10,000 bonus points per 20 transactions

[simongr]

I am annoyed that I couldn't enrol till almost the end of September, thus losing the opportunity to gain an additional 40,000 points for the life of the promotion - provided I can meet the transactions each month. Still, 30,000 for Oct/Nov/Dec, added to what I have so far, will give me a trip to Singapore on SIA, so I will take what I can get and be grateful!!

Hope some kind soul can help here!

John in Oz

Sorry - I am little confused here. If you plan to average 30K/month bonus for the 3 months to end Dec how have you missed out on 40K for Sep. And if you registered last weekend on the phone you only missed out on 7 days of promo. The fact that you havent had bonus points post does not mean that wont get bonus points.

Just focus on the promo you were entitled to and enrolled for and will get bonus points for. Not sure of the need for a beef.

 

[auriga]

Sorry - I am little confused here. If you plan to average 30K/month bonus for the 3 months to end Dec how have you missed out on 40K for Sep. And if you registered last weekend on the phone you only missed out on 7 days of promo. The fact that you havent had bonus points post does not mean that wont get bonus points.

Just focus on the promo you were entitled to and enrolled for and will get bonus points for. Not sure of the need for a beef.

I think aussiejohn means he is on 10K per month cap, and wont be getting his 10K for September.... therefore will not total up to 40K.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Aussiejohn said for the life of the promotion. So 4 months by 10K = 40K.

3 months is 30 K (Oct, Nov Dec). He did not have enough time in Sept to earn his 10K.

As to Aussie's questions - Yes there were different promotions. Given you registered after Sept 20 though you can only register as per your postcard offer and not another option.

As you registered after Sept 20 your maximum bonus has also been capped to 10 K per month.

 

[aussiejohn]

Thanks for clarifying this for me. The CSA on the phone did tell me that the maximum points per month was 10,000 and not unlimited as the postcard said. I am ok with that.

And yes, I did mean earning 10,000 points each month for the life of the promotion. Sorry if it was not as clear as it could have been. Bit late at night after a long day at work

Aussiejohn

Aussiejohn said for the life of the promotion. So 4 months by 10K = 40K.
3 months is 30 K (Oct, Nov Dec). tahis he did not have enough time in Sept to earn his 10K.


As to Aussie's questions.
Yes there were different promotions.
Given you registered after Sept 20 though you can only register as per your postcard offer and not another option.

As you registered after Sept 20 your maximum bonus has also been capped to 10 K per month.

 

[pcmeow]

I have a platinum AMEX, signed onto the "myreward", have about 15 transaction after signing on 17th Sept, only received 5,000 bonus pt. n since Oct, my platinum's bonus reward changed from $1 to 1.5 pt to $1 to 2 pts.

Any1's having the same thing? may b they replaced the "myreward" bonus pt to this?..

 

[snufl]

I have a platinum AMEX, signed onto the "myreward", have about 15 transaction after signing on 17th Sept, only received 5,000 bonus pt. n since Oct, my platinum's bonus reward changed from $1 to 1.5 pt to $1 to 2 pts.

Any1's having the same thing? may b they replaced the "myreward" bonus pt to this?..

I don't have an Amex Platinum so I can't tell you firsthand, however I recall a couple of others saying they started receiving 2 pts per $1. From memory one phoned Amex and was told it was for another promo and did not replace the myreward. Sorry, I don't feel like sifting through all these posts to find it :mrgreen:

I wouldn't worry about the 5K bonuses stopping, Amex are now sticking to approx 8 weeks to post...no-one is getting them.

 

[simongr]

And yes, I did mean earning 10,000 points each month for the life of the promotion. Sorry if it was not as clear as it could have been. Bit late at night after a long day at work

Aussiejohn

Apologies for me jumping down your throat John.

My membership comes up for renewal in November, so I'll probably cancel my Maximiser to go to a lower fee card if the "uncapped promo" does not apply to me.

Knowing my fate will also help me plan my holidays next year too

I really don't understand how Amex telling you what they will award you in two/three months will change your holiday plans. If you dont have enough points now then you cant book anything. If you plan to book award flights in three months then you normally could not predict what award flight availability will look like so even if Amex said yes you will get 120K then you still can't guarantee the travel you want...

 

[straitman]

Good to see the amount of waffle has not decreased with the forum off line for a day :!:

 

[MicoPico]

I really don't understand how Amex telling you what they will award you in two/three months will change your holiday plans. If you dont have enough points now then you cant book anything. If you plan to book award flights in three months then you normally could not predict what award flight availability will look like so even if Amex said yes you will get 120K then you still can't guarantee the travel you want...

Morning Simongr, I had a dilemma yesterday:

• If I am capped at 40k, i don't have enough points to go to Europe, so I would resort to shorter trips and take advantage of specials (e.g. Jetstar Japan deal this week) and pay for cash tix.
• If I am not capped (I would earn at least 400k based on a very modest calculation), then I would wait and not buy the Jetstar tix. I am very flexible in where and when I go in Europe and also flexible in class too. As far as I can see, it's not difficult to redeem 2X SQ tickets to Europe in Y, or probably J too.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Modified T&C

We mean the types of legitimate purchases that you make everyday, like buying a coffee, picking up lunch or a movie ticket.
Unfortunately we've identified cases where Cardmembers have been found to have intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points. For example, splitting a bill that would normally be paid as one transaction into dozens of small transactions.


I think Amex have been deliberately careful to not define what acceptable bill splitting is. An indeed their wording does nor rule them out from later ruling that someone who has split a bill into only a few parts has bill-split in order to have intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points.


They have given one example of the dozens because they wanted to rule out now people being able to gain literally millions, if not even a billion FF points!!!!

For example that $1200 phone bill.
Say the person instead put it through as one cent transactions.

$1200 by 100 by 1000 points = 12 million FF points in one bill.

So paying 8 bills like that and you get a billion FF points!!!

Or in my case one set of school term fees to get a billion FF points!!!!!

So Amex had to rule that out now.

But as I mentioned above Amex have cautioned against bill splitting without defining exactly how many is rorting the system.

Why? well obviously some bill splitting can be reasonably explained..and indeed many payment schemes allow for it (ie my Football Club Membership which I was already paying via club transactions.

But if Amex had stated that all bills could split into 3 or 5 per day....and more if spread over time etc..

Then what would then have happened would have been a flood of transactions where people split up to the maximum. The"new" T&C " would have increased Amexes liabilty.

Not including such wording may for example mean that if someone visits say one store every day for the 100 days and does 5 tx per day each and every day that Amex may say that it interprets that as having intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points.

Now certainly I do not that that Amex could successfuly argue that several transactions on one day at one store (ie the much cited Myers example), is manipulating the system. But if someone does it for most days, then they may still find Amex knocking them back.

 

[Rambo]

Whilst it is admirable many are happy to wait I don't think it unreasonable others seek certainty as to their situation. The reason being is that several have received conflicting advice as to the benefits they are to receive. Many, including myself, have gone to some trouble to use an Amex card. For me this means walking out of non Amex accepting stores, paying a surcharge in numerous stores where previously I would use Visa or MC. I have even filled in online forms where the store didn't take Amex.

If people want to ensure that Amex are honouring their end of the deal then I applaud them for seeking clarity.

For example, if I spent 3 months incurring surcharges and walking out of non Amex stores then I would be severely ***** to find Amex reneged on their end of the deal.



All some people want is clarity.

People that are paying a surcharge are not really benefiting from the free points on offer. There are enough places that you can use your amex card for no surcharge and get the free points rather than actually going and paying for them via a surcharge. I wont use my amex anywhere that i have to pay a surcharge, I simply use visa/cash or go somewhere else.
I am now buying my travel 10 bus ticket by amex each week after it was pointed out on this thread that 7/11 accept amex. Why spend more money to purchase something to get free points, does not seam the smartest idea to me.
:shock:

 

[Laura_sus]

I have been with American Express over 10 Years. My card is heavily used. I did not get the invitation. Hence I have decided to cancel the card in a different way. Keep it in Bank Locker and do not use the card at all. There is no annual fee for my credit card hence it will not hurt me any way. But will hurt american express the cost of keeping my account. I will keep it on for a year and then cancell as I honestly think the loyalty scheme work both ways. If american express does not show loyality for a member over a decade and there is no reason that I have to show back.

 

[QF WP]

I don't have an Amex Platinum so I can't tell you firsthand, however I recall a couple of others saying they started receiving 2 pts per $1. From memory one phoned Amex and was told it was for another promo and did not replace the myreward. Sorry, I don't feel like sifting through all these posts to find it :mrgreen:

I have a Plat Amex but I haven't received any additional bonus points. I agree with your memory snufl, however I also can't think of who it was tha posted the information (nor have the inclination to review the last 20 pages where it probbly is). However, as Amex haven't advised an amended (or 4th promo), it would seem logical that there may be other promo's that are running in isolation to this promo to which members are signed up (lucky ones ).

I wouldn't worry about the 5K bonuses stopping, Amex are now sticking to approx 8 weeks to post...no-one is getting them.

All the T&C's quote the maximum time frame for points posting to accounts - always better to under promise and over deliver, than the other way around .

Nobody here knows how long their "review team" are going to finish the process (as we don't know the scope of the project). I'd hazard a guess that even Amex is being overcautious in their estimates, as it's very time intensive manual process (although I'm sure they'll be using their data sorting and matching capabilities). I feel that once they have segregated the "questionable" transacters between enrollment and 24th September (using that date as my assumed date that they turned off the automatic posting of points), they will then be contacting those members to discuss the issues of "apparent abuse" of the program terms.

They would then be wise to re-start the automatic posting. That would certainly create a level of goodwill back to the majority of members who feel aggrieved that the points aren't posting automatically anymore (as Amex created the expectation as they were posting automatically previously). I'm sure that Amex is acutely aware how unhappy some people are (I'd be certain that Customer Service would be keeping management appraised of sentiment).

lovetravellingoz, an excellent post discussing that point. I agree.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

People that are paying a surcharge are not really benefiting from the free points on offer.

There are enough places that you can use your amex card for no surcharge and get the free points rather than actually going and paying for them via a surcharge. I wont use my amex anywhere that i have to pay a surcharge, I simply

Why spend more money to purchase something to get free points, does not seam the smartest idea to me.
:shock:

I guess it depends what you value the 1000 points at (and what you redeem them for), and everyone is of course different here.

For example a 2 % surcharge on $20 is 40 cents.

1000 points is to me worth a lot more than 40 cents. Though you obviously do not value points as highly as I do.

So at the Caltex I pulled into yesterday I paid the extra 40 cents.

One month ago I would have paid on my Citibank VISA. For others Amex points are worth more than the 2% and so they would have still used their cards....which probably is in part why some business charge that.

 

[edman]

I have a Plat Amex but I haven't received any additional bonus points. I agree with your memory snufl, however I also can't think of who it was tha posted the information (nor have the inclination to review the last 20 pages where it probbly is). However, as Amex haven't advised an amended (or 4th promo), it would seem logical that there may be other promo's that are running in isolation to this promo to which members are signed up (lucky ones ).

I've been getting the 2 points per $ spent since 27/09, and I did receive bonus 5000 points before they froze it (on myreward), but that is the only promo I've signed up for. I haven't received anything from Amex to explain why I'm getting 2 points per $, but nor am I keen to ask....

 

[PaulZ]

I guess it depends what you value the 1000 points at (and what you redeem them for), and everyone is of course different here.

For example a 2 % surcharge on $20 is 40 cents.

1000 points is to me worth a lot more than 40 cents. Though you obviously do not value points as highly as I do.

I value each bonus 1,000 points at over $40...

I use all my points exclusively for Business class travel to USA or UK.

The way I see it... $10,000 for a J Ticket to USA or UK (Base figure, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less).

Adl - LAX requires 192,000 Points. To earn that i need to do 192 transactions during this offer period... $10,000/192 = $52.08 per transaction.

ADL - LHR requires 256,000 Points. To earn that i need to do 256 transactions during this offer period... $10,000/256 = $39.06 per transaction.


(This seems extremely good... I hope I have done the calcs right!! )

 

[vet]

tis Amex's fault. They did not bother drafting a fail-safe cut off point of x00,000 or x billion points - probably because that'd detract from from the lure of an 'unlimited' promo.' They did not set a sunset clause of 'the promo expires once we hand out 1 kerzillion points'. It wasn't a "1 billion point giveway. Ends when we run out. Limited stock".

 

[Happy Dude]

Modified T&C

We mean the types of legitimate purchases that you make everyday, like buying a coffee, picking up lunch or a movie ticket.
Unfortunately we've identified cases where Cardmembers have been found to have intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points. For example, splitting a bill that would normally be paid as one transaction into dozens of small transactions.


I think Amex have been deliberately careful to not define what acceptable bill splitting is. An indeed their wording does nor rule them out from later ruling that someone who has split a bill into only a few parts has bill-split in order to have intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points.


They have given one example of the dozens because they wanted to rule out now people being able to gain literally millions even not even a billion FF points!!!!

For example that $1200 phone bill.
Say the person instead put it through as one cent trnsactions.

$1200 by 100 by 1000 points = 12 million FF points in one bill.

So paying 8 bills like that and you get a billion FF points!!!

Or in my case one set of school term fees to get a billion FF points.

So Amex had to rule that out now.

But as I mentioned above Amex have cautioned against bill splitting without defining exactly how many is rorting the system.

Why? well obviously some bill splitting can be reasonably explained..and indeed many payment schemes allow for it (ie my Football Club Membership which I was already paying via club transactions.

But if Amex had stated that all bills could split into 3 or 5 per day....and more if spread over time etc..

Then what would then have happened would have been a flood of transactions where people split up to the maximum. The"new" T&C " would have increased Amexes liabilty.

Not including such wording may for example mean that if someone visits say one store every day for the 100 days and does 5 tx per day each and every day that Amex may say that it interprets that as having intentionally manipulated transactions in order to obtain additional bonus points.

Now certainly I do not that that Amex could successfuly argue that several transactions on one day at one store (ie the much cited Myers example), is manipulating the system. But if someone does it for most days, then they may still find Amex knocking them back.

You're not Rusty's maths tutor, are you?

Russell Crowe reveals plan to cure US financial crisis - General - News

Do you realise that processing 120,000 payments might take quite a bit of time? Then do it 8 more times? Imagine how angry you'd be if by 11:59:59pm on October 31st, you'd only processed 119,999 1 cent payments.

Anyhow, here in reality-land, a "payment scheme" is not bill splitting at the behest of the payer. Just because you have the option to spread your annual (rates, footy club, insurance, etc etc) payment over 12 months does not mean that you're splitting the bill. There is a world of difference between paying a bill in small amounts (when that bill is normally paid in one transaction) and paying your "annual account" in instalments at the debtor's offer.

The example of multiple purchases at the same store on the same day has been well covered here (probably by you), and the general consensus that it's not, in the words of AMEX (also quoted by you), manipulating transactions.

I hope this puts you at ease, but I reckon you're pannicking for no reason.

 

[Rambo]

I guess it depends what you value the 1000 points at (and what you redeem them for), and everyone is of course different here.

For example a 2 % surcharge on $20 is 40 cents.

1000 points is to me worth a lot more than 40 cents. Though you obviously do not value points as highly as I do.

So at the Caltex I pulled into yesterday I paid the extra 40 cents.

One month ago I would have paid on my Citibank VISA. For others Amex points are worth more than the 2% and so they would have still used their cards....which probably is in part why some business charge that.

That is the thing you should not need to pay a surcharge as there are places that offer the same service for no surcharge eg the Caltex I always use does not charge a surcharge.
The other problem that I can see with your theory is that you still do not know for certian if the bonus points are uncapped. If not uncapped you could end up paying the surcharge for transations which are not going to earn bonus points anyway.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The other problem that I can see with your theory is that you still do not know for certian if the bonus points are uncapped. If not uncapped you could end up paying the surcharge for transations which are not going to earn bonus points anyway.

Life is full of uncertainties...and balancing risk vs reward.

In my case I was sent the Golden Ticket (whoops sorry Postcard ) and registered well before Sept 20....so based I what I currently know, I am more than happy to take the risk that I wasted my 40 cents.


However while I am making more purchases I am still only buying what I need.

In the example given I still needed the petrol...and to drive to a different service station would have wasted more than 40 cents in petrol and a lot of my time!!!

However what I did do was only put $20 worth in

PS The Caltex I normally use does not charge the surcharge either.