The Explorer Credit Card (New AMEX Card!)

[kamchatsky]

Mine was completed within the hour.

My Gateway points has been transferred to Ascent account. However the Explorer card is still linked to Gateway account for now.

 

[Irishbazz]

Just made the call 10:30pm (Perth) to request re-linking of my account to Ascent and was explained to me that it wasn't possible! Different award programs, earn rates etc. American CSR too!

Will try again tomorrow day time

 

[Spizz]

Just made the call 10:30pm (Perth) to request re-linking of my account to Ascent and was explained to me that it wasn't possible! Different award programs, earn rates etc. American CSR too!

Will try again tomorrow day time

Hopefully a one off. Keep us apprised.

 

[billmurray]

Hi All,

I have been reading this thread since page 40 and still dont have my answer 100%.

I had an Amex Velocity Platinum Card when it was released in 2015, signed up for the 100k points bonus and cancelled just before the anniversary date this year appx June. I am looking at this card for another sign up bonus and the explorer looks like they have the best promotion at the moment for 100k virgin points.

From what i have been reading most people STILL have an active card with Amex when they sign up for this card to get the bonus points and it appears to be working. There is all this talk of Gateway vs Ascent which i still dont fully understand as i never had to deal with that stuff when i had my Velocity Platinum card...

Anyway the questions i have are;

a) do you think i will still be able to get the 100k points even though i do not hold an active amex account BUT have had one up till appx 6 months ago.
b) if the above is possible is there a step by step process or loop holes that i will need to go through (some mentioned calling the American call centre as not all of their employees are fully across the deals)?
c) will the gateway vs ascent thing be of any relevance to me? If so what steps do i need to be aware of?
c) anything else to know?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jonova]

Hi All,

I have been reading this thread since page 40 and still dont have my answer 100%.

I had an Amex Velocity Platinum Card when it was released in 2015, signed up for the 100k points bonus and cancelled just before the anniversary date this year appx June. I am looking at this card for another sign up bonus and the explorer looks like they have the best promotion at the moment for 100k virgin points.

From what i have been reading most people STILL have an active card with Amex when they sign up for this card to get the bonus points and it appears to be working. There is all this talk of Gateway vs Ascent which i still dont fully understand as i never had to deal with that stuff when i had my Velocity Platinum card...

Anyway the questions i have are;

a) do you think i will still be able to get the 100k points even though i do not hold an active amex account BUT have had one up till appx 6 months ago.
b) if the above is possible is there a step by step process or loop holes that i will need to go through (some mentioned calling the American call centre as not all of their employees are fully across the deals)?
c) will the gateway vs ascent thing be of any relevance to me? If so what steps do i need to be aware of?
c) anything else to know?

Thanks in advance.

a) You should get the 100k points bonus. (110k if you sign up with a referrer link ) I had my cancelled my Velocity AMEX card in September and signed up for the Explorer in November and I got the bonus as soon I spent $1.5k.

b) No loop holes, just sign up for the Explorer card online same as you did with the Velocity card.

c) The Gateway vs Ascent points program only applies if you currently hold the Platinum Edge or Platinum Charge card. If you currently hold either of these cards you would be enrolled into the Ascent program which has a more favorable rate when transferring to airline partners. E.G 1 Ascent Points = 1 Velocity point.
The Explorer card enrolls into the Gateway program which has a less favorable transfer rate. E.G 4 Gateway points = 3 Velocity points. However many of us have been able to get them to merge the accounts together into Ascent for the better transfer rate.

 

[kamchatsky]

a) do you think i will still be able to get the 100k points even though i do not hold an active amex account BUT have had one up till appx 6 months ago.
b) if the above is possible is there a step by step process or loop holes that i will need to go through (some mentioned calling the American call centre as not all of their employees are fully across the deals)?
c) will the gateway vs ascent thing be of any relevance to me? If so what steps do i need to be aware of?
c) anything else to know?

