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American Express Explorer $395 Fee 100,000 Bonus Member Rewards Points + $400 Travel Credit

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American Express Explorer $395 Fee 100,000 Bonus Member Rewards Points + $400 Travel Credit
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ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 15:54 americanexpress.com (4375 clicks)
Last edited 21/08/2017 - 22:24 by 3 other users

This is a great deal, and continues on from this one, except that it DOUBLES the bonus points to 100,000. Please note that the 100,000 points offer isn't showing on the Desktop site (yet), but it is on the Mobile site now showing and through referral links.

You will receive 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (in the Amex Gateway Program) when you apply online, are approved and spend $1,500 on your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Please note, you must not hold an Amex (apart from bank-issued ones), or have held one in the last 18 months.

Membership Rewards points are well recognised for the great value they have when transferred to airline and hotel programs. For example, each MR point in the Gateway program converts to 0.75 points in the Virgin Australia Velocity, Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines Krisflyer programs.

It's especially good value to transfer to Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) at a rate of 2 MR points to 1 SPG point. Once in SPG they can be converted to many airline programs or used to book hotels - some great savings!

Benefits:

$400 Travel Credit every year to use on flights, hotels, experiences or car hire booked online with American Express Travel. You can use this credit to book travel for anyone you choose.

Earn up to 2 Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases.

Smartphone Screen Insurance for up to $500 for screen repairs to your Smartphone when you pay for your phone or contract with your card.

Travel insurance, buyers advantage, purchase protection, and refund protection.

2 entries per year to the American Express Lounge at Sydney International (Kingsford Smith) Airport T1.

0% p.a. on balance transfers for the first 12 months — A one-off credit plan establishment fee of 1% applies to any balances transferred.

The $400 travel credit more than offsets the $395 annual fee.

Referral Links

Business Explorer Card: random (1)

Referrer: 40,000 Reward Points

Centurion Personal Charge Card: random (7)

Referee gets 200,000 MR points. Referrer gets 150,000 MR points.

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closed Comments

  • samehada on 04/07/2017 - 17:09
    +2

    @MOD: please clarify why this post is allowed while many earlier posts for this deal were removed?

    • Moderatorneil on 04/07/2017 - 17:26

      Sure, the other 3 (2 from same user) were referral posts. The others said you had to get the deal via a referral. Updates to referral programs are not permitted as deals and referral link are not permitted ANYWHERE other than the referral system. This poster however explained that the 100,000 point deal is actually a non-referral deal but has only been updated on the mobile site. You can see it in the left hand column of the Featured Card section on the non-mobile site however when you actually click into the offer it still says 50,000 points. This was the link that people kept posting. Anyway, after many hours it has been sorted.

      P.S. I only happened to see your comment, please use report in future so we know there is a question. Cheers.

      Update: AMEX now has updated their non-mobile site.

        • neil on 04/07/2017 - 23:17
          +42

          Mod posts were never able to be downvoted (that's the point of marking them as mod).

          Here ya go. Downvote all you want. :(

      • Thor Bargain God on 05/07/2017 - 11:38

        Does the rule disallowing referral programs count for things like programs for "friends" of Optus and Telstra staff, as I have no objection to those being posted here considering it is the only way to take advantage of them if you don't know the person directly. Optus acquired effectively nearly all of my business this way, so its been a win-win as far as my situation goes.

    • prolo on 04/07/2017 - 20:39
      -7

      Could the authors of the earlier posts please leave their names here? So some fair minded OzB users can click through their referral links, rather than using the referral of the fourth poster…

      • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 20:44
        +5

        People aren't using my referral link - they are directed to the automatic referral system that randomly generates an ozbargainers referral code. Anyone could get it, not just me.

        • prolo on 04/07/2017 - 20:52
          -2

          Actually, your user name is listed in the referral links at the bottom of the post… "ihavecentsnotsense OR random". Are you telling me that if people click on your user name in the referral link section at the bottom of your post, they actually get a random user's referral link? Wow, that's confusing.

