Strategy to obtain US Amex

[levelnine]

Very much depends on your strategy and goals. Chase Inks are particularly valuable if you can meet the spend and are eligible.

110,000 Chase URs per sign up at the moment (with referral) for $USD180 (assuming full spend outside the US).

Do not add to your 5/24 count and you can get one every 3 months.

Visa cards so accepted everywhere.

Chase will deliver them by courier to your front door in Australia at no cost to you. (I got my last card quicker than it took Citibank in Australia to send me my latest card with them.)

Convert them to Aeroplan for 110/115K redemptions to Europe/US in J with Etihad/AirCanada.

Convert them to Avios for 90K redemptions to Europe in Qatar QSuites.

Convert them to Hyatt for 15-35K redemptions in nice hotels.

The main downside of Chase is they don't convert to Cathay Pacific, which can be cheaper than Avios for oneworld redemptions.

 

[blacksultan]

Very much depends on your strategy and goals. Chase Inks are particularly valuable if you can meet the spend and are eligible.

110,000 Chase URs per sign up at the moment (with referral) for $USD180 (assuming full spend outside the US).

Do not add to your 5/24 count and you can get one every 3 months.

Visa cards so accepted everywhere.

Chase will deliver them by courier to your front door in Australia at no cost to you. (I got my last card quicker than it took Citibank in Australia to send me my latest card with them.)

Convert them to Aeroplan for 110/115K redemptions to Europe/US in J with Etihad/AirCanada.

Convert them to Avios for 90K redemptions to Europe in Qatar QSuites.

Convert them to Hyatt for 15-35K redemptions in nice hotels.

The main downside of Chase is they don't convert to Cathay Pacific, which can be cheaper than Avios for oneworld redemptions.

Is it smooth to let chase know to mail your new personal card to australia because you are presently visiting here ?

 

[levelnine]

Is it smooth to let chase know to mail your new personal card to australia because you are presently visiting here ?

I've added my Australian address as my mailing address on chase.com. When I get approved for a new card, I call them up and ask them to post it to my mailing address and they've always been happy to do so. You'll generally need to lift a fraud alert that will come up once you start using it overseas, but once that's cleared I've never had a problem.

 

[Tiki]

I have a 12 year history with Chase and have my US address on the Freedom card which I don't use unless I am in the USA because of forex fees. I have my Aussie address on the United card and IHG card so I can select either address. Chase readily sends cards to my Aussie address.

I have only seen Amex and Chase willing to send a new card to Australia even with my profile. My B of A Air France card was mailed to my friend's address and he had to forward it.

I wouldn't mind a Citi Premier or Capital One after I get the CSP but I don't know if they will send it to Australia and my friend has had recent health problems so I don't want him going to the post office on my account. I don't have an account with those banks but my Fico is around 785.

 

[levelnine]

Citi Premier

I'd be careful with Citi. My understanding is that it is very easy to trigger their fraud system, especially with overseas transactions, and it can be a huge pain to get them lifted (eg they need to send you a code through the mail to unlock your card).

I think Capital One is fine.

 

[blacksultan]

I have a 12 year history with Chase and have my US address on the Freedom card which I don't use unless I am in the USA because of forex fees. I have my Aussie address on the United card and IHG card so I can select either address. Chase readily sends cards to my Aussie address.

I have only seen Amex and Chase willing to send a new card to Australia even with my profile. My B of A Air France card was mailed to my friend's address and he had to forward it.

I wouldn't mind a Citi Premier or Capital One after I get the CSP but I don't know if they will send it to Australia and my friend has had recent health problems so I don't want him going to the post office on my account. I don't have an account with those banks but my Fico is around 785.

Why don’t you get an address with planet express ?
I was rejected for Citi premier because of too many recent applications . Also rejected by capital one .

Post automatically merged: Nov 16, 2022

Just as a Data point I have been approved for a. Chase WOH 3-4 months after the CSP . Took a few days and 2 calls requested though online letter apart from doc upload .

