. One reason is that my wife travels internationally for work regularly, and I'd like her to have the benefit of more frequent lounge access, Centurion Lounge access (she flies out of SFO), any possible upgrades at hotel rooms, Starwood/Hilton status, free Boingo hotspots, etc etc etc etc. I don't travel much any more, but a lot of this I could take advantage of when I do travel.

Ideally I'd get it for me and her, as well as add my brother and his wife. I trust them both explicitly, not to mention he makes at least 5 times as money $$ as I do, but I know they could help cut the cost overall by adding them as authorized users and they'd benefit from most the travel benefits as well.

Question 1: So as I said, I'm currently using my AMEX Blue Cash Preferred for gas and groceries. I'm not putting much on it, probably $500 or so per month, but it has a pretty enormous CLE at $34,500, which I obviously don't want to lose. But I also don't want to get the Platinum card and have two cards with annual fees. Would I be able to downgrade to Blue Cash Everday, which has no annual fee, and keep my credit limit of $34,500?

Question 2: How do "membership rewards points" work? I've always shied away from points or miles as they were confusing, as a 1.5% cash back was just was simpler. Can these points be converted to cash? Or do they have to be spent on something through an online store of theirs, or something else? What, for example, is 50,000 points worth, or how is it best utilized? I just got an invitation in the mail as well, with a signup bonus of 50,000 points.

Question 3: If I'm sent an offer for this card in the mail, do I have a decent chance at getting it? I routinely get targeted for higher end cards, so they must like my profile to some degree I would assume.

Totally annecdotal, but I went on a trip to Park City last year with two friends. It was a trip I had won through a very large company, and we stayed at Montage Deer Valley. If anyone knows, it's very, very high end. It's not too expensive in summer, but in winter, good luck. The company that paid for everything put the room on their AMEX Platinum. Not sure if it was luck of the draw, if it was the credit card, or some other factor, but we were all upgraded from $300 rooms to $2,000 a night residence rooms. Each of us. They had made mention of the card, errantly thinking I was the card holder (which I wasn't), but it was pretty cool.

Cost wise though, I think it would be pretty cost effective. We'd definitely get $200 back in travel, knocking the $450 to $250 each year. I could probably get my brother to kick us $100 for adding them as an AU each year, bringing it to $150. That alone seems like a no brainer. However, I don't want to lose that $34,500 BCP CLI (which, by the way, I never had to verify my income for. woot.).

Sorry for the long intro/story, but figured I'd finally join and ask.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 19:45:51 GMT

1) Yes. It shouldn't affect your BCP limit and downgrading to the non-AF version should be easy.

2) You can redeem them for cash or gift cards, which is usually worth 1 cent per point. You can also transfer them to a travel partner's rewards program and redeem them at higher values for free hotel nights or plane tickets, often 1.5-2cents, sometimes much higher.

3) Sure, but Platinum isn't that hard to get either. If they gave you a 30k CL on a revolver then they are probably okay with giving you a charge card as well.

One caveat: there is a 100k point signup bonus out there for this card. You may want to see if you can get the offer incognito or over the phone, if you don't have the mailer. Much better than the public 40k offer.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

SouthJamaica — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 20:46:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello all, new guy here!

I guess some quick backgrond about me. I currently have 4 credit cards:

AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($34,500 limit)
Capital One Quicksilver ($10,500 limit)
Barclay Apple Rewards Visa ($8500 limit, got for 0% financing on MacBook)
Chase Freedom ($24,000).

The Capital One at a straight 1.5% is my everyday card, and I like it for its simplicity. AMEX Blue Cash Preferred is for groceries and gas. Chase Freedom is for if any of the rotating categories sound good (restaurants!), and the Barclay I really just use every once in a while to keep open. I pay for everything with credit, and pay in full at the end of the month. I don't spent a ton, but around $4,000 or so per month.

My credit is pretty solid, though I have one red mark from 2012 from a late payment. Still, it's pretty good and while I don't have anything recent directly from a bureau, I'm seeing:

Credit Karma: 744
Capital One's Credit Monitoring: 801
AMEX Fico Score: 725
CreditCard.com: 745

I take some of those, like Capital One's, with a grain of salt. Some of the scores dipped recenly several points due, I think, to a high balance on my Capital One card, as we were traveling internationally and racked up some $$. Copenhagen's expensive!

