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.

 

[crossbow]

After receiving approval SMS how long did it take for everyone to receive their card?

4 business days seems to be average. I was approved Wednesday, arrived the following Tuesday.

 

[hachoo]

Ok all this talk of closing loopholes is making me a little nervous - Currently have a Plat Edge on Ascent which I am more than happy with. Applied through a referral link for an Explorer which is now sitting next to me, unopened. Is it even worth experimenting with this? Some pople have referenced the ability to cancel the card and have the annual fee reversed with 30 days. Has anyone actually done this?

I'm considering doing similar and applying for the plat edge instead and hoping to link it to my explorer into the ascent rewards. All this talk of closing loopholes and all the 'advertising' on Ozbargain is making me nervous too.

 

[Returnofthemach]

Sooo I activated my card and unfortunately it appears it came pre-linked to my Ascent (Plat Edge). I'm guessing I now need to ring and try to get it unlinked and enrolled in Gateway to have any chance of getting the bonus points? If this can work, I will not bother trying to relink, ill take the bonus points and run. If the consensus is I will now no longer be able to delink and get the points, I may just cancel this time around within the first statement period.

 

[crossbow]

Sooo I activated my card and unfortunately it appears it came pre-linked to my Ascent (Plat Edge). I'm guessing I now need to ring and try to get it unlinked and enrolled in Gateway to have any chance of getting the bonus points? If this can work, I will not bother trying to relink, ill take the bonus points and run. If the consensus is I will now no longer be able to delink and get the points, I may just cancel this time around within the first statement period.

You'll probably have to make a few calls to get unlinked from Ascent and into Gateway, or you might get lucky and get it done on the first call. Don't mention the bonus points, make another excuse for why you want to use Gateway (for example point out that is what was advertised as being the card offer so that's what you want, you want to keep balances separate, etc.) Once you manage to get onto Gateway, getting bonus should be ok. There was talk of this "loophole" being closed last week and even before that, but I received my bonus this morning.

 

[avante]

Here's my data point. Have Edge. Applied for explorer. Accounts were linked by default and subsequently by request. Points showing up in both Gateway and Ascent now but $1,500 has not been spent. Will report back on 110k points after threshold has been met. Getting ahead of myself but wondering if I will risk losing points by linking after obtaining the bonus signup points.

 

[Spizz]

Unlinked my card from Ascent. Have made a few transactions but there is no point balance listed for the Explorer (maybe because the charges are still pending). Can't see the $400 travel credit listed anywhere and upon delinking I was hit with the $395 annual fee, even though this charge to is not listed under the Explorer card.

Giving it until tomorrow and then calling back to see where the points are for the few transactions I made, where the travel credit is, and where the description for the $395 fee is listed.

 

[SOPOOR]

Hey eveyrone how do you tell if you are enrolled in online stamens.
I've looked everywhere.

Was going to try I f I can pay off my card at the branch with gift the $88 gift cards

 

[vantus]

Long time lurker. Just wanted to let everyone know that you can get the bonus on this card multiple times (surely some of you must have worked it out, all though maybe people don't want to draw attention to it?). I have an Edge, and my Explorer came linked back in October last year. I de-linked to get the bonus points, then re-linked. Then, de-linked again in November and thought I'd have a crack to see if bonus points posted again with $1500 spend. Sure enough, 100,000 points came through.

I've linked / de-linked 3 times since. I'm now up to 500k bonus points, and will likely stop here Of course, there's always a chance that AMEX will work out what I'm doing and close the loophole (though none of the CSRs have questioned me when I call up with my link/delink request as yet) - hence my rule has been to transfer my bonus points out to SPG as soon as they hit my account.

 

[SOPOOR]

Long time lurker. Just wanted to let everyone know that you can get the bonus on this card multiple times (surely some of you must have worked it out, all though maybe people don't want to draw attention to it?). I have an Edge, and my Explorer came linked back in October last year. I de-linked to get the bonus points, then re-linked. Then, de-linked again in November and thought I'd have a crack to see if bonus points posted again with $1500 spend. Sure enough, 100,000 points came through.

I've linked / de-linked 3 times since. I'm now up to 500k bonus points, and will likely stop here Of course, there's always a chance that AMEX will work out what I'm doing (though none of the CSRs have questioned me when I call to date) - hence my rule is to transfer my bonus points out to SPG as soon as they hit my account.

Are you reapplying for a card everytine?
Surely you're not getting bonuses everytine you simply delink/relink

 

[vantus]

Are you reapplying for a card everytine?
Surely you're not getting bonuses everytine you simply delink/relink

Same card (no further applications made), bonus points post everytime I de-link back to Gateway.

 

[Spizz]

This is going to end badly if correct.

 

[unfunkable]

Maybe that's why amex is upgrading their system

Am I correct in saying, if I cancel my plat edge card, my program will revert to gateway? (they are currently linked into ascent)

 

[vantus]

This is going to end badly if correct.

Yeah, probably. Although I figure that since a public step by step WIKI has now been created on how to game the Explorer sign on bonus, I might as well share my experience

May no longer be possible with the rumours of AMEX system upgrades put in place over the past few days.

 

[tizey]

change of pace - is anyone experiencing delays in referrals posting? I know of 3 last-second referrals being approved prior to 30th January, and still no points. bit odd. Hoping its just slightly delayed as they do say it can take 6-8 weeks to show up?

 

[annielee]

usually once its approved, the points should be in your account.. (if im not wrong)

 

[tizey]

usually. I have had a delay when I knew the card had been approved at the very start of the referral program in late October (it literally took 2 weeks for them to come through, cards had long shown up to family member)... just wondering if anyone else has experienced this on the last minute dash?

 

[SOPOOR]

Same card (no further applications made), bonus points post everytime I de-link back to Gateway.

Damn! Surely this is an error or the biggest loophole!

I'd suggest you transfer the points out asap
That's what I'd be doing

 

[Haplo]

Amex can always hit you with 2.5 cents per points if they want to reverse and the points are no longer there, so user beware of the consequence if abusing the multi link/delink

 

[SOPOOR]

Amex can always hit you with 2.5 cents per points if they want to reverse and the points are no longer there, so user beware of the consequence if abusing the multi link/delink

Really! Wow. Didn't think there was a policy for negative points.
Must happen quite a bit then

 

[Haplo]

On flyertalk in the US there was post of a 100k promotion and people abusing it, amex end up freezing their MR account and for those already transferred out hit them with the charge.

If you accidentally got it because of system glitch, best not touch it so that amex can reverse it if they do an audit. If you abuse the system then the penalty might be harsher.