        • prolo on 04/07/2017 - 20:55
          -2

          The person whose referral you click gets 30k MR gateway points. This is actually a big deal for the person who gets the referral. There should be absolute transparency in these credit card referral posts.

        • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 20:58
          +3

          @prolo: there is absolute transparency - people know exactly who will get the referral and can choose whether it's random or the OP. People have posted similar deals in the past,but they've since expired - there are no issues here.

        • prolo on 04/07/2017 - 21:04
          -7

          @ihavecentsnotsense:
          Except you're the fourth poster?
          I'm just asking the three earlier posters to name themselves, so people can make up their own mind about whose link to use…

          Full disclosure: I'm not one of them, and I'm not going to get any referrals out of it. I haven't posted any referral links for this card or any others.

        • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 21:12
          +3

          @prolo: I'm sure that those earlier posters got plenty of referrals from their earlier posts (especially if posted before the reforms to the rferral system). I think it's time to give other referrers a shot.

        • Moderatorneil on 04/07/2017 - 23:25

          @prolo:

          Firstly, if you have a question, it's best to check the help which is located at the bottom of every page OR contact a mod by using Talk with a Moderator forum.

          Referral Links on OzBargain.

          If the OP of the deal has their own referral code for that merchant, it will show up as the first link in the Referral Block (but only after minimum front page votes are received, until then only random referral links will be shown). Clicking on that link will use OP's own referral link. A random link is also provided with total number of referral codes in brackets. Clicking on that will pick a random referral link from the pool.

          So before it hit the front page it would have just showed random. Now that it is on the front page, both are shown. There are 433 random links to pick from and they are prioritised to active members (or rather not prioritised to those who don't log into OzBargain often/ever). So that's probably your best bet OR you could find someone you like on here and just PM them for their code.

        • Gaz1 on 05/07/2017 - 15:47
          +5

          @neil:
          Prioritising active members is a great feature.

  • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 17:27

    With a 100k bonus, this is a great deal. There's so much you can do with these points to save a lot of money on flights or accommmodation.

    • looks on 04/07/2017 - 21:33

      Still tossing between this and the ANZ QF Black Visa card :(

      • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 21:44

        Fair enough, they're both good offers!

        Personally I found that it's fairly easy to accumulate Qantas points and harder to find truly good value uses for them given their taxes, whereas this card gives you lots of flexible options that are hard to earn in Australia otherwise, especially through SPG (Starwood)

        If any international travel is on the cards, I really recommend seeing what you can book with 50,000 Starwood points, or with AAdvantage miles and weighing up your options.

      • tuvz on 05/07/2017 - 00:24
        +1

        why not both? :)
        A good wallet has a solid amex and visa/mc combo

        • looks on 05/07/2017 - 08:07

          Applied for ANZ due to no annual fee.

          I think I'll bite on this after a few months. Seems bad to apply for two cards at once!

  • lemoo on 04/07/2017 - 17:43
    +3

    :( sucks to be an existing amex cardholder…

    • maverick1 on 04/07/2017 - 17:53

      What card do you hold?. I am thinking of taking a chance.
      This is what I read on the Aus Frequent flyer forum -
      Sign-on bonus points generally still seem to be applied for a new Amex Card, as long at the award program of the new card is different to your existing card (ie MR Ascent, MR Ascent Premium or MR Gateway or other programs such as Velocity, Qantas or David Jones).
      But keep in mind that the Applications should be done at your own risk though since the T&C specify that the bonus shouldn't apply.
      Currently holding discovery which earns qff points so not part of the MR program.

      • Stahh on 04/07/2017 - 17:58

        So if you have the essential card ie no program at all thid will still apply ?

        • FW190 on 04/07/2017 - 19:07

          Essential Card is on the MR gateway program ie same as Explorer

        • maverick1 on 04/07/2017 - 20:05

          I would think so, but it's fraught with risk!

