Fantastic sign up bonus from AMEX. I haven't seen a bonus this large for the explorer before.
As always, only for members who have not held a card in the past 18 months.
This card really should have a 0% international transaction fee, especially since it's being marketed as a travel card.
Referrer: 40,000 Reward Points
Referee gets 200,000 MR points. Referrer gets 150,000 MR points.
Noob question, what's the best way to purchase Coles gift cards with Amex (without surcharge)? TIA
Through Coles? lol
Are you certain you can use gift cards to reach the $3k minimum spend?
I've not churned AmEx cards before and haven't been able to find info about this online.
I got both Coles and Woolies gift cards last time to reach the spend, worked fine for me. If you want to be certain, you can alway call/chat to amex to find out :)
yes, you can buy gift cards from retailers and the spend will count towards the 3k min spend.
@ck009: Did you get reward points for buying gift cards ? I have completed 3k but reward points for the gift card purchase and no bonus 240k reward points yet.
@sparshrohatgi: Where did you purchase the gift cards from? How long has it been that you completed the min spend?
The purchases have to be processed/charged to your account for the points to be awarded - the simple way to find this is to check if the purchases are in the 'Posted' section or the 'Pending' section on your AmEx online account.
Did you get reward points for buying gift cards ? I have completed 3k but reward points for the gift card purchase and no bonus 240k reward points yet.
You can use it to pay your taxes, that counts, just the ATO charges you a surcharge, no big deal really if you have no other way to get the points
For those who will have (or previously had) the AMEX travel credits, what routes (both international and domestic) have the best value? Both me and my partner have the credits from Ultimate Qantas CC.
Also we booked a domestic trip for March this year but cancelled at the end. Apparently you could only rebook with the same route/airline? Anyone had similar experience with re-booking and could provide some advice e.g. could it be changed to another route (or to international flight instead)? TIA
So has anyone booked refundable hotels, flights, ect to reach the $3000 spending requirements and then waited until the points were in and they requested a full refund? and did this work?
Worked for me a few years ago
If you cancel after 1 year, do you have to use/convert all points before cancellation?
yes, you will have to use/transfer the AmEx MR points before you cancel the card.
Quick question, if my wife gets the card under her name (As I’ve had an Amex last 12months) can she then transfer the points to MY KrisFlyer account?
not really….your wife will have to transfer the AmEx points to her own KF account…and transfers between KF accounts are not allowed as far as I know (except for pooling your children's accounts)
Is there a reason why you want the points in your account.
I’ve got around 250k and thought just would be easier if it’s all in one account when redeeming right?
ANZ and Citibank - take note. This is how the credit card application process should be. Quick and simple and most of the time they approve you on the spot.
Just got an approval SMS, pretty fast!
Can you use the card to pay bills?
And have it count towards the 3k
yes, as long as AmEx is accepted by the biller or you find a (creative) way to use Amex to pay the bill.
yes, they count towards teh min spend
Use Post Billpay
Does the 18 month period limit applies from day of the cancellation or month? I cancelled my previous card around May 2020. Just wondering, do they go by months or actual date of cancellation? I believe this offer is until 30th Nov so should be fine.
I called last week, and it goes by the day. But I would call and double check your specific account.
Always by the day. It has to be more than 18 months since you closed your prev card account. You can either call the AmEx CS or check on one of the creditcheck websites (like creditsavvy/creditsimple/getcreditscore) to confirm the date of account closure.
Can a referral link be used with this offer so the other person can get their referral bonus as well ?
If you load $3K onto a virtual card like Revolut from the new Amex card, does that qualify for the spend?
Can it be added to google pay?
Yes you can.
When is the annual fee due? The fee wont be charged if it is less than 12 months or I have not used the travel credit?
If I recall the annual fee is on your first statement and is irrespective if you have used the credit or not.
Curious to hear from anyone’s experience (positive or negative) who may have applied for an Amex within the 18 months period and if the bonus points came through?
I posted this previously and negged the previous deal.
I'll refrain from negging this deal this time as I haven't applied therefore not a fair neg, but I negged last time because:
1) rejection rate - many people (myself included) who have stated should be eligible based on income, assets etc.
2) AmEx criteria that is undisclosed
3) Not being able to provide reasons for rejection (completely automated by computing systems)
4) Stupid "5-10 business day response" when the call centre already knew the application was rejected
5) Requiring to call up and ended up wasting >1 hour of my time and still being rejected after providing payslips, rental statements, ID etc.
Kudos to those who got it, I feel like this was more of a gamble than an application and a waste of a credit check.
For what it's worth, I have a score on the borderline between very high and excellent on every credit provider, 3x the minimum income requirements, and have completely serviced all my credit card loans, with investment properties paid off. Perhaps they saw me as too low risk and would never pay them interest which I suppose is fair enough.
1) As far as I know or read on forums, AmEx is the most linient with approving applications and their rejection rate is among the lowest
2) I haven't seen any bank disclose the approval criteria
3) I haven't seen any bank provide the exact reason for rejecting the application
5) 'Requiring to call up and ended up wasting >1 hour of my time' - In my view, you have to be prepared for this if you want to take advantage of these offers
Do you have at least one line of credit running all along (like a credit card or mobile plan).
