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100K point offer for Amex Platinum

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SeattleSuperBowlChampions
New Contributor

100K point offer for Amex Platinum

I recieved an offer in the mail for 100k sign up bonus for the Amex platinum.  I've always wanted this card, but already have the Ritz Carlton and City prestige.  I may have to close the Ritz or Citi, but which one?  Is the 100k bonus worth it?  Roughly what is it worth?

BarclayCard - Rewards MC - 5,000 | Amex - Skymiles Platinum - 18,000 | Chase - Freedom - 3,000 | Chase - Hyatt - 5,000 | Amazon SC - 3,800 | Fidelity AMEX - 17,000 | Chase - Ritz - 10,000
Message 1 of 28
27 REPLIES 27
fltireguy
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum

It's absolutely worth it!

 

on a bad day, it's worth at least $1000. On a good day, 12-1500

NFCU $60.4k/PenFed $22.5k/Commerce $15K/53 $11K/Synovus $14K/BBT $11K/CapOne $12K/DCU $7.5K/BMO $7.5K/Chase $14.5k/Cabelas $10K/ and many many more!
Total CL $398600, plus car and RV loan.
Ooh. Ooh. Getting closer to that $500K mark!
Message 2 of 28
Gramz
Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum

Yeah I agree with Fltireguy, I myself is waiting to get my hands on the Platinum card. 

Gardening ‎10-13-2017

FICO 8[10-25-2017] EX: 706, EQ: 714, TU: 719
FICO 8[1-04-2018] EX: 714, EQ: 737, TU: 721
Message 3 of 28
iced
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@SeattleSuperBowlChampions wrote:

I recieved an offer in the mail for 100k sign up bonus for the Amex platinum.  I've always wanted this card, but already have the Ritz Carlton and City prestige.  I may have to close the Ritz or Citi, but which one?  Is the 100k bonus worth it?  Roughly what is it worth?


It's only worth it if you think it is. I personally value MR points at just about $0.00 per point so 100k wouldn't be worth it to me, but someone else may think they're worth much more. None of that matters though, because the only valuation that should matter to you is yours.

 

I don't understand why you would have to give up the Citi or Ritz to get the Platinum, though. They all have some overlapping benefits, but nothing on the Platinum is going to supercede the other two's key benefits.

Message 4 of 28
UpperNwGuy
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@iced wrote:

I personally value MR points at just about $0.00 per point


This comment just made my day!

Daily Carry: PenFed Power Cash • NFCU Flagship • NFCU More Rewards • Chase Freedom
Sock Drawer: PenFed Promise • NFCU cashRewards • Chase Sapphire Preferred • Chase Freedom Unlimited • United Explorer • UNFCU Azure
Message 5 of 28
MrDisco99
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum

Bare minimum they are worth 0.6 cents per point as statement credit. They are worth a lot more if you transfer to airlines, easily 1.5 to 2.0 without trying too hard and a lot more if you do premium class and/or special searches.
Message 6 of 28
fltireguy
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@iced wrote:

@SeattleSuperBowlChampions wrote:

I recieved an offer in the mail for 100k sign up bonus for the Amex platinum.  I've always wanted this card, but already have the Ritz Carlton and City prestige.  I may have to close the Ritz or Citi, but which one?  Is the 100k bonus worth it?  Roughly what is it worth?


It's only worth it if you think it is. I personally value MR points at just about $0.00 per point so 100k wouldn't be worth it to me, but someone else may think they're worth much more. None of that matters though, because the only valuation that should matter to you is yours.

 

I don't understand why you would have to give up the Citi or Ritz to get the Platinum, though. They all have some overlapping benefits, but nothing on the Platinum is going to supercede the other two's key benefits.


They'd be worth at least $700 or so even for Amazon

NFCU $60.4k/PenFed $22.5k/Commerce $15K/53 $11K/Synovus $14K/BBT $11K/CapOne $12K/DCU $7.5K/BMO $7.5K/Chase $14.5k/Cabelas $10K/ and many many more!
Total CL $398600, plus car and RV loan.
Ooh. Ooh. Getting closer to that $500K mark!
Message 7 of 28
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@MrDisco99 wrote:
Bare minimum they are worth 0.6 cents per point as statement credit. They are worth a lot more if you transfer to airlines, easily 1.5 to 2.0 without trying too hard and a lot more if you do premium class and/or special searches.

The easy 1.5 to 2.0 I never saw but you can get 1 cent on a lot of gift cards for places like the Gap, Old Navy, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn. I would not rate MR Points very high though as you can't even get 1 cent on Target or Walmart gift cards while you can get that rate from CITI thank you points.  I would say though with 100000 MR points and the 400 in airline gift cards you get the 550 dollar upfront fee could be worth it.  

 

I think it would be hard to get over 1 cent in value from MR Points right now as there are no transfer bonuses.  Delta I think are valued at 1.2 a point so you could transfer to Delta but they don't have a reward chart.  I would rate them less than that.  British Airways has terrible fuel surcharges.  I looked at a lot of transfer partners and the values over 1 cent are not real.  You have to transfer to a certain airline and then use with one of their partners if you can even find a flight.   

