AmEx Platinum Edge Holders - Long Term Plan?

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American Express

• 

  manutd88 on 10/09/2017 - 11:16

  +1

  the 18 month no amex card condition seems to be strictly enforced nowadays

  • 

    themirror on 10/09/2017 - 11:26

    Damn.

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  nubix on 10/09/2017 - 11:19

  They've been checking for the mentioned eligibility since sometime between Feb and Apr this year so it's very unlikely you'll get your bonus points.

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  maverick1 on 10/09/2017 - 14:53

  Yes, they hv indeed become very strict. If you plan to close, I would suggest first try getting some retention bonus points, if you haven't already. You can get from 15k to 23k MR points as one time retention bonus.

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  djkelly69 on 10/09/2017 - 16:32

  +1

  I have explorer with supplementary card for wife, she has plat edge with supp card for me.

  Long term we will swap once she has the income for an explorer (ie. I get a plat edge and miss the bonus ponts, she cancels the plat edge and waits 18 months or whatever so she can get the explorer bonus points).

• 

  illumination on 11/09/2017 - 12:11

  +2

  I have a Plat Edge and have no plans to move myself over to the Explorer because the missus has the Explorer (and the Plat Edge) and has me as a supplementary.

  18 months without an AMEX is a bit too long to be without an AMEX, so I think I will just accept that if I ever want the Explorer, I'll get it without a bonus.

  I suppose the alternative is simply for the missus to have me as the supplementary card holder on both the Explorer and the Plat Edge, I'll cancel my AMEXs and then wait 18 months… I'll have a think about it.

  I think if you're willing to transfer your points out of Plat Edge and you've got your partner to issue supplementary cards to you, the impact of not having an AMEX for 18 months would be significantly reduced.

  I'm not sure I want to transfer my points out otherwise I'd consider that option!

  • 

    themirror on 11/09/2017 - 19:13

    I think 1 Plat Edge 1 Explorer might be the way to go. Can I ask why you don't want to transfer your points out? What do you plan on doing with them?

    • 

      illumination on 11/09/2017 - 22:09

      +1

      Yea I think in fact that 1 Plat Edge and 1 Explorer would in fact be ideal.

      Can I ask why you don't want to transfer your points out? What do you plan on doing with them?

      I have a fairly large points balance and I have not decided what I wish to do with it yet. I have rough ideas, but nothing concrete and that is why I wish to keep it with AMEX as it is a flexible program that doesn't have expiry and doesn't "lock me in" to any points program.

      • 

        themirror on 11/09/2017 - 23:20

        Fair point, cheers

• 

  MathNerd on 11/09/2017 - 19:28

  +4

  Platinum Edge + Explorer is an insane combo. You can pretty much guarantee a minimum of 2 FF pts per dollar if used right. Here's a good strategy:

  Use Platinum Edge for all supermarket spend (to a seasoned OzBer, this means 5% discounted WISH eGift cards from Cashrewards). This includes general grocery shopping, fuel at Caltex Woolworths and alcohol at Dan Murphys. For all other places, such as JB, Village, Hoyts, etc, get gift cards from Woolies using the 5% off WISH cards.

  Use Explorer for all other spend such as at restaurants and stores that don't sell their own gift cards at Woolworths stores. And also use its lounge access when travelling overseas once a year. Ensure that Explorer is earning into Membership Rewards Ascent rather than Membership Rewards Gateway.

  Build up a hefty FF balance over time, take advantage of Statement Credits (Shop Small etc), bonus point offers, Local Champion, and all the other AmEx perks and you've got a bulletproof wallet that will get you to that First Class flight of your dreams!
  That's what my partner and I are planning to do for our eventual honeymoon, anyway. Let's hope it all works out!

