This from the T&Cs for both the BA Premium & Platinum Cards
Interesting; if you were to genuinely do a GT from the UK to Aus or the US then presumably the Amex expectation would be that you must close your UK card account - unlike Australia where it specifically states that you are not required to close your Australian card account when you move overseas
I wonder why?
That wording wasn't there in the old versions of the T&Cs, they seem to be reducing the overseas operations carried out by Amex UK; the ICC EUR & USD card are administered by Amex UK, but are no longer available to new applicants:
"Effective 2 October 2023, all existing International Currency Card (“ICC”) Cardmembers and any Supplementary Cardholder must reside in the UK, or in one of the following countries noted below. If you reside in one of these countries, you may apply for an American Express ICC until 1 October 2023. From 2 October only UK residents will be able to apply for an ICC and Supplementary Cardmembers applying at the same time must also reside in the UK.
United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates.
This list is subject to change."
Interestingly that list included a lot of EU countries, which were all specifically excluded before this change (which was circulated in July 2023) - no applications from USA, Singapore or EU residents. I noted at the time that made Amex available in Ireland for the first time in many years, since they withdrew around the time of the GFC, then excluded Irish customers from the ICC.
Of course that's now moot, as they're once again excluded again (although it seems that somehow you may be able to apply as a UK resident and keep it if you move overseas to a permitted country - "
please note, you can no longer apply for these Cards directly from American Express." - I assume some private banks or whatever might be able to apply for them on behalf of their customers still (Barclays certainly could at one point).
The Platinum for years offered a 30k signup bonus too, but that's not mentioned on the website either now. I still have one, and have about six months until the annual fee is due. Whether I'll keep it, I don't know; it's essentially cheap, comprehensive travel insurance (compared to policies available domestically in Australia) and a place to store MR points at the moment.
As for GT-ing from UK to elsewhere, if you can keep a UK address on file, that seems to keep them happy. I have changed my UK cards (not the ICC) back to a UK address, so as to not rock the boat. ICC will retain an Aussie address for as long as that's a permitted country (and if that comes to it then I'll definitely cancel it).
. I still hold a UK driving licence, passport (although that's near expiry) and am registered to vote (albeit as a non-resident citizen). US a little more difficult, but it works.