        • Cfoo123 on 04/07/2017 - 22:21
          +3

          @maverick1:

          I have taken out this card and have met the conditions but have not been awarded the points.. so not sure if you want to take the risk as I did couple months ago.

          It has been two months since i hit the spend conditions

        • maverick1 on 04/07/2017 - 22:23

          @Cfoo123: what was the other amex card that u had when u applied for this card? And have you checked with customer care for a reason to not credit the sign up bonus?

        • bozbargain on 07/07/2017 - 04:23

          @maverick1: I got the 100k points earlier this year despite not being eligible officially - I already had a Platinum Edge. Check my earlier posts or happy to send you my 'strategy' in a PM.

        • maverick1 on 08/07/2017 - 17:40
          +1

          @bozbargain: I will be glad if you could share your strategy. I am in dire need of points…just burned 200K MR points for a 5 night stay at Maldives during XMAS.

        • bozbargain on 09/07/2017 - 23:41

          @maverick1: no worries, send me a pm and I'll reply. I can't pm you myself since I'm overseas at the moment and ozb seems to restrict new conversations from members who are overseas.

      • tkboi on 04/07/2017 - 17:59
        +1

        i have spoken to amex customer service and they said that they are cracking down on this since i wanted to apply for this card (i already have the charge) and even then they said i wouldnt be eligible for the explorer bonus points

      • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 18:04

        I have a qantas discovery card and still got the bonus points for the explorer card I subsequently signed up for. But it's risky, as others have said.

        • maverick1 on 04/07/2017 - 20:05

          When did you apply mate?

        • ozdesi on 04/07/2017 - 20:12

          how long ago was that?

        • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 20:20

          It was at least 6 months ago

      • lemoo on 04/07/2017 - 18:06

        hmm i've got the platinum edge so that's the MR Ascent iirc

        that would be nice if I still get the points

      • gruso on 04/07/2017 - 18:18

        I hold a Velocity Platinum, and signed up for the Explorer several months ago on the off chance I got the bonus. I did not.

        • Sunny84 on 04/07/2017 - 18:41

          Did you link your card to your exisiting card/rewards account?

        • gruso on 04/07/2017 - 18:50

          @Sunny84: Not linked per se, but I see them together when I log in, on account of my personal details matching the previous application.

        • starburstyellow on 04/07/2017 - 19:55

          Can confirm a friend who had same situation as you, did not get the bonus from Explorer.

      • potm on 04/07/2017 - 19:07
        +2

        Many reports that the last few months Amex have become a lot more strict on the no existing customer condition on bonuses.

        • FeZZa21 on 05/07/2017 - 13:57
          +1

          This is true, have tried twice and both cases didn't get the bonus points even when my existing cards were on different reward programs.

      • nubix on 05/07/2017 - 08:46

        this is not the case any more (other than David Jones)

  • Miksta on 04/07/2017 - 18:15
    +2

    Which would be the better card to get between the Explorer card and the Amex Velocity Platinum Card.

    Amex Velocity Platinum currently also has a 100k Velocity points currently on offer…

    • ONEMariachi on 04/07/2017 - 18:20
      +1

      Velocity card has a free domestic flight per year, this seems to have $400 free credit. So depending on where you fly may be the decider.

    • gruso on 04/07/2017 - 18:33
      +8

      I have both. The Velocity Platinum suits me better, as I just want to bank Velocity points, not take advantage of other rewards options. FWIW, Gateway rewards points convert to Velocity at 0.75, ie. 4 Gateway = 3 Velocity.

      I also find that the VP's domestic flight is more convenient to use than the Explorer's travel credit. You have to spend the Explorer's $400 in one booking, and only on planes/hotels/rentals through the Amex gateway. I've been unable to use it for anything slightly off the beaten path, like going to Tassie on the Spirit of Tasmania, or getting a motel room at Uluru. So it sits unused while I think of something silly to do with it, before the 12 months tick over.

      Just my experience as an occasional solo traveller.

    • donkcat on 04/07/2017 - 19:24
      +3

      That really depends on what you want the card for.