Anywho, I am interested in the AMEX Platinum Card. One reason is that my wife travels internationally for work regularly, and I'd like her to have the benefit of more frequent lounge access, Centurion Lounge access (she flies out of SFO), any possible upgrades at hotel rooms, Starwood/Hilton status, free Boingo hotspots, etc etc etc etc. I don't travel much any more, but a lot of this I could take advantage of when I do travel.

Ideally I'd get it for me and her, as well as add my brother and his wife. I trust them both explicitly, not to mention he makes at least 5 times as money $$ as I do, but I know they could help cut the cost overall by adding them as authorized users and they'd benefit from most the travel benefits as well.

Question 1: So as I said, I'm currently using my AMEX Blue Cash Preferred for gas and groceries. I'm not putting much on it, probably $500 or so per month, but it has a pretty enormous CLE at $34,500, which I obviously don't want to lose. But I also don't want to get the Platinum card and have two cards with annual fees. Would I be able to downgrade to Blue Cash Everday, which has no annual fee, and keep my credit limit of $34,500?

Question 2: How do "membership rewards points" work? I've always shied away from points or miles as they were confusing, as a 1.5% cash back was just was simpler. Can these points be converted to cash? Or do they have to be spent on something through an online store of theirs, or something else? What, for example, is 50,000 points worth, or how is it best utilized? I just got an invitation in the mail as well, with a signup bonus of 50,000 points.

Question 3: If I'm sent an offer for this card in the mail, do I have a decent chance at getting it? I routinely get targeted for higher end cards, so they must like my profile to some degree I would assume.

Totally annecdotal, but I went on a trip to Park City last year with two friends. It was a trip I had won through a very large company, and we stayed at Montage Deer Valley. If anyone knows, it's very, very high end. It's not too expensive in summer, but in winter, good luck. The company that paid for everything put the room on their AMEX Platinum. Not sure if it was luck of the draw, if it was the credit card, or some other factor, but we were all upgraded from $300 rooms to $2,000 a night residence rooms. Each of us. They had made mention of the card, errantly thinking I was the card holder (which I wasn't), but it was pretty cool.

Cost wise though, I think it would be pretty cost effective. We'd definitely get $200 back in travel, knocking the $450 to $250 each year. I could probably get my brother to kick us $100 for adding them as an AU each year, bringing it to $150. That alone seems like a no brainer. However, I don't want to lose that $34,500 BCP CLI (which, by the way, I never had to verify my income for. woot.).

Sorry for the long intro/story, but figured I'd finally join and ask.

Question 1: yes you should be able to downgrade from BCP to BCE.

Question 2: if you're like me and not comfortable with membership rewards points, IMHO the platinum card is not for you... my platinum card is the biggest waste of money, because I don't like using 'reward points', I like cash. And I don't want to use up the brain cells necessary to study up and learn about them.

Question 3: it's very easy to get, you're overqualified. I got it when my score was around 650

Re: AMEX Platinum?

sillykitty1 — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 03:47:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Anywho, I am interested in the AMEX Platinum Card. One reason is that my wife travels internationally for work regularly, and I'd like her to have the benefit of more frequent lounge access, Centurion Lounge access (she flies out of SFO), any possible upgrades at hotel rooms, Starwood/Hilton status, free Boingo hotspots, etc etc etc etc. I don't travel much any more, but a lot of this I could take advantage of when I do travel. I travel for work as well ... ouple of things ... Make sure the Centurion Lounge is located convenient to her usual gates SFO. If it's at a distant terminal, she isn't likely to use it. If it is, then Centurion Lounges are really, really nice. Boingo Hotspots, not sure these are of much value, at least IME. Checkout Priority Pass lounges to see if they are actually usefull for her travel pattern. Does she fly Delta, I think Delta Club access is a big perk if that's the carrier you're flying.

Ideally I'd get it for me and her, as well as add my brother and his wife. I trust them both explicitly, not to mention he makes at least 5 times as money $$ as I do, but I know they could help cut the cost overall by adding them as authorized users and they'd benefit from most the travel benefits as well. AU's are an additional $175 each

Question 1: So as I said, I'm currently using my AMEX Blue Cash Preferred for gas and groceries. I'm not putting much on it, probably $500 or so per month, but it has a pretty enormous CLE at $34,500, which I obviously don't want to lose. But I also don't want to get the Platinum card and have two cards with annual fees. Would I be able to downgrade to Blue Cash Everday, which has no annual fee, and keep my credit limit of $34,500?