Shrugs. I hear what you're saying but
I haven't been rejected for any other credit card to date.
As I understand, usually if you pass the credit check, annual income etc. you pass the criteria. Amex seemed to have another criteria and I was told "I wasn't a fit for the card" whatever the hell that means. I could be wrong, please correct me but for other banks once I passed the credit check it was always "congratulations".
I do have a credit card I've held for 5+ years now at 6k (although largely unused now), mobile plan has been constant for 2 years.
I have been rejected by Amex three times now one was for the Qantas Premium, second was Amex Explorer and third time round was Amex Explorer. Their assessment was that my credit score is too low being at 600 and that was their only criteria in rejecting me.
@nightelves: Did you manage to check your score recently? My getcreditscore went up from 60x to 90x recently due to the revised changes for scores. Keen to know.
@starburstyellow: Oh wow it did too. When did that happen? However illion is still 600. Does the banks use illion?
@nightelves: Yeah I was shocked too because I didn't believe my 60x was fare of my circumstances. Pretty stoked at 90x haha. Was about 2-3 months it changed. From what I understand they use Equifax (which mycreditscore is based from).
@starburstyellow: Funny because I saw this also a few months ago but even then Amex said my credit score was too low. So definitely not sure why I keep getting rejected by them.
That's good to note. The 18 months rule has been a good deterrent for churners but not sure how strict they are and if there are more success stories from others.
I have had AMEX card twice before. But I have never had this kind of experience with them before.
I signed up online. Did all the checks and they asked me for payslips. 5-10min later I discovered a missed call on my phone from 1300 557 743. Called back, they asked for all the same details and then call dropped out and they called again from 02 8326 9104. Asked same questions again and gave me the email address where to send payslips (although I already received all that information on the email). And a minute later the guy on the phone said that he checked his email, but cant see my payslips yet. Although I was on the call with him the whole time and answering his questions.
Seems a bit odd and rushed, a bit scammy.
Anyone else had calls from these numbers and similar experience? I hope I dont have to cancel mine and mrs's drivers licences now.
The same thing happened to me, newaccounts email?
It did feel like a scam and the confirmation email took a while to come through after the call so it had me sweating.
https://www.americanexpress.com/au/credit-cards/about-credit…
Normal process under the "Verifying Your Income" heading
Same thing happened to me. CSR asked to send payslip details to this "newaccounts" email.
i then called them back and got approved.
So…this is my first time applying for a credit card. What is the best way to extract value out of this deal? I don't really travel much so I'm thinking more of converting these points into like gift cards or whatever. Any tips and tricks for a newbie?
Tip - Apply for the card and get approved - then start thinking of what to do with the points.
Amex allow you to use the points to pay off your credit card. Each point is worth .5c. So with this deal once u do your spend you’ll have at least $1215 in points dollars to pay off the card. This offers more value than gift cards. Keep in mind travel credit can be used to book hotels, book a nice weekend away. Failing that some people do sell the travel credit on the classifieds.
Applied a couple of weeks ago, got approved today. What are my chances to get this deal instead of what i signed up for? did i just answer my own question?
Has anyone experienced this?
I have 3 credit card with 6k limi each. but not using much. Never had amex before. Any one has problem to approve if have more 2 card or something ?
I have two other cards and got approved, but there are too many variables with applications.
Looks like converting to Krisflyer is one of the better ways to get value out of this. A few questions though, never done this before…
1) How soon after spending the $3k do you get the points?
2) How long would it take to turn those points into Krisflyer points?
3) What's the conversion rate from the 250000 amex points to Krisflyer points? I've read 1:1 and 2:1 in separate places.
4) Does anybody know how SQs award availability on flights are? Especially with how COVID is and the pent up demand for travel, got a honeymoon in April to plan and wouldn't mind some J class flights…. (SYD - SIN - MLE - ?somewhere in SE Asia? - SYD)
1) 1-2 days after the 3k spend is reached and billed on your account
2) 1-14 days (looking at the comments and my experience they are instant as of now)
3) It would be wise to check the availability of J award seats to your destination and then transfer to the rewards program (you can consider Asia miles and check availability to your destination)
I just got approved for a home loan. Should I wait until settlement before applying for a credit card?
If your bank didn't tell you what credit card limit they allowed for in conjunction with your home loan, then yes, I personally wouldn't risk it and I'd wait for the property to settle.
I would wait for settlement, I was in similar situation, have to cancel my amex for new homeloan. Now once settled i am hunting for a new card.
Is this a good rewards card for everyday use? I don’t have a rewards card but think that I should get one to get points for every purchase… like Woolies or coles.
Does this really have a bad surcharge? I’m in QLD. Many people I talk to says that the surcharges will basically eat up all the points that you get anyway.
I manage to pay ~80% of our household expenses on this card and I only pay surcharge on one bill (from memory its 1.75%). In my view, it is a very good card.
New to credit card churning and appreciate any advice!
