Amex Appeal

[recoveringfrombk7]

I'm excited for AMEX because I burned Chase in BK, so my decision is made for me in terms of which rewards system will benefit me best.

[wasCB14]

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@Remedios wrote:

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@dacv01 wrote:

IMO it goes way back... AMEX pioneered the way for charge cards, especially business cards. It was very impressive to smack your green, gold, or hell platinum when you were with your clients. The rewards and benefits speak for themselves. They have evolved into a status symbol not only for business cards but also personal. I made it a point to do whatever I could for AMEX to get back in, and I will carry it for life. 

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If they speak for themselves,  why "smack" them when with clients? 

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If you were able to get three with a ~575 EX, isn't "status symbol" a bit of a stretch?

I like the cards. They work well for me. But they're not status symbols.

...unless we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status.

[K-in-Boston]

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@wasCB14 wrote:
we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status

 You rang?

[notmyrealname23]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:
we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status

 You rang?

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Even there for me the decision is $$$.

I don't find Delta status boosts the Delta AMEX cards give you to be worth the AF, lounge access is "meh, I can mostly live without it unless it comes with my longhaul international business/first ticket", baggage fee waivers are "LOL, I don't check baggage if I can possibly avoid it", and SkyPesos aren't what I would pick to fly longhaul international business 90% of the time (and it's basically impossible to use them to fly longhaul international first). Frankly your earn rates on the AMEX Platinum Gold and Green bonus categories as a SkyMiles conversion trump the DL Amex card earn rates anyway (most airline cards are like that, weaksauce as earn, you are often better off earning using a flexible miles currency and transferring when you want to redeem- the big reason is usually baggage waiver, lounge access or status boosts + a nifty SUB). That being said, if you live in a Delta hub/focus city and are using them all the time I can see that the math would work better if you NEED that status bump to ever get an upgrade.

But Hilton Aspire? (does some math based on future travel decisions) OK. The ongoing benefits pencil out, so my SUB makes sense if AMEX is going to limit me to 4 cards tops. But for other people the math might be Marriott or Delta...

[krmurrayjr10]

Some experiences I've had over the past year that have made American Express a valuable brand to me:

I could transfer 100,000 valuable Membership Rewards points to Air Canada and with the resulting Air Canada miles book Lufthansa business class from Philadelphia to Frankfurt and back for $1300. The direct cash price for that ticket was almost $7,000.

American Express issues the top-tier credit cards for 2 of the biggest hotel chains in the world: Marriott and Hilton. With my Hilton Aspire card from Amex, I automatically have Diamond status with Hilton, including free breakfast at Hilton hotels, free upgrades, etc.

If I want another Amex card, I can be approved without another hard pull of my credit, saving me a few FICO points. They even gave me a personal loan last year, with just a few taps on my mobile phone - the whole process couldn't have been easier.

With the Platinum card I have access to any Centurion or Priority Pass lounge, or Delta Sky Club when flying Delta, meaning I have a quieter place to relax before a flight and complimentary snacks and drinks.

Even with current economic conditions, Amex hasn't cut the limit on any of my revolvers with them or set a limit on any of my charge cards. This is in contrast to Citi, which cut one of my revolvers by $1k, and I'm not even carrying a balance on it.

Cashiers don't care what card anyone pays with, and I don't use Amex for the "prestige" of handing over one of their cards. Even though I pay quite a bit in annual fees to Amex, I get outsize value for those fees, and that's why those cards get most of my spend.

[K-in-Boston]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:
we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status

 You rang?

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Even there for me the decision is $$$.

I don't find Delta status boosts the Delta AMEX cards give you to be worth the AF, lounge access is "meh, I can mostly live without it unless it comes with my longhaul international business/first ticket", baggage fee waivers are "LOL, I don't check baggage if I can possibly avoid it", and SkyPesos aren't what I would pick to fly longhaul international business 90% of the time (and it's basically impossible to use them to fly longhaul international first). Frankly your earn rates on the AMEX Platinum Gold and Green bonus categories as a SkyMiles conversion trump the DL Amex card earn rates anyway (most airline cards are like that, weaksauce as earn, you are often better off earning using a flexible miles currency and transferring when you want to redeem- the big reason is usually baggage waiver, lounge access or status boosts + a nifty SUB). That being said, if you live in a Delta hub/focus city and are using them all the time I can see that the math would work better if you NEED that status bump to ever get an upgrade...

