topic Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users in Credit Cards

Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

The-Credit-Disciple — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:19:02 GMT

Great afternoon!! What benefits have you experienced with Charge Cards? I am pre approved for The Platinum but i don't no much about them. Thanks everyone in advance for your wisdom

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

afbar1114 — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:26:15 GMT

Look at your EveryDay spending. I find more value out of the PRG my self and the AF is much cheaper too. The Platinum card is for travel and the PRG is for everyday use and you still get a $100 air line credit.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

The-Credit-Disciple — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:29:47 GMT

I don't travel at all.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

The-Credit-Disciple — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:31:49 GMT

So the Platinum is geared more towards Traveling?? I will pass and continue to Garden until something comes around and blows my Mind(Bank of America Cash rewards)

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

Billharrell — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:35:11 GMT

If you don't travel frequently then the platinum is not for you. I travel rarely (1-4 flights per year) and I'm pushing it to make the PRG worthwhile.

If you're prequalified for the platinum and don't travel much, I'm sure you could snag the PRG. Like me, it would fit your lifestyle much better. Good luck!

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

afbar1114 — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:41:16 GMT

I use my PRG for EVERYTHING! I still get 3x points on flights and $100 in credits. Do for me the AF is $95. I get double points on gas, dinning, and food shopping. You get the first year free so try it out if you want and see how it goes.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:44:19 GMT

If you don't travel, the Amex Platinum's annual fee isn't worth it. I use my Amex PRG to rack up points for everyday spending. 3X points for Airlines, 2X for Dining, Gas, and Supermarket. The $100 annual travel credit is pretty easy to use.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

The-Credit-Disciple — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:55:13 GMT

PRG is geared more for everyday use? Is it true Charge cards have to be paid in full every month?

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

afbar1114 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:05:53 GMT

@The-Credit-Disciple wrote:
PRG is geared more for everyday use? Is it true Charge cards have to be paid in full every month?

Yes AMEX charge cards are PIF every month. IMO the PRG is for everyday use

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

CerebralZulu — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 06:18:11 GMT

@The-Credit-Disciple wrote:
PRG is geared more for everyday use? Is it true Charge cards have to be paid in full every month?

Well actually they now have plan it, which allows you to pay over time. Interest starts immediately, so not a good deal.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

wasCB14 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 06:20:32 GMT

@CerebralZulu wrote:

@The-Credit-Disciple wrote:
PRG is geared more for everyday use? Is it true Charge cards have to be paid in full every month?
Well actually they now have plan it, which allows you to pay over time. Interest starts immediately, so not a good deal.

It would be...curious...for someone to carry a balance at a generally high APR while paying an AF for a travel rewards card.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

wasCB14 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 06:32:45 GMT

Does anyone here have a very long-lived Green, Gold, or PRG card?

It seems like most people (or, rather, most credit enthusiasts who think about this stuff) either end up with a Platinum (or Cent, for a few) or give up on Amex charge cards altogether. *And I mean personal charge cards. I know some like BGR for business.*

I had a PRG for 2 years and have had my Schwab Platinum for 2.5 years. I couldn't PC if I wanted to, but neither can I really imagine having any use for a less-than-Platinum charge card in a world with CSR.

I pay a little more...but get far, far more in benefits vs. other charge cards. Everything less than Platinum is just so mediocre...so why bother?

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

afbar1114 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 09:30:44 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
Does anyone here have a very long-lived Green, Gold, or PRG card?

It seems like most people (or, rather, most credit enthusiasts who think about this stuff) either end up with a Platinum (or Cent, for a few) or give up on Amex charge cards altogether. *And I mean personal charge cards. I know some like BGR for business.*

I had a PRG for 2 years and have had my Schwab Platinum for 2.5 years. I couldn't PC if I wanted to, but neither can I really imagine having any use for a less-than-Platinum charge card in a world with CSR.

I pay a little more...but get far, far more in benefits vs. other charge cards. Everything less than Platinum is just so mediocre...so why bother?

