AMEX CHARGE PLATINUM - 90,000 Referral Bonus - NEW from 2/5/2017

[M@rcoPolo]

Apply here: http://amex.com.au/refer/marcom9G77




(This offer replaces the previous 110,000 bonus points offer that expired on May 1st)

Card type: Charge Card

Annual fee: $1,200

Supplementary cards: free, up to 4 supplementary cards


Highlights

• Receive 90,000 Membership Rewards points when you apply, are approved and spend $1,500 on your Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. This offer is available to new Card Members, as well as Bank-issued American Express companion cardholders.
• Receive a $300 Platinum Travel Credit each year, which can be redeemed online for prepaid airfares, car hire or hotel bookings.
• Transfer your points to a choice of 10 airline rewards and 2 hotel programs.
• Complimentary access for you and a guest to over 1,000 VIP Lounges with Priority Pass plus access to Virgin Australia Lounges, Delta Sky Club Lounges and American Express Lounges.
• Complimentary worldwide Travel Insurance and Purchase Protection.

Reward yourself
As a member of Ascent Premium - our highest tier of rewards - you'll earn up to 3 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on your Card.

• Earn 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants in Australia.
• Earn 2 points per $1 spent on airlines, accommodation and spend in foreign currency.
• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on everything else, except those in the 0.5 points category.
• Earn 0.5 points per $1 spent on utilities, telecommunications companies, non American Express provided insurance and government bodies.

The earn rate threshold is 300,000 points per year at which point the earn rate reverts to 1 point or 0.5 points per $1 spent thereafter.

Use your points for travel, retail Gift Cards, a credit on your account or a range of other rewarding possibilities.

Travel
Travel is always more relaxing when you feel looked after. Your Platinum Card Membership entitles you to upgrades, access to special benefits and substantial savings.

• Receive a $300 Platinum Travel Credit each year, which can be redeemed online for prepaid airfares, car hire or hotel bookings. What’s more, you can use this credit to book travel for anyone you choose. No booking fees apply for Platinum Travel Credit bookings.
• Complimentary enrolment into elite tier of hotel partner programs including Club Carlson, Starwood Preferred Guest and Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade Membership and Hilton HHonors Gold status.
• Enjoy access to more than 1,000 VIP lounges with Priority Pass, the world's largest independent airport lounge program. One of your Supplementary Card Members will also receive complimentary membership to Priority Pass, plus you can both bring a guest into Priority Pass lounges at no additional cost.
• Experience Virgin Australia Lounge Access. Beginning immediately, you and a guest can enjoy access to Virgin Australia lounges too. Every time you fly Virgin Australia, the doors will open for you at their lounges throughout Australia.
• Platinum Airline Privileges Program offers great savings on First and Business Class fares with some of the world's leading airlines such as Qantas Airways, Emirates, Virgin Australia, and more. Depending on the airline and destination, you can save up to 20% compared to standard fares found outside of Platinum Travel Service.
• Enjoy upgrades and preferential treatment at over 900 of the most luxurious hotels in the world.
• Book your travel plans directly through the Platinum Travel Service and pay with your Membership Rewards points.

Plus, stay safe and secure on your travels with Complimentary Platinum Travel Insurance when you pay for travel on your Card or with your points for you, your partner or dependent children. Travel with ease, knowing that wherever you are in the world there’s always someone you can call on.

• Medical Emergency Expenses Cover to meet your immediate needs, including repatriation.
• Travel Inconvenience Cover which covers you for time delay, missed connections and luggage setbacks.
• Transport Accident Cover offering protection when travelling on public transport.
• Loss Damage Waiver Cover for car rental of AUD125,000.

World-class service
Researching restaurants, getting a seat at the match, finding tickets to that fashion show - sometimes even having an active social life can become a chore. Alternatively, you could call our Platinum Concierge Service and let them do the legwork for you.

