Recommendations on first Amex cc sign up

[Stu Roughton]

Hi everyone,

I am a recent AFF convert and introduced myself last week in the appropriate forum. So "hello" if you haven't seen that

My points story so far -bearing in mind i am a bit of a newbie to all this...

I have started out on the basics as i held altitude black before joining and have had the QFF points from westpac and a further 75k from ANZ will hit in the next week or so (will request QP passes and cancel when received). Nab is currently en-route with another 100k so all progressing ok'ish so far. I will keep churning anything with a decent sign up for QFF until i get denied at some point i expect.

So. As the 'taxes/surcharges' are so high on QF/codeshare flights i need to be looking elsewhere for my points - namely Amex MR.

I am not a massive flyer so my points earn will be predominantly on the ground so sign up points will be the way to go. I envisage i will be redeeming my points in the future or international premium rewards to europe.

From initial research I like the fit of the platinum edge due to the ascent program and the low annual fee. However, even when using a members referral through this site (which i definitely will) i can only get 10k points.

Asking for recommendations or suggestions as to the best way to get a decent sign up bonus without paying a 1200 annual fee...is it possible to grab the points and then cancel or is the annual fee taken out immediately? i saw somedody mention the possibility of a pro rata refund. I have read about the 18 months exclusion for sign up points but happy to forgo 10k MR if i can get a quick bonus on one of the other cards?

Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Great community you have all built here☺

Stu

 

[blueythecat]

The plat edge is a great long term option if your spend is largely at supermarkets or on petrol. Don’t forget about the 3rd party gift cards option to maximise your supermarket spend if you go with an edge.

Another good option could be the Explorer as it often has a larger signon bonus. The Gateway program it belongs to generally has a lower transfer ratio to airline miles than membership rewards Ascent. This is partly made up for with the 2pts/$ earn rate.

If you combine the Explorer with an Edge or Amex Platinum Charge card many members have had success getting the Explorer linked to Ascent rewards instead of Gateway. Giving it a 2pts/$ earn rate and a 1:1 transfer rate to most airlines.

The best signup bonuses are often on the Charge. So for a first Amex I’d go with it for the bonus points and then open an Edge and an Explorer. I’d then close the Charge and keep the other two for the ultimate combo.

The Charge is a really good keeping card if you spend a lot on dining or travel or want to use its travel benefits such as free lounge access and hotel rewards. If this doesn’t apply it probably isn’t worth keeping after the first year. For the first year though the bonus points will cover the annual fee many times over.

Good luck in your quest for a new card!

 

[Stu Roughton]

Thanks for the detailed response blueythecat. Much appreciated. I think the edge is the best fit as we have a woolies 200m away. With the gift cards thing can you possibly tell me the basics as i have read a thousand pages of threads but still unsure. Buying egift through rewardpay or am i missing something??

The plat charge i feel won't be as good a fit with my spend but the bonus points are tempting. Shame i just missed out on the explorer sign up points which are now down to 50k. Is it likely this will improve in the near future?

I think i will go with edge as the keeper with a linked explorer as suggested. Just need to get a better signup as they seem all relatively poor at the moment. Really would like 100k MR to kickstart haha.

Thanks again i will use the appropriate referral when i do get this straightened out!

Stu

 

[blueythecat]

It's hard to beat the Edge if you can put a good amount of your spend through supermarkets. It is certainly my favourite card! Making best use of an Edge through purchasing 3rd party gift cards at the supermarket is really simple. If your local supermarket stocks a gift card you want, lets say JB HiFi for example, you purchase it using your Edge and get 3pts/$. You can then use that gift card at JB HiFi to purchase your favourite product. If you'd purchased directly from JB, you'd only have earnt 1pt/$ and, in JB's case, you would have had to pay an AMEX surcharge.

You can advance this a bit more through Woolies by purchasing 5% discounted Wish Giftcards (Woolies gift cards), through the Entertainment Book, Cash Rewards etc and then use these Wish giftcards to purchase 3rd party gift cards. Any Wishgift cards purchased through the correct portal (which entertainment book or Cash rewards will link you too) earn 3pts/$ as well. Much more details on these strategies and more in the relevant threads.

Given AMEX now only give signon bonuses to non-existing card holders (ie haven't held a card in the last 18 months), with the exception of the DJ range, it is really worth new applicants while to apply for the card with the highest signon bonus first. Even if this isn't the card you want to keep long term. For example if you apply for an Explorer at the moment I think you'll end up with 50k Gateway points. Or if you apply for a Charge, using a referral, you'll end up with 90k Ascent Premium points. In both cases these are worth well more than the cards annual fee. You can then apply for the Edge card and cancel the original card once you are done with it.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

 

[snabbu]

Excellent information for those of us looking at a non bank issued Amex card for the first time blueythecat, thank you.

 

[Stu Roughton]

Agreed, much clearer now.

Cheers, Stu

 

[Cynicor]

Yep, have to agree that your first card should be the one with the best signon bonus that you can afford, and then you get the "keeper" cards.
In this case Charge or Explorer (both via referral will give more points) and then the edge or explorer later. You want to end up wit an explorer and either charge or edge, at the end of the day.

 

[bigray73]

If you are going to apply for more than one card I think that you can refer to yourself using the dedicated referral link at claim a referral bonus for the 2nd and subsequent cards