The Platinum may work for you but not all. I’ve had the PRG for 5 years now and upgraded to the Platinum about 2 years ago and went back to the PRG 4 months later because it didn’t fit my needs. The AF at that time was $450 now it is $550 I will not get value out of it. I don’t travel enough and when I do I use my United Club Card or PRG for flights. I have the IHG select for my hotels. I get far more out of that combo than I would with the platinum. If I want to pay an AF that highly go with the CSR

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

mdd0214 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 12:18:52 GMT

I get pretty solid value out of my AmEx Platinum. I think it really depends on how you travel though. Everyone thinks of lounge access and the credits, but I rarely see people posts about some of the other travel benefits.

I've gotten significant monetary value from FHR bookings which often include breakfast (wife & I always eat breakfast at the hotel which adds up to ~$40-60/day for 2) as well as a $100 property credit for another meal or drinks. A few times I've been upgraded or at least treated well. Early check in & late checkout has also been helpful--in fact I value it very highly when I get off a flight and can freshen up right away--which I've received through FHR as well as Marriott & SPG hotels due to the Gold match. I wouldn't otherwise earn status with either brand since I'm not a road warrior and usually don't stay in their hotels that often except a few times a year on business (usually a smaller boutique option is preferable for personal travel). Being treated to some easy loyalty status has been nice.

I haven't done so yet, but simply booking a single bonus night, like 3rd or 4th night free, would make the card worth it every year.

I've enjoyed significant convenience with AmEx concierge for restaurant bookings. Most of the places we dine have reservations that open like 28 or 30 days out at midnight--it's absurd. So I just tell AmEx to book my chosen restaurant for 2 on Saturday @ 7, or whatever, and they contact the restaurant directly, use my Resy/Reserve/Opentable or other account to make the booking so I don't have to remember when to do it.

As for the annual fee, I spend quite a bit on Uber or UberEats every month, so the monthly portion of the $200 credit is used within the first week every month (already used August for example). I buy a few Delta gift cards that I apply to cash fares (and earn 5x on the balance of the tickets) to meet the $200 annual travel credit. So I get all of this value for $150/year out of pocket. I can make that up with a single weekend trip in terms of value, status & convenience.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

K-in-Boston — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:19:25 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
Does anyone here have a very long-lived Green, Gold, or PRG card?

It seems like most people (or, rather, most credit enthusiasts who think about this stuff) either end up with a Platinum (or Cent, for a few) or give up on Amex charge cards altogether. *And I mean personal charge cards. I know some like BGR for business.*

I had a PRG for 2 years and have had my Schwab Platinum for 2.5 years. I couldn't PC if I wanted to, but neither can I really imagine having any use for a less-than-Platinum charge card in a world with CSR.

I pay a little more...but get far, far more in benefits vs. other charge cards. Everything less than Platinum is just so mediocre...so why bother?

<raises hand> Member Since 2002. My "American Express Gold Card with Membership Rewards" (yes, MRs were not standard back then) was my daily driver until about 2 1/2 years ago; DW and I put 95%+ of our spend on it for about 14 years. I did a product change to PRG on it a few years ago since it was only a marginally higher AF but had the $100 airline credit. I also changed my well-aged "American Express Card with Membership Rewards" (now just known as "The Green Card") to Platinum around the same time (the upgrade offer was enough to not open a new account).

For me, while today Platinum only sees 5x airline spending and I take frequent advantage of Amex Offers (currently switched my Amazon spend from Amazon 5% card to Platinum for 3x MRs, for example), if I could only have a single card - this would be it. As far as PRG goes, it broke my heart, but I called to cancel it last year. I ended up getting a nice retention offer, and in the months since, I have taken enough advantage of Amex Offers on it to offset the AF. I likely won't call to cancel again in a few months and will keep it as long as those Amex Offers don't dry up. They are a really good way to rack up MRs, but I don't use PRG the way most here do on bonus categories or as a daily driver.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

arkane — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 15:12:20 GMT

People use PRG as a daily driver? For each category it has, there's something out there that earns at least the same if not more rewards for 0 AF. Yes yes airline credit extra benefits and all that. But OP doesn't travel, and PRG would be a net negative beyond the first year.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

wasCB14 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 15:21:27 GMT

@afbar1114 wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
Does anyone here have a very long-lived Green, Gold, or PRG card?

