topic Re: Charge Cards in Credit Cards

Charge Cards

Skye12329 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:51:51 GMT

I guess im a little confused on why people have them? Like i know you need to PIF every month on them, but is the AF fee worth it? Also you accumulate MR right, does that go quickly like built up wise? Also whats the difference between gold and green charge?

Re: Charge Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:54:45 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
I guess im a little confused on why people have them? Like i know you need to PIF every month on them, but is the AF fee worth it? Also you accumulate MR right, does that go quickly like built up wise? Also whats the difference between gold and green charge?

You PIF before the next billing cycle ends.

You earn MR's and can accumulate.

Green is $95 AF, Gold is $125 AF

Re: Charge Cards

jsucool76 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:59:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Skye12329 wrote:
I guess im a little confused on why people have them? Like i know you need to PIF every month on them, but is the AF fee worth it? Also you accumulate MR right, does that go quickly like built up wise? Also whats the difference between gold and green charge?
You PIF before the next billing cycle ends.

You earn MR's and can accumulate.

Green is $95 AF, Gold is $125 AF

Green card earns 1MR point per dollar spent, and 2x on "eligible purchases through amex travel" 95$ annual fee

Gold card is 1 MR point per dollar spent, and 2x on "eligible purchases through amex travel" - 125$ annual fee

premier rewards gold card is 3xMR on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, 2x on gas and supermarkets, and 1x on everything else. - 175$ annual fee

in my opinion the gold card is just a green card in makeup that costs more.

Eligible purchases are travel purchases, excluding car reservations, non-prepaid hotels, and Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings, booked through amextravel.com on your Membership Rewards program-enrolled American Express® Card. To earn 2X points on each dollar of eligible purchases, you must charge air, prepaid hotel, vacation packages (flight + hotel packages), American Express Vacations packages or cruise reservations through amextravel.com to your eligible, Membership Rewards program-enrolled American Express Card.

The annual fee is worth it if you can make it worth it and earn enough points. With the introduction of the everyday and everyday preferred cards, the charge cards seem to be becoming less and less useful. They used to be the only cards that earned transferrable membership rewards points, now, not so much.

Re: Charge Cards

js0319 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:59:20 GMT

The underwriting standards seem to be lower on charge cards vs. credit cards with AMEX. For many, like myself, it was a way in. I used it like I would have used a debit card, but I accumulated MR points, I didn't have to pay the $175 fee for the first year, and I received a 25k point spend bonus. 11 months later, I was approved for the EDP with a $15k CL.

Re: Charge Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:10:14 GMT

I have the Green card now and just got the Everyday. I think the ED card is going to take the place of the green card. I like the idea of having a charge card with amex and their backdating helps my score quite a bit. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Platinum for the ancillary benefits, the MR points alone won't justify the AF for me.

Re: Charge Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:13:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have the Green card now and just got the Everyday. I think the ED card is going to take the place of the green card. I like the idea of having a charge card with amex and their backdating helps my score quite a bit. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Platinum for the ancillary benefits, the MR points alone won't justify the AF for me.

I got the PRG and ED together off the same HP.

Got backdated to 2010 when i got my Blue Sky.

Re: Charge Cards

red259 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:14:25 GMT

@js0319 wrote:
The underwriting standards seem to be lower on charge cards vs. credit cards with AMEX. For many, like myself, it was a way in. I used it like I would have used a debit card, but I accumulated MR points, I didn't have to pay the $175 fee for the first year, and I received a 25k point spend bonus. 11 months later, I was approved for the EDP with a $15k CL.

+1 I applied for the PRG because I wanted to make sure to get my foot in the door. I ended up being instantly approved for the BCP the same day on the same pull. Would I have gotten the PRG if I knew for certain I was going to get the revolver? Probably not, but I do use it still and did get a nice bonus out of it. If I had it to do over again I would not have gotten the PRG at all and would have waited for one of the massive plat signup offers and jumped on that, but I made a calculated decision and have no regrets. I also have the chase ink bold which is a biz charge card. I applied for it for same reason, I thought it would be easier to get than the revolver and I wanted the signup bonus etc.

Re: Charge Cards

jsucool76 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:21:44 GMT

@Laddi wrote:
@Skye12329 wrote:
I guess im a little confused on why people have them? Like i know you need to PIF every month on them, but is the AF fee worth it? Also you accumulate MR right, does that go quickly like built up wise? Also whats the difference between gold and green charge?
I could never understand the logic either. I believe their are some good rewards credit cards without an annual fee. I would never apply for one.

They're definitely worth it for the in with amex, and the signup bonuses with the waived first year annual fee.

Re: Charge Cards

red259 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 04:42:05 GMT

Also it should be pointed out that there are some charge cards like the Amex plat that people are getting for the perks of the card. The card itself is not great, but the benefits that come with it can offset the AF and be quite valuable to someone who is a frequent traveller. Of course, you have to be really honest with yourself about whether or not you are going to gain enough value out of the card. Most people will not IMO, but there are some people who definitely do.

Re: Charge Cards

jsucool76 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 10:06:37 GMT

The Amex platinum card is for the benefits. The rest of the charge cards are pretty much garbage. Lol.

Re: Charge Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:03:33 GMT

@jsucool76 wrote:
The Amex platinum card is for the benefits. The rest of the charge cards are pretty much garbage. Lol.

Not really.

It's kind of a prestige thing. Not that the new generation sees it that way however.

Re: Charge Cards

takeshi74 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:14:13 GMT

@Skye12329 wrote:
Like i know you need to PIF every month on them, but is the AF fee worth it? Also you accumulate MR right, does that go quickly like built up wise?

Both subjective matters. Worth is always subjective regardless of topic. There are certainly those that find the AF on AmEx charge cards worth it or they wouldn't hold the cards and AmEx wouldn't have any reason to offer them. You really just need to review the cards and see if they suit you. It's no different than it is with any card -- charge or credit.

One's spend and the earn rate on MR points for the given card dicates how quickly one accumulates MR points. Spend isn't the same for everyone. Aagain, you need to consider your specifics versus the cards. If you know your spend and the earn rates then you can figure out how quickly you'd accrue MR points.

Something that you're probably overlooking with charge cards is that they don't impact revolving utilization with current scoring models. Some of the older models did factor them into revolving utilization. If one has a lot of expenses that get reimbursed then that's just one example of where a charge card can be useful.

@Skye12329 wrote:
Also whats the difference between gold and green charge?

This is covered on the AmEx site and they even have a comparison tool. We're certainly happy to address specific questions but you're basically asking us to do all the research for you. At least read up on the AmEx site first. For one thing, there isn't just one Gold card.

@Laddi wrote:
I could never understand the logic either. I believe their are some good rewards credit cards without an annual fee.

You're conflating your needs/wants with logic. Again, it's subejctive and some will find X worth it while others will not. Don't simply dismiss cards with AF's and make sure you're considering total cost/benefit for your specific situation.

@jsucool76 wrote:
The Amex platinum card is for the benefits.

Even the Platinum isn't worth it to everyone. Each needs to determine whether a given card works for the individual or not. No card is one-size-fits-all.

@Anonymous wrote:
It's kind of a prestige thing. Not that the new generation sees it that way however.

Has nothing to do with generation. It's a matter of the specific individual. There are people for whom "prestige" matters from every generation and there are those for whom it does not matter from various generations.

Re: Charge Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:17:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have the Green card now and just got the Everyday. I think the ED card is going to take the place of the green card. I like the idea of having a charge card with amex and their backdating helps my score quite a bit. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Platinum for the ancillary benefits, the MR points alone won't justify the AF for me.

+1 for strategy.