Thanks in advance.

a) Yes based on the evidence of the past.
b) No loop holes. Just sign up but suggest you sign up via a referral link. You get 110K points instead of 100K points. It is in the referral thread. Or PM me if you want it direct.
c) No unless you already have Platinum Edge/Reserve/Charge Card which enrols to Ascent program. You can link to Ascent program if you already have those cards.
d) Gateway conversion to airline points are mostly 4:3. Ie 100K Gateway points converts to 75K Virgin Velocity points (or Krisflyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest etc).

 

[purpleparrot]

I called on Xmas eve Perth time (about 11:30pm) and got a US agent. Their systems were down and he said he'd call me back because combining the programs was no issue. Despite the kids getting up in a matter of hours I was willing to be woken up at 2am by AMEX on the promise of 40k + free points value by transferring Gateway points to Ascent. He never called. It was the worst Christmas ever.

Just tried to call again from Perth and got through to an agent in the Philippines. She kindly explained that my request was not possible but she would transfer 2k points to one of my accounts for the trouble. I chose my Ascent account of course.

Does anyone know what time the US agents are manning the phone? Do I need to wait until next Saturday?

 

[Spizz]

I should of gotten in earlier. Looks like they may have stopped the combining of accounts.

 

[billmurray]

The Explorer card enrolls into the Gateway program which has a less favorable transfer rate. E.G 4 Gateway points = 3 Velocity points. However many of us have been able to get them to merge the accounts together into Ascent for the better transfer rate.

im guessing this only works if you have an existing card on the ascent programme - where as the explorer goes to gateway by default?

 

[Jonova]

im guessing this only works if you have an existing card on the ascent programme - where as the explorer goes to gateway by default?

Yes that is correct, however there have been reports that people have applied for the Platinum Edge after getting the Explorer and have been able to link the 2 together.

 

[potm]

Applying for the edge or charge after having the explorer and getting the bonus points is definitely the way to go. Quite often the cards get linked automatically without you having to request.

 

[foggy]

you guys think its possible to merge david jones AMEX with the ascension program/

 

[Dr Ralph]

you guys think its possible to merge david jones AMEX with the ascension program/

I dont recall reports of this.

A phone call may be the only way to find out.

 

[decs]

I got onto an Aussie rep ringing the MR phone number one morning (1300 363 276; 8..6 M-F & 9..5 S-S) for another matter and they basically asked if my accounts were linked. Naturally, later on in the conversation, I asked if my accounts could also be linked. No problem! Exp, Edge both linked to Plt Charge with points supposedly coming over in a few business days. Love Amex.

 

[Ken1]

I currently have a Platinum Charge card with the companion Platinum Reserve with a 22K credit limit. I am planning to apply for the Explorer card and will do so through one of the referral links – thanks to everyone who has posted there.

Back in March I applied for the Qantas Discovery card and was rejected, which surprised me as I had always had Amex cards approved straight away and have always paid on time and I pay the full balance each month on all my cards, Amex and two bank issued cards. I called up and said I am happy to have some of the credit limit from the Reserve moved over to the Discovery but they said I can’t apply for at least 3 months so I did not bother applying again. I was applying for the Discovery card to get 1 point per dollar for ATO but other spend would have continued on my bank Amex cards for the 1,5 ppd, with only travel, overseas and restaurant spend going on my Amex charge and reserve cards.

I also mentioned during that phone call that my estimated expenses included those for our two adult sons who still live with us, but that I hadn’t included income we receive from them (board) in my income. They told me to only put expenses incurred by us in the application next time. When I had applied for the Platinum charge and Reserve cards the online application asked for income details but not expenses so when I was doing the Discovery card application I did a quick calculation which was obviously higher than what we really spend.

The other issue is that I had very high credit limits on two different bank issued cards which I have held for many years – one for 50K, which I was using just for business expenses and one for 35K. These limits had been increased frequently over the years with a lot of credit limit increases being offered and accepted, even though I never spend anywhere near these limits. A friend who used to work for Citibank suggested that I was probably knocked back because of the high credit limits, as they calculate what I would have to pay as minimum payments if I had the cards maxed out.

