Amex Corporate Card

[gavhore]

Hi,

I am hoping to get an Amex Corporate card for the company i work for, to pay for expenses to accrue points to make our travel costs a bit cheaper. It needs to be a corporate card, as i need the company to accrue the points NOT the individual, as it won't just be me doing the travel and i am only an employee of the company. I have 2 questions, 1. the Amex corporate card is the only card i have found that lets the company accrue the points, does anybody know of a better card to use? 2. When using an Amex card to pay for expenses, you often have to pay a surcharge for the privelage, at what point does the cost of the surcharge outweigh the value of the reward points.

My apologies if these questions have been ask previously, i am a newbie and still trying to find my way around the site.

Thank you.

Gavin

 

[marki]

Gavin these are legitimate questions that do need answering have you tried ringing AMEX direct they know the in and outs too

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Gavin these are legitimate questions that do need answering have you tried ringing AMEX direct they know the in and outs too

I fail to see how calling AMEX will give any joy for either Q.

1. Hello AMEX - is this card best card on market for earning rewards pts for my company? Sure is! But what about Diners or Bank issued Visa or Mcard or Amex? Nah - they are all dogs - stick with us - ours is best!

2. Hello AMEX - is it worth paying 7% surcharge to these rogueing thieving merchants who levy exorbitant CC fees? Sure is - look how valuable that 1 rwds pt / $1 is - keep using our card sunshine!

Well I think you get the drift - both Qs can only be answered by OP as to what value he/she or the company put on each reward point.

gav TBH IMHO I am very comfortable with Amex MR pts costing ~$0.01 ea - over that you really need to question it - there is no simple answer and every AFF member will hold a different view to each other - it really is a personal decision.

 

[gavhore]

Thank you Cruiser Elite,

$0.01 per reward point will give me a good rule of thumb to work off, to make sure the merchant fees aren't costing me more than the benefit you get from the reward points.

Thanks again for your time

 

[marki]

I fail to see how calling AMEX will give any joy for either Q.

1. Hello AMEX - is this card best card on market for earning rewards pts for my company? Sure is! But what about Diners or Bank issued Visa or Mcard or Amex? Nah - they are all dogs - stick with us - ours is best!

2. Hello AMEX - is it worth paying 7% surcharge to these rogueing thieving merchants who levy exorbitant CC fees? Sure is - look how valuable that 1 rwds pt / $1 is - keep using our card sunshine!

Well I think you get the drift - both Qs can only be answered by OP as to what value he/she or the company put on each reward point.

gav TBH IMHO I am very comfortable with Amex MR pts costing ~$0.01 ea - over that you really need to question it - there is no simple answer and every AFF member will hold a different view to each other - it really is a personal decision.

Cruiser thats not to say that there are benefits (unwritten). I have had some luck in this field and must say some of the outcomes have been extraordinary by just doing a simple call. Really good sign on bonuses and compensation for surcharges. Amex can be sympathetic. Seeing things differently is not a crime. Having some success with amex before, So getting your drift? not really.

A corporate card is a bit catch they are willing to compromise on most things. It needs a careful individual approach however.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

I can't answer your first question, but Amex MR points are very flexible and are a very useful point currency compared to other schemes.

I have the same pain barrier as CE - 1c per AMEX point is about my limit on personal spending, but if it is deductible spending I am prepared to go higher and am comfortable with 1.5c per AMEX point but will consider 1.8-1.9. Depends on whether I really need the points and my mood I suppose.

 

[anshul]

The problem with AMEX is that a lot of merchants try to put a surcharge on AMEX even though they have no or minimal surcharge on VISA and MasterCard.

 

[marki]

Tax deductibility tends to diminish frugality is what I have noticed when using any card for that matter.

I can't answer your first question, but Amex MR points are very flexible and are a very useful point currency compared to other schemes.

I have the same pain barrier as CE - 1c per AMEX point is about my limit on personal spending, but if it is deductible spending I am prepared to go higher and am comfortable with 1.5c per AMEX point but will consider 1.8-1.9. Depends on whether I really need the points and my mood I suppose.

 

[gavhore]

I was mainly going to use the Amex card to pay our BAS with the ATO and utilities bills. The ATO charges 1.45% and our electicity retailer charges 1.87% to process a Amex card. So if you value a reward point at $0.01, The Amex card is only worthwhile if your surcharge is less that 1%. Is that correct??

Thanks

 

[BillytheFIsh]

I'm not sure on the specifics of the card you are considering, but most Amex cards only pay 0.5 pts per $ on ATO and utilities, so you would be paying ~3c per point on ATO spent and ~3.7c per point on utilities. Too rich for me.

To answer the second part of your question - it depends on the earn rate, because if you have a card that pays 1.5 pts per $ or 2 points per $, it might be worthwhile to pay more than 1% surcharge.

 

[andye]

Up to $0.015 per extra point for me (but I am spending points on myself)
I can't justify Amex for ATO for the reasons BillytheFIsh says
You can often pay utilities via PayPal-may make accounting more difficult
Note that if you are using points to reduce business travel expenses, the value is lower as the cash travel would be deductible