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@Anonymous wrote: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.
Now you have that in your back pocket for parties. You can now say you do know someone!
I would explain the reasons that all of the above recommendations end up not working well for me, but that's getting off-topic. It's nothing against any of the stores (I actually rather like Williams-Sonoma), but the logistics of shopping at them are complicated in my case.
@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 depends on which card benefits you use most. Like do you use the ritz upgrades? The plat is better than the prestige card when it comes to benefits IMO. The only exception I can think of is if you have a lot of four night stays where you can use the fourth night free benefit. If you don't have that then I think the plat will cover most of the same benefits as the prestige.
@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.
? The plat will give access to centurion lounges. The plat will give spg/marriott/hilton gold status. Neither of those are you getting from the prestige. Rental insurance can be better via amex as well. These are just off the top of my head so they are not that overlapping. The prestige has really been torn down over time by Citi. I just closed mine recently and back when I got it, it was the best card in my whole collection.
iced wrote:
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.
Tell you what..?..I'll PM you my address, and you can send me those unused gift cards... I'll put them to good use 😄
especially since WS has a store 5 miles from me....
@red259 wrote:
@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.
? The plat will give access to centurion lounges. The plat will give spg/marriott/hilton gold status. Neither of those are you getting from the prestige. Rental insurance can be better via amex as well. These are just off the top of my head so they are not that overlapping. The prestige has really been torn down over time by Citi. I just closed mine recently and back when I got it, it was the best card in my whole collection.
Yup. Lounge access. Priority pass also. Hertz status. Hotel status. $200 travel credit, which, if you get the card this year you can get this year, and also on January 1, 2018 ($400 worth of southwest gift cards worked great for me within 2 months when I got my card...). Awesome car rental primary coverage CHEAP.... They charge for the rental period, not per day (and I'm thinking, as a Florida resident, I pay $15.25 for up to a 45 day rental, total!). Ft.Lauderdale based Customer support. I find value in it.. A LOT of value....
Book a flight using MR points and earn 5 points per dollar on the value of your free flight - beat that!
As best I can tell, the primary benefits of the Amex Platinum card and the MR points are: Delta flights, Delta lounges, and Centurian lounges. I live in a city where Delta has far fewer flights than United, Southwest, American, and Jet Blue. Delta flights only take me to Delta hubs, and that's not a fun way to fly. If I don't fly Delta, the Delta lounges are not an option. Centurion lounges are only in a few cities, and I never travel through those cities. I agree with iced's valuation of MR points. If I lived in Atlanta, I might have a different view.
@UpperNwGuy wrote:As best I can tell, the primary benefits of the Amex Platinum card and the MR points are: Delta flights, Delta lounges, and Centurian lounges. I live in a city where Delta has far fewer flights than United, Southwest, American, and Jet Blue. Delta flights only take me to Delta hubs, and that's not a fun way to fly. If I don't fly Delta, the Delta lounges are not an option. Centurion lounges are only in a few cities, and I never travel through those cities. I agree with iced's valuation of MR points. If I lived in Atlanta, I might have a different view.
Well, if there isn't a centurion or delta lounge, there is a priority pass lounge in pretty much every major airport, and you get priority pass membership for free!
Ahh... but I can get Priority Pass with several other less expensive credit cards. I have it through Chase Sapphire Reserve. And I might note, I only use Priority Pass overseas. The US lounges in the Priority Pass network are few, and they are often co-branded with foreign carriers who limit access in the late afternoon hours when you most need a lounge.
@UpperNwGuy wrote:As best I can tell, the primary benefits of the Amex Platinum card and the MR points are: Delta flights, Delta lounges, and Centurian lounges. I live in a city where Delta has far fewer flights than United, Southwest, American, and Jet Blue. Delta flights only take me to Delta hubs, and that's not a fun way to fly. If I don't fly Delta, the Delta lounges are also not an option. Centurion lounges are only in a few cities, and I never travel through those cities. I agree with iced's valuation of MR points. If I lived in Atlanta, I might have a different view.
The PP lounges as well, not to mention the hilton/marriott/spg status. In addition you wouldn't be able to use those miles with any of the MR travel partners at all? If you have no interest in flights then why would you even consider a card like this? I wouldn't say the points are worthless at all. I would just say that this isn't the card for some people. If people aren't going to be able to use the benefits or points its like buying a car but not knowing how to drive. The car isn't worthless. The person who bought it just doesn't use it.