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.

 

[potm]

What's it say under your explorer card? Still that it's linked to the edge or nothing anymore?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

If you have the Edge credit card, you might get to keep Ascent, but without the Platinum Charge I think you will lose Ascent Premium.

Based on my experience if you lose the Charge but have an Edge, you will lose the Ascent Premium and just be on Ascent. I suspect based on the recent posts that all Explorers will be on separate Gateway accounts too and that the merge accounts will disappear.

In my case when I got rid of my Plat Charge though Amex did not also remove my comp Reserve Card for many many years and while I was on that Comp Card I also stayed on Ascent Premium. When they finally removed from the Comp Card, I was also shortly after dropped to the ascent program. I mention this as it shows that Amex back-ends can be a bit buggy on any changes and when errors occur it is often best to not call them when that bug is in your favour!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I think that is a good development - I would be more worried about getting 100,000 Ascent Premium points rather than what I'm 'entitled' to on the Explorer card. I'd rather get the right points in the right account from the beginning, so it seems your account at least is in a good position.

I don't follow. It would seem more likely that now that the earn will be dropped to 2 GMR points rather than 2APMR points and that if the joining points now post that it will be 100K GMR points and not 100KAPMR points.

 

[albyd]

Based on my experience if you lose the Charge but have an Edge, you will lose the Ascent Premium and just be on Ascent.[/B]

Thanks for posting this lovetravellingoz.
I was considering canning my platinum charge and reserve and applying for the explorer and keeping my edge earlier this week. Was told I would have to spend redeem my Ascent Premium balance as it couldn't be dropped back to Ascent. I wanted to keep them in the warehouse until I've cleared my velocity balance so accepted their 36k MR retention offer & kept my platinum charge. Might have been misinformed then.

 

[adelee]

Thanks for posting this lovetravellingoz.
I was considering canning my platinum charge and reserve and applying for the explorer and keeping my edge earlier this week. Was told I would have to spend redeem my Ascent Premium balance as it couldn't be dropped back to Ascent. I wanted to keep them in the warehouse until I've cleared my velocity balance so accepted their 36k MR retention offer & kept my platinum charge. Might have been misinformed then.

I doubt it was misinformation, I was informed the same when I cancelled my Charge a few weeks back - i requested to transfer the points to my Edge Ascent account, but was told this was not possible and needed to transfer them out before the account closed. The call centre rep seemed pretty on top of things and mentioned he'd closed a few Charge accounts recently. I therefore suspect that any 'merging' of ascent accounts is a system glitch, and not intended (btw: I have a separate ascent 'gateway' account showing up for the Explorer).

 

[potm]

If your edge is linked to the charge then you can keep the points. They will close your ascent premium, open a new ascent program and then manually enter the points.
If your edge is not linked then they will not transfer the points for you.
Recently cancelled the charge and reserve and kept my edge. My edge was linked to the charge ascent premium but the reserve was not. I had to use up the points on the reserve.

 

[albyd]

My edge and reserve are all pooling to the same MR AP account the charge is crediting to. I might cancel my reserve and just apply for the explorer though the charge probably won't get much use except for dining in that case - pretty expensive at $1200 but for the retention incentive. Would hate to close it and have to transfer my point out due to risk of further airline devaluations.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Was told I would have to spend redeem my Ascent Premium balance as it couldn't be dropped back to Ascent. I wanted to keep them in the warehouse until I've cleared my velocity balance so accepted their 36k MR retention offer & kept my platinum charge. Might have been misinformed then.

Unless the situation has changed I believe you were misinformed.

My situation was many years ago now, but at the time I had about 2 million MR points and so I did not want to move them to a FF program/s and so I called and made sure that the points would remain if I did cancel. I was told that they would but that the program would drop to Ascent. As mentioned though this took years...

However at the time I had the Charge, comp Reserve and the Edge and all points were pooled in the one account.

As the points are from various cards in my case and I assume yours I do not see how Amex could cancel the lot. However you would need to keep an Ascent Card. ie the Edge.


I suggest that you call back again and verify. If the CSR gives the same answer ask to be escalated to a team leader to verify.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I therefore suspect that any 'merging' of ascent accounts is a system glitch, and not intended .