      If you were looking at selling everything then on the Explorer you would get $750 for the points and if you were lucky $350 for the travel credit.
      After the $395 annual fee you would be $705 up.

      If you sold the Velocity points on the platinum card you would get $1000, could sell the flight for $250. After the $375 annual fee you would be $875 up.

      • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 20:27
        +1

        Don't forget that there is some risk to selling Velocity points though - if you get found out they could take all your points and close your account. So it's not necessarily an idea that should be encouraged without disclaimers.

        If you are travelling and looking to stay in hotels, you can get considerably more value from 100k membership rewards points than from Velocity.

        • donkcat on 04/07/2017 - 20:58
          +1

          This is true, providing you don't leave any points left in your account then really the risk is on the buyer and not the seller though.

        • tuvz on 05/07/2017 - 00:21

          @donkcat:

          This!

          Also the experienced point buyers on ozbargain take precautions to keep sellers accounts in good stead.

    • endgame on 06/07/2017 - 16:34
      +1

      Good question. They're both very good cards.

      • Under the new earn rates the Velocity Platinum is only 1.5 p/$, which is the same as the Explorer but you lose the ability to transfer to points other than Velocity (i.e., KrisFlyer, Etihad Guest, Asia Miles, SPG, …). Velocity Platinum gives you an extra point per $ when you spend with Virgin Australia, but in general, Explorer wins here.
      • gruso mentioned that the free flight is easier to use than the travel credit. He's probably right. Velocity Plat wins here.
      • Signup bonsuses: If you convert the Explorer's 100K to velocity, you're only going to get 75K; but you can do other things like convert it to 75K Asia Miles, 75K KrisFlyer, or 50K SPG and then 150K Mariott, if you can find useful things to do with those. Depends on where you redeem and how much you value that flexibility. Note that you can convert 100K Velocity to 74K Krisflyer through their 1.35:1 exchange rate.
      • If you fly internationally out of SYD, then either card will give you two passes to the AMEX lounge each year. But the Velocity Plat also gives you two passes to Virgin lounges, which puts it ahead on this measure.
      • The Explorer card looks a hell of a lot better.
      • The language for the insurances sounds similar though I haven't dug into the respective PDSes. The Explorer has an additional smartphone screen insurance.

      I went for the Velocity Plat to give a friend a referral kickback back when Amex was offering 3p/$ on restaurants/Virgin, 2p/$ on travel and 1p/$ elsewhere. So long as they keep that scheme on old cards I'll probably continue using it as it's probably not worth another credit inquiry for me to switch, but long-term the difference between 1.5 p/$ and 1 p/$ isn't so great (I also hold a Plat Edge and buy gift cards for suppliers that have them at supermarkets).

  • v3l0city on 04/07/2017 - 18:15

    You will receive 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards points (in the Amex Gateway Program) when you apply online, are approved and spend $1,500 on your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Please note, you must not hold an Amex (apart from bank-issued ones), or have held one in the last 18 months.

    Does this mean by having a corporate AMEX i'm excluded?

    • MeesaBuyStuffHere on 04/07/2017 - 18:19

      I had one corporate Amex card (and no other Amex cards) when I applied for my AMEX Platinum Edge card last year. I was able to get approval.

    • DirtyMunchy on 04/07/2017 - 18:40
      +2

      A corporate card is your company's card in your name - it simply isn't your card.

      • brotherfranciz on 04/07/2017 - 19:01
        +2

        "…it simply isn't your card."

        Oh shit.

      • TimOfEastBNE on 05/07/2017 - 09:44

        I think you will find that you are still individually financially responsible for most if not all "corporate cards", so they are very much "your" card, but without most of the benefits

  • PaperplaneXXX on 04/07/2017 - 18:49

    how much would be in Velocity Points? if transfer those to Velocity

    • gruso on 04/07/2017 - 18:51
      +2

      75k

  • poor_me on 04/07/2017 - 18:55

    Not sure what else you could do with points in the MR program, but it seems like you're losing in the 1MR to 0.75 FF conversion. May be offset if the earn-rate in MR is better than a straight Velocity or Qantas Amex.