• Platinum's by invitation only program gives you access to exceptional events and experiences that are not open to the general public.
• American Express Invites. Whether you’re looking for hidden gems, Michelin-starred restaurants abroad, or three-hatted restaurants in Australia, Platinum can help. American Express invites can recommend a range of choices down the road or around the world and book for you.
• Whether you need emergency assistance, your account balance, redemption on Membership Rewards points or additional Supplementary Cards.
• Buyer's Advantage extends your manufacturer's warranty by up to 12 months on eligible items purchased with your Card.
• Stay protected with Purchase Protection providing cover should your new items be stolen or damaged. Refund Protection is also available should a store refuse to accept the return of a recent, unused purchase.
• Online Fraud Protection Guarantee means you won't be held responsible for any unauthorised charges made without your knowledge.

Eligibility
To save time before you apply for your Platinum Card, it's best to make sure you can say yes to the following:

• I am aged over 18
• I am an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• I have a personal gross (pre-tax) annual income of $100,000 or more
• I have no history of bad debt or payment default
• And if self employed, I have been trading for at least 18 months or 12 months if I hold an existing American Express issued Card

Last but not least
Once you are approved for the AMEX Charge Platinum, don't forget to call AMEX and ask them to send you an application form for the complimentary Platinum Reserve companion credit card - same point structure but providing an additional $400 Platinum Travel Credit, for a total travel credit of $700 a year this goes a long way towards offsetting the annual fee!

Apply here: http://amex.com.au/refer/marcom9G77

As a referrer I'll earn 30,000 points

 

[blueythecat]

AMEX has revised the offering on their premium Platinum Charge Card to 90,000 sign-on bonus points. This offer, linked here and doesn't currently have an expiry date.

Whilst the 90k bonus points might sound like a pretty good deal, and to me it is, there is a catch and it's a relatively large catch - the card comes with a $1200 annual fee. As a standard rule I'm not much into paying annual fees for credit cards (with the AMEX Edge and this card as the exception), so how can I justify such a large annual fee?! Well here is my logic on why this card is a great deal:

• 90,000 Membership Rewards points – pretty simple really – based on my numbers I value this at $2200-$3100 (annual fee covered right there!) – a little more on this later.
• Points can be transferred to massive variety of partners – Qantas FF, Virgin Velocity, Kris Flyer and Cathy Pacific Asia Miles and some more valuable ones via SPG (AAdvantage, BA Executive Club & Alaska Miles etc) – no other (non-invite only) Australian Credit Card can boast this!
• $300 Annual Travel Credit with American Express Travel – value $300 (clearly)
• The option for an additional $400 annual Travel Credit if you apply for a FREE Platinum Reserve companion card – you’ll need to ring AMEX after approval to arrange an application for this (value to me $400+)
• Unlimited Virgin Australia / Priority Pass / AMEX & Delta Lounge Access – a bit more subjective this one but, I value it at around $250. As a rule I’m not big on paying for lounge access, so it is hard for me to put a value on it. The Virgin Australia domestic lounge access speaks for itself - they are excellent these days and have a good network. Once outside Australia, the Priority Pass lounge network that is hard to surpass! If you are prepared to pay for lounge access then this benefit would easily be worth $900+++
• Access to AMEX Cash Backs and Small Shop Offers – I wasn’t even aware of this benefits until the last couple of years - and boy was I missing it previously!! The total value of AMEX statement credits and Shop Offers last year, for me, was $1500. That is some pretty epic value! AFF has a really good thread covering the offers here: AMEX Statement Credits.
• NRMA style roadside assistance – value about $90 (hopefully you or I never need this one!!)

A Quick Card Summary:

• 90,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after spending $1500 in first two months after card activation
• A $300 Platinum Travel Credit each year, can be redeemed online for airfares, car hire and hotel bookings – I’ve done it quite recently for my card and it was very simple
• Complimentary access to more than 800 airport lounges in 100 countries, including Virgin Australia Lounges, Priority Pass, Delta Skymiles and American Express Lounges
• Dedicated Platinum Concierge Service to take care of travel plans, tickets or dinner reservations
• Earn up to 3 Membership Reward points per dollar – I should mention I value MR points at 2.5-.3.5c/point
• Transfer your points to a choice of 10 airline rewards programs:
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Air New Zealand Airpoints, THAI Royal Orchid Plus, Malaysia Airlines Enrich and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • And the best bit, transfers to AAdvantage, BA Executive Club & Alaska Miles, amongst others are possible through SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest)
• Transfer your points to leading hotel programs: Hilton HHonors, Priority Club Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest
• Complimentary enrolment into elite tier of hotel partner programs including Club Carlson, Starwood Preferred, Hilton Honors.
• Complimentary worldwide Travel Insurance and Purchase Protection Insurance
• Great savings on First and Business Class fares with some of the worlds leading airlines through the AMEX Platinum Airline Privileges program

