topic Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card in Credit Cards

Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:20:08 GMT

Had my Zync for a while and not very thrilled with the rewards program so I canceled it.

Just apped and got approved for my Premier rewards gold card from American Express. It was an instant decision over the phone. Not sure what they pulled or what my credit score was upon approval.

I think it was easier for me to get approve because of my relationship with American Express.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Red1Blue — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:22:15 GMT

Why do you have to close it? You could have asked for product change.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

smc733 — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:25:27 GMT

I will be cancelling my Zync for a Blue Cash Everyday that I was recently approved for. No more annual fees for me. Will the rewards on the Gold Preferred really outweigh the hefty AF?

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Walt_K — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:35:36 GMT

@Red1Blue wrote:
Why do you have to close it? You could have asked for product change.

Wouldn't you have to do a PC if it was inside of 13 months because of the increase in fees? Besides that, if you PC you generally aren't eligible for the bonus points you'd get on a new application. And given Amex's backdating policy so that new cards don't show up as a new tradeline, unless I was very inquiry sensitive, I would always go for a new application for a card if I was eligible for the bonus.

As for whether the rewards outweigh the fee, really depends on your spending pattern. I love this card. I travel a decent amount for work. I probably have $20K in airfare this year that is reimbursed. With 3x points on flights, that's 60,000 MR points at no cost to me. Adding other business expenses (hotel, rental cars) and my normal spend on card, I exceed the $30K annual spend to get the additional 15K bonus points which alone helps to offset the annual fee. We also use it for gas and groceries for the 2x points. I realize there are other cards out there that earn 5% on gas and the 6% on groceries. But I value the MR points at a little over 2 cents, so it is like a 4% back. And I value having one reward currency so that we can redeem for business class airfare more quickly. All told this year, we will earn about 100K MR points. And only about $20K or so of that spend is out of pocket expense. So it works out for us.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:55:48 GMT

@Red1Blue wrote:
Why do you have to close it? You could have asked for product change.

PC is not an option with the Zync card. Once you have a Zync it stays a Zync. I've asked multiple different CSR about PC options and they all gave me the same response.However, green, gold and platinum have the option to PC to one another.

Zync IMO is probably one of the worst rewards card from AMEX, however; if you're planning to offset the rewards with the packages then it can be beneficial in some ways. Also, it's definitely a great card to get your foot in the door with AMEX. That's how I got my first AMEX, thanks to the wonderful Zync card. Now it's time to move on to more serious rewards.

@ SMC733

I will be including a few authorize users to offset the AF.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

in0wh3r3ul1v3 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:18:35 GMT

i'm just starting out with my zync...

is it true that when i choose to apply for the BCE card, amex will base the decision on the first pull done from when zync was opened? or am i misunderstanding?

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:48:05 GMT

@in0wh3r3ul1v3 wrote:
i'm just starting out with my zync...

is it true that when i choose to apply for the BCE card, amex will base the decision on the first pull done from when zync was opened? or am i misunderstanding?

Not exactly sure, but if you really want a BCE then I would wait about 1 year. Once you have some relationship with AMEX it will be easier for you to get approved.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:13:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
PC is not an option with the Zync card. Once you have a Zync it stays a Zync. I've asked multiple different CSR about PC options and they all gave me the same response.However, green, gold and platinum have the option to PC to one another.

Talking about PC options for zync, my pre-approval to upgrade from zync to platinum come back to haunt me again. And now it disappeared.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Alcibiades — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:06:20 GMT

Did you keep the Membership Rewards points you accumulated on your Zync?

There is not much reason to cancel the Zync. Zync offers 2x points on cable/internet and phone charges, restaurant dining, whole foods, etc (depending on your packs). I have accumulated aout 25K Membership Rewards Express Points with the Zync since May (10,000 sign up bonus, 15,000 in points). I will be applying for a either a gold or platinum card in the next few months, so the express points will be converted to regular MR points. But I still plan on keeping the Zync (annual fee and all) even after getting the new Amex charge card. It's the best looking Amex charge card (besdies Centurion) and offers the most.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:11:56 GMT

@Alcibiades wrote:
Did you keep the Membership Rewards points you accumulated on your Zync?

There is not much reason to cancel the Zync. Zync offers 2x points on cable/internet and phone charges, restaurant dining, whole foods, etc (depending on your packs). I have accumulated aout 25K Membership Rewards Express Points with the Zync since May (10,000 sign up bonus, 15,000 in points). I will be applying for a either a gold or platinum card in the next few months, so the express points will be converted to regular MR points. But I still plan on keeping the Zync (annual fee and all) even after getting the new Amex charge card. It's the best looking Amex charge card (besdies Centurion) and offers the most.

