topic Re: amex plat question in Credit Cards

amex plat question

acreditdummy123 — Sat, 28 May 2022 23:49:10 GMT

like some people, i don't travel a lot, but the signup offer for this card is quite hefty. should i apply for it, met the spend and stockpile the points for when i do need to travel? And then hope amex gives me retention credits the subsequent years?

Re: amex plat question

Hoben02 — Sun, 29 May 2022 00:14:15 GMT

Not a good idea you just stated you don't have any travel plans hate to tell you this miles do depreciate. Also, Amex will give retention bonuses usually to those who put healthy spend on the card. Forgo the card and get it when you actually have a need for the card

Re: amex plat question

acreditdummy123 — Sun, 29 May 2022 01:26:30 GMT

@Hoben02 wrote:
Not a good idea you just stated you don't have any travel plans hate to tell you this miles do depreciate. Also, Amex will give retention bonuses usually to those who put healthy spend on the card. Forgo the card and get it when you actually have a need for the card

I didn't know MR points depreciate. thanks for making me aware!

Re: amex plat question

wasCB14 — Sun, 29 May 2022 01:57:13 GMT

@acreditdummy123 wrote:
@Hoben02 wrote:
Not a good idea you just stated you don't have any travel plans hate to tell you this miles do depreciate. Also, Amex will give retention bonuses usually to those who put healthy spend on the card. Forgo the card and get it when you actually have a need for the card
I didn't know MR points depreciate. thanks for making me aware!

A lot of factors affect the value of airline miles. If there's one airline you mainly use, look into the details of that particular frequent flyer program.

Retention offers are YMMV. I very recently got a 30k MR / $3k spend / 3 months retention offer on my Schwab Platinum despite YTD spend of just a few hundred dollars - and most of that on coupon stuff. In 2020 I got 50k MRs with no spend.

Re: amex plat question

DONZI — Sun, 29 May 2022 03:07:17 GMT

@acreditdummy123 wrote:
@Hoben02 wrote:
Not a good idea you just stated you don't have any travel plans hate to tell you this miles do depreciate. Also, Amex will give retention bonuses usually to those who put healthy spend on the card. Forgo the card and get it when you actually have a need for the card
I didn't know MR points depreciate. thanks for making me aware!

@acreditdummy123-- note that miles are not MR points.

Re: amex plat question

bilwilvegas — Sun, 29 May 2022 03:20:59 GMT

Good evening,

Can you clarify what you mean when you said "miles do depreciate"?

Thanks!!

Re: amex plat question

Gunnerboy — Sun, 29 May 2022 03:34:24 GMT

@bilwilvegas wrote:
Good evening,

Can you clarify what you mean when you said "miles do depreciate"?

Thanks!!

Probably what was meant is that miles you earn can become "devalued" by the airline.

Re: amex plat question

SouthJamaica — Sun, 29 May 2022 03:53:39 GMT

@acreditdummy123 wrote:
like some people, i don't travel a lot, but the signup offer for this card is quite hefty. should i apply for it, met the spend and stockpile the points for when i do need to travel? And then hope amex gives me retention credits the subsequent years?

IMHO no, that card is a waste of money unless you travel a lot.

Re: amex plat question

Anonymous — Sun, 29 May 2022 09:29:31 GMT

@Gunnerboy wrote:
@bilwilvegas wrote:
Good evening,

Can you clarify what you mean when you said "miles do depreciate"?

Thanks!!
Probably what was meant is that miles you earn can become "devalued" by the airline.

I agree. In general, while 1 MR (or UR or TYP etc) will continue to be transferable to X miles in a particular airline program, over time the value of those X miles decreases as airline "enhance" their reward program. What used to take say 100K miles now takes 120K or move to dynamic pricing which leads to a variable figure (but almost certainly greater than 100K!)

Changes aren't always uniform, so there might be a few spots where things improve, but they are more the exception.

In addition, it's possible for the issuer to change the transfer ratio so you get less airline miles anyway, or drop a partner that you want to use. In the prepandemic world, a lot of users preached "earn and burn", i.e. use the points as soon as you have enough for a worthwhile redemption, because of the expected loss of value.

Re: amex plat question

kierkegaard — Sun, 29 May 2022 15:08:37 GMT

I've also been interested in getting an AmEx Plat (I take 2 international and 4-6ish domestic trips a year) and another member shared a useful link in a separate thread I was inquiring on: https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/credit-card-annual-fee-break-even-spending-guide/

If you can break even, sure; if you're unsure, you could potentially be spending money to spend money. Like others said, the value of these points "in escrow" isn't comparable from now to then and often isn't from one month to the next. If the credits included as cardholder benefits are useful for your consumer profile and you can take enough trips (and like who AmEx partners with for rewards points) to offset the cost, go for it.

Re: amex plat question

h2oeng — Sun, 29 May 2022 16:42:22 GMT

Everyone's situation is different, but I agree with several on here, if you don't travel much it may not be the best card for you. I have the Plat and will be picking up a Gold in a few months. I have all but +/-$200 of the AF ($870, have 2 AU's on it) covered with the "coupons". We, especially my wife travel a lot. She’s a flight attendant so none of our travel expenses are booked thru AMEX; I don't get the x5 points. We fly exclusively Delta so access to the Sky Lounge will well worth the $200 I'm light on the AF. Hell, my wife saves that in food cost in a few weeks by eating there instead of other restaurants when she’s flying to her “base” city.