@drave199 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Grubhub is only a portal for restaurants, you can use it to order at taco bell if you want to.
Amex gold is really not a travel card, it's more of an everyday card. Platinum is the travel card.Yeah I just did a chat with Amex and now I see its just about every restaurant in the US. I just think based on what people are saying, The rewards you get are better for someone who travels. I dont know, I keep trying to talk myself out of it but the voice in my head keeps saying "but its a metal card" lol
The reason you keep trying to talk yourself out of it is because deep down you know its not the right card for you. Go with your gut here. The hard truth is that it would be foolish to spend money on an AF credit card and get it just because it happens to be metal. Based on your spend and your travel patterns it does not seem like this card a good value for you. Focus on cash back cards (since you just upgraded the amex blue card I really don't see the point in getting the gold card now). Later on in life when you have higher spend or are looking to string together travel redemptions you can come back to this card. In terms of your rent you can look into a service like Plastiq which charges 2.5% and they will send out a check to your rental company. Usually it is not a good idea to pay that kind of high rate but there are a few isolated incidents where it can make sense. Just throwing that out there so you avoid the 3% fee if you ever want to pay it with credit card.
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@red259 wrote:
@drave199 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Grubhub is only a portal for restaurants, you can use it to order at taco bell if you want to.
Amex gold is really not a travel card, it's more of an everyday card. Platinum is the travel card.Yeah I just did a chat with Amex and now I see its just about every restaurant in the US. I just think based on what people are saying, The rewards you get are better for someone who travels. I dont know, I keep trying to talk myself out of it but the voice in my head keeps saying "but its a metal card" lol
The reason you keep trying to talk yourself out of it is because deep down you know its not the right card for you. Go with your gut here. The hard truth is that it would be foolish to spend money on an AF credit card and get it just because it happens to be metal. Based on your spend and your travel patterns it does not seem like this card a good value for you. Focus on cash back cards (since you just upgraded the amex blue card I really don't see the point in getting the gold card now). Later on in life when you have higher spend or are looking to string together travel redemptions you can come back to this card. In terms of your rent you can look into a service like Plastiq which charges 2.5% and they will send out a check to your rental company. Usually it is not a good idea to pay that kind of high rate but there are a few isolated incidents where it can make sense. Just throwing that out there so you avoid the 3% fee if you ever want to pay it with credit card.
I hear ya. As far as the Plastiq thing, it doesnt make any sense to pay a fee to pay my rent. It'll cost me more than ill get in rewards back
@drave199 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@drave199 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Grubhub is only a portal for restaurants, you can use it to order at taco bell if you want to.
Amex gold is really not a travel card, it's more of an everyday card. Platinum is the travel card.Yeah I just did a chat with Amex and now I see its just about every restaurant in the US. I just think based on what people are saying, The rewards you get are better for someone who travels. I dont know, I keep trying to talk myself out of it but the voice in my head keeps saying "but its a metal card" lol
The reason you keep trying to talk yourself out of it is because deep down you know its not the right card for you. Go with your gut here. The hard truth is that it would be foolish to spend money on an AF credit card and get it just because it happens to be metal. Based on your spend and your travel patterns it does not seem like this card a good value for you. Focus on cash back cards (since you just upgraded the amex blue card I really don't see the point in getting the gold card now). Later on in life when you have higher spend or are looking to string together travel redemptions you can come back to this card. In terms of your rent you can look into a service like Plastiq which charges 2.5% and they will send out a check to your rental company. Usually it is not a good idea to pay that kind of high rate but there are a few isolated incidents where it can make sense. Just throwing that out there so you avoid the 3% fee if you ever want to pay it with credit card.
I hear ya. As far as the Plastiq thing, it doesnt make any sense to pay a fee to pay my rent. It'll cost me more than ill get in rewards back
That is going to be true for most credit cards. I only use it when I need it to hit a signup/spend mark in a short period of time or I could use it with my amex business blue plus which gives me 2 points per dollar and with the way I value to points I come out ahead using that particular card to pay my rent. I don't do the later though unless I have a very specific redemption in mind and have crunched the numbers to see that it offsets the fee.
@kdm31091 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@drave199 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Grubhub is only a portal for restaurants, you can use it to order at taco bell if you want to.
Amex gold is really not a travel card, it's more of an everyday card. Platinum is the travel card.Yeah I just did a chat with Amex and now I see its just about every restaurant in the US. I just think based on what people are saying, The rewards you get are better for someone who travels. I dont know, I keep trying to talk myself out of it but the voice in my head keeps saying "but its a metal card" lol
The reason you keep trying to talk yourself out of it is because deep down you know its not the right card for you. Go with your gut here. The hard truth is that it would be foolish to spend money on an AF credit card and get it just because it happens to be metal. Based on your spend and your travel patterns it does not seem like this card a good value for you. Focus on cash back cards (since you just upgraded the amex blue card I really don't see the point in getting the gold card now). Later on in life when you have higher spend or are looking to string together travel redemptions you can come back to this card. In terms of your rent you can look into a service like Plastiq which charges 2.5% and they will send out a check to your rental company. Usually it is not a good idea to pay that kind of high rate but there are a few isolated incidents where it can make sense. Just throwing that out there so you avoid the 3% fee if you ever want to pay it with credit card.
