Credit Card Offers Amex Explorer: 50,000 bonus Amex points

Earn uncapped Amex Points and enjoy a $400 travel credit every year!​

Learn more and apply for this card:

American Express® Explorer Credit Card

With the American Express Explorer credit card, earn uncapped Amex Membership Rewards points and offset the annual fee with a travel credit.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

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What are the main benefits of this card?

1. Signup bonus: 50,000 bonus Amex Membership Rewards Points, when you spend at least $4,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months of approval
2. Earn 2 Membership Rewards Points per $1 on eligible purchases, uncapped, which you can transfer to 13 different airline & hotel programs
3. $400 annual travel credit fully offsets the $395 annual fee

Why we like the American Express Explorer credit card

This card lets you earn Amex Membership Rewards points at a solid rate of 2 points per dollar, uncapped, without the higher annual fee of the Amex Platinum card.

You can transfer Amex points to 11 airline frequent flyer programs and 2 hotel loyalty programs, generally at a 2:1 rate. For example, this means you’re effectively earning 1 Velocity Point, Qatar Avios or Cathay Asia Mile per $1 spent on the card.

The $395 annual fee is offset by a $400 annual travel credit that you can spend on eligible flights, car rentals or hotels when booking through American Express Travel.

You'll also receive two free annual visits to the Amex Centurion Lounges in Sydney or Melbourne Airport, plus complimentary travel insurance. See our card guide for the full details:

American Express® Explorer Credit Card

With the American Express Explorer credit card, earn uncapped Amex Membership Rewards points and offset the annual fee with a travel credit.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

AFF members are welcome to discuss this card in this thread.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

i have never bothered checking mine, cause I agree it's often meaningless. I applied and was approved for 6 cards last year (4 before I discovered I had to reapply for our mortgage having sold an investment property while my husband wasn't working - long ridiculous story)
I then applied for both the ANZ adventure & Amex on the Amex day, cause I figured I wasn't lying about the number of cards I had. Got them both- ANZ called to check my salary and said if I sent a payslip they'd approve on that and not to worry about my rental income despite the mortgages, AMEX auto approved which indicates there were no checks. I do have a decent salary, but we are a one salary household. I am happy to trash my credit rating for the next couple of years to take advantage of their generosity!

I would believe that Amex and Banks have their own chrecking procedures and they are each different.

My guestimate is that Amex are very reliant on using their own internal checks, and that once you have had an Amex that future approvals are generally pretty painless. So I rate it as one of the easiest to get new cards for.

I have been churning cards for bonnii pretty solidly for well over a decade (It has come and gone a bit as in some years sign-on bonnii have not always been as lucrative or as valuable as they have been the last couple of years) and of all the organisations that I have applied to the ANZ have checked more often, and more rigorously than the others. Indeed with ANZ it pays not include things like your investment income as they have sometimes asked for ridiculous things like wanting to see proof of all dividend earnings...and when you have thirty odd shareholdings that is simply not going to happen. So while I have always gained any ANZ card I have applied for, they have tended to be more effort to gain.

 

[PDog]

I would believe that Amex and Banks have their own chreking procedures and they are each different.

My guestimate is that Amex are very reliant on using their own internal checks, and that once you have had an Amex that future approvals are generally pretty painless. So I rate it as one of the easiest to get new cards for.

I have been churning cards for bonnii pretty solidly for well over a decade (It has come and gone a bit as in some years sign-on bonnii have not always been as lucrative or as valuable as they have been the last couple of years) and of all the organisations that I have applied to the ANZ have checked more often, and more rigorously than the others. Indeed with ANZ it pays not include things like your investment income as they have sometimes asked for ridiculous things like wanting to see proof of all dividend earnings...and when you have thirty odd shareholdings that is simply not going to happen. So while I have always gained any ANZ card I have applied for, they have tended to be more effort to gain.

10 years- I feel I have been living under a rock!!

Interesting re ANZ- they were the first (who didn't auto approve) who didn't ask for rental statements- St George did last week. I always put rental income it in there cause I'm declaring the accompanying mortgage (I have the numbers down pat now!) but had never thought to include dividends -and won't in future, thanks for the tip!

 

[SOPOOR]

Many credit card limits are high.

