Founders Card

[winfred]

I received email about Foundercard and found a thread here from 2018 which didn't offer much information. I did some research and found some a lot of information but they are all reviews from US based people.

Does any non-US based people here has the card?

 

[PuravidaTC]

I received email about Foundercard and found a thread here from 2018 which didn't offer much information. I did some research and found some a lot of information but they are all reviews from US based people.

Does any non-US based people here has the card?

I have had the card for about 10 years and they still going strong.. although I was previously based in the USA and that is were it's mostly targeted and the value comes in. I travel a lot so it's of value to me. It used to be just the one level for all benefits now they have split it into two with Elite being the only one of real value now.

It's hugely beneficial as a kick starter if your going to use a lot of car rentals and hotel nights.. you get instant Presidents Club and Presidents Circle with Avis and Hertz along with many High End Hotel elite add-ons.

Also offers great discounts on SIXT rentals that although not well known in Australia, are an awesome car rental company for high end vehicles in the USA (I recently rented a BMWx7 for a week from LAX at $600 USD)

There is a 25% discount offered on Qantas but I believe that's only if your purchasing Australia bound flights originating from the USA.

If your a frequent USA traveler (as in multiple trips for weeks at a time where you stay in hotels and hire cars) then it's an absolute winner. If your travels are limited or mostly through Asia then probably not worth the initial outlay.

 

[winfred]

I have had the card for about 10 years and they still going strong.. although I was previously based in the USA and that is were it's mostly targeted and the value comes in. I travel a lot so it's of value to me. It used to be just the one level for all benefits now they have split it into two with Elite being the only one of real value now.

It's hugely beneficial as a kick starter if your going to use a lot of car rentals and hotel nights.. you get instant Presidents Club and Presidents Circle with Avis and Hertz along with many High End Hotel elite add-ons.

Also offers great discounts on SIXT rentals that although not well known in Australia, are an awesome car rental company for high end vehicles in the USA (I recently rented a BMWx7 for a week from LAX at $600 USD)

There is a 25% discount offered on Qantas but I believe that's only if your purchasing Australia bound flights originating from the USA.

If your a frequent USA traveler (as in multiple trips for weeks at a time where you stay in hotels and hire cars) then it's an absolute winner. If your travels are limited or mostly through Asia then probably not worth the initial outlay.

Thanks for the insight. For the next 4-5 years, I will most likely travel to the US 3 times a year. 2-3 weeks each time. The car rental with SIXT sounds good. I was in San Francisco in May and I rented a Corolla for 4 days and it costed me more than US$600. The Bonvoy fast track may also be of value to me and I will struggle to get the 50 nights to reach platinum.

 

[PuravidaTC]

Thanks for the insight. For the next 4-5 years, I will most likely travel to the US 3 times a year. 2-3 weeks each time. The car rental with SIXT sounds good. I was in San Francisco in May and I rented a Corolla for 4 days and it costed me more than US$600. The Bonvoy fast track may also be of value to me and I will struggle to get the 50 nights to reach platinum.

with that frequency i would say you will get at least the value of card - there is so much more to this card that you can work your way through once you have it.

you can use all the Car and Hotel programs even here in Australia once you're a member but make sure to use a US address as I know for the Car rental programs a US address is required to get the benefits.

 

[winfred]

Thanks for the tips. Will find a US address to use.

 

[SYD]

I went looking for details on this a few months ago and if i recall, you had to make an enquiry to see what the actual benefits are. Are they published or is it still a bit “Fight club” ‘ish?

Edit: damn autocorrect…

 

[PuravidaTC]

I went looking for details on this a few months ago and if i recall, you had to make an enquiry to see what the actual benefits are. Are they published or is it still a bit “Fit club” ‘ish?

haha you mean "fight club" right?.. yeah let me screen shot some here for you (hoping that's not against the rules and I end up in the ring).. T

These are only a small sample and probably don't do it justice, but will certainly give you more of an idea as I do remember prior to joining it was a leap of faith (as a founding member).

It's very much designed around the US Founders/Start-up culture with also having a lot of high end networking events.

 

[SYD]

haha you mean "fight club" right?.. yeah let me screen shot some here for you (hoping that's not against the rules and I end up in the ring).. T

Bloody auto-uncorrect. I blame Jobbs…

The quote from the website below always made me laugh…. Amway comes to mind - but it did seem like there were reasonable benefits - especially if based in the US and swanning around on someone else’s venture capital!

