Strategy to obtain US Amex

[Tiki]

 

[qq2233]

Hi All,

New to this but have read a lot of the context in this thread.

While HSBC Premier is something I can achieve, I dont want to spend 9 months to cycle my salary to get to Premier status.

So question is, if its possible to do a GT from my AU AMEX Plat if I have an ITIN, Wise US account (Checking Account with ACH) and a friend who will let me use his address? I plan on getting a US phone number as well to round out requirements.

Has anyone done anything similar?

Thanks in advance!

 

[blacksultan]

Hi All,

New to this but have read a lot of the context in this thread.

While HSBC Premier is something I can achieve, I dont want to spend 9 months to cycle my salary to get to Premier status.

So question is, if its possible to do a GT from my AU AMEX Plat if I have an ITIN, Wise US account (Checking Account with ACH) and a friend who will let me use his address? I plan on getting a US phone number as well to round out requirements.

Has anyone done anything similar?

Thanks in advance!

Wise account don’t work .
You don’t want to wait 9 months ?
This time last year when we called contact centre the agent had authority to upgrade us in first month itself .

 

[sudoer]

I dont want to spend 9 months to cycle my salary to get to Premier status.

Go to a branch in person. They waived the 6 month wait period for me. Be armed with a good story about why you want Premier (hint: it's not because you are getting into the US CC game!)

So question is, if its possible to do a GT from my AU AMEX Plat if I have an ITIN, Wise US account (Checking Account with ACH) and a friend who will let me use his address?

It's possible if Amex doesn't ask you for proof of address. If they ask for proof of address, the easiest method will be the HSBC account.

 

[qq2233]

Awesome stuff!

So on a forward basis did you guys just deposit your salary into the HSBC account to service the premier requirement?

 

[http_x92]

Awesome stuff!

So on a forward basis did you guys just deposit your salary into the HSBC account to service the premier requirement?

I was in frequent communication with them over the phone - once I let them know I deposited $9k in a month I called them again, giving them reasons of why I am getting a Premier account. Days later, they approved me for Premier, only requiring 1 month of deposit.

Then you will have to venture into HSBC Premier USA a few days later, which is its own online process.

 

[qq2233]

I was in frequent communication with them over the phone - once I let them know I deposited $9k in a month I called them again, giving them reasons of why I am getting a Premier account. Days later, they approved me for Premier, only requiring 1 month of deposit.

Then you will have to venture into HSBC Premier USA a few days later, which is its own online process.

If you don’t mind me asking, what reasons did you provide?

International business person needing international bank accounts?

 

[http_x92]

If you don’t mind me asking, what reasons did you provide?

International business person needing international bank accounts?

International travel in the upcoming year is a good enough reason.

 

[blacksultan]

Awesome stuff!

So on a forward basis did you guys just deposit your salary into the HSBC account to service the premier requirement?

You don’t need to . Your total deposits for the month have to total 9 k . You can even deposit a 1 $ * 9 k times !

 

[hill]

Is anyone using AI for BG GCs? Any feedback? I know Pepper, Fluz etc used to be huge, but any others that people might be dabbling in nowadays?

 

[levelnine]

Is anyone using AI for BG GCs? Any feedback? I know Pepper, Fluz etc used to be huge, but any others that people might be dabbling in nowadays?

AI is nothing like Pepper/Fluz. AI is a buyer of GCs — Pepper/Fluz are sellers of them.

And yes, AI is a very well-known buyer. You can join their Telegram channels to get a sense of the community and some tips on how they operate.

 

[thedamon]

I understand that one needs to file a tax return to keep the ITIN live after 3 years. I got mine in Sep 2023, is it correctly understood I would need to file for 2025 (or is it 2026)? How does one file atax return? I understand just filing for like $50 "Vegas winnings" would be sufficient to keep it alive?

Does anyone know the answer to this? If you just file a low income, let's say $100 in Vegas winnings, does that put any risk to the cards you've opened given you'd show as such low US income? Any service that can do the filing for you? Would appreciate any experience that can be shared here - definitely don't want the ITIN to expire..

 

[Phoenix-1]

Does anyone know the answer to this? If you just file a low income, let's say $100 in Vegas winnings, does that put any risk to the cards you've opened given you'd show as such low US income? Any service that can do the filing for you? Would appreciate any experience that can be shared here - definitely don't want the ITIN to expire..

I did find this:

When will my ITIN expire?

ITINs that haven't been included on a U.S. federal tax return at least once in the last three consecutive tax years will expire on December 31st of the third consecutive tax year, and must be renewed before being used again on a U.S. federal tax return. ITINs assigned before 2013, that were never renewed, have expired. Expired ITINs must be renewed in order to avoid delays in processing your tax return. For more information, see How do I renew my ITIN? later, or visit Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) | Internal Revenue Service.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf