Hi,
I've been seeing a lot of deals for Amex card holders (statement credits etc) so I'm quite keen on getting one but I have no idea which one to get.
I compared the Essential, Low Rate, Discovery and Velocity and leaning towards Low Rate cause it has refund and price protection which can come handy. Others have reward points which Low rate doesn't.
Also wondering if Amex offers are only available on Low rate or all Amex cards?
Thanks
"enticed by statement credits into purchases that you otherwise wouldn't make."
That's me. I visited several places in November that I wouldn't have normally have visited without a valid reason.
i.e the fish and chip shop, the produce store and the pub.
All comes down to what you want to achieve, as you said there are a lot of options to choose from and each of them have different benefits and cost associated
my pref is Amex Explorer $395 pa for the following reasons:
Depends totally on your needs. I upgraded this year from a discovery card with nil annual fees to an qantas Amex Ultimate card with $350 annual fee $450 qantas credit free travel insurance free qantas premium wine club, Amex lounge access plus a qantas club voucher and 30000 qantas. FF points. This works for me as we travel a lot , so as mentioned your decision should be guided by your needs
I have two Amex cards (one for my wife too) for the one account - I see a few posts on OZB where some have mentioned 'two amex cards' to double the bonus offers.
Is it a case of people having two separate AMEX accounts to claim the bonus twice (once on each card/account) OR can the double bonus be done simply with my current two cards on the one account?
Eg. Bonus is say $50 cashback for $400 purchase. If I break up a $800 purchase into two AMEX transactions, will my two cards on the one account each qualify for the $50 bonus?
Any info would be appreciated - cheers.
Bonus is say $50 cashback for $400 purchase. If I break up a $800 purchase into two AMEX transactions, will my two cards on the one account each qualify for the $50 bonus?
As long as you registered both cards (with non-identical card numbers), yes each card will receive $50 credit.
Source: I did the same thing when buying my iPad pro from Harvey Norman; used my DJs primary and supplementary cards (and my Velocity Escape Amex) to pay for it
Sorry for the necro, I'm in the same boat as OP. It's a big boat. You sound like someone who really knows their stuff.
When you say to register 2 (or more?) cards, is it as easy as clicking on the website to get another card shipped to you? Or do they like ask you a bunch of questions, or is this meant for multiple family members etc, all under different names?
Are there any downsides to having multiple cards? Do you pay multiple annual fees?
Sorry if these are stupid questions, never signed up for a CC before :(
Meant for multiple family members/people you trust. You can open supplementary cards linked to the same card account; each card number will be different. Downside is if they’re not in your name, then you may have a hard time taking advantage of the offers in store when there’s Amex Statement Credits on e.g. at Harvey Norman, I knew they were going to check the card, so I had to drag my dad with me as his name is on the supplementary card.
@xrailgun: You probably could if you had multiple accounts. I think someone on here has 27 cards between themselves and their partner
I'm in the same boat as OP, since the big 4 don't offer AMEX any longer, I looked directly at the AMEX website and was tempted to sign up for the essentials one. But then I saw this https://www.productreview.com.au/p/american-express-essentia…
I'm now wondering whether the current cashbacks will be worth the pain should anything go wrong in future and I have to speak with their customer support.
Anyone here had any positive stories dealing with their customer support, as all I see is warning signs?
Westpac still offer Amex
Anyone here had any positive stories dealing with their customer support, as all I see is warning signs?
It's like any customer support you get: sometimes you'll get people who know what they're doing, and other times they have NFI even though you've done the same thing before.
I don't know which call centre the Essential goes to, but the Phillipines call centre is hit and miss
I have a couple of different cards and almost always deal with their Australian call centre, they have almost always been outstanding. But I have no experience with the essential card.
Hi @3zzy,
Each of the products that AMEX has on offer really has a bit of niche depending on your priorities. As such we would really need a lot more information around your spending habits (do you pay your balance completely off, are you a regular traveller, do you spend much of luxury items, or is it mainly groceries, fuel etc etc.) , what features are important to you, are you tied into a particular frequent flyer program, is point earning important or are you just after the statement credits?
As best I can tell from your post you seem focussed on a low rate (so you likely carry balances over) and the statement credit are appealing. I wouldn't be getting an AMEX just for the statement credits, in fact if you carry a balance you are possibly able to be enticed by statement credits into purchases that you otherwise wouldn't make.