I refuse them. I take the minimum every time as having too high a limit precludes multiple cards being held concurrently.

can you please elaborate as to high limits makes it difficult or not possible for multiple cards

frankly, higher limits dont interst me, and im probably going to reduce my limit as I feel reducing can do no harm, while having a high one can only do harm

 

[SOPOOR]

sorry, i know this has been answered before , should I wait to apply for my plat edge card? or wait until bonus has been provided?

im tryingto minimise linking issues, I thought it wouldnt matter whether the bonus points were issued or not as long as you dont transfer earlier

 

[ajd]

I have been churning cards for bonnii pretty solidly for well over a decade (It has come and gone a bit as in some years sign-on bonnii have not always been as lucrative or as valuable as they have been the last couple of years) and of all the organisations that I have applied to the ANZ have checked more often, and more rigorously than the others. Indeed with ANZ it pays not include things like your investment income as they have sometimes asked for ridiculous things like wanting to see proof of all dividend earnings...and when you have thirty odd shareholdings that is simply not going to happen. So while I have always gained any ANZ card I have applied for, they have tended to be more effort to gain.

ANZ and NAB required both proof of my salary and physically lining up at the branch to activate my card. HSBC and Amex have not.

 

[Plutonus]

Indeed with ANZ it pays not include things like your investment income as they have sometimes asked for ridiculous things like wanting to see proof of all dividend earnings...and when you have thirty odd shareholdings that is simply not going to happen. So while I have always gained any ANZ card I have applied for, they have tended to be more effort to gain.

On my only application with ANZ I listed investment income and they subsequently told me it doesn't count as income. I now assume they actually meant I'd need to provide ridiculous amounts of documentation for it to count. Thanks for the info

 

[BettyB]

Took a call today from AMEX asking for the drivers licence number of the people I asked for supplementary cards for.

Another call from AMEX today asking about details for another one of my supplementary card applications.

Seems they are checking everything now.

 

[Isochronous]

Another call from AMEX today asking about details for another one of my supplementary card applications.

Seems they are checking everything now.

People applying for their cats perhaps?

 

[SOPOOR]

where it says les points for governement agencies, other than ATO what is also consdiered a governement agency

are utilities such as origin energy, or council rates considered as governement?

and would paypal payments be to hese agents be consdireed as payment from the agency or from paypal?

 

[ajd]

where it says les points for governement agencies, other than ATO what is also consdiered a governement agency

are utilities such as origin energy, or council rates considered as governement?

and would paypal payments be to hese agents be consdireed as payment from the agency or from paypal?

"Utilities" are generally listed separately to "government payments" in reward point T&Cs. Australia Post is usually considered government. I would imagine local councils are considered government as well. No idea about PayPal.

 

[unfunkable]

With my explorer:
AUST POST paid me 0.5PPD
PAYPAL is 2 PPD
Skymesh is 2 PPD
Telstra is 2 PPD

 

[Jonova]

Been paying all my bills with Austpostbillpay with Paypal and getting 2PPD

 

[Redrob123]

where it says les points for governement agencies, other than ATO what is also consdiered a governement agency

are utilities such as origin energy, or council rates considered as governement?

and would paypal payments be to hese agents be consdireed as payment from the agency or from paypal?

I pay my Click Energy with this card and it is treated as government unfortunately.

 

[N860CR]

Everything with PayPal is ok.

It treats ServiceNSW as government (rego etc)

 

[Ken1]

I've paid bills for Vodafone and for Energy Australia (electricity) and have received 2x points for both.

 

[albyd]

I've started paying utilities including direct debits with AGL and energy Australia - my reading is that these will be 2ppd on Explorer but things like parking meters and Australia post are 'government'. Assuming council rates are too so PayPal wherever possible to maximize point earn. Sydney water just PayPal as they don't take Amex natively but interesting whether government owned utilities are 'utilities' like telco or 'government'.

 

[SOPOOR]

And just a question does every council rate or utility company accept PayPal? I have a heck of a lot each month.

 

[albyd]

Depends on the council. For instance, in my experience City of Sydney doesn't have a PayPal option but Randwick Council does.

 

[Finale]

Depends on the council. For instance, in my experience City of Sydney doesn't have a PayPal option but Randwick Council does.

I have been paying City of Sydney using Paypal via Postbillpay.com.au.

 

[EestiTiger]

I have been paying City of Sydney using Paypal via Postbillpay.com.au.

Haven't heard of that before but thanks! One of my accounts slugs me a AMEX fee if I use their payment portal. I will try this next month