Tag Archives: American Express Membership Rewards Points

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A Travel Hacker Wish List for Santa (Reader Ideas Needed)

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Good afternoon everyone, here is the filler post of the weekend. Enjoy!

Usually this time of year, we look back at the predictions we made at the end of 2015 or early 2016 and see how many things we got right and how many things we got wrong. It is usually a little depressing to look back and see how much has changed (for the worse) over the last 12 months. I wanted to put a positive spin on the predictions this year and turn it into a Christmas wish list for Santa. If Santa had the power to make travel hacker lives better, what would you wish for?

Grant’s wish list (in no particular order):

  • I want Chase to create a “no 5/24 rule day” so everyone can be approved for the Chase credit card they really want (I have my eye on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card).
  • I want the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card to change the $300 travel credit (incidentals only) to match the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card $300 travel credit (paid airfare and hotels).

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a silver credit card with a picture of a man

AMEX Business Platinum Large Purchase Bonus Points Post Fast + Detailed Benefits Guide

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Good afternoon everyone, happy TGI Friday!  During my recent App-O-Rama, I was instantly approved for the American Express Business Platinum Charge Card that offered 100,000 AMEX Membership Reward Points after spending $15,000 in 3 months (50,000 points after spending the first $5,000 and another 50,000 points after spending another $10,000).  I also wrote about my experience expediting my new card here: Need to Expedite a New AMEX Card? Add Yourself as an Authorized User / Employee.  On December 10, I made a large purchase of $8,390.71 with my new card.

amex-biz-plat-large-purchase

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Striking out on Citi Prestige and AMEX Platinum Retention Offers

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  By the time you read this post, I should be in Washington, D.C. for the Boarding Area Conference (BACON for short).  I am a big fan of retention offers and have written about them several times in the past (1, 2, 3, etc).  My most recent retention offer attempts were met with mostly rejection, but I have some data points worth sharing.

I haven’t used my Citi Prestige Credit Card much over the last few months and only value the ability to book AA and AA codeshare flights with Citi Thank You Points at 1.6 CPP.  I decided to call Citi and see if there were any retention offers available.  My opening line was, “I am considering applying for the Chase Sapphire Reserve and can’t afford to pay $400 annual fees for both cards.  Is there any offer on my Citi Prestige to keep me as a customer?”  I was immediately transferred to the retention department and repeated my opening line.  The retention specialist was very nice and helpful, but she didn’t have any retention offers available.  She said that retention offers can only be accepted once per cardmember year and I already accepted an offer on my Citi Prestige in May.  While on the phone, I asked if she could check for retention offers on my other Citi credit cards.  We went through my Citi Forward, Citi Premier, Citi Double Cash, and Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve credit cards and struck out every time (I was only eligible for 0% balance transfer and 0% APR offers which don’t interest me at all).  Last but not least, I asked if there were any offers on my new(ish) Citi AT&T Access More Credit Card.  Jackpot!  There was an offer for 5,000 bonus Citi Thank You Points after spending $1,000 over the next 3 months.  I gladly accepted the offer and thanked the rep for all her help.

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Fake News Friday: American Express Introduces Centurion Lounge Elite Program

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Full Disclosure: The following article is completely made up and not based on any factual information.  Any resemblance to actual facts is purely coincidental.  Since I cannot afford another author (sorry Devil’s Advocate), I will let my imagination run wild.

The Problem:

Right now, there are 2 groups of people who can enter American Express Centurion Lounges: Platinum cardholders and Centurion cardholders.  During the last few months, American Express Centurion Lounges have become overcrowded – table space is limited, food is sparse, and the WiFi speed is unbearably slow.

cartoon of people in a row in a queue

Artist interpretation of American Express Centurion Lounges

The Solution:

Beginning on Monday, November 7, American Express will introduce “The Centurion Lounge Elite Program from American Express.”  This is the only elite program that guarantees access to the American Express Centurion Lounges.  This program is designed to reward cardholders who frequently visit American Express Centurion Lounges with reserved tables, higher quality food, and dedicated high speed internet access.

reserved-table

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New AMEX Changes Effective January 1, 2017: Forfeit, Reversal & Negative Membership Reward Point Balances

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Good morning everyone, my American Express Platinum Charge Card statement just closed and I noticed that there were a lot of “important changes” from American Express.  Most of the time these “important changes” are minor changes in wording to the cardmember agreement, but in the most recent statement, there are some relevant changes to how AMEX Membership Reward points are earned and redeemed.  Here is a quick summary of all the changes:

  • Late payment fees are going up from $37 to $38
  • Returned payment fees are going up from $37 to $38
  • If you do not pay the amount due by the closing date of your next billing period, you will forfeit all points earned during that period
  • If you return an item and receive a statement credit, the points you earned from that purchase will be reversed
  • If reversed points make your account balance go negative, all future points earned will be applied to your negative balance

All the aforementioned changes go into effect on January 1, 2017.  It seems like American Express is really cracking down on churners and MSers, especially on AMEX Platinum Charge Cardholders.  Here is page 1 of 5 showing the new changes:

amex-details-1

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