1. Is this offer still worth it if I don't use the travel credit? I had a look at the Amex travel page and they don't offer low cost/budget flights. So if I buy my flights off there it'll end up costing more than if I just bought it myself. I'm fine with slumming it on budget flights so it's not appealing to pay more for the same trip.
Any other way to spend this credit to make it worth while?
If I spend the $3k and get the points before the first bill and cancel, can I dodge the annual fee?
I have used the credits mostly on accommodation, which can be the same as other booking sites depending on the place. I also used a bit on activities (tours), although I'm not sure if they will bring this option back.
No.
My advice would it depends which points you're collecting. I generally split my points into 2: Qantas or Krisflyer. If you don't care and plan to collect both, then yes its worth it. Its more worth it if you are based in Perth tbh as Krisflyer points are better for us. If you like to have only QF, then dont waste your credit check on this and get any of the recent QF card deals.
1.) You could use it for just local accommodation i.e. just a stay cation at a hotel?
2.) No, you will get charged. The only way Ive heard (mentioned many times on AFF) is on the 11th month,the 2nd credits gets given to you before the annual fee hits. You could then spend it, close the card without getting charged. I personally haven't done this, as I wouldn't feel good doing it i.e. seems like stealing to me but others may not see the same.
I grabbed the 180k point deal a few months ago. Thanks to whoever posted. Used the $400 travel credit and half my points for flights to Queensland with the family last night.
I found best way to spend the $3k to qualify was to take bills to post office to pay. Most allowed Amex as payment method at post office, some didn’t.
Does anyone know if I can refer people and get referral bonus, plus referee gets this deal?
Also, if you don’t have good credit card discipline and end up with a balance and paying interest, never take up one of these deals. It can be a slippery slope for some people!
I read a good hack on ozbargain where you can link your Amex to a paypal account and them pay bills online using auspost bill pay, if available.
Can we pay off zip account with Amex ?
I would also like to know this, and whether loading the $3K onto a Revolut virtual card counts as spend.
No, Zip only accept Visa/MC but you can link it with Afterpay. If you haven't got Afterpay account you can use referral link to open account and you will get $30 off your first $50+ payment.
Any one know if supplement card holder from ex-amex account can apply and get the bonus point?
yes, no can earn bonus points on this offer. Just make sure you haven't been a primary card holder of any AmEx card account (except AmEx DJ cards) in the last 18 months.
I've churned credit cards before but never American Express. Can anyone confirm if Coles/Woolworths gift cards count towards the $3000 minimum spend criteria?
Hi guys
Is this bonus point QFF points ?
No, amex points
Thank you for that. Can i confirm that i can use the bonus points to pay for the Annual fees as well as statement balance,?
You can use for statement credit but not to pay off annual fee
@ck009: Ok, how do they charge your annual fee though? Do they debit it to your card? If so then, it will be in your next month statement? And can be paid by the points?
@bargainfinder: i don't own this card but i've been a platinum edge card holder for nearly 10 years now and can confirm they debit the fee to your card, so yes technically you can pay with your points.
Thanks Op. Applied yesterday and got the sms from Amex today "Congratulations, your American Express Card has been approved and will be delivered within 7 business days. Thank you for your new Card Membership."
I didn't get any SMS. But, I got the email saying we've approved your card application.
Got both..email and sms
Cancel the card by the end of the first year to avoid $395 annual fee?
It will be charged on your first statement, however, you will receive $400 travel credit.
Applied yesterday and approved today. Painless experience!
I have applied today and it was showing conditionally approved. After I got the email saying the outcome will be shared in 5 business working days. It didnt ask for any payslip or bank statement.
Is it same process for you as well?
Thanks
They will call you if they need payslips or other documents.
I was able to upload my documents during the application process but also received an email with a link
What message did you get after you applied?
Did you get this message straight after you applied? "We have captured and are processing your application for The American Express Explorer Credit Card. We will notify you of the outcome within 5 - 10 working days."
Any tips on getting accepted?
Have a good income & credit score.
got 2 mortgages, 1 credit card with 30 k limit.
AMEX approved but right before AMEx citi bank declined 7 k credit card with Virgin points
strange
found one not right record on my credit file with 15 k still open while itrs actually closed
aiming at Krisflyer
240k bonus points is massive. does make my 10 year loyalty to my platinum edge card feel like a waste.
i don't wish to cancel my 2 other amex cards, i've got a CPA plat edge and gold card. Any smart ideas how I can still get this offer?
When after signing up did the 400$ travel credit get added to your accounts?
Around the same time, they charge your annual
damn, i think im only 17mths since cancelling my last amex :)
actually, messaged them and i just hit 18mths.
Might be my lucky day :)
well that was about the fastest cc approval in a while
2 min form fill in and SMS approval before the screen even refreshed :)
I just went to look at some flights on the Amex travel site to see what you can get with 240,000 points. It only shows the cash price of flights. Anyone know how you can see what the cost of flights are with points?
My annual income is around 60k no mortgage or other credit cards.
Any chance to get it?
You can always buy Coles or Woolies gift cards