It seems like most people (or, rather, most credit enthusiasts who think about this stuff) either end up with a Platinum (or Cent, for a few) or give up on Amex charge cards altogether. *And I mean personal charge cards. I know some like BGR for business.*

I had a PRG for 2 years and have had my Schwab Platinum for 2.5 years. I couldn't PC if I wanted to, but neither can I really imagine having any use for a less-than-Platinum charge card in a world with CSR.

I pay a little more...but get far, far more in benefits vs. other charge cards. Everything less than Platinum is just so mediocre...so why bother?
The Platinum may work for you but not all. I’ve had the PRG for 5 years now and upgraded to the Platinum about 2 years ago and went back to the PRG 4 months later because it didn’t fit my needs. The AF at that time was $450 now it is $550 I will not get value out of it. I don’t travel enough and when I do I use my United Club Card or PRG for flights. I have the IHG select for my hotels. I get far more out of that combo than I would with the platinum. If I want to pay an AF that highly go with the CSR

I would have thought for someone loyal enough to United to have a Club card, ED might work for groceries but United Club's 1.5x would make the 2x MR categories maybe not worth the net AF.

You do get a few other benefits like roadside assistance with PRG, though. Adding or PCing to CSR would also raise the net AF compared to PRG, even if it would give you a lot of URs.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 16:31:38 GMT

I’ve had the card a few months and have used it as a daily driver. But I have been thinking about changing cards eventually.
My wife and I have a lot of credit card debt but have been paying our debt down aggressively and we figured a card we have to pay off monthly would be great.
So for now I’m seeing how I like it and I do plan a 4 night stay at the Anaheim Hilton next month and plan on using the 75 hotel collection credit.

We fly for free already since she’s a SW employee so hotels are the only thing we can use points for that make sense.

I was actually looking at the IHG premier card this morning and looks like I could really use that especially with the bonus. My friend has the card and we used his points plus his free night for 2 nights at the hotel indigo in downtown LA.

For now the card is great for no AF. I’ll see if I get a retention off and might keep it next year. Just depends on how the math works out.

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 16:42:28 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@afbar1114 wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
Does anyone here have a very long-lived Green, Gold, or PRG card?

It seems like most people (or, rather, most credit enthusiasts who think about this stuff) either end up with a Platinum (or Cent, for a few) or give up on Amex charge cards altogether. *And I mean personal charge cards. I know some like BGR for business.*

I had a PRG for 2 years and have had my Schwab Platinum for 2.5 years. I couldn't PC if I wanted to, but neither can I really imagine having any use for a less-than-Platinum charge card in a world with CSR.

I pay a little more...but get far, far more in benefits vs. other charge cards. Everything less than Platinum is just so mediocre...so why bother?
The Platinum may work for you but not all. I’ve had the PRG for 5 years now and upgraded to the Platinum about 2 years ago and went back to the PRG 4 months later because it didn’t fit my needs. The AF at that time was $450 now it is $550 I will not get value out of it. I don’t travel enough and when I do I use my United Club Card or PRG for flights. I have the IHG select for my hotels. I get far more out of that combo than I would with the platinum. If I want to pay an AF that highly go with the CSR
I would have thought for someone loyal enough to United to have a Club card, ED might work for groceries but United Club's 1.5x would make the 2x MR categories maybe not worth the net AF.

You do get a few other benefits like roadside assistance with PRG, though. Adding or PCing to CSR would also raise the net AF compared to PRG, even if it would give you a lot of URs.

For me, CSR works out a lot better. CSR + Freedom Unlimited + Freedom, assumming value of UR points don't decrease. CSR card itself seems like a combination between PRG and Platinum card, with one AF. Also, jsut about everywhere accepts Visa, while Amex much less so (although it has been getting better recently. Its still never fun to give a restaraunt an Amex card and have then return saying they don't accept it)

Re: Experienced Amex Charge Card Users

wasCB14 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 21:23:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

For me, CSR works out a lot better. CSR + Freedom Unlimited + Freedom, assumming value of UR points don't decrease. CSR card itself seems like a combination between PRG and Platinum card, with one AF. Also, jsut about everywhere accepts Visa, while Amex much less so (although it has been getting better recently. Its still never fun to give a restaraunt an Amex card and have then return saying they don't accept it)

I see it as a very different card. For me, CSR is about travel protections and rewards. Platinum is about travel perks and merchandise protections. I like having both, but I use them in very different ways.

PRG is just kind of mediocre at everything.