AMEX I closed my accounts

[Anonymous]

Although surprising, I guess the silver lining is you did trim the fat and that's always a good thing.

[Anonymous]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

I honestly wanted to trim some of the "fat" and while others may think AMEX is the bomb diggity, I have not been very impressed at all. 

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I don’t get the allure either, I find the Gold card pretty underwhelming and the Platinum very mediocre.

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

I honestly wanted to trim some of the "fat" and while others may think AMEX is the bomb diggity, I have not been very impressed at all. 

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I don’t get the allure either, I find the Gold card pretty underwhelming and the Platinum very mediocre.

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I'm not an MR user, but these type of opinions usually just mean that the cards don't fit your spending or your reward needs (or that you are using them wrongly!)  An equivalent example would be something like the Amex BCP, if  you don't drive, and eat out, you won't agree with others who think it's worth the AF!

So IMO it's not a question of general allure, just, as with all cards, does this fit my needs.  And OP obviously found it didn't, at least with the CLs.

[wasCB14]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

I honestly wanted to trim some of the "fat" and while others may think AMEX is the bomb diggity, I have not been very impressed at all. 

---

I don’t get the allure either, I find the Gold card pretty underwhelming and the Platinum very mediocre.

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I'm not an MR user, but these type of opinions usually just mean that the cards don't fit your spending or your reward needs (or that you are using them wrongly!)  An equivalent example would be something like the Amex BCP, if  you don't drive, and eat out, you won't agree with others who think it's worth the AF!

So IMO it's not a question of general allure, just, as with all cards, does this fit my needs.  And OP obviously found it didn't, at least with the CLs.

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Amex Platinum has been around since 1984. A lot of other premium cards have appeared and disappeared in that time. CSR is a major challenger but still a pretty new arrival (2016).

While many of us like to chase bonuses and churn the variants of Platinum, it's not that rare for normal customers to keep a single Platinum account for a decade or more. That suggests happy customers.

It's definitely not for everyone. People who get value from it tend to have disposable income, travel at least occasionally, and have a good "footprint" match (stay at Hilton or Marriott, fly out of the right terminals, etc.).

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

I honestly wanted to trim some of the "fat" and while others may think AMEX is the bomb diggity, I have not been very impressed at all. 

---

I don’t get the allure either, I find the Gold card pretty underwhelming and the Platinum very mediocre.

---

I'm not an MR user, but these type of opinions usually just mean that the cards don't fit your spending or your reward needs (or that you are using them wrongly!)  An equivalent example would be something like the Amex BCP, if  you don't drive, and eat out, you won't agree with others who think it's worth the AF!

So IMO it's not a question of general allure, just, as with all cards, does this fit my needs.  And OP obviously found it didn't, at least with the CLs.

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The credits on both cards are very gimmicky, limiting & situational. The Gold offering 4x on groceries and restaurants is counter intuitive.  The Platinum you’re only allowed to choose 1 airline and several airlines have broken ties with Amex.  Several hoops must be jumped through to break even on a Platinum after the first year.

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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I'm not an MR user, but these type of opinions usually just mean that the cards don't fit your spending or your reward needs (or that you are using them wrongly!)  An equivalent example would be something like the Amex BCP, if  you don't drive, and eat out, you won't agree with others who think it's worth the AF!

So IMO it's not a question of general allure, just, as with all cards, does this fit my needs.  And OP obviously found it didn't, at least with the CLs.

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The credits on both cards are very gimmicky, limiting & situational. The Gold offering 4x on groceries and restaurants is counter intuitive.  The Platinum you’re only allowed to choose 1 airline and several airlines have broken ties with Amex.  Several hoops must be jumped through to break even on a Platinum after the first year.

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Are you upset by the fact that Gold is versatile as far as food? You'd rather just have one or the other?

It's not often that people complain about having too many 4x bonus categories!

[TheFIGuy]

"It's not often that people complain about having too many 4x bonus categories!"—This exactly!

[longtimelurker]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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I'm not an MR user, but these type of opinions usually just mean that the cards don't fit your spending or your reward needs (or that you are using them wrongly!)  An equivalent example would be something like the Amex BCP, if  you don't drive, and eat out, you won't agree with others who think it's worth the AF!

So IMO it's not a question of general allure, just, as with all cards, does this fit my needs.  And OP obviously found it didn't, at least with the CLs.

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The credits on both cards are very gimmicky, limiting & situational. The Gold offering 4x on groceries and restaurants is counter intuitive.  The Platinum you’re only allowed to choose 1 airline and several airlines have broken ties with Amex.  Several hoops must be jumped through to break even on a Platinum after the first year.

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Are you upset by the fact that Gold is versatile as far as food? You'd rather just have one or the other?

It's not often that people complain about having too many 4x bonus categories!

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Perhaps solway meant "offering on gold and not on plat" is counter-intuitive (better rewards on a lower-tier card).   But who knows.

[wasCB14]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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Perhaps solway meant "offering on gold and not on plat" is counter-intuitive (better rewards on a lower-tier card).   But who knows.

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That could be it.

I think of Platinum as more of a perks membership than a rewards card. So to me it's not weird that Gold has better rewards.

[ChargedUp]

My BCE was slow to grow as well, starting at the same $1K. It *finally* made it to $8K recently. With a real limit, I've actually been putting some decent spend on it and I also bit on the BCP upgrade/SUB. My family goes through groceries like crazy, so hitting the SUB and maxing out the 6% grocery category won't be any kind of issue. Once that's done, grocery spend will go back to the Gold Card.

I closed my Ebates for the very same reasons you left Amex. I know what you're feeling, and it feels good to trim the low hanging fruit off your portfolio. Congrats!