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American Express Explorer Credit Card - 100,000 Bonus MR + $400 Travel Credit ($395 Annual Fee)

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American Express Explorer Credit Card - 100,000 Bonus MR + $400 Travel Credit ($395 Annual Fee)
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Uzb9811 on 15/11/2018 - 08:36 americanexpress.com (2866 clicks)
Last edited 21/12/2018 - 09:52 by 1 other user

Currently this deal has only been updated for referral links and the main Explorer application page still refers to a 50k bonus. This should be updated soon. The page you see when you access a referral link refers to a 100,000 sign-on bonus when you spend $1,500 within 3 months.

The offer has been updated now on the normal Explorer application page for all applications, whether or not a referral link is used. The only difference with you using a referral link is that the Ozbargainer referrer will also receive some points.

Receive 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards points in the American Express Gateway program when you apply for a new American Express Explorer card and spend $1,500 within 3 months.

To be eligible for the bonus points, you must be a new Amex card member which means that you do not hold another Amex and have not held one in the last 18 months. Bank-issued Amexes do not count for this purpose.

Each MR point in the Gateway program converts to 0.75 points in the Virgin Australia Velocity, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Emirates or Singapore Airlines Krisflyer programs.

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, or at the Melbourne Airport International Terminal.

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.

As mentioned by hellohello123, there are some changes coming in April 2019 across this and other Amex cards: (https://www.ausbt.com.au/american-express-overhauls-credit-c…). The most significant change is a decrease in the rate that Membership Rewards points convert to frequent flyer points from 0.75 points per Membership Rewards point to 0.5 points.

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

  • Samsungnote10 on 15/11/2018 - 08:45
    +37

    Everyone should be aware of todays amex announcement

    https://www.pointhacks.com.au/amex-changes-apr-2019/

    Its virtually changing the entire value of a "amex point"

    • Uzb9811 on 15/11/2018 - 08:48
      +1

      Thanks, I’ll add a link to this change!

      It’s definitely disappointing.. however even under the new scheme from April, being able to convert 100k to 50k points in many frequent flyer programs is still a good deal as a sign-on bonus.

      • Samsungnote10 on 15/11/2018 - 08:53
        +13

        yes something is better than nothing,but with annual fees of $200-$400 or even $1200 , these points are now worth a hell of a lot less

        its a sad sad day

        • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 09:31
          +3

          The fact that Amex is giving us till April for the changes to roll over is still generous. Other airlines or bank usually only give 1 months notice.

          • jaygee on 15/11/2018 - 23:07

            @nightelves: I suppose when you are decimating your entire points system and conversion system, 6 months is the least they could do.

            I know i'll be canning my Amex cards before April after converting the points.

    • mini2 on 15/11/2018 - 08:54

      Looks like the QF/VA points resale value will increase significantly.

      • tellhimhesdreaming on 15/11/2018 - 09:38

        How do you figure? Wouldn't they remain the same and/or devalue because from the PH article it sounds like they're the better cards to keep rather than Amex MR?

      • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 09:38

        How so? Given Virgin will be adding award charges for international flights next year in line with what Qantas is currently doing.

        • mini2 on 15/11/2018 - 10:00

          If the cost of acquiring the points have gone up due to the devaluation then surely the selling price will also see some movement?

    • jakxon on 15/11/2018 - 09:25
      +4

      Really sad day for AmEx card holders.

      I guess it's time to transfer points into the airlines (Virgin, taking advantage of the 20% extra for Platinum Charge members)

      • Den on 16/11/2018 - 15:13

        Well, the Essential one is in 100% increase..

    • starburstyellow on 15/11/2018 - 09:40

      Such a sad day, thanks for letting me know. Will be leaving amex in march.

    • MitchyD1989 on 15/11/2018 - 10:03
      +1

      Damn :/ RIP my Platinum Edge card. Was going to cancel my Velocity Escape card but I think I'll keep that and cancel the Platinum Edge card instead.

    • Gaz1 on 15/11/2018 - 18:59

      Unbelievable!
      Whilst I appreciate the RBA pressure to reduce fees has dropped their income to fund rewards programs, they should not be doing this retropectively!
      Points I earned some time back & have been saving should retain their conversion rate.
      Westpac did this some time back when they devalued points. Any points earned before that time coudl be converted at the old rate.

    • rh on 18/11/2018 - 12:24
      +1

      This is the official link for Amex Reward changes from 15 April 2019

      • Uzb9811 on 18/11/2018 - 15:21

        Thanks for posting this!

  • HardQuiz on 15/11/2018 - 08:54
    +3

    $1,500 spend in 3 months ?

    Maybe someone should tell NAB where the industry is going with minimum spend.

    • Oliver on 16/11/2018 - 09:11

      I did that 4k spend easily in one month let alone two.

      • spoonmugen on 16/11/2018 - 09:36
        +1

        you're rich/loaded? lol what sort of feedback were u after?

        • illumination on 16/11/2018 - 14:29

          LOL I'm a bit perplexed too

  • cynix on 15/11/2018 - 09:22
    +1

    Are they strictly enforcing the 18 months rule now?

  • wtfnodeal on 15/11/2018 - 09:28
    -2

    Amex customer service is much worse than it was.

    • Danstar on 15/11/2018 - 09:45
      +19

      Not for me. They've been great the few times I've spoke to live chat

    • Samsungnote10 on 15/11/2018 - 12:48
      -7

      seriously,

      if you get a philipine call centre, either hang up or ask for an australian,

      the philipino call centre is absolutely useless, you will have a bette rconversation with your dog

      if you get through to an australian, they are great!

  • euanmcc on 15/11/2018 - 09:33

    Anyone know what the going rate for the $400 voucher is?

    • UberIsCool on 15/11/2018 - 09:48

      Going rate?

      • euanmcc on 15/11/2018 - 10:10

        In the case I couldn't use it, what would it go for on the classifieds on here?

        • UberIsCool on 15/11/2018 - 10:33

          No idea. It does suck you have to use it all in one go but at least airline prices are the same as the airlines, although not all are available. I found it difficult to book any Indian airlines using Amex travel. Emirates was the same price. Hotels are generally more expensive.

        • idd on 15/11/2018 - 11:34
          +2

          I sold my $400 AMEX Travel Credit for $300 recently on Classified. There were people selling it higher than me, but I thought it wasn’t too much of a loss, since the flights I was looking at were a little inflated on the AMEX site compared to others.

          • sugardumpling on 16/11/2018 - 09:36

            @idd: Hi there… you sold yours on Classified? is that a website? I wanted to sell my AMEX Travel credit since I won't be using it… how/where can I sell this? thanks :)

    • Slippery Otter on 15/11/2018 - 12:11

      Yeah same, i have one for $450 and not sure as i dont think ill travel anytime soon

      • illumination on 15/11/2018 - 12:49

        Keep in mind the $450 one is Qantas only as well.

  • chobani4lyf on 15/11/2018 - 09:35

    Where is the referral link?

    • starburstyellow on 15/11/2018 - 09:39

      If you scroll to the bottom of the OP's post, you will see an area (in grey) called referral links. Click random under the amex Explorer links.

    • Uzb9811 on 15/11/2018 - 09:39

      At the bottom of the page, where it says Referral Links, you have to click ‘show more’ and choose the link for the Explorer Credit Card.

  • warrior1024 on 15/11/2018 - 09:44

    Can someone please be so kind enough and explain the referral thing for a complete amateur? Does it mean I get an extra 60,000 points if I use the link and spend 3,000 bucks? I’m confused.

    • buckster on 15/11/2018 - 09:48

      Normally you would get 50000pts, but if you sign up by clicking through a referral link and spend $1500 in 3 months, you'll get 100000.

    • doweyy on 15/11/2018 - 09:48

      The referral bonus is what's in the title, if you use a referral link you will now get 100,000 points and $400 travel credit with $1,500 spend and $395 annual fee. The 60,000 one just needs to be updated

  • jdogg on 15/11/2018 - 09:46
    +1

    Was holding out for a 100k qantas offer, this may have to suffice.

  • keepa on 15/11/2018 - 09:54
    +7

    This is a decent deal. The way to best make use of this is to get the 100K gateway points, then apply for an Amex Edge card. Once you have your Edge, ring AMEX and ask for the operator to merge your gateway points to your MR points because 'it's too difficult to manage both sets of points and you would rather them all in one spot'. It may take a few calls to get the right operator but once it's done you can transfer to velocity or Krisflyer at 1:1.

    • tellhimhesdreaming on 15/11/2018 - 10:02

      Can anyone vouch for having had success with this? Sounds like a pretty nice way to score an extra 25k krisflyer points

      • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 10:06
        +2

        Yes I can vouch for that. Takes a few tries but if you get a consultant that knows how to do it then it’s easy. That’s how I was able to transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Krisflyer.

        • 0FoxGiven on 15/11/2018 - 18:04

          and do you cancel the explorer card after thats done? Or do you keep both cards?

        • spiff on 28/11/2018 - 13:22

          You have to incur another $195 annual fee for the plat edge right? Travel credit kind of offsets that but it's just annoying paying another fee.

