The two credit card rule

[zenyattamondatta]

After some trial and error at the office, we now have an eminently repeatable pattern, so for those interested in getting a third or fourth "pure" Amex credit card:

[there is a specific method to be followed]

 

[lovetravellingoz]

When I have applied in the past online it gets initial online approval, but then they ring me in a few days to which card to cancel so that they can issue the new one. So your process gains the cards delivered?

Now last time I tried I admit was about two years back.

Though if you do not get the bonus sign on points why is more than two worth it?

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Though if you do not get the bonus sign on points why is more than two worth it?

One cited scenario:

“If you have the Charge, you want the Reserve for the travel credit.

Then the Explorer and the Edge have their well-documented advantages.

Allowing one person to hold all three then frees up a spouse to sit out an 18-month period”

If you’re all about the signup points, then, sure, this might not be relevant. It’s popular here, though.

 

[andye]

My 'ideal' Amex portfolio would be Charge, Explorer (Ascent), Edge, Reserve to maximise earn and offset fees with travel credit.
I currently have an Accelerator instead of the Explorer which I assumed was allowed as it was a business card. The Accelerator fee makes it fall short of my ideal

 

[lovetravellingoz]

One cited scenario:

“If you have the Charge, you want the Reserve for the travel credit.

Then the Explorer and the Edge have their well-documented advantages.

Allowing one person to hold all three then frees up a spouse to sit out an 18-month period”

I don't currently have the charge/ Ihave had in the past. If there was no 18 month rule it would possibly be "a "churner".


It used to have really good TI for example, but costs have gone up and the other benefits are not that relevant to me.

If you’re all about the signup points, then, sure, this might not be relevant. It’s popular here, though.

As I have often posted at lengths complete with the maths, I am focused on maximum points and not blindly just on sign up points = for many of us the best combination is a mix of "keepers"and "churners" (though I also factor in other benefits such as TI, cashback, lounge cards etc).


I have been churning for 3 decades and yes have always used a combination of using the rules to juggle which card gets churned when for my wife and I. Used to churn Amex a lot. The 18 month rule now means though that with the Edge/Explorer being "keepers" that Amex can only be churned by one of us ata time.

 

[wxxnxs]

When I tried to get a third amex card in about 4 months ago, the process was nothing different as previous. However, the only exception was before I was getting my 3rd card issued, I got a call from AMEX to ask me to dump one of the card which I was holding in order to get the 3rd. I got very clearly message on how many of the cards that each person could have at a time, which is 1 charge+2 credit, 2 charge+1 credit, or 2 credit. BTW, DJ card DOES count the number of the credit card.

I had Edge, Qantas discover, and was trying to get DJ amex, then had to choose which one needed to be got rid off in order to get DJ card.

 

[blueythecat]

After some trial and error at the office, we now have an eminently repeatable pattern, so for those interested in getting a third or fourth "pure" Amex credit card:

- Be logged out of your account when you start

- You should get a message like the following:
Applying is easy
Card Members can log in for a shorter application
Log in, Confirm information, and Submit

- Don't do that, opt for:
Skip and go to long application

- Go through the normal application process

- Towards the end, it will ask you if have an existing Amex card. At this stage break down and admit that you do.

- Choose the lowest available credit limit.

Presto.

Very interesting. And you’ve all successfully received the cards or are you still waiting?

I’d certainly like to add the Explorer to my collection, but got told I had to cancel one of my existing cards last time I tried to do it.

 

[calgarychris]

Very interesting. And you’ve all successfully received the cards or are you still waiting?

I’d certainly like to add the Explorer to my collection, but got told I had to cancel one of my existing cards last time I tried to do it.

As another data point, I have plat charge, reserve, edge and just got approved for the essentials card. The only reason I took it was it's $0 fee and my wife was referring me so she got 60k referral points and I did the same for her. She's now got the reserve, explorer and essentials cards. It would seem to me like Amex has either relaxed the rules or has a flaw in the system somewhere...I looked at it as 120K points for $0 and a credit hit each.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

And you’ve all successfully received the cards or are you still waiting?

Received and in some cases proudly displayed. The record among us to date is Charge + Reserve + Edge + Explorer + new Westpac Amex + DJ Amex. The final one has to be managed separately, but that might be a feature rather than a bug.

Even in that set, it was only really the addition of the Edge (most recently) that was interesting. Info above (in #6) notwithstanding, it's never been hard to add a DJ Amex as a third credit card, and more recently they needed to tweak the "rules" for the new Westpac card.

I have sources suggesting a change in policy, but I'm willing to hedge on it being a glitch, and hence thought it worth mentioning.

I also have an anecdote to relate once I find out either way.

ADDED: Not sure why I'm being singled out for moderator attention, my posts are being held back for some reason. Starting to understand why people suggest there are better places to share this sort of information.

This message is awaiting moderator approval, and is invisible to normal visitors.

 

[support]

ADDED: Not sure why I'm being singled out for moderator attention, my posts are being held back for some reason. Starting to understand why people suggest there are better places to share this sort of information.