Yes I was able to keep the membership rewards point. I'm not exactly sure how they transfer the points since it's express rewards.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

doublespaces — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:37:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Red1Blue wrote:
Why do you have to close it? You could have asked for product change.
PC is not an option with the Zync card. Once you have a Zync it stays a Zync. I've asked multiple different CSR about PC options and they all gave me the same response.However, green, gold and platinum have the option to PC to one another.

Zync IMO is probably one of the worst rewards card from AMEX, however; if you're planning to offset the rewards with the packages then it can be beneficial in some ways. Also, it's definitely a great card to get your foot in the door with AMEX. That's how I got my first AMEX, thanks to the wonderful Zync card. Now it's time to move on to more serious rewards.

@ SMC733

I will be including a few authorize users to offset the AF.

This is news to me, bad news as I planned on PC from zync to gold.... Hmm.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:33:44 GMT

@doublespaces wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Red1Blue wrote:
Why do you have to close it? You could have asked for product change.
PC is not an option with the Zync card. Once you have a Zync it stays a Zync. I've asked multiple different CSR about PC options and they all gave me the same response.However, green, gold and platinum have the option to PC to one another.

Zync IMO is probably one of the worst rewards card from AMEX, however; if you're planning to offset the rewards with the packages then it can be beneficial in some ways. Also, it's definitely a great card to get your foot in the door with AMEX. That's how I got my first AMEX, thanks to the wonderful Zync card. Now it's time to move on to more serious rewards.

@ SMC733

I will be including a few authorize users to offset the AF.
This is news to me, bad news as I planned on PC from zync to gold.... Hmm.

Yeah that's unfortunate, you will have to apply for a brand new card.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Walt_K — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:22:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Yes I was able to keep the membership rewards point. I'm not exactly sure how they transfer the points since it's express rewards.

Once you add a regular MR card to your account, all MR Express points are automatically converted to regular MR points.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Gold's premiere card

Walt_K — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:23:57 GMT

@in0wh3r3ul1v3 wrote:
i'm just starting out with my zync...

is it true that when i choose to apply for the BCE card, amex will base the decision on the first pull done from when zync was opened? or am i misunderstanding?

You might be confusing this with the backdating policy. If you apply for a new amex card, your open date will be the current month, then the year that your first card was opened. It's still a new credit pull though.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Scene — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:52:12 GMT

rewards on any card are negligible, most cards offer 1-2% cashback for purchases and varying higher percentages for specific categories (usually within the range of 3-7%). PLUS some even have RESTRICTIONS (ie you can only spend xxx amount in a given quarter/period/year), making the "rewards" even more negligible. The rewards are basically a slap in the face to a credit card holder. you would think that these companies would offer more than 1-5% on purchases if they make more than 3 BILLION per year in credit swipe fees, alone (not including the amount earned from merchants and their associated fees).

Take for example my situation, i spent more than 187,000 in 1 month and if I applied that amount to a "rewards" program, i would only get 3740-4,000 (assuming some higher percent back, then lowered down to 1% standard after i reach a certain threshold) back WOW 3,740 and I had to spend 187,000 to get that much back! Sure some might say that 3,740 is alot but when you juxtapose the amount spent versus the amount of cash back, then that 3,740 starts to look very negligible or small.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:19:46 GMT

I agree with the above post, the rewards are definately small compared to the bigger picture of everything that's actually going through the card.

To me, as long as the rewards compensate for the annual fee (if any), and then offer anything above that, you're doing pretty good compared to paying with cash. I think more than rewards, having the other benefits and security that come a long with a good credit card and not to mention great customer service in the event that something does go wrong, is the primary benefit for most cards, because after all...you're almost on your own if you pay for cash and have no one to help you in a time of need.

I currently have the Zync and have been happy with the customer service alone, I'm not expecting too much out of the rewards, and might upgrade to a different product with AMEX in the next 6-12 months.

Re: Canceled my Zync and got myself a Premier rewards gold card

Walt_K — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:20:05 GMT

@Scene wrote:
rewards on any card are negligible, most cards offer 1-2% cashback for purchases and varying higher percentages for specific categories (usually within the range of 3-7%). PLUS some even have RESTRICTIONS (ie you can only spend xxx amount in a given quarter/period/year), making the "rewards" even more negligible. The rewards are basically a slap in the face to a credit card holder. you would think that these companies would offer more than 1-5% on purchases if they make more than 3 BILLION per year in credit swipe fees, alone (not including the amount earned from merchants and their associated fees).

Take for example my situation, i spent more than 187,000 in 1 month and if I applied that amount to a "rewards" program, i would only get 3740-4,000 (assuming some higher percent back, then lowered down to 1% standard after i reach a certain threshold) back WOW 3,740 and I had to spend 187,000 to get that much back! Sure some might say that 3,740 is alot but when you juxtapose the amount spent versus the amount of cash back, then that 3,740 starts to look very negligible or small.

Does it occur to you that they wouldn't be making such a tidy profit if they were giving more than 5% back on all purchases? Also, I don't think negligible means what you think it means.