Dr Ralph
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2014
- Posts
- 13,315
- Qantas
- Bronze
- Virgin
- Red
I know it’s a far cry from the heady days when a 100K+ signup bonus was possible, but the current offer for the AMEX Explorer is still fair value at 50K if you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card membership. Plus you get a $400 travel credit and two complimentary entries per year to The Centurion Lounge at Sydney International Airport or Melbourne International Airport for the $395 annual fee.
This has been my 'go to' AMEX card for some time now. Points transfer has so many options, including Marriott Bonvoy, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Hilton Honours. Of course 'warehousing' your points is a great option too.
Tip 1: You'll get the $400 travel credit after the end of the first statement when you've paid the first annual fee. But you can access a second $400 travel credit for free. At around the 11 month mark another $400 travel credit will be loaded to your account in anticipation of you renewing that card for the second year and paying the $400 annual fee again. You can use that second $400 travel credit immediately (for future bookings) and then cancel your card before actually paying the second annual fee.
Tip 2: Don't forget you can add up to 4 supplementary card holders at no extra fee to potentially maximise those cash back opportunities.
Tip 3: Subscribe to this AFF thread to make sure you don't miss any of the cash back offers: New Amex statement credits
Tip 4: This appears to be an exceptionally easy card to apply for and churn. I applied for this card recently and couldn't be bothered filling in all of the requested details about mortgage/expenses etc. So I just wrote down '$0' for everything. I got a call asking if this was a mistake. I said, nope, my partner pays for all of my expenses. They said can you provide a statement from your partner which says that this is true. I said sure. They then said congratulations you are approved. No pay slips, no tax return, no statement from my partner. Just a bank statement (which I had supplied with my application) and approved!
If you sign up via my referral link I will earn 25,000 bonus points and you’ll get 50,000 bonus points. Thank you for considering using my referral link:
americanexpress.com
This has been my 'go to' AMEX card for some time now. Points transfer has so many options, including Marriott Bonvoy, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Hilton Honours. Of course 'warehousing' your points is a great option too.
Tip 1: You'll get the $400 travel credit after the end of the first statement when you've paid the first annual fee. But you can access a second $400 travel credit for free. At around the 11 month mark another $400 travel credit will be loaded to your account in anticipation of you renewing that card for the second year and paying the $400 annual fee again. You can use that second $400 travel credit immediately (for future bookings) and then cancel your card before actually paying the second annual fee.
Tip 2: Don't forget you can add up to 4 supplementary card holders at no extra fee to potentially maximise those cash back opportunities.
Tip 3: Subscribe to this AFF thread to make sure you don't miss any of the cash back offers: New Amex statement credits
Tip 4: This appears to be an exceptionally easy card to apply for and churn. I applied for this card recently and couldn't be bothered filling in all of the requested details about mortgage/expenses etc. So I just wrote down '$0' for everything. I got a call asking if this was a mistake. I said, nope, my partner pays for all of my expenses. They said can you provide a statement from your partner which says that this is true. I said sure. They then said congratulations you are approved. No pay slips, no tax return, no statement from my partner. Just a bank statement (which I had supplied with my application) and approved!
If you sign up via my referral link I will earn 25,000 bonus points and you’ll get 50,000 bonus points. Thank you for considering using my referral link:
