Question re: Am Ex BCP upgrade offer

[Anonymous]

Long time no see. I got an offer to upgrade my BC to BCP and get $150 statement credit after $1k spending in 3 months. I foolishly tried to get an answer from Amex Chat and of course, since the agent didn't understand the first three times I asked, I'm not confident that I got the correct answer in the long run. I trust this place more. 

If I upgrade an Amex card now 8/29/19, when would the $6k limit on 6% reset? My membership year resets 4/1. Do the rewards run calendar year? Would it reset 1/1/20? Would it reset 4/1/20 along with when I initially got card? (started as BCP and downgraded) Would my 'annual/membership' date reset to now and it would be 365 days and reset each 8/29? 

And if I pay the $95 now, would I pay again in April or in August of 2020? 

For groceries I've been using Altitude Reserve when Apple Pay is available and FU when it's not. I have been trying to maximize UR and whatever AR earns for travel. I don't love the $25 increment thing, but I'm ok switching to statement credits for groceries and streaming. 

Thanks! 

[wasCB14]

1. There have been several offers of:

- $250 cash, AF due

- $150 cash, AF waived for the first year

If your offer is for $150 with the AF due, you might hold off a bit.

2. I'm not sure about the supermarket cap, but FWIW I accepted an upgrade offer at the end of June and a Renewal Membership Fee of $2.08 appeared August 17.

[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

1. There have been several offers of:

- $250 cash, AF due

- $150 cash, AF waived for the first year

If your offer is for $150 with the AF due, you might hold off a bit.

2. I'm not sure about the supermarket cap, but FWIW I accepted an upgrade offer at the end of June and a Renewal Membership Fee of $2.08 appeared August 17.

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Thanks. Do you know if folks who got those offers got a 'lower' offer first? 

And you referenced what I was going to ask but felt my first post was too long already. I know Amex used to pro-rate annual fees. I thought they'd stopped that. But then I thought that was just if you cancelled mid year. I thought I might end up getting hit with roughly half the annual fee now and then the full one in April. Either of those would be great with me because I'd get the $150, I could max the rewards either through April or maybe it's thru calendar year like the Plat, and if I wasn't loving it, downgrade before the fee hits again. 

If anyone has thoughts on that part, I'd appreciate it. 

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Long time no see. I got an offer to upgrade my BC to BCP and get $150 statement credit after $1k spending in 3 months. I foolishly tried to get an answer from Amex Chat and of course, since the agent didn't understand the first three times I asked, I'm not confident that I got the correct answer in the long run. I trust this place more. 

If I upgrade an Amex card now 8/29/19, when would the $6k limit on 6% reset? My membership year resets 4/1. Do the rewards run calendar year? Would it reset 1/1/20? Would it reset 4/1/20 along with when I initially got card? (started as BCP and downgraded) Would my 'annual/membership' date reset to now and it would be 365 days and reset each 8/29? 

And if I pay the $95 now, would I pay again in April or in August of 2020? 

For groceries I've been using Altitude Reserve when Apple Pay is available and FU when it's not. I have been trying to maximize UR and whatever AR earns for travel. I don't love the $25 increment thing, but I'm ok switching to statement credits for groceries and streaming. 

Thanks! 

---

I believe BCE/P rewards are calendar year (the OBC is more complex).   But I can't recall is with the upgrade does your previous 3% spend also counts towards the cap.   (When i did the no AF upgrade, I hadn't used the BCE at all).   

[rgate88]

Reading through the T&C of the card, I believe it's calendar year (1/1-12/31). So the 6% would reset after the new year. Now, it's possible that the $6k ceiling may decrease based on your spending this year on the BCE, but I'd recommend calling in saying "If I take this upgrade, is the full $6k available to me as a ceiling, or is it $6k minus what I've already spent in this catagory?"

In short, dumb it down, and whatever answer you get, note it and note who took your call and when. If there's any issues, use that as your back-up. 

[Anonymous]

I haven't used the card in a year or more so I don't care about previous spending counting. I think any which way it's worth taking for me. I guess I'm really more curious about all these details because that's what we folks do, right? Worry about those things.

Maybe someone will know will post definitively about the fee. I think you're right about Calendar Year. Otherwise, I'll see what happens fee-wise and I'll ask again in January or April or when I am nearing $6k in groceries. 

This morning I did chat so I'd have a record but was frustrated by the agent and didn't remember there's not a print option when you end chat. Next time I use chat, I'll remember to screen-shot or whatever. I hope.  

Thanks. 

[Anonymous]

LOL. I didn't scroll up enough on the T & C for the fee question: 

Annual Membership Fee: Approximately 45 days after your account is upgraded, you will be charged a prorated Annual Membership Fee for your new Card based on the time remaining until your next account anniversary date. You will also receive a prorated refund for any annual fee paid on your previous Card.

This makes@wasCB14  June/August thing make sense. 

[Anonymous]

And I swear I read the rewards part of the T & C before and didn't see the words calendar year. But yep, there they are! 

Thanks again all. 

[bergrides]

The grocery rewards cap of 6K starts with your January statement.  My January statement started with charges that posted 12/19/2018, so the start of my yearly cap started with charges that posted 12/19.  Took me a couple of discussions with Amex to understand this.

I got the BCP card 11/2018, but not as an upgrade, and they charged me the $95 on the first statement, and have not charged me again, so I am going to say the annual fee is based on your anniversary date.

Hope that helps