    You can transfer 1 Velocity to 0.75 Krisflyer (and maybe other airlines too?) so you're not missing out on transferability.

    Velocity Platinum has 2 additional lounge visits in the Virgin lounge if that's your thing.

    • endgame on 06/07/2017 - 16:38

      The main ones that you're losing out on (as far as I can tell from reading around):

      • SPG (at effectively 1p/$), which means 3 mariott p/$ if you have a use for those and/or a bunch of other airline programs it's hard to earn into directly.
      • Etihad Guest (for cheaper VA flights)
      • Asia Miles (for oneworld redemptions since you can't transfer to QFF)
  • looks on 04/07/2017 - 19:13

    I'm concerned Amex isn't accepted everywhere. Is this a problem for current card holders?

    And how does this compare with the ANZ QF Black deal?

    • ihavecentsnotsense on 04/07/2017 - 19:30
      +1

      Enough of the big places accept Amex, and some restaurants too. Check where you spend the most money and see if they accept Amex and it might not be such a big deal.

    • Baniya on 05/07/2017 - 01:37
      +2

      I would not be able to survive with my AMEX alone. It's not accepted about 40% of the time in my experience. I therefore have a Visa (signature rewards card) as a backup.

    • yellowrhino93 on 05/07/2017 - 03:11

      it just comes down to small business i find. Also what location

      In sydney and melbourne I have no problem of amex being accepted, in perth it's an issue

    • nubix on 05/07/2017 - 08:48

      if you are eligible, get both. to answer your first question. amex covers about 80% of my credit card spend every month.

  • the7apples on 04/07/2017 - 19:20
    -3

    So you can use your points to pay credit your account here;

    http://catalogue.membershiprewards.com.au/viewAwardDetail.mt…

    Does this mean I can Spend $1500, + $400 Annual fee. = $1900

    Credit myself 1x $500 69k, 2x $100 29k and get a $700 credit?

    $1900 - 700 Credit = $1200

    Pay $1200 and be $300 up and then use my $400 as a travel bonus?

    • showmethedeals on 04/07/2017 - 19:46
      -1

      I would also like to know if the above will work ?

    • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 20:23

      Yes, why wouldn't that work? You get 100k points upon meeting the minimum spend, and you can use them for whatever. As you say, the points are worth $700 in credit against your bill.

      There are better ways to use the points though, if you're interested in travelling.

      Don't forget to use a referral link if you apply, to help out another Ozbargainer :-)

    • daft009 on 04/07/2017 - 23:08

      Actually on the explorer 1000pts=$7.41, not $7. So you will get $741 if you really want to just sell them

  • Godric on 04/07/2017 - 19:48
    -1

    Can transfer points to Qantas flyer points?

    Nevermind looks like a No :(

    • FrugalDealHunter on 04/07/2017 - 20:23

      ANZ QFF has a signup bonus right now, 75k, no annual fee

      • Godric on 04/07/2017 - 20:24

        Cheers i already have that one though from a previous deal

    • John Stone on 04/07/2017 - 20:56

      If you want to get qantas flights a way is to transfer to SPG and then transfer to a program such as avios or aadvantage. Both are one world partners and can book qf metal flights.

      • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 21:25

        That's true. And depending on what you're looking for it can be great value. For example, 10,000 AAdvantage miles gets you one way on Qantas from anywhere in Australia to anywhere else in Australia or 20,000 in business, with less taxes than Qantas charges.

        SPG points convert at 1:1 to Aadvantage miles, and for each 20,000 you transfer you get a bonus 5,000.

        So the 100k membership rewards points = 50k SPG which can then be 60k Aadvantage or three return trips anywhere in Australia.

      • endgame on 06/07/2017 - 16:39

        Explorer can transfer directly into Asia Miles, FWIW.

