Rewards Maximiser Gone?

Status
Not open for further replies.

roryg

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Posts
40
Was just checking my AmEx account, and it seems that the Rewards Maximiser is no longer offered. (I'm fairly sure it was there yesterday.)

Doesn't show up at all in their "Compare Cards".

Wonder if they are shutting down the program completely and will be pushing us to switch to a different card; or if they are just going to let it fade away.
 
Damn i hope not, i just applied for this card and thought it was going through.
 
roryg said:
Was just checking my AmEx account, and it seems that the Rewards Maximiser is no longer offered. (I'm fairly sure it was there yesterday.)

Doesn't show up at all in their "Compare Cards" section.

Wonder if they are shutting down the program completely and will be pushing us to switch to a different card; or if they are just going to let it fade away.

You are correct, it doesn't appear in the "compare cards" section and never did. It does still exist but you have to go hunting for it. It looks as though this card is suffering the same fate as the Plain gold credit card. This card has also disappeared from the AMEX portfolio but you can still apply by phone.

BTW If you want the plain Amex Gold credit card it is still available "free for life" just call and ask

There have been a few posts recently discussing this issue. There seems to be moves afoot to lock American Express customers into the Qantas program and move them away from Membership rewards. I have been on the end of one of their surveys which would imply that this is on the cards (pardon the pun). Im guessing that Qantas want an exclusive gig with American express given the Qantas/Amex card deal rather than customers moving points to Virgin etc.

Platinum Credit card holders have also been offered an "upgrade" to the Qantas Ultimate card by way of example - Why would you canibalise your own customers?

Only time will tell on this one, but expect to be offered the Qantas cards as an upgrade when you have a maximiser.
 
I may be wrong, but I am fairly sure it was in the "Compare Cards" a little while (a few days?) ago. Had to take my partner through the whys-and-whynots of getting a Supplementary card.

Other than that, I do tend to agree with you. There does seem to be a trend to "encourage" people to move to another, higher fee, card. As posted elsewhere, ANZ have encouraged people to move to the QFF Platinum Visa and, from what someone at work was tellimg me, Westpac are doing the same (moving people to Platinum).

Which makes me wonder: doesn't this - the pushes to Platinum - degrade the Platinum cards and their supposed exclusivity? [I won't mention the higher fees.]
 
roryg said:
.... As posted elsewhere, ANZ have encouraged people to move to the QFF Platinum Visa and, from what someone at work was tellimg me, Westpac are doing the same (moving people to Platinum). ... [I won't mention the higher fees.]
Actaully, I migrated from ANZ Blue to ANZ Plat earlier this year - the ONLY difference to me is the Plat has the built in Travel Insurance, 90 purchase protection and extended warranty.

Fees and point earning* are still the same as for the Blue card.

*First $1500 per month earns points @1:1, next $3,500 per month earns at @1:2 then zip.
 
Nutcase said:
There seems to be moves afoot to lock American Express customers into the Qantas program and move them away from Membership rewards.

This seems to be contradicted by their current 10 for 1 points promotion for MR only. If they were trying to get away from MR, why promote it to this extent?
 
Amex is a world of contradiction - Why would they migrate customers from Platinum Credit to Ultimate? Why would they not offer free fee Gold cards to the general public? Why would they Not offer 10 points per dollar to Qantas card customers? Why would they not offer to upgrade customers to platinum Charge when they have a Qantas card?

Who the hell knows? Best option is to have a bet each way - Make sure that you have a MR account as well as a qantas Amex card
 
Nutcase said:
There seems to be moves afoot to lock American Express customers into the Qantas program and move them away from Membership rewards. I have been on the end of one of their surveys which would imply that this is on the cards (pardon the pun). Im guessing that Qantas want an exclusive gig with American express given the Qantas/Amex card deal rather than customers moving points to Virgin etc.
If they ever force all Amex points earning to go directly to QF I will be very quick to vote with my feet. I like the flexibility of sending my MR points to QF, Starwood, HHonors etc.
 
NM said:
If they ever force all Amex points earning to go directly to QF I will be very quick to vote with my feet. I like the flexibility of sending my MR points to QF, Starwood, HHonors etc.

I would too. The flexibility that MR brings with airlines alone is good enough, then add in the hotel programs and it is a clear winner in my books.
 
I got mine today. :mrgreen:

I think they just want to max advertise on the Qantas one's, but are still offering all the normal ones.
 
NM said:
If they ever force all Amex points earning to go directly to QF I will be very quick to vote with my feet. I like the flexibility of sending my MR points to QF, Starwood, HHonors etc.

At the risk of antagonising - Where will you go?
 
Nutcase said:
At the risk of antagonising - Where will you go?
Not sure. But a card that only deposits into QF is of no use to me. Maybe Diners Club as they can at least go to number of places. Or just forget CC points altogether and get a really cheap (or free) basic card.
 
NM said:
If they ever force all Amex points earning to go directly to QF I will be very quick to vote with my feet. I like the flexibility of sending my MR points to QF, Starwood, HHonors etc.

Me too. I already have points sitting in QF but so have plenty of others, surely one of the reasons it is often difficult to redeem seats. IMHO QF has too big a share of FF points now and needs some competition.

Now I use my Amex Maximiser whenever possible for 2 reasons, 1.5pts per dollar and the transfer options, including several airlines. This is why I pay the card and reward fees. If the only option was QF I'd use my Citibank Visa for everything. Only one point per dollar and few transfer options but no card or reward program fees. I wouldn't pay Amex fees just to transfer to QF.
 
Nutcase said:
At the risk of antagonising - Where will you go?

Some of the banks have reward programs linked to a range of partners. eg. Altitude (Westpac) can transfer pts to QF, DJ, NZ & MH. Doesn't have the range of hotel partners, but at least not tied to QF. I just can't imagine MR disappearing any time soon, it has been a core part of Amex offering for some time now.
 
The only link I can see is now
www201.americanexpress.com/inga/au/pers/begin.do?perform=IntlEapp:AU:goldrm&sourcecode=6X98704001

but the links to the 1st free year ones redirect to plain gold card now :confused:
 
There seems to be moves afoot to lock American Express customers into the Qantas program and move them away from Membership rewards.

I strongly doubt this will happen. There are too many high value customers that are not tied to QFF program for this to become universal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top