There was no merging as points from all 3 cards went into the one Ascent Premium Account.

I previously had a different Ascent Card and points from that then went into the Ascent Premium account after I gained the Platinum Charge Card. At that time the old Ascent Account simply disappeared and the new Ascent Premium appeared. ie There was only ever one account active at a time. When the Ascent Premium account ceased it was changed in to a Ascent account. Again only one account.

Things may have changed, but this has been my experience till now.

I only had a separate account when along tome ago I had a Qantas linked Amex and recently when I gained the Velocity Amex. As they dump straight into an airline FF they are separate programs.

 

[k3nnis]

Hi All,

I currently hold a Amex Plat Edge. If I applied for the Explorer will it be linked to my ascent account to get 2 points per $ on the explorer?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Hi All,

I currently hold a Amex Plat Edge. If I applied for the Explorer will it be linked to my ascent account to get 2 points per $ on the explorer?

If you read the posts in the thread above it would suggest that while this was happening to some, that it no longer will.

I suspect a software glitch was wrongly marrying the two accounts, but this is/has now been addressed so that they will be separate. Though I would not at all be surprised if it still happens randomly for some.

 

[uiopui]

I don't follow. It would seem more likely that now that the earn will be dropped to 2 GMR points rather than 2APMR points and that if the joining points now post that it will be 100K GMR points and not 100KAPMR points.

Yes, I agree that initially it would be a less favourable outcome, however it would be the correct one. Two program means things are being done correctly from the beginning and no issues down the track.

i don't want to speculate what could happen if AMEX doesn't get the points going into the correct program initially.

 

[jackthomas]

Just been approved for the Explorer, interesting the back end errors with sending the points to Ascent... Too good to be true! Has everyone been receiving their bonuses? I hold a Plat Edge and cancelled a DJ AMEX to get explorer... Hoping that I'll still get my bonus.

 

[playbargain]

Anyone who is a current Amex customer and has received this card, what does your "Member Since" say? Is it 16 or your original join year?

 

[Finale]

Anyone who is a current Amex customer and has received this card, what does your "Member Since" say? Is it 16 or your original join year?

Still 13 for me. However, my first card was from 2012 and I got another one in 2013. Then I canceled the first one and Amex has been using 13 since. I'm still holding that 2013 card. Looks like they used whatever oldest card you are still holding? I heard you can call them to fix it but I didn't bother since it was only one year.

 

[k3nnis]

Ok thanks.

If you read the posts in the thread above it would suggest that while this was happening to some, that it no longer will.

I suspect a software glitch was wrongly marrying the two accounts, but this is/has now been addressed so that they will be separate. Though I would not at all be surprised if it still happens randomly for some.

 

[adelee]

Confirming my bonus 100,000 points posted this morning

(Current Platinum Edge holder, cancelled AMEX Plat Charge and Velocity Platinum in past 2 weeks).

I can also confirm they're coming up as Gateway, but with the additional SPG 1: 0.5 offer (same as Ascent and Ascent Premium).

 

[N860CR]

Confirming my bonus 100,000 points posted this morning

(Current Platinum Edge holder, cancelled AMEX Plat Charge and Velocity Platinum in past 2 weeks).

I can also confirm they're coming up as Gateway, but with the additional SPG 1: 0.5 offer (same as Ascent and Ascent Premium).

Did your points ever post into ascent or was it always the gateway program?

 

[uiopui]

I can also confirm they're coming up as Gateway, but with the additional SPG 1: 0.5 offer (same as Ascent and Ascent Premium).

That means right now your sign on bonus is 70,000 AA miles. I'm annoyed I didn't get the card in time for the 14 September deadline.

If you converted 40,000 SPG to 60,000 AA now, and then the remaining 20,000 SPG when you spend $10k on the card, you would have 85,000 AA points after $10k spend - one way J to Europe. Finnair for instance only charges $77USD in taxes.

Not as good as the David Jones signon and referal but still very good!

 

[adelee]

Did your points ever post into ascent or was it always the gateway program?

Always Gateway. Likewise, when I held the Charge and Edge together, the Ascent and Ascent premium points were always held separately.