Until you meet certain requirements, the system automatically flags some posts to be manually approved. This usually occurs if there's any link, or a keyword in the post that might suggest the post is not authentic. When this happens, it is not someone going out of their way to hide your posts, it is an automatic process to protect the forum. Without it, we would be quickly swamped, and have been in the past.

Your issue is that you haven't yet been a member here for 30 days.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

+ new Westpac Amex + DJ Amex. The final one has to be managed separately, but that might be a feature rather than a bug.

.

In my experience it has never been an issue having multiple Amex CCards that are "badged" and/or issued by others in addition to the "real" CCAmexes.

ie I know at one stage last year I would have had at least two ANZ Amexes, Westpac Amex, Westpac Business Rewards Amex...as well as possibly others all at once on top of two Amex Amexes..

Another year in churning ANZ I know I has 3 of each kind of ANZ card combo at once. So that would have been 6 ANZ Amexes, plus my other ones (bank and Amex).

Churning so many over the years I did not keep track but I have certainly often had multiples of these at once.


So the interesting part for me is the more than two "real" Amexes at once.

 

[coriander]

I've had Edge for many years, had the ANZ and Westpac Amex cards which I churned once I'd got the points. While I had Edge+ANZ+Westpac, I applied for Ultimate by using a referral from someone here, and it was approved. Once I cancelled the Westpac Amex card mark 2, I applied for Explorer card which was approved within a day or so. i was going to ring them regarding linking it to my Edge's Ascent, but they did it automatically for me. I've spoken to Amex over the last couple of days shuffling the card limits around to maximise my Amex Rewards earn. They seem happy with my Edge+Explorer+Ultimate combination (as am I).

 

[Bell21]

I'm a bit confused by the '2 card amex rule' - admittedly, I have 2 small business amex cards, and a platinum (all in same name) and was concerned I might have to drop a card to get the reserve, but the 2 or 3 amex people I spoke to in personal cards said that the '2 card Max + 1 charged' or vice versa wasn't amex policy, irrespective of whether it was all personal cards or a mix of personal and business cards ( the reserve was approved without any questions)

 

[desafinado74]

Hi all, I currently have the AMEX Velocity Plat and the Explorer for the past few years. I am interested in the DJ AMEX card with it's current signup bonus. Would i need to drop either the Velocity Plat or Explorer in order to get the DJ AMEX card ?

 

[wxxnxs]

Hi all, I currently have the AMEX Velocity Plat and the Explorer for the past few years. I am interested in the DJ AMEX card with it's current signup bonus. Would i need to drop either the Velocity Plat or Explorer in order to get the DJ AMEX card ?

See my post above in #6, but some people got lucky to avoid canceling existing cards.

 

[sjk]

I love how someone starts a thread outlining something that works now, and the responses are along the lines of "it didn't work two years ago", "it didn't work four months ago", "I tried something else and it didn't work".

Hi all, I currently have the AMEX Velocity Plat and the Explorer for the past few years. I am interested in the DJ AMEX card with it's current signup bonus. Would i need to drop either the Velocity Plat or Explorer in order to get the DJ AMEX card ?

I think would have a high likelihood of getting the DJ Amex and receiving the bonus, based on my own experience this week. Best to avoid human eyes if possible, and asking for the minimum credit limit can facilitate that.

 

[amaroo]

I can't see the method stated in post 1, but in the past 5 or so weeks I've applied for Plat charge, Edge, and Explorer without any issue. Over the same period I've made two attempts to cancel my QF Ultimate .... only to be offered 170,000 QFFP to keep it.

I applied online, never spoke to an agent other than me calling them trying to cancel the Ult card.

 

[andye]

.... only to be offered 170,000 QFFP to keep it...

Nice offer

 

[samh004]

I think would have a high likelihood of getting the DJ Amex and receiving the bonus, based on my own experience this week. Best to avoid human eyes if possible, and asking for the minimum credit limit can facilitate that.

PM sent.

I can't see the method stated in post 1

Post number 7 still has it, but essentially when applying, don't enter your existing details for a shorter process, go through the long process as a completely new cardmember. At the end it will ask you a final time if you're sure you're not an existing member, and enter your details at this stage. Then choose the minimum limit. Supposedly.

Over the same period I've made two attempts to cancel my QF Ultimate .... only to be offered 170,000 QFFP to keep it.

Shame I want the card, otherwise I'd call! Don't really feel like a bluff and then losing it

 

[amaroo]

Post number 7 still has it, but essentially when applying, don't enter your existing details for a shorter process, go through the long process as a completely new cardmember. At the end it will ask you a final time if you're sure you're not an existing member, and enter your details at this stage. Then choose the minimum limit. Supposedly.

I lodged all applications as an unknown, ticked the existing Amex card box, but went with maximum credit limit. After I accepted the second offer to retain the Ult card, I got the agent to transfer 95% of the limit over to the Explorer ..... they made me leave 2K on the Ult as 2K is the minimum limit you can have.