This post is spot on. Stop trying to talk yourself into it -- obviously you know it's not the best fit. Being made of metal is not a reason to pay $250 a year for a card IMO.
I think it definitely sounds like you will be better suited with cash back cards. As noted if you just upgraded the Blue card just use that for awhile and see how it goes.
The bottom line is that MR points are really best used for travel related redemption. If you are not going to redeem for travel/point transfer, you're likely better off with cash back. Even the 4x categories mean little if you aren't getting full value of the points. It will turn the rewards into far less than 4x (4%) on those categories.
LOL people stop saying that because the card is metal shouldn't be a reason. I know that, it was a joke. Im not an idiot. Thanks
Agreed with what everyone has already said. One point I don’t think anyone mentioned... you say you don’t travel much but I don’t think that’s a reason NOT to be in the MR ecosystem.
You get the 50k sign up bonus, you gain 20-40k points per year (ballpark figure). You take advantage of the $100 airline credit (ex. Delta gift cards), and $120 dining credit. Let’s say by the end of second year you are finally ready to travel, guess what? You’ll have over 100k MR points and can treat yourself to a nice international business class flight or multiple domestic business class flights, all for $30 effective annual fee($60 by end of second year).
People make it sound like you need to use up your points yearly or you won’t get value out of it. If you thinking of traveling by air ANYTIME in the future why not starting building MR points NOW? I have the same cards as you, Amex BCE and new Rose Gold. I only travel a couple times a year but I plan on saving up my MR for a business class international trip next year. All it takes is one flight as a “treat” to enjoy the benefits of the MR ecosystem.
Not trying to talk you into getting a Gold but that was my thought process in getting the card. Plus you’ll get compliments all the time on the card LOL, I had to say that... but it’s true 
@USF wrote:Plus you’ll get compliments all the time on the card LOL, I had to say that... but it’s true
This has got to be a very YMMV situation. I feel like here in SF Bay Area, everyone and their mother has a CSR and Amex Platinum...
@USF wrote:Agreed with what everyone has already said. One point I don’t think anyone mentioned... you say you don’t travel much but I don’t think that’s a reason NOT to be in the MR ecosystem.
You get the 50k sign up bonus, you gain 20-40k points per year (ballpark figure). You take advantage of the $100 airline credit (ex. Delta gift cards), and $120 dining credit. Let’s say by the end of second year you are finally ready to travel, guess what? You’ll have over 100k MR points and can treat yourself to a nice international business class flight or multiple domestic business class flights, all for $30 effective annual fee($60 by end of second year).
People make it sound like you need to use up your points yearly or you won’t get value out of it. If you thinking of traveling by air ANYTIME in the future why not starting building MR points NOW? I have the same cards as you, Amex BCE and new Rose Gold. I only travel a couple times a year but I plan on saving up my MR for a business class international trip next year. All it takes is one flight as a “treat” to enjoy the benefits of the MR ecosystem.
Not trying to talk you into getting a Gold but that was my thought process in getting the card. Plus you’ll get compliments all the time on the card LOL, I had to say that... but it’s true
Building up points for some trip that may happen years from now is a really poor move. Programs are often devalued so what redemptions there are available now may not be available in six months let alone years from now. In addition, not everyone has the flexibility to use these travel points. It is hardly easy to find redemptions for people without a lot of flexibility. They may end up not being able to use their points on travel at all. There is no reason to start building up a point balance now with no notion of travel in the future, especially with amex's once in a lifetime signup offers. There may be a better signup offers in the future. IMO people shouldn't really be messing with points unless they have a general idea what they will be doing with them within the next year and a half, especially when dealing with high AF cards etc.
@drave199 wrote:I just did the upgrade to the blue cash preferred. I still have a week or so to mull over the Gold (if i want the rose gold card) so we'll see. I think overall the 6% at supermarkets and 3% at gas stations will net me more useful rewards. I believe I could spend enough on the Gold card to out weigh the AF but my problem would most likely be ways to redeem the points to be useful. Yes I dont travel much or have an airlines credit card to transfer the points but maybe I could start to travel more, right? and the 50k start bonus is pretty good. But alos trying to balance what I spend on what card. I think Id find myself spending more on the Gold even though the BCP has a better return but I know I need to spend on it so I can justify the AF. Most likely Ill wait and see what offers are out there this time next year.
Thanks for the help. Ill keep you updated
Smart choice, I think.
If you thought you had a need you would have got it already and moved on.
Only you know your spending habits and whether this card would fall into those habits, so you can maximize the rewards it has.
It's all well and good that it is metal and shiny and the "precious" and all (joke),but that's not what is important. It's about it fitting your lifestyle.
Best of luck.
