American Express Platinum Card question(s)

[Jaian]

Hi all,


this is a bit long-winded, apologies!


6 months ago I jumped into the FF points world and have been somewhat obsessed with accruing FF points. Living in Darwin, I fly out to Asia on multiple short holidays (usually to Bali/Singapore/Thailand every year, and other countries when there's a sale) on budget flights given it's cheaper to fly to those destinations than Sydney/Melbourne.


Given most of my travel is overseas, I did some research before I dove in, and determined Velocity was the best value for money when it comes to overseas redemptions, especially given I could transfer points to Krisflyer. I'm only intending to use the points for J or F redemption, I'd rather pay Y outright when on sale (I can get $130 return airfare to Bali, $180 return to Singapore etc).


My Velocity points are generally going to be converted to Krisflyer points, taking a hit due to the 1:1.35 conversion rate, so I would really love to earn points directly in Krisflyer, or with less of a loss.


Amex Membership Awards seem to be the way to go given I can get the same points schedule as my current Velocity Platinum, except the points will be in more valuable MR than Velocity. The 120k signup, along with the Priority Pass (+1 guest), and finally the free 5 star hotel night, would all make the $1200 worth it this year (before the hotel night is scrapped). Priority Pass is a big plus since I primarily fly budget airlines, and even with QC membership the Qantas lounge in Singapore and other countries are often not open when flying Jetstar etc.


I'm interested in signing up, but my concerns lie in two major areas:

• I already have an Amex issued card, so officially am ineligble for the 120k MR rewards
• According to the T and Cs, if the Charge card balance is not paid in full by the due date, they will take *all* the accrued MR points balance, not just for those accrued in the month.

I guess I have a lot of questions which will help me determine whether it's worth signing up this once:


1) If my application is successful, meet the minimum spend within the first week and find that I am not going to get the 120k MR points, can I cancel that same month (or next month), and only pay pro rata the $1200 annual fee?


2) Is it true that Amex can/will wipe out your entire MR balance if you are late with a payment? Is there anyway to transfer it elsewhere without any loss? Krisflyer is 1:1 but they expire after 2 years or something like that?


3) I assume I can set up a Direct Debit so I don't have to worry about paying on time, is this correct?


4) I'm not completely across how Charge Cards work, given there's no official limit on spend, but can you dispute fraudelent charges as you would with a Credit Card?




Hopefully this isn't too long-winded, and my questions aren't too dumb.

Thanks,
Jaian

 

[nlagalle]

in relation to them taking the points, yes they can, however I am not sure at what point. I had a stuff up once and paid my card late and no points were taken at any time (you would get them back if you paid the card).

yes you can set up direct debit too.

Yes you can dispute charges on the charge card too.

If you cancel you should get most if not all of the $1200 back.

 

[Jaian]

Thanks nlagalle , appreciate the response.

Can you clarify two points please:

I had a stuff up once and paid my card late and no points were taken at any time (you would get them back if you paid the card).

Does that mean it's just a temporary removal? ie. if you're late a week, it's only 'taken away' until you've paid it back? That sounds a lot better than permanently losing months of points.

If you cancel you should get most if not all of the $1200 back.

Sounds good. Would this apply if I were to cancel 2 months in?

 

[DC3]

....

• I already have an Amex issued card, so officially am ineligble for the 120k MR rewards ....

Probably no point in looking at this card, if you are after the 120,000 points.

Also, being a charge card, full payment must be made by the due date.

 

[mitwg]

The terms of the MR system is that the points will remain as long as "your account is paid and is in good standing". This is open to interpretation in terms of leniency.

I'm sure they'll be fairly lenient if you genuinely miss 1 payment (but have been good all other times) and all you may get might be a phone call and a late payment fine. Do that multiple times though, then they were well within their right to close your account, which can mean your points are gone forever as the account is now closed.

And if you do transfer to SQ, the points will last 3 years.

 

[blueythecat]

.
....
1) If my application is successful, meet the minimum spend within the first week and find that I am not going to get the 120k MR points, can I cancel that same month (or next month), and only pay pro rata the $1200 annual fee?
....

I too believe this is the case, as they've done it before for me. Having said that, I can't find it written down anywhere, but I'm sure I'd seen it in writing somewhere before.

Good luck with your application!

 

[Jaian]

Cheers guys, I think I'm going to apply as long as I can hide getting yet another expensive credit card from my gf! I see a referral link in your signature bluey, I'll be using that

 

[blueythecat]

Cheers guys, I think I'm going to apply as long as I can hide getting yet another expensive credit card from my gf! I see a referral link in your signature bluey, I'll be using that

Thank you very much and good luck with the application.

Credit cards are quite small in size, I reckon they hide quite easily behind large bunches of flowers