Amex Plat vs. Chase Ritz...

[Crashem]

Open123, you mentioned blue open card. I thought you got blue points from blue card and that they weren't the same as mr points. Or do blue cards accrue mr points? For some reason, I thought only the original optima card which is not available was the only Amex credit card that gave mr points.

[Open123]

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@Crashem wrote:
Open123, you mentioned blue open card. I thought you got blue points from blue card and that they weren't the same as mr points. Or do blue cards accrue mr points? For some reason, I thought only the original optima card which is not available was the only Amex credit card that gave mr points.

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All MR points however earned are classified in the MR category of the highest card you hold. 

For instance, if you have a Zync and Blue--all points earned are MR Express.  However, if you have a Gold + Blue/Zync--all points earned regardless of card used will be classified as full MR.  If you have Platinum + Zync--all points earned by the Zync will be classified as MR First.

Most business owners opt to have the charge on the business end (since the fee is an expense that can be written off), and use the Zync or Blue (no fee) cards for personal spending, since all points are categorized as full MR or MR First.  Currently, they have a new businss Blue card which confers a 30% MR bonus on spending after the 3rd year with no annual fee.  But, as per Amex's custom, all the no-fee + Zync MR cards are all classified as MR Express with limited value when it comes to travel redemption.  However, when combined with another full MR or Plat, these points become extremely valuable since the bonus and accelerated points from these cards are automatically classified as full MR/MR First rather than Express.

PS - The Blue and Open Blue (new one) are all MR points cards, albeit all MR Express on its own.

[Open123]

http://www262.americanexpress.com/business-credit-cards/business-card-details/american-express-blue-...

When combined with a full MR benefits card (such as Plat with MR First), spending on this card will accrue points faster than spending on the Platinum with all the bonus points classified as full MR.

[Crashem]

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@Open123 wrote:

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@Crashem wrote:
Open123, you mentioned blue open card. I thought you got blue points from blue card and that they weren't the same as mr points. Or do blue cards accrue mr points? For some reason, I thought only the original optima card which is not available was the only Amex credit card that gave mr points.

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All MR points however earned are classified in the MR category of the highest card you hold. 

For instance, if you have a Zync and Blue--all points earned are MR Express.  However, if you have a Gold + Blue/Zync--all points earned regardless of card used will be classified as full MR.  If you have Platinum + Zync--all points earned by the Zync will be classified as MR First.

Most business owners opt to have the charge on the business end (since the fee is an expense that can be written off), and use the Zync or Blue (no fee) cards for personal spending, since all points are categorized as full MR or MR First.  Currently, they have a new businss Blue card which confers a 30% MR bonus on spending after the 3rd year with no annual fee.  But, as per Amex's custom, all the no-fee + Zync MR cards are all classified as MR Express with limited value when it comes to travel redemption.  However, when combined with another full MR or Plat, these points become extremely valuable since the bonus and accelerated points from these cards are automatically classified as full MR/MR First rather than Express.

PS - The Blue and Open Blue (new one) are all MR points cards, albeit all MR Express on its own.

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I am aware of the mr points at highest card type thing such as zync/plat combo. My question is more related to blue and open blue. Can you confirm you get some kind of mr points and not blue points from that card?

[Crashem]

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@Crashem wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

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@Crashem wrote:
Open123, you mentioned blue open card. I thought you got blue points from blue card and that they weren't the same as mr points. Or do blue cards accrue mr points? For some reason, I thought only the original optima card which is not available was the only Amex credit card that gave mr points.

---

All MR points however earned are classified in the MR category of the highest card you hold. 

For instance, if you have a Zync and Blue--all points earned are MR Express.  However, if you have a Gold + Blue/Zync--all points earned regardless of card used will be classified as full MR.  If you have Platinum + Zync--all points earned by the Zync will be classified as MR First.

Most business owners opt to have the charge on the business end (since the fee is an expense that can be written off), and use the Zync or Blue (no fee) cards for personal spending, since all points are categorized as full MR or MR First.  Currently, they have a new businss Blue card which confers a 30% MR bonus on spending after the 3rd year with no annual fee.  But, as per Amex's custom, all the no-fee + Zync MR cards are all classified as MR Express with limited value when it comes to travel redemption.  However, when combined with another full MR or Plat, these points become extremely valuable since the bonus and accelerated points from these cards are automatically classified as full MR/MR First rather than Express.