  • 

    themirror on 11/09/2017 - 23:19

    I didn't know you could transfer Amex points to QFF. Do you try and balance the points on both cards? AFAIK you can't transfer points between cards or FF Memberships. I.e. if one card has 150k and the other card as 50k, will that mean 1 of you will be travelling in economy (unless of course both cards have enough points for an upgrade, etc.)?

    Ensure that Explorer is earning into Membership Rewards Ascent rather than Membership Rewards Gateway.

    How do I do that? By paying the fee, or other means?

    • 

      illumination on 12/09/2017 - 00:12

      +1

      I didn't know you could transfer Amex points to QFF

      Only Membership Rewards Ascent Premium is able to transfer to QFF. Generally speaking, you can only access this tier of Membership Rewards by holding the Platinum Charge Card ($1200 anunual fee).

      You can transfer a maximum of 50k AMEX points per calendar year. If you are transferring between different tiers ("levels") of Membership Rewards, a fee may be involved.

      How do I do that? By paying the fee, or other means?

      You need to call up and ask that they manually link the Explorer card's points to your Platinum Edge. Note that you may be denied and you may have to call up several times to achieve this - there is an element of luck involved in terms of the assistant you get and their willingness to help with this.

      • 

        themirror on 12/09/2017 - 08:00

        But the primary card holder (in your case) are two different people - both cards don't need to be under the same account holder?

      • 

        MathNerd on 13/09/2017 - 09:45

        @themirror: One way to get Explorer earning to Ascent is to have a Plat Edge, and then apply for the Explorer, then when it gets approved and you get the card in the post, login to your existing AmEx account and go to the "Activate a new Card" page, activate the Explorer and it'll link the cards automatically, and you'll earn 2 Ascent points per dollar everywhere (still, much better to use the Plat Edge at supermarkets though), and Explorer everywhere else. The only time I would use the Plat Edge in this case is if I get statement credit offers, then of course I'd save it on all cards and use them regardless of point earning capabilities.

      • 

        illumination on 13/09/2017 - 23:50

        @themirror:

        both cards don't need to be under the same account holder?

        No they don't. In fact, there isn't really a direct/easy way to transfer points within your own account. What MathNerd is describing above is slightly different. He's describing how you would get an Explorer & Plat Edge to earn the same points: Membership rewards Ascent. They are technically supposed to earn points into different programs (Explorer into Membership Rewards Gateway and Plat Edge into Membership Rewards Ascent, where Ascent is better) but by doing what he described you'll get an Explorer card earning into Ascent.

        What I was referring to was this form . You can transfer up to a maximum of 50k AMEX points per calendar year.

      • 

        themirror on 14/09/2017 - 17:45

        @illumination:

        Gotcha

      • 

        soangry on 28/09/2017 - 15:25

        @MathNerd:
        " you'll earn 2 Ascent points per dollar everywhere "

        How is that possible? 3 ascent per $1 at supermarket, 2 at petrol station (3 if you buy petrol gift card at the supermarket) and 1 everywhere else

      • 

        MathNerd on 29/09/2017 - 12:50

        @ausvicee: If you have a plat edge and add an explorer to your account, it automatically earns to the ascent scheme at the explorer earn rate (which is 2pts/$ everywhere). Obviously use plat edge at supermarkets but explorer everywhere else.

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  soangry on 28/09/2017 - 14:22

  Is local champion only for principal cardholder? What about supplementary card?

  • 

    MathNerd on 29/09/2017 - 12:49

    Yes it's only for principal cardholder, supps don't qualify :'(

• 

  bikuta on 14/03/2018 - 23:03

  When Amex release the card offers, do the supplementary cards count as a seperate card? i.e,, I can use the offer once with the primary and another time with the supplementary?

  • 

    MathNerd on 15/03/2018 - 16:45

    +1

    Yes.
    Precisely the reason why some popular offers (such as BP, Harvey Norman, Shop Small, etc) get an "enrolment exhausted" message so quickly after the initial post, it's not that there's 50,000+ cardholders enrolling, it's because some people have multiple cards.