          • nightelves on 28/11/2018 - 13:58

            @spiff: You can just link it transfer all the points across and cancel well before the fees hit your statement.

            • spiff on 28/11/2018 - 15:01

              @nightelves: So you open Platinum Edge, transfer MR Gateway points to the MR Ascent program, close the Amex Explorer, once the points hit the MR Ascent account, close the Platinum Edge card as well before the annual fee hits? I thought the annual fee hit in your first statement.

              • nightelves on 28/11/2018 - 15:24

                @spiff: Amex refunds the full annual fee back provided card has been active for more than 60 days. That’s what I was told anyway when deciding whether I should keep my Explorer or not.

                • spiff on 28/11/2018 - 15:25

                  @nightelves: Wow if that's true then that's huge… did you end up keep it past 60 days?

                  • nightelves on 28/11/2018 - 15:26

                    @spiff: Yes I did.

                    • spiff on 28/11/2018 - 15:28

                      @nightelves: Sorry for the dumb questions but I haven't heard this before. So you waited until 60 days past (and presumably got your points), cancelled the explorer and they refunded the $395 annual fee? And meanwhile you still kept the Platinum Edge?

                      • nightelves on 28/11/2018 - 15:29

                        @spiff: Sorry if you cancel within 60 days of the card being active. they might even entice you with extra points to stay longer. After the 60 days then it's a pro-rata of the annual fee.

                        • spiff on 28/11/2018 - 15:31

                          @nightelves: Right that makes a bit more sense but it's still surprising. So you didn't try to do this? Can I ask why?

                          • nightelves on 28/11/2018 - 15:34

                            @spiff: No because I had use for the travel credits, 3 points per $1 on the Platinum Edge, cashback offers and at the time wanted to bank up more points for biz class with airlines.

                • frbargain on 07/12/2018 - 11:05

                  @nightelves: edit - nvm

    • keepa on 21/12/2018 - 07:43

      Can confirm that it's worked on my card. Called last week and asked them to join the programs and was done with the first call.

  • djprima on 15/11/2018 - 10:11
    +1

    I never convert the points to airline points (always flying economy anyway with deals posted here and there), so no change for me I presume?

    • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 10:16

      You can fly First class from Tokyo to America return if you have 110k points transfer to Virgin Atlantic.

      • djprima on 15/11/2018 - 10:21
        +2

        Well, flying first class is not an option to me unless I bought it for the whole family

        • QW3RTY on 15/11/2018 - 10:45

          Laying in a first class suite for ten hours vs. not having to sleep on the couch for 6 weeks.

          … But just imagine the peace and quiet!

          • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 11:03
            +3

            @QW3RTY: When you fly business or first class younwver want to go back to economy.

      • illumination on 15/11/2018 - 14:13

        nightelves, you say this as if it's an option readily available without considering circumstances, the positioning cost to Tokyo. An ex-Australia option probably would've been more apt.. haha.

        • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 17:00

          For a $20k return flight I would do every means possible to position myself for that flight and beside there are worse location which you can position yourself for a first class flight.

          • illumination on 15/11/2018 - 17:29
            -1

            @nightelves: But what about an example closer to home? You can still get a $20k return flight with miles using points from Australia..?

            Besides that, what about..

            • People that literally don't care about flying premium but would rather get from A to B for the cheapest price possible? It is not possible to argue with facts - such as, "but you get 2 flights instead of 1 by flying Economy".
            • Those who don't fly at all, or fly very rarely. Maybe due to circumstances (family, job, disability)
            • Those who don't have much of an interest in holidays - not everyone travels every quarter/year!
              • I think it'd be hard to argue that people don't like travelling, and that's not my argument. My argument is more that some people literally do not travel often and sometimes trying to tell them "you can get $X value out of points for a flight from A to B in First Class" doesn't really tempt them the same way it tempts others.

            It's something I point out here and there on Ozbargain :P

    • od810 on 15/11/2018 - 10:51
      +1

      No, the cash rate is getting worse as well, from 1000 points = $7.41 to 1000 points = $5. I will ditch my explorer cards and get the Essential for the Amex deals. The cards effectively have the same cash back rate as Coles Platinum master card for more than 4 times the annual fees

    • naru6705 on 15/11/2018 - 11:17

      I totally agree, it is point less to have one way First or Business, and when you are travelling with family you need for all or none

  • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2018 - 10:12

    So I got my one a year ago, should I cancel it now and get a different card?

    • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 10:15

      You won’t get any extra bonus point based on the 18 months exclusion program that Amex has in place.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2018 - 10:15

        But is the Explorer card worth holding over a different card (non-Amex) that would give me a good signup bonus?

        • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 10:19
          +1

          For the airline transfer when linked with the Platinum Edge it is. Transfer to Asia Miles at 1:1 and redeeming one-way 45k biz class from Oz to Asia is cheaper than Qantas which charges 65k.

          • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2018 - 10:22

            @nightelves: Okay but without the Platinum Edge?

            • starburstyellow on 15/11/2018 - 10:38
              +1

              @[Deactivated]: These questions you are asking doesn't make sense.

              • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2018 - 12:10
                -6

                @starburstyellow: What doesn't make sense? The Explorer was a good deal BECAUSE of the sign-up bonus. Since I already have it and the year has lapsed, should I pay the same amount I paid a year ago for the annual fee WITHOUT getting any bonus like I did for signing up, or sign up for a new, different card instead?

      • JohnHowardsEyebrows on 15/11/2018 - 10:49

        Are they actively enforcing this? I flogged them like crazy a few years ago.

        • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 10:55
          +1

          Yeah they are. It’s been heavily discussed in AFF. Few years back was awesome!

  • xiaozaocha on 15/11/2018 - 10:29

    in the 18 months waiting period now!

  • Homr on 15/11/2018 - 10:42

    I'm not eligible because I held this card within the last 12 months :(

  • astroboy23 on 15/11/2018 - 11:10

    Hi, does it mean, if I apply the 100,000 sign up bonus, I still get 75,000 krisflyer if I transfer before Apr 2019?

    I just finished my 18 months waiting period last month, trying to work out the best amex card deal at the moment for me. Thank you

    • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 11:17

      Best thing to do. Sign up for the Explorer, then signup for the Platinum Edge and link the two together. You’ll have 100k bonus instead of 75k. Much better.

      • ALT TAB on 15/11/2018 - 11:27

        Wait how does that work. I don't have any AMEX cards so will I need to sign up for both and then after getting the points, ask for the points to be transferred to the Platinum Edge and then cancel the Explorer card?

      • starburstyellow on 15/11/2018 - 11:29
        +1

        I agree that this know "trick" is good but I do question it sometimes, purely on the credit check stand point.

        Example:
        If you did this trick you would get 2 credit checks (1 for explorer and 1 for the platinum edge) and would get 100K KFF points. But will require calling many times to get the right consultant to do it.

        But if you were do do the same 2 credit checks 1 for the explorer, and the other for example the St George signature, that would have yielded you 125K kff.

        Obviously im not including annual fees in discussion, and do agree the "trick" is quite good. But from my calculations above it would be better to apply for 2 separate cards. I've personally done the latter.

        • nightelves on 15/11/2018 - 11:45
          +1

          Some were able to convert the Explore across to Platinum Edge by doing a product swap. Not sure what the success rate for this would be though.

    • Uzb9811 on 15/11/2018 - 12:53
      +1

      Yes, it does mean that. And the 100k points should post almost straight away after meeting the minimum spend. So you definitely still have time to get the 75k KF miles.

      • Chincho1970 on 15/11/2018 - 15:42

        I haven't had amex cards for years. If my wife and I apply for the amex separately, would we get 200K points?
        Also, after spending $1500 X 2 and getting the points and convert them to Velocity points, could we cancel the amex cards?

        • Uzb9811 on 15/11/2018 - 15:52

          Yes you would both get 100k each after you meet the spend.

          You could apply through this deal directly for one of you, and then you could refer the other one as another option to get some referral points as well.

          You also could cancel as soon as the points are received.

          Although, the $400 travel credit can only be used while the card is open so you would want to use that first.

          • Chincho1970 on 15/11/2018 - 16:05
            +1

            @Uzb9811: well, if they're going to charge $395 straight away, there's one year to cancel them, right?
            I can see a return business flight somewhere ….. :)

          • Chincho1970 on 17/11/2018 - 15:42

            @Uzb9811: do you want to refer me so you can earn some points?

            • Uzb9811 on 17/11/2018 - 16:36

              @Chincho1970: Feel free to click on my name in the referral links section here in the deal - it has mine specifically listed or alternatively you can click on ‘random’ to give the points to another Ozbargainer. Of course I would be grateful if you choose to click mine! Cheers

    • astroboy23 on 15/11/2018 - 16:17

      so I just applied for Amex Explorer with 100,000 signup bonus - spend $1,500 to get.

      and I use someone's referral link, do I get another 60,000? and do I need to spend $1,500 or $3,000 to be eligible for this?

      • Uzb9811 on 17/11/2018 - 16:38
        +1

        You will still get 100,000 once you make the spend, but because you clicked the referral whoever’s you clicked on will also get some points.

  • hishaken on 15/11/2018 - 11:10

    very bad.
    thinking about cutting the card then

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