PS - The Blue and Open Blue (new one) are all MR points cards, albeit all MR Express on its own.

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I am aware of the mr points at highest card type thing such as zync/plat combo. My question is more related to blue and open blue. Can you confirm you get some kind of mr points and not blue points from that card?

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Just confirmed it myself. Cool. Wasn't aware before about that. Always thought it got some kind of blue points similar to blue sky or some such.

[CreditScholar]

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@Crashem wrote:
Interesting creditscholar. It seems most of the value you received was via the miles and airfare. I haven't really ever used hotel packages. So the packages don't just give you airline tickets but miles instead? Mind sending me a link so I can check it out. For my personal travel, I guess we have tended to stay at the more boutique hotels or ones without extensive loyalty programs. For example, recent trip to Asia looked like, four seasons sydney, four seasons Ubud Bali, alila villas uluwatu, aman Bali, Ayana, and mandarin oriental Bangkok. So for me airline miles are what matters as I rarely find ability to use hotel points. Wish friggging four seasons had some kind of points program.

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You can find more information about the travel packages here: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

In short, when you redeem for one of these you get 7 nights plus a fixed amount of miles (with the largest being 120,000). There are also options for you to redeem those 7 nights at a Ritz Carlton instead of a Marriott. For example 420k points will get you 7 nights at the RC Tokyo plus 120,000 miles. Since the majority of the value is derived from the miles (which is capped at 120,000 excluding transfer bonuses), the best value on a cpp basis is in Marriott categories 5-7.

I transferred to US during a 50% bonus, so I received 180k miles instead of 120k. Obviously timing here is key, since they only run those on average 1-2 times per year. Another interesting thing to note is that 120,000 is enough for a companion pass on Southwest. I'm guessing you don't use them as an air carrier, but for those who do it's another way to get there.

[Anonymous]

You guys are awesome, you can really write a lot! 

[LOC]

Thank you for the insight!

[CreditScholar]

Open, did you ever come to a decision regarding which card you're going to pick? If so, I'd be most interested to hear your reasoning as to how you decided.

[Open123]

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@CreditScholar wrote:
Open, did you ever come to a decision regarding which card you're going to pick? If so, I'd be most interested to hear your reasoning as to how you decided.

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I haven’t made a definitive decision yet, but am leaning towards opting for the Ritz card.  There’s enough crossover in benefits where it comes down to bonus spending and benefits I’d use more for my Ritz stays than the overall Platinum benefits, which albeit are considerable but not as concentrated as the Ritz card.

Some of my thoughts:

1.  One of my favorite benefits of the Platinum has been using the FHR program for Ritz stays.  For smaller stays, the rate through FHR is the best along with having the highest chance of being upgraded to a nicer room.  This Platinum benefit has become less important since our firm has decided to use the Ritz for our year end function.  With larger room purchases, the Ritz card’s benefits are far greater than Amex’s FHR—not to mention the potential club level upgrades and 5X spending.

2.  The airport access isn’t a huge difference, but Amex does win out here.  This is less meaningful for me since my home airport is a massive UA hub.  Either way, this isn’t a really big deal for me, since there’s always going to be someone around me who has an access to some kind of lounge.  When I fly by myself, I’d much prefer to sit down and read a magazine as opposed to lounging with free drink and food. 

3.  The more liberal use of the $200 airline card is infinitely better with the Ritz card.  Unlike with Amex (where I’ve been relegating to ordering gift cards I’d never use), I can actually use the credit effectively reducing the annual fee, since I would spend the money regardless if I had the card.

4.  Aside from the small extra bonus on MR mall shopping, the minor difference between MR First and MR is pretty meaningless to me.  Unless MR First offers a higher rate when transferring to airlines, MR works just as well for me, since I’ll never purchase or redeem anything with points.

I’m leaning towards replacing my Plat with the Ritz. 

With our Ritz spending this year, the 5X points, club level access, and 70k bonus points is just too much to turn down, not to mention Gold status with the Ritz which is more meaningful to me than the Plat’s SPG Gold status, since I’ve attained lifetime SPG Gold this year.

In the end, I’ll probably use the Ritz as my personal card, and just use our firm’s business Plat in SE Asia. I’ve got so many MR points accrued that Chase UR and Ritz points are more valuable.  I’ll have to downgrade to a Green to ensure full MR status for my current points, but the cost will be more than offset with our firm’s Ritz stays, which should earn me a free week of hotel stays during my personal vacationing.