Question 2: How do "membership rewards points" work? I've always shied away from points or miles as they were confusing, as a 1.5% cash back was just was simpler. Can these points be converted to cash? Or do they have to be spent on something through an online store of theirs, or something else? What, for example, is 50,000 points worth, or how is it best utilized? I just got an invitation in the mail as well, with a signup bonus of 50,000 points. Amex Platinum is not a good rewards card, it's a perks card. I only use my Plat for items I want the purchase protection on. Get this card for perks, and don't run $'s through it for the MR's.

Question 3: If I'm sent an offer for this card in the mail, do I have a decent chance at getting it? I routinely get targeted for higher end cards, so they must like my profile to some degree I would assume.

Totally annecdotal, but I went on a trip to Park City last year with two friends. It was a trip I had won through a very large company, and we stayed at Montage Deer Valley. If anyone knows, it's very, very high end. It's not too expensive in summer, but in winter, good luck. The company that paid for everything put the room on their AMEX Platinum. Not sure if it was luck of the draw, if it was the credit card, or some other factor, but we were all upgraded from $300 rooms to $2,000 a night residence rooms. Each of us. They had made mention of the card, errantly thinking I was the card holder (which I wasn't), but it was pretty cool.

Cost wise though, I think it would be pretty cost effective. We'd definitely get $200 back in travel, knocking the $450 to $250 each year. I could probably get my brother to kick us $100 for adding them as an AU each year, bringing it to $150. That alone seems like a no brainer. However, I don't want to lose that $34,500 BCP CLI (which, by the way, I never had to verify my income for. woot.).

Sorry for the long intro/story, but figured I'd finally join and ask.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 15:01:19 GMT

South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 15:07:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????

All the charge cards (probably) have the same underwriting, i.e. Plat card is no harder to get than the green, just has a higher AF

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Berk — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 16:58:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????
All the charge cards (probably) have the same underwriting, i.e. Plat card is no harder to get than the green, just has a higher AF

Yep. Just look at all the threads regarding trying to get out of the AF or how to cancel the cards after the first year becuase the holder can't afford the AF. Or won't really use the card for anything and found out that it really doesn't look that cool in their wallet after all...

Re: AMEX Platinum?

NRB525 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:56:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????

You would be instapproved for any AMEX with your profile.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think authorized users get the Platiinum lounge perks, or the SPG / Hilton status.

My opinion, the attempt to budget the AF is amusing. With the Platinum you either value the benefits, or just pass on getting the card.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Open123 — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 19:01:08 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????
You would be instapproved for any AMEX with your profile.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think authorized users get the Platiinum lounge perks, or the SPG / Hilton status.

My opinion, the attempt to budget the AF is amusing. With the Platinum you either value the benefits, or just pass on getting the card.

AU gets the Lounge perks.

However, with overcrowding potentially being an issue, I suspect Amex may re-examine this policy in the future. At SFO, the crowding has gotten to a point where the Lounge has begun placing "reserved" signs for their Centurion holders. Personally, I'd rather see access available only to the Basic cardmember, if only to maintain the integrity and experience of the Lounge.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 19:23:50 GMT

I've had a platinum for 10 years with a 620 so you are fine in terms of credit score

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 15:07:28 GMT

I would not do this thing with your brother though. That is a red flag. If you brother earns more money, then why would he want to be an authorized user on your credit card? Don't mention that to Amex bc it will look like you need someone else to help you with it. If that is the case then the more sensible thing would be an authorized user on your brothers card. Otherwise it looks like some kind of end run. As for travel, you can book through Amex Fine Hotels and you will be guaranteed an upgrade as well as early check in, late check out and usually a $100 property credit. Membership rewards are best used for plane tickets by transferring them into a mileage program. You can also purchase the ticket outright, and you are charged in cash and then points are deducted and your account credited. Doing it this way 100000 points is roughly about 10000- I recently redeemed for a Hawaii ticket and 134000 took off 1600 of the ticket cost.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