So as you see, you can really get some value out of this card, especially with the current sign-on bonus. How to value the current AMEX offer, this is always a challenging task, but I will give it a go. Whilst putting a value on reward points is always very subjective, I personally value AMEX membership reward points at 2.5-3.5c/point. Based on this, the bonus points from the current offer are worth $2200-$3100. Perhaps a less subjective way is to provide some basic concrete examples, the 90k points redeemed for Virgin Australia economy SYD-MEL flights is worth around $2000 – not a bad deal, but this is probably a really poor use of these points. Better value would be flying Business class return on Qantas/CX/BA Australia to Europe by redeeming the points through Cathy Pacific Asia Miles. You'll need 85k-110k AMEX points for these redemptions – Qantas charge $5000+ for these flights, so not a bad deal at all! Of course for supreme value you could try your luck at a Singapore Airlines Suite – using AMEX points is the only way I’m ever seeing the inside of one of those!!!

If you add in all the other benefits in too, the total value of this offer to me is in the order of $4700-$5700!! Not a bad deal at all in my mind!!

As I started off with, if you like the sound of the Platinum Charge Card then I'd really recommend you get on the bandwagon. Any referral link from this forum, or elsewhere, should do the trick, but make sure the AMEX page that loads explicitly says 90,000 points. I always recommend printing a PDF copy of the page before beginning the process in case there are any problems later - that way you always have a record! If you'd like to use my Referral link is HERE, my sincere thanks and good luck to anyone applying! I'm happy to take questions via PM too on this card (or anything else), no obligations whatsoever.

Footnote:
Here, here , here and here are three articles I've found helpful with understanding the changes currently shaping the Australian Credit Card market. With the RBA changes to interchange fees coming into effect very soon, we've seen a number of banks devalue their credit card reward programs, just in the last few weeks. ANZ, CBA, NAB and Citibank (inc Diners) have already made their changes and they aren't pretty!! AMEX issued cards are exempt from the new rules and as such are just going to represent better and better value! 2017 will prove to be a game changing year in the Australian credit card market place and AMEX is securing its place as the market leader (by a long way) for those of us to love to collect FF points!

Referral Link HERE

PS - Whilst applying for new credit cards offers can be really great value (and can even be addictive), please only apply for a card you can afford! No sign-on bonus, no matter how big, is worth a lifetime of debt, so please don't put points ahead of financial security!!
PPS - AMEX are also currently offering the refree (myself, if you choose to use my link) 30k bonus points for anyone that signs-up using a referral link. I'm planning a trip away with the family at the end of this year so will be putting any referral bonus points to excellent use.

 

[Holysmoke]

Just adding my referral to the mix, please use this link for the 90,000 bonus points (I get 30,000):

https://www316.americanexpress.com/...81A6BC897&mgmerSource&MGMURN=AAAABgQBHhcWFQ==

Thanks in advance!

 

[kearvaigskewer]

I used a referral link from an earlier thread to sign up to my card so it would be super if someone used my link too!

While the annual fee is quite high there are lots of features on this card which are proving to be excellent value for me. The key ones for me are:

• Unlimited lounge access with Virgin/Priority Pass/Delta
• Access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts program
• AMEX concierge
• 3 points/$ on restaurant spend within Australia

Using my link you'll receive 90,000 bonus points after spending $1,500 in the first three months (worth the alone fee alone) and I'll get 30,000 points.

Here's my link: http://amex.com.au/refer/lukefYroA

Thanks!

 

[cpa747]

This is a great card to have with many perks and benefits.