 

Compared to Southwest points or American Airline points MR points really are not very good.  

Message 8 of 28
iced
Valued Contributor

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@MrDisco99 wrote:
Bare minimum they are worth 0.6 cents per point as statement credit. They are worth a lot more if you transfer to airlines, easily 1.5 to 2.0 without trying too hard and a lot more if you do premium class and/or special searches.

For you, sure. For me, it's a little different. The only partner that I could leverage to any degree is Marriott via SPG, so I could redeem 100k points for 33,300 SPG points back to 99,900 Marriott points, which is worth about $600 to me. After spending the $550 AF and losing 4500 United miles (which I value at about 0.02/mile) in exchange for $3000 spend on the Platinum, I'm at about a $40 loss. If I moved $3000 of dining/travel spend over, that goes up to a 9000 point loss, or a $230 loss. Or, I could just eat the points and take the statement credit which would be $600, in which case I'm out the same amounts.

 

Now I get that my scenario probably sounds completely irrational to many here, but the reality is that my personal travel habits are such that I don't fly the airlines in the MR program, I don't collect points for any of the airlines in the MR program, and the 100k points themselves are insufficient to redeem for two tickets in a premium cabin to a destination I would spend points to visit. I don't want to divert spending to build up enough points to book such a flight via MR when I have already done so many times over via UR/MileagePlus. I am also not going to waste a new account, $550 in AF, and $3000 in spend lost on programs I use regularly so that I can get a few free domestic economy tickets, either. That leaves the SPG conversion, which the math tells me is also already a loss. 

 

As for other routes, such as gift cards....well, sigh. Let's see....I have a $200 Lowe's gift card in my desk that's a few years old and I can't find a use for, $130 in gift credit on Amazon and nothing to spend it on, a $100 Nordstrom gift card and I don't even know the last time I went there, a $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card from last year, and a stack about an inch thick of other random $20 or $25 cards given to me over the years for places I don't shop at or eat at. I'm not about to go wasting a new account on $550 so I can add to that pile.

 

Does any of this mean MR is worthless to everyone? Absolutely not. Rather, my point is that the idea of universal minimum value for *any* reward program out there neglects the travel and spending habits of the individual, and those habits must be considered as part of the value. This is why a common theme on many posts is that a value is situational or YMMV or depends on your travel/spending habits. It's no different here.

Message 9 of 28
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 100K point offer for Amex Platinum


@iced wrote:

@MrDisco99 wrote:
Bare minimum they are worth 0.6 cents per point as statement credit. They are worth a lot more if you transfer to airlines, easily 1.5 to 2.0 without trying too hard and a lot more if you do premium class and/or special searches.

For you, sure. For me, it's a little different. The only partner that I could leverage to any degree is Marriott via SPG, so I could redeem 100k points for 33,300 SPG points back to 99,900 Marriott points, which is worth about $600 to me. After spending the $550 AF and losing 4500 United miles (which I value at about 0.02/mile) in exchange for $3000 spend on the Platinum, I'm at about a $40 loss. If I moved $3000 of dining/travel spend over, that goes up to a 9000 point loss, or a $230 loss. Or, I could just eat the points and take the statement credit which would be $600, in which case I'm out the same amounts.

 

Now I get that my scenario probably sounds completely irrational to many here, but the reality is that my personal travel habits are such that I don't fly the airlines in the MR program, I don't collect points for any of the airlines in the MR program, and the 100k points themselves are insufficient to redeem for two tickets in a premium cabin to a destination I would spend points to visit. I don't want to divert spending to build up enough points to book such a flight via MR when I have already done so many times over via UR/MileagePlus. I am also not going to waste a new account, $550 in AF, and $3000 in spend lost on programs I use regularly so that I can get a few free domestic economy tickets, either. That leaves the SPG conversion, which the math tells me is also already a loss. 

 

As for other routes, such as gift cards....well, sigh. Let's see....I have a $200 Lowe's gift card in my desk that's a few years old and I can't find a use for, $130 in gift credit on Amazon and nothing to spend it on, a $100 Nordstrom gift card and I don't even know the last time I went there, a $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card from last year, and a stack about an inch thick of other random $20 or $25 cards given to me over the years for places I don't shop at or eat at. I'm not about to go wasting a new account on $550 so I can add to that pile.

 

Does any of this mean MR is worthless to everyone? Absolutely not. Rather, my point is that the idea of universal minimum value for *any* reward program out there neglects the travel and spending habits of the individual, and those habits must be considered as part of the value. This is why a common theme on many posts is that a value is situational or YMMV or depends on your travel/spending habits. It's no different here.


I can't think of anyone who could not find a use for a Williams and Sonoma card.  If you don't need pots, knives, appliances, kitchen gadgets you could certainly order some cookies, coffee, tea or croisants.  Or even order a turkey.  And Lowes you could buy garbage bags and paper towels.  

Message 10 of 28
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