NRB525 — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 16:41:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would not do this thing with your brother though. That is a red flag. If you brother earns more money, then why would he want to be an authorized user on your credit card? Don't mention that to Amex bc it will look like you need someone else to help you with it. If that is the case then the more sensible thing would be an authorized user on your brothers card. Otherwise it looks like some kind of end run. As for travel, you can book through Amex Fine Hotels and you will be guaranteed an upgrade as well as early check in, late check out and usually a $100 property credit. Membership rewards are best used for plane tickets by transferring them into a mileage program. You can also purchase the ticket outright, and you are charged in cash and then points are deducted and your account credited. Doing it this way 100000 points is roughly about 10000- I recently redeemed for a Hawaii ticket and 134000 took off 1600 of the ticket cost.

You mean 100,000 MR are worth $1,000 , not implying worth $10,000, correct?

Transfer even to nerfed Delta should easily get 1.2c per MR, but with careful use can be 2.5c on Delta or 3c on Flying Blue.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

sjt — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 02:28:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello all, new guy here!

I guess some quick backgrond about me. I currently have 4 credit cards:

AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($34,500 limit)
Capital One Quicksilver ($10,500 limit)
Barclay Apple Rewards Visa ($8500 limit, got for 0% financing on MacBook)
Chase Freedom ($24,000).

The Capital One at a straight 1.5% is my everyday card, and I like it for its simplicity. AMEX Blue Cash Preferred is for groceries and gas. Chase Freedom is for if any of the rotating categories sound good (restaurants!), and the Barclay I really just use every once in a while to keep open. I pay for everything with credit, and pay in full at the end of the month. I don't spent a ton, but around $4,000 or so per month.

My credit is pretty solid, though I have one red mark from 2012 from a late payment. Still, it's pretty good and while I don't have anything recent directly from a bureau, I'm seeing:

Credit Karma: 744
Capital One's Credit Monitoring: 801
AMEX Fico Score: 725
CreditCard.com: 745

I take some of those, like Capital One's, with a grain of salt. Some of the scores dipped recenly several points due, I think, to a high balance on my Capital One card, as we were traveling internationally and racked up some $$. Copenhagen's expensive!

Anywho, I am interested in the AMEX Platinum Card. One reason is that my wife travels internationally for work regularly, and I'd like her to have the benefit of more frequent lounge access, Centurion Lounge access (she flies out of SFO), any possible upgrades at hotel rooms, Starwood/Hilton status, free Boingo hotspots, etc etc etc etc. I don't travel much any more, but a lot of this I could take advantage of when I do travel.

Ideally I'd get it for me and her, as well as add my brother and his wife. I trust them both explicitly, not to mention he makes at least 5 times as money $$ as I do, but I know they could help cut the cost overall by adding them as authorized users and they'd benefit from most the travel benefits as well.

Question 1: So as I said, I'm currently using my AMEX Blue Cash Preferred for gas and groceries. I'm not putting much on it, probably $500 or so per month, but it has a pretty enormous CLE at $34,500, which I obviously don't want to lose. But I also don't want to get the Platinum card and have two cards with annual fees. Would I be able to downgrade to Blue Cash Everday, which has no annual fee, and keep my credit limit of $34,500?

Question 2: How do "membership rewards points" work? I've always shied away from points or miles as they were confusing, as a 1.5% cash back was just was simpler. Can these points be converted to cash? Or do they have to be spent on something through an online store of theirs, or something else? What, for example, is 50,000 points worth, or how is it best utilized? I just got an invitation in the mail as well, with a signup bonus of 50,000 points.

Question 3: If I'm sent an offer for this card in the mail, do I have a decent chance at getting it? I routinely get targeted for higher end cards, so they must like my profile to some degree I would assume.

Totally annecdotal, but I went on a trip to Park City last year with two friends. It was a trip I had won through a very large company, and we stayed at Montage Deer Valley. If anyone knows, it's very, very high end. It's not too expensive in summer, but in winter, good luck. The company that paid for everything put the room on their AMEX Platinum. Not sure if it was luck of the draw, if it was the credit card, or some other factor, but we were all upgraded from $300 rooms to $2,000 a night residence rooms. Each of us. They had made mention of the card, errantly thinking I was the card holder (which I wasn't), but it was pretty cool.