If you'd like to sign up with my link, it is http://amex.com.au/refer/huachpzTfz

You'll receive 90,000 points and I'll receive 30,000.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mike0430]

Amex Charge Platinum Card - designed for high end frequent traveller

Great card for frequent travellers, this card comes with below benefit.
1, Received 90k premium ascent rewards points when you apply and spent $1,500 within first 3 months of card membership;
2, *Receive up to $700 travel credit P.A, this is best to spend on domestic flight (e.g, Qantas or Virgin), as airfare on amex travel is exactly the same as it is on Qantas or Virgin website;
3, 2 x complimentary membership to Priority pass, just this benefit alone is worth over au$1,000 (Cost per Priority pass prestige membership is us$399 P.A).
4, Receive complimentary Gold (or equivilent level) membership for top range hotel chain, car rental & golf membership. E.g., Starwood gold member, shangri-la Jade member, hilton gold member etc;
5, Up to 3 points per dollar spent;
6, Complimentary travel insurance when you use this credit to book return flight of your trip;
7, Purchase protection insurance;
8, Complimentary Virgin Australia for your and one of your guest every time you travel with Virgin Australia;
9, As a platinum charge card holder, you could also get Amex reserve card for free which means you will get additional $400 travel credit as a reserve card holder.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could apply this card using this refer link, http://amex.com.au/refer/mengzoai3
You will receive 90k points and I will receive 30k points as referral, this would help to make my Euro trip dream come much sooner!
Annual fee is $1200, but if you balance all above benefit it is well worth the annual fee. This card may not suit every one, but would be a fantastic card to have if you are frequent traveller. I am happy to answer all related queries regarding all amex card!
*As a Platinum charge holder you could have Amex reserve card for free which offers $400 travel credit P.A., a total of $700 would effectively reduce the annual fee down to $500 only per year.

 

[lucky777]

Hi Guys,

This is great card to have for frequent flyers without doubt, yes it comes with annual fee of $1,200 P.A. But it includes all below benefit;

1, Up to $700 travel credit
2, Gold status for major 5 star hotel chain, golf club, car rental
3, 2 x complimentary pass (worth us$800)
4, 90k premium ascent points, FYI, 1 x return business card from Aus to HK via Cathy only cost you 80k points plus around $200
5, up to 3 points per $1 spent
6, list is too long I just wont bother to type

If would be greatly apprecated if you would like to apply using my referral link below, I will receive 30k points and you will get 90k points. Any questions regarding this card, please do not hesitate to ask.

Application link below
http://amex.com.au/refer/jingh5aYc

 

[mini2]

You will receive 90,000 Membership Rewards points, are approved for an American Express® Platinum Card and spend $1,500 in their first 3 months of Card Membership. The referrer (me) gets 30,000 Membership Rewards points out of this.

You may say $1200 annual fee is a bit step but when you break it down:

* 110,000 MR points has a nominal value of $1100 straight up (based on OzBargain selling price of points or perhaps even higher, depending on your valuation) - 80k points will net you a CX SYD-HKG return tix that's normally retail for over $6k.
* Complimentary Reserve Credit Card that's valued at $400
* $300 Travel Credit + $400 when you sign up for the complimentary Reserve Credit Card = $700 travel credit
* 2x Priority Pass - one for yourself and another for a supplementary cardholder which is worth $399 USD per person
* Roadside assistance for you and your supplementary cardholders - $99 per car that you and/or your sup cardholders own (Protip: it has to be 8 years old or younger based on calendar year AND the car in trouble cannot be at your principle place of residence...I got caught out recently)
* Travel Insurance - no idea how to value this but it's a few hundreds no doubt. Have made various claims over the years (both with ACE and Chubb more recently) and it's a painless process.
* Home assistance - can't put a value on it but something happened to my home, my el cheapo building insurance doesn't have a 24/7 assistance line so these guys organized plumbers and electricians on my behalf AND paid for the call out/first 30 minutes labour full stop.

Without putting in too much effort, that's already $3200 value! Even better value when you get yourself an A/C Card (additional card) and 4 other supplementary cardholders to maximize your coverage on Amex offers such as Shop Small and various other promotions.

It will be greatly appreciated if you can use my referral link for sign up - any points will be going towards my 4x RTW J tix for my family.