Why Amex?

[LS2982]

I have 20, 000 MR points right now, what is that worth?

[emptypockets]

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@E150GT wrote:

I agree with what people are saying here.  Amex charge cards are a good way to get in the door with Amex if your credit is okay but not good enough to get their revolving products. They also let you spend quite a bit without affecting your score when it reports. The green doesn't earn a bunch of rewards unless you spend big. Now the question is is what does one do with the MR points earned during the first year if you do not plan to keep the charge and go to a revolver? 

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I just closed my AMEX PRG ) I was not using the card enough to justify paying AF. I transferred ther MR points to my HH account (in January they had a offer to transfer points at a 1k to 2k ratio (transfer 1k MR points, get 2k HH points. You can transfer points to Airline/Hotel partners anytime in 1k increments. As soon as you cancel a MR earining card (assuming you do not have another card that earns MR points, you forfeit any remaining points. 

[loviedovie]

Thanks to all for the advice. I probably would use the card enough to justify the annual fee but, I still don't really see what the advantage is of Amex vs. other reward cards.  will keep researching.

[nickn86]

I don't get the advice re: Green Card.  If the plan is to cancel after a year, why not just get the PRG instead? 

[jamesdwi]

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@LS2982 wrote:
I have 20, 000 MR points right now, what is that worth?

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$200 in giftcards to many resturants. don't use the points for AMEX gift cards they are about the worst return except for the offer to pay with points. 

[bs6054]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Great benefits, good looking cards, decent rewards structures (for travelors/big spenders).

If you have to justifty the annual fee, then you really can't afford it.

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That last statement is really untrue.  Some of the richest people in the world are notoriously frugal, and would want ANY fee justified, and for lesser mortals it still makes sense:  I can spend money on a lot of things, is this the best/(or even just good) use of my money.

And your "great benefits / decent reward structures" are similar to justifying the annual fee, would you pay $10M a year in annual fee for those benefits?  $1000? etc

[BornSupercharged]

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@nickn86 wrote:

I don't get the advice re: Green Card.  If the plan is to cancel after a year, why not just get the PRG instead? 

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I can't speak for everyone else, but if I decide to keep the card for the 2nd year I'd rather have a much lower AF (Green) than PRG. I'm kind of 50/50 on it atm to be honest, because if I keep it the 2nd year then its about 50bucks per year for having it, which isnt so bad. But I'd definitely cancel before the 3rd year / 2nd AF hits. 

[navigatethis12]

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@bs6054 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Great benefits, good looking cards, decent rewards structures (for travelors/big spenders).

If you have to justifty the annual fee, then you really can't afford it.

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That last statement is really untrue.  Some of the richest people in the world are notoriously frugal, and would want ANY fee justified, and for lesser mortals it still makes sense:  I can spend money on a lot of things, is this the best/(or even just good) use of my money.

And your "great benefits / decent reward structures" are similar to justifying the annual fee, would you pay $10M a year in annual fee for those benefits?  $1000? etc

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Agreed. I am not poor, but I just do not believe in fees for something unless I have no other choice. If all lenders required annual fees, then I would obviously have to pay it. However, there are too many cashback cards that give high cahback and have no annual fee. All the benefits on American Express cards can be found elsewhere and not sure why people think that they should have to pay a company a fee to be able to get nice customer service.

[Alcibiades]

I put most of my regular spending (including monthly rent) through Amex cards. This way, I can earn Membership Rewards points, which I like to use for travel. I have booked a trip to Berlin and am working to book trips to Japan and either Hong Kong or Brazil mainly through Membership Rewards points. My main domestic airline is Delta, which works well with Amex cards (if I were a United flier, the Chase cards offer better rewards).

The fees aren't that cumbersome if you actually use the rewards. If you spend 2-3K a month on Amex, that is 24,000 to 36,000 points. That is enough to get a flight or two on American Airlines via Avios. If you send 50,000-60,000 a year, you could accumulate 120,000 points over two years, which is close to what you need to get a first class flight to Aisa, which could $5,000-$10,000. So two years of annual fees for several thousands of dollars of value, you are running ahead at that point.

[Swapmeet]

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@nickn86 wrote:

I don't get the advice re: Green Card.  If the plan is to cancel after a year, why not just get the PRG instead? 

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The advice seems to be as follows: Since the Green card is allegedly the easiest one to get, apply for that one to get in the door. At that point one can 1. Secure their coveted "member since date" and 2. Apply for any other Amex product without risking an HP for a denial.

I used a similar strategy, but with Delta Gold first, then BCE. I have been thinking lately "I wonder if the Blue Sky is a better travel card than Delta Gold -- it has no AF".