AMEX Charge Cards

[Anonymous]

I know that they are not technically credit cards, so I hope this is the right forum....

I don't really see what the AMEX charge cards are good for, I feel like the annual fee outweigh any rewards value and that there are better point programs out there. Is the AMEX card just a status symbol and purely hubris? Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

The Charge Card is ideally for the person who PIF every month and doesn't wanted to be limited by a static credit line. They are especially useful for business who can spend tens of thousands of dollars on them without having to worry about going over a certain credit limit. Same reason for a person who doesn't want to be limited by a credit limit.

[red259]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The Charge Card is ideally for the person who PIF every month and doesn't wanted to be limited by a static credit line. They are especially useful for business who can spend tens of thousands of dollars on them without having to worry about going over a certain credit limit. Same reason for a person who doesn't want to be limited by a credit limit.

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+1 This is basically the benefit, to not be limited by a credit line. Some of the high end charge cards people also get in order to use the benefits. 

[grinlikechelsea]

There are two reasons why I had a PRG.

1) With relatively new history, my cards were not at the limits I needed. So the PRG bridged the gap for big expenses.

2) MR point accumulation for travel was nice, as well as the typical AmEx benefits.

[Anonymous]

Far enough guys. Never thought of it that way. Thanks for the insights and opinions.

[grinlikechelsea]

You're welcome. I generally wouldn't recommend a charge card unless you're trying to get your foot in the door with AmEx since you have to spend quite a bit to offset the AF after the first year.

[Eschaton]

At the time, it was just so I can get "in" with AmEx. I was supposed to close the now defunct ZYNC card a long time ago. From what the entire community was saying, it's the easiest card to get approved for.

Never got around to cancelling it since I had trouble applying for the BCE on the website.. after awhile, I just really stopped carding about credit scores and whatnot and left it alone. 

For low spenders like myself, that never charges more than 2k a month, it doesn't really have much practical use. Still good to have if you have no AmEx cards though. 

[takeshi74]

Approvals can also be a bit easier with the charge cards so some use them to get their foot in the door with AmEx.  Doesn't hurt to get your MSD established with AmEx for backdating future cards.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't really see what the AMEX charge cards are good for, I feel like the annual fee outweigh any rewards value and that there are better point programs out there. Is the AMEX card just a status symbol and purely hubris? Any thoughts?

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As with any topic, "good" and "better" are subjective.  Many do benefit from MR.  Most of them probably have much more spend than you do.  Personally, MR doesn't do anything for me since I can't transfer to any of my preferred travel companies.  That's one reason why I don't have any AmEx charge cards.  I do have a couple of revolvers though that are of use to me.  You have to go with whatever works for you.

[One7]

People keep saying their charge cards are easier to get, I've been trying for the past 6 months and still haven't been able to get one, yet just this month I applied for the SPG and got instant approval.  I'm going to garden and try again this fall