topic Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it? in Credit Cards

AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

JKSIMMONS — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 23:14:38 GMT

For some reason I really want an AMEX charger. I think it's a prestige thing. Probably the Gold or PRG. but I just can't seem to justify it. The AF is really high and I get all the same benefits on my BCE and my NFCU Flagship card(which I will never use) and I get better rewards (on the BCE, soon to be BCP). I guess i'm just looking for some convincing by all the Green, Gold, and PRG users out there.

***I'm not referring to the Platinum. I know people with the Platinum will come out of the woodork with all of the reasons it makes sense. I don't want one.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

B335is — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 23:32:20 GMT

PRG makes sense for the signup bonus.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

newUser0 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 00:02:26 GMT

I feel 25K bonus is not that worth.

Personally, I value UR More than MR

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 01:11:40 GMT

With the advent of the Everyday and Everyday Preferred, charge cards make less sense for the average user. The Plat has its (decreasing) advantages for frequent travelers and heavy spenders can make use of the bonus and no supermarket cap on the PRG, but others can probably do better with the Everyday. Green and normal gold made little sense even before the ED/EDP!

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 02:06:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
With the advent of the Everyday and Everyday Preferred, charge cards make less sense for the average user. The Plat has its (decreasing) advantages for frequent travelers and heavy spenders can make use of the bonus and no supermarket cap on the PRG, but others can probably do better with the Everyday. Green and normal gold made little sense even before the ED/EDP!

Exactly what I was thinking...

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

CreditScholar — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 02:09:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
With the advent of the Everyday and Everyday Preferred, charge cards make less sense for the average user. The Plat has its (decreasing) advantages for frequent travelers and heavy spenders can make use of the bonus and no supermarket cap on the PRG, but others can probably do better with the Everyday. Green and normal gold made little sense even before the ED/EDP!
Exactly what I was thinking...

+1. The only charge card that makes sense now is the plat, and even that's getting harder to justify. The EDP will be better than the PRG for most everyone unless you really need the NPSL feature.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

eagle2013 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 05:09:39 GMT

I could see the use of a charge card for someone who either has very high monthly spend or travels with re-imbursable business expenses. Personally it would drive me nuts to have a hard credit limit and balancing utilization with such high, variable monthly spend.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

asulaw — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:20:52 GMT

Well, consider the bonus for 30k of spending also with the PRG. Also, you can find a lot of good sign up bonuses for the PRG they used to have 75k, and they will probably bring it back. I love points, but yes the Everyday has absolutely caught my eye. Though, as someone else has said, the everyday has a limit on the spending bonus. Platinum is definitely not a card meant for people who do not travel. So I'm not sure honestly either on what is worth it, but you don't get a point bonus for traveling with the Everyday.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

takeshi74 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:09:15 GMT

@hwturner17 wrote:
AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Subjective just as worth is on any topic. If it was universally worth it then everyone would have (or want) one. If was universally not worth it then no one would have (or want) one. The reality isn't just one or the other -- same as any other card out there. The AmEx charge cards are not worth it to me as I have no use for MR points, my spend is pretty regular from month to month so my limits put my utilization at 10% or less and the benefits of the charge cards aren't significant enough for me. YMMV.

@hwturner17 wrote:
For some reason I really want an AMEX charger. I think it's a prestige thing. Probably the Gold or PRG. but I just can't seem to justify it.

You're the one that has to justify it. If prestige is the only reason and that doesn't justify it for you then it doesn't sound like its worth it to you.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

DrZoidberg — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:12:38 GMT

Getting a NPSL simply for "prestige" is not really worth it. For me, a card is valuable if the benefit of using it exceeds the cost. This is how I justify any new card or to keep any current cards (except ones that I have had longer than 5 years). You mentioned you had reservations about how high the AF is. This should be your first flag of not getting the card. Anytime the AF poses a threat, you should just walk away.

Or you could just be an AU like me and get all the benefits without having to pay

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

ACsteel — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:14:55 GMT

@hwturner17 wrote:
For some reason I really want an AMEX charger. I think it's a prestige thing. Probably the Gold or PRG. but I just can't seem to justify it. The AF is really high and I get all the same benefits on my BCE and my NFCU Flagship card(which I will never use) and I get better rewards (on the BCE, soon to be BCP). I guess i'm just looking for some convincing by all the Green, Gold, and PRG users out there.

***I'm not referring to the Platinum. I know people with the Platinum will come out of the woodork with all of the reasons it makes sense. I don't want one.

The benefits are definitely not worth it, there are so many CCs w/better rewards, but I think you know that. Now on to the prestige thing, you may think (perhaps b/c you're new to the credit game) that the general population is in awe of an AMEX charge, but for financially savvy people especially in a metropolis region, AMEX is very outdated and some people may even scoff at an AMEX card as being old and silly. When I had my platinum a lot of people in person would question me why I would ever want to pay 450 for such a horrible card, needless to say I smarten up and cancelled it before I had to ever pay an AF.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Fico2Go — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:31:17 GMT

I would disagree with some of the arguements against PRG. I have noticed that the card does make people look closer at you as a user.