  • ziaxk87 on 04/07/2017 - 20:58
    +2

    do it via referral so your referrer​ gets 30000points as well you get 100000 points…

  • ziaxk87 on 04/07/2017 - 20:59
    +2

    also keep in mind abt the credit score… lot of people forget abt credit score and keep on applying more and more credit cards

    • DaHuntz on 05/07/2017 - 12:21

      just applied for anz reward card in June, I'm gonna wait 3 months before applying this Amex card and hopefully it'll still be available.

  • b00gie on 04/07/2017 - 21:15

    Has anyone booked flights/hotels using the credit? Do you get a confirmation invoice that lists the amount used?

    • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 21:19
      +1

      Sure do! You get a booking confirmation that lists the price, the $400 discount and then any remaining amount that was paid.

      • b00gie on 04/07/2017 - 21:20

        Nice one :)

      • the7apples on 04/07/2017 - 21:24

        How long does it take to receive your travel credit?

        • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 21:27

          Straight away I believe, don't even need to meet minimum spend. Mine came Definitely not more than 24 hours from approval.

  • edisonAU on 04/07/2017 - 21:18

    It is a shame but I think Amex has shut the loophole of existing Amex Cardholders getting bonus points a number of months ago. So the only way to get bonus points these days is to actually cut the Amex card, wait for x number of months, before signing up again.

  • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 21:31
    +1

    For anyone applying for these cards, don't forget to pick up an extra 20,000 membership rewards points through this deal - I did with my Explorer and had no issues at all: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/314174

    • bp1984 on 04/07/2017 - 22:01

      Just got approved. I'll definitely try this. Thanks!

    • Aceman98 on 04/07/2017 - 22:02

      I think this may have expired on 30th of June, can anyone else confirm?

      • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 22:10
        +1

        I can confim it's 31 July. From the email I received:

        1. Offer only available to new American Express Ezicover Insurance Policy Holders who are Australian residents aged between 19 and 69, who apply by 31 July 2017, are approved and have purchased their policy using an eligible American Express Card that is enrolled in an eligible rewards program.

        The offer is not limited to those who received the email, the email I refer to was a general update advising of the latest offers.

  • poor_me on 04/07/2017 - 22:05

    Question: How do prices on Amex Travel compare to run-of-the-mill travel sites? Is there a mark-up?

    • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 22:27
      +5

      With flights I find it's generally the same, BUT you don't have the option of low cost airlines (Jetstar, Tiger, Scoot etc).

      With accommodation, you do have to check a bit more, they're generally a bit pricier than you can get on e.g Expedia. However sometimes the cost will be the same or even less than you can find elsewhere. It's hard to give a blanket rule.

    • Schema on 07/07/2017 - 23:11

      I've found Amex travel to be hit or miss

      Stayed at the Hilton Doubletree in Orlando

      $300 for 7 nights vs the $1200 flight centre and others were offering
      Not sure why it was substantially lower but I didn't complain haha

      • lilkid28 on 08/07/2017 - 13:04

        $43 per night??

  • bp1984 on 04/07/2017 - 22:12

    foreign transaction fee?

    • Uzb9811 on 04/07/2017 - 22:28
      +2

      Yes, 3%, despite their marketing towards travellers! Not aware of any Amex without the 3% fee unfortunately.

      • kev98 on 04/07/2017 - 23:18
        +1

        depsite I believe their US Amex Platinum not having foreign transaction fees and costing only $550 per year.

      • T-man on 05/07/2017 - 07:14
        +1

        ANZ Travel Adventures card (not issuing anymore)

        the CBA Amex Platinum and Diamond Award cards.

  • Zaenille on 04/07/2017 - 22:19
    +3

    Now I'm wondering if I should cancel my Qantas Discovery card so I can open up my options in the future.

    • Rosace on 05/07/2017 - 00:19

      Same here, however it's a tough decision given all the amex offers around that will be missed.

      • Zaenille on 05/07/2017 - 00:58

        Exactly. Haha.

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