Cost wise though, I think it would be pretty cost effective. We'd definitely get $200 back in travel, knocking the $450 to $250 each year. I could probably get my brother to kick us $100 for adding them as an AU each year, bringing it to $150. That alone seems like a no brainer. However, I don't want to lose that $34,500 BCP CLI (which, by the way, I never had to verify my income for. woot.).

Sorry for the long intro/story, but figured I'd finally join and ask.

You would have no problem getting approved.

I would go to their pre-qual site and see if they offer you large sign up bonuses.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

ndjim75 — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 13:31:00 GMT

It will cost you an additional $175 to add your brother as an AU. (You can add up to 3 for the $175, and then each additional AU is $175 each) So dont count your brother kicking in $100 to reduce your $450 annual fee.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

SouthJamaica — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 13:53:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
South Jamacia...you are telling me you got the AMEX Plantium Card with a score of "650"????

Yes, their only interest was that you be dumb enough to pay them $450 per year for a credit card, and I passed muster under that standard.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:11:43 GMT

Yes, sorry for the typo. Good catch

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:26:46 GMT

There is often a 100k MR offer floating around. If you decide to go for it, try different browsers, go in incognito mode, etc. Worth it for double the bonus.

Similar to you, I stayed away from points/miles and was concentrating on cashback. We got the BCP for groceries last April and I was happy with the $15k limit (had a few $15k but was new to this level, couldn't believe you could have multiple cards at those limits) Our general spend was on a few different things, still working our way through some bonus spend quite often at that time. Then I got the travel bug and since DH kept getting targeted mailers for the 100k MR we decided to have him get that and I tried every which way to PC my BCP to an EDP so I could get MR too. In the end, can't PC from cashback to MR program so I appled for an EDP. At least I got the bonus on that and decided to get the PRG for me too. So he picked up 100k MR and I picked up 65k to start. I downgraded the BCP to BCE and got a prorated annual fee refund. It's pretty much sockdrawered except for a few Amex Offers usage.

We have run most things through the EDP/restaurants PRG for the past six months. It's a good set up.

Several lifestyle changes have led to the revelation that road-trip vacations are likely for the next chunk of time, so I don't know when or how we'll use the MR and we may not end up using them to their best advantage or as I initially planned, and I'm back to a different overall strategy. But it's a nice stash.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Open123 — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 19:52:16 GMT

If utilized properly, the Amex Plat (especially business one) is one of the best values of all CC offerings. Won't go into all the many reasons here, since they've been pointed out so many times.

However, one small example of why I like Amex. The Airlines decided to take away complimentary lounge access from the Plat. What's Amex's response? Fine, put in the best domestic Lounges ever seen in select locations. Now, I see other domestic lounges as, "well, if I have no choice, I'll hangout in there." With the Centurion Lounges, I can't imagine paying for domestic Airline access from any of the Domestic carriers.

I plan my travel on carriers and airports with a Centurion Lounge. This is why I like Amex; historically, they don't take things sitting down and will always compete aggressively.

*Edited* PS - With plans for LAX and I'd imagine ultimately ORD, there will be a Centurion Lounge in all the major domestic hubs. This alone makes the Plat worth the fee for the moderate to frequent traveler.

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 19:54:40 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
If utilized properly, the Amex Plat (especially business one) is one of the best values of all CC offerings. Won't go into all the many reasons here, since they've been pointed out so many times.

However, one small example of why I like Amex. The Airlines decided to take away complimentary lounge access from the Plat. What's Amex's response? Fine, put in the best domestic Lounges ever seen in select locations. Now, I see other domestic lounges as, "well, if I have no choice, I'll hangout in there." With the Centurion Lounges, I can't imagine paying for domestic Airline access from any of the Domestic carriers.

I plan my travel on carriers and airports with a Centurion Lounge. This is way I like Amex; historically, they don't take things sitting down and will always compete aggressively.

I was flying to Indiana 3 or 4 weeks ago on American and I intentionally book a layover in NY just to check out the Centurion and wouldn't you know it they canceled the flight and re-booked me on a direct fly, I was so upset. Worse part is I paid for upgraded seats on both flights and got stuck in the very back row (no refund)

So I'll have to wait for my next flight to check it out...

Re: AMEX Platinum?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 19:57:46 GMT