WHY CAN'T I SEE THE FULL LIST OF BENEFITS?​

Due to the exclusive benefits we have negotiated with our benefit partners, we can only show the detailed list of over 500 benefits to those that are invited to the community. Once you complete the inquiry form above, you will receive access to view the complete list of Member benefits.

 

[samh004]

OK I'll ask, what do you get at FoundersCard Elite...?

I also read that the Qantas discount is 25% from the USA to AU, but 15% in the other direction, though not sure if this is accurate.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I saw a screenshot from a friend last week and it showed a last minute rate at the WA Las Vegas that was half the price of anything that I could book.
And no I don’t have a Founders Card although there was a pretty decent discount code I used for Blacklane but sadly it’s not working anymore.

 

[PuravidaTC]

OK I'll ask, what do you get at FoundersCard Elite...?

I don't see how this would be restricted from view so here is basic break down.. it's basically where all the elite tier stuff sits for the car and hotel memberships etc. (which are actually hugely beneficial if your not able to earn them in your own right).

It's about $1k USD to go direct to Elite now I believe.

 

[SYD]

It's about $1k USD to go direct to Elite now I believe.

and probably tax deductible here but obviously no GST input credit.

With Covid interruptions, I’ve held off signing up/renewing things like Ibis Business (€90) and/or Accor+ ($399?). But for ~$1450 across multiple providers, it could be a compelling proposition if you’re doing a lot of travel, even outside the US and even if you only use some benefits. I guess where these things become quite subjective is when some people will value a “free” upgrade to a BMW from a Corolla more than others.

 

[winfred]

I don't see how this would be restricted from view so here is basic break down.. it's basically where all the elite tier stuff sits for the car and hotel memberships etc. (which are actually hugely beneficial if your not able to earn them in your own right).

It's about $1k USD to go direct to Elite now I believe.

The standard membership is US$395 if you search for a code on the internet and use the code. No idea about Elite membership. Looking at some reviews on the net, the benefits of the Elite card over the standard are:

• Omni Select Guest Platinum elite status good for 1 year, offering room upgrades, evening turndown, late checkout, double earnings for award nights, and more
• Hertz President’s Circle elite status
• Avis President’s Club elite status
• VIP hotel upgrades and amenities
• $50,000 in fee-free payments on Stripe
• 5 hours per year in concierge services
• $5,000 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) Activate credits
• 25% off Bang and Olufsen
• Complimentary companion FoundersCard membership

 

[Brissy1]

Anyone have experience with the Founders Card?
I bought something from David Jones online just now, and after purchase showed offers including free 1 year subscription ($US395 after) to Founders Card.
Is it worth free?

 

[Brissy1]

Well I just wasted ½ an hour of my life joining, now to cancel. The free membership level is "limited".
Checking hotels in Europe, the free membership level gives very few, and very minor, benefits or discounts. It's just a clickbait to get you to upgrade to "elite" for $US295 to get any worthwhile benefits.

 

[SYD]

It was discussed here but someone was quoting closer to US$1k for the “Elite” card.

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/threads/founderscard.105393/

 

[Traveler999]

There seems to be some pretty good value items with founders card eg Hilton Gold, Marriot fast track, IHG Gold and a whole bunch of discounts in multiple areas. I keep looking at the link I attached but also cannot really see the value for me. A few years ago they had a Hyatt fast track which would have been good.

FoundersCard

FoundersCard provides its exclusive community of over 250,000 business executives with premier benefits across travel, lifestyle, and business brands.

founderscard.com

 

[Forg]

I subscribe to the opposing product, LosersCard.
I find the value/money ratio just about breaks even (IIRC, 0/0 = 1 ?).

 

[SYD]

Anyone have experience with the Founders Card?
I bought something from David Jones online just now, and after purchase showed offers including free 1 year subscription ($US395 after) to Founders Card.
Is it worth free?

Got the same offer just now via DJs. For a laugh, clicked thru to see what happens.

Logging in, I’m presented with a “One off” offer to upgrade to “Elite” for US$295 (instead of US$995).

Is it worth it?

IHG Platinum (I’m currently Gold but will drop to Silver - unless I buy AMB)
HH Gold (dropped to “nothin” and nothing booked but I can SM again if I did)
US$200 Uber credit ($50 per qtr - probably use it or lose it?)
AVIS President Club - already have
Hertz President Circle - could be handy
Sixt Platinum

and what ever discounts one might be able to access?

Oh, and a stainless steel member card.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I had a look.
My impression was that there are far too many offers, each worth far too little.