After that I reduced the 50K credit limit to 22K and the 35K limit down to 18K. When I applied for the Platinum Charge and Reserve a few years ago I hadn’t included the 50K one as I only use it for business expenses, even though the card is in my name so by now declaring combined credit limits of non-Amex issued cards of 85K that is probably a major reason for me being knocked back for the Qantas Discovery card. I decided to declare both because of new credit reporting, even though the 50K one does not show up on my Veda reports but thought it better to list both.

I am worried about whether I will be approved for the Explorer card, although hopefully with the new lower credit limits that may help. I wish there was a way on the application to say that I don’t want any more credit limit than the 22K on the Reserve – I would be happy to have most of it transferred to the Explorer card since I would use that card for most of my spending with the 2ppd. Over the last few years I have had several offers to increase the limit on the Reserve but I have not taken them up. My Gross income is approx 110K. My Veda credit score through GetCreditScore was “Excellent – 873” when I looked yesterday, but it was also similar when I applied for the Discovery card back in March. How accurately do others try to work out the expenses question in the application?

 

[albyd]

I have the same setup as you with charge, explorer and Reserve. I have some high Amex limits from the old days. Whenever I apply for a new Amex card, I nominate $3k as the limit I want. Never had a problem.
This time, I did a limit reassignment from Edge to Reserve then nominated my Edge for cancellation on the application. They assigned $3k limit to Explorer (assuming that's where they still want to approve you but can't give you a decent limit as you already have enough) then I did a limit re-assignment to Explorer as like you I just wanted the new card and didn't need anymore credit. Re-assignment from Reserve took a few minutes.

 

[Ken1]

I have the same setup as you with charge, explorer and Reserve. I have some high Amex limits from the old days. Whenever I apply for a new Amex card, I nominate $3k as the limit I want. Never had a problem.
This time, I did a limit reassignment from Edge to Reserve then nominated my Edge for cancellation on the application. They assigned $3k limit to Explorer (assuming that's where they still want to approve you but can't give you a decent limit as you already have enough) then I did a limit re-assignment to Explorer as like you I just wanted the new card and didn't need anymore credit. Re-assignment from Reserve took a few minutes.

Thanks albyd. I applied today through a link in the referral thread and selected a $3k limit. Because I had the problems back in March when I was rejected for the Qantas Discovery card I called the Platinum Charge number and spoke to someone who was in the Sydney office. I explained the situation and that I thought the rejection last time may have been because of the high credit limits I had on other cards at the time and that I had reduced them. He could see that I had a perfect repayment record and that I had been an Amex member for over 30 years. He spoke to someone in the New Cards section and came back and said that there should be no problem approving this application but that I would not get the 100,000 points and I said that's okay. After submitting the application I received a text message asking me to call them and after clarifying a few things I was told it is approved and I received a confirmation text! After I receive the card I will call up and have most of the limit I have on the Reserve transferred to the Explorer.

When I looked at my Veda credit score through getcreditscore.com.au on Dec 27 it was 873 and I've just looked after my application has been approved and it is now 838 so a drop of only 35.

 

[glasszon]

Yes. It's the The Qantas American Express Premium Card. I'm still waiting to receive my Exploer AMEX. But as soon as it arrives I'll be seeking supplementary cards.

Did you have any luck setting up supplementary card in your own name for Explorer Amex? I just called Amex trying to get 4 supplementary card issued under my name and the agent state it is not possible as supplementary card must be issued to someone other than the main card holder.

 

[Hammando]

I have one supplementary in my own name on the Explorer.

I'd try the old hang up and try again.

 

[Dr Ralph]

I have one supplementary in my own name on the Explorer.

I'd try the old hang up and try again.

Agree. You're entitled to 4 supplementary cards. Having them in your own name is common.