Conversely you are also likely to be asked for an ID if u are not dressed appropriately to "match?" the profile of a PRG amex user.

Having said all that this prestige thing with PRG and amex charge cards is a false benefit unless the NPSL in someway benefits you.

I personally have a PRG and will be keeping it simply for the rewards of booking flights and the NPSL feature.

Thanks PRG for my free 25K points but thanks even more to my newly approved AMEX BLUE card with 5% cashback after $6000 initial spending.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:55:18 GMT

@Fico2Go wrote:
I would disagree with some of the arguements against PRG. I have noticed that the card does make people look closer at you as a user.
Conversely you are also likely to be asked for an ID if u are not dressed appropriately to "match?" the profile of a PRG amex user.

Having said all that this prestige thing with PRG and amex charge cards is a false benefit unless the NPSL in someway benefits you.
I personally have a PRG and will be keeping it simply for the rewards of booking flights and the NPSL feature.

Thanks PRG for my free 25K points but thanks even more to my newly approved AMEX BLUE card with 5% cashback after $6000 initial spending.

$6,500 actually! Each year.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

budugu — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 19:05:58 GMT

get a fee free first year card and then move to senior gold card or something. There is no use for them but i guess you can have it for a year to two before you are bored of it

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

14Fiesta — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 20:55:30 GMT

They have a use for people like me, who want to establish a relationship with AMEX, with limited history, and perhaps lock in a MSD.

But if you have a thick file, are with AMEX already, and don't need the NPSL feature, I would say they are not that useful.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

maiden_girl — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:09:35 GMT

The AF to me isn't worth it...and you have to PIF every month. You could have a credit trouble and would rather take the interest and PIF later or have it revovle. Don't have that option with a charger.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

heyitsyeh — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:35:38 GMT

I know that the PRG rewards large spending...you basically get your AF paid off if you reach a certain spend in a year. I'm not even close to that level and don't feel that offloading all my spending from potential high-rewards cards into this one just to offset a fee is worth the trouble. The Everyday card is in many ways the new face of Amex.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Fico2Go — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:00:13 GMT

Amex Everyday the new face of Amex?

I beg to differ. Even with the annual fee there is a competitive advantage the prg offers when it comes to booking airline tickets @ 3% MR.

At 2% MR @ $30,000 spend u could earn $600 worth of rewards. Add another 15,000 bonus that equals $750.

Well worth the AF and NPSL convenience.

If u were to spend $30,000 a year with everyday card what could u earn?

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:04:58 GMT

@Fico2Go wrote:
Amex Everyday the new face of Amex?

@I beg to differ. Even with the annual fee there is a competitive advantage the prg offers when it comes to booking airline tickets @ 3% MR.

@Anonymous 2% MR @ $30,000 spend u could earn $600 worth of rewards. Add another 15,000 bonus that equals $750.

Well worth the AF and NPSL convenience.

If u were to spend $30,000 a year with everyday card what could u earn?

It all depends on the spend. The EDP (which is the competitor for PRG, not the ED) earns 1.5MR on all non category spending. So if you have a lot of that, that outstrips the 1MR, and the higher grocery benefit, even though capped also helps.

But yes, for some the PRG is still better, but for many ED/EDP will be a good choice.

Re: AMEX Chargers- Are they still worth it?

Fico2Go — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 01:12:05 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Fico2Go wrote:
Amex Everyday the new face of Amex?

@I beg to differ. Even with the annual fee there is a competitive advantage the prg offers when it comes to booking airline tickets @ 3% MR.

@Anonymous 2% MR @ $30,000 spend u could earn $600 worth of rewards. Add another 15,000 bonus that equals $750.

Well worth the AF and NPSL convenience.

If u were to spend $30,000 a year with everyday card what could u earn?

It all depends on the spend. The EDP (which is the competitor for PRG, not the ED) earns 1.5MR on all non category spending. So if you have a lot of that, that outstrips the 1MR, and the higher grocery benefit, even though capped also helps.

But yes, for some the PRG is still better, but for many ED/EDP will be a good choice.

Seems to me 1.5 MR in almost all instances are valued at 1.5C per dollar spent. In this case, many products including Capital One QS can give 1.5% cashback on all transactions. Even my paypal debit card pays 1.5% cashback. IMO choosing anything with less than 1.5% cashback or 1.5 MR is giving up a lot of better opportunities in the marketplace. Even a 1.5% or 1.5 MR card would be costly to keep..

For me without the 3% airline category I would pass on the PRG since there are many other products outpacing 2% cashback or MRs.

The PRG is also my 911 card for things and unexpected expenses. That's when the NPSL comes in handy.