 

[Tiki]

I can't apply for any other cards until the CSP is in the bag. I have to do this by early April at the latest so I can use the May trip to finish the $4000 USD spend. So earliest possible scenario for a Citi or Cap One card would be June or July 2023. I do have other options like Amex green/gold and playing the upgrade/downgrade game with the Amex Delta and Hilton Surpass cards.

 

[levelnine]

I do have other options like Amex green/gold and playing the upgrade/downgrade game with the Amex Delta and Hilton Surpass cards.

It might also be worth considering something like the Barclays business cards (eg the AA business card is 80K AA miles for $2K spend).

 

[nomad2000]

It might also be worth considering something like the Barclays business cards (eg the AA business card is 80K AA miles for $2K spend).

The only downside to Barclays cards is that they're a bit hard to get approved for especially for their business cards (they often ask for documents and business info) and that they do not accept ITINs.

 

[ithongy]

If you have your eyes on any Chase cards, don't forget the 5/24 rule. You can't have 5 new cards or more within a 24 month period. I am waiting for Chase to run a better SUB on the CSP which probably won't happen until Feb or March but I am not in a hurry. It's gone up to 80k or even 100k in the past and they are currently running specials on their Ink cards but the minimum spend is too high on those.

Chase Ink/Business Cards are governed by 5/24 but doesn't count towards 5/24.

 

[desafinado74]

Hi guys,

I have a few questions about Hilton Aspire's free night cert :

1) Can you use the free night cert with Hilton point bookings ?
2) The free night cert can be used for weekday stays now right ?
3) Is the Hilton number you call to book based on a US time zone ?
If so, which American time zone is it?

Thank you.

 

[levelnine]

1) Can you use the free night cert with Hilton point bookings ?
2) The free night cert can be used for weekday stays now right ?
3) Is the Hilton number you call to book based on a US time zone ?
If so, which American time zone is it?

1. You can use your FNC for one night and points for another night on a separate booking, and let the hotel know that the bookings should be treated as one.
2. Yes
3. No idea its opening hours, but if you call morning Australian time, you'll hit regular US hours.

 

[sudoer]

1. You can use your FNC for one night and points for another night on a separate booking, and let the hotel know that the bookings should be treated as one.

There's no need to do this, you can use the FNC with a points booking.

 

[desafinado74]

1. You can use your FNC for one night and points for another night on a separate booking, and let the hotel know that the bookings should be treated as one.
2. Yes
3. No idea its opening hours, but if you call morning Australian time, you'll hit regular US hours.

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
I will give the number a call and see if they can do the entire booking for me.

 

[levelnine]

There's no need to do this, you can use the FNC with a points booking.

There you go. I've never been able to do it when I've called to use the FNC, but maybe I've encountered incompetent operators.

 

[Finale]

Just in case some of you are not aware about this, US Amex allows you to transfer MR points to additional card holder/authorized user's airline account. The only condition is that person has to be AU for at least 90 days. Pretty cool I think if you want to combine points into one airline account.

 

[blacksultan]

Just in case some of you are not aware about this, US Amex allows you to transfer MR points to additional card holder/authorized user's airline account. The only condition is that person has to be in your account for at least 90 days. Pretty cool I think if you want to combine points into one airline account.

The AU can even get their own account and access to the primary account to make transfers .

 

[Finale]

The AU can even get their own account and access to the primary account to make transfers .

I have been with US amex for almost 7 years and just realized this a few months ago
That's why I thought some people mightn't be aware. Time to get family members on US Amex.

Anyway I finally got the Chase ink umlimited card. In case anybody is interested, the existing personal account will not work for a business card. I needed to signup for a new account then linked personal cards to this new login. It wouldn't work the other way around.

I couldn't signup online. It kept saying something like this part of the site wasn't working. When trying to signup on the app, it said invalid SSN. Not sure but it could be that ITIN didn't work. Had to call to set up the account but it was fast then there was an option to link personal cards in Profile.

 

[blacksultan]

Can one receive chase verification texts with hushed ?

 

[travelguy83]

I'm aware US MR (membership reward) points have much more value per dollar compared to AUS MR points. From memory a long time ago someone said you can transfer AUS MR points to US MR points for 1-1 ratio. Is this true?