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Paying annual fees won't give you a status boost, but spending in increments of $25k/$30k on the Platinum SkyMiles and Reserve card can.  Delta has not gone the way of Hilton of selling status cheaply.  The companion tickets on those cards more than cover the AF, but I agree there's no reason other than MQD waiver and Status Boost to actually spend on the cards if you have other cards that earn more.

I am tall and don't fit comfortably in Main Cabin without an exit row, so I would normally buy Comfort+ anyway.  Having Platinum Medallion can save me thousands of dollars each year because I can buy a Main Cabin seat and immediately choose a Comfort+ seat at no charge.

I'm not sure why you would say that longhaul international in F is basically impossible.  I frequently see Delta One widely available to Asia and Europe for 80-100k SkyMiles, and even less sometimes during the flash sales that Delta does a lot.

[JNA1]

Simple. $553.65 cash back earned to date this year on my BCP and DW’s Cash Magnet. 👍

[digitek]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:
we're talking Hilton/Marriott/Delta status

 You rang?

---

Even there for me the decision is $$$.

I don't find Delta status boosts the Delta AMEX cards give you to be worth the AF, lounge access is "meh, I can mostly live without it unless it comes with my longhaul international business/first ticket", baggage fee waivers are "LOL, I don't check baggage if I can possibly avoid it", and SkyPesos aren't what I would pick to fly longhaul international business 90% of the time (and it's basically impossible to use them to fly longhaul international first). Frankly your earn rates on the AMEX Platinum Gold and Green bonus categories as a SkyMiles conversion trump the DL Amex card earn rates anyway (most airline cards are like that, weaksauce as earn, you are often better off earning using a flexible miles currency and transferring when you want to redeem- the big reason is usually baggage waiver, lounge access or status boosts + a nifty SUB). That being said, if you live in a Delta hub/focus city and are using them all the time I can see that the math would work better if you NEED that status bump to ever get an upgrade.

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You are missing the most valuable perk, the annual companion pass that comes with Delta Platinum/Reserve.

Amex is a good lender IMO, one of my favorites. Not even a prestige or status thing, just good customer service and lots of product choices, most people can find at least one that works for them.

[Anonymous]

I am quite new to credit and rebuilding after years of neglect and let me tell you Amex has been incredible in my short time. I wanted an Amex for the rewards and the ability to grow. I am not high income in the eyes of lenders ($80k) and I am saving for a house so I liked their no af offers and cards as ways to help float the cost of my vacations. Coming out of college I only had two cap one cards and since then I have 10 cards all with pretty low limits. amex approved me with a modest limit on two cards but they truly did grow with me. I wanted the cards for the possibility of the 3x limit increase which I got.
Out of all the lenders I use the Amex customer service is by far the best I always do everything through chat and get immediate responses vs waiting on hold for 10-30 mins with chase or even longer with cap1 ...etc. I liked the soft pull cli opportunities and the sp approvals since I am building credit fast this appealed to me to keep my hps down. All in all amex has been my favorite lender to deal with. The fact I have a $6k cl on a card just made me feel good.

I just like Amex for ease of business and their larger limits compared to my other lenders. Even with no points a higher limit just helps make a card more useable to me. Customer service-wise only nfcu really compares for me especially with the pandemic.

[notmyrealname23]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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I'm not sure why you would say that longhaul international in F is basically impossible.  I frequently see Delta One widely available to Asia and Europe for 80-100k SkyMiles, and even less sometimes during the flash sales that Delta does a lot.

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DeltaOne is international business class, not international first class. Try booking Air France La Premiére with Skymiles sometime (or China Southern/Eastern/Korean F) and you'll see what I mean. A decent amount of my redemptions over the years have been in F cabins that Skymiles "only J, never F" policy would never allow. Granted they do allow business class, which is why I didn't say "never".

I can tell you that I've never paid 100,000 miles one way to Europe or Asia in a business class cabin as of yet though (and I even pay considerably less to fly F)- but that's because I don't typically accrue SkyMiles. I suppose I might dump some AMEX there at some point if there's an appealing redemption opportunity, but it's not my program of choice.