Amex Plat Debit card

[Rono]

Folks,

I am semi retired and have dual passports - Australia and EU.
Is it possible for me to sign up for an Amex Plat card in Europe? I see that the fee is around EURO 550 as I plan spending more time living in Europe.

Has anyone any feedback good bad or otherwise on this approach?

regards

Rono

 

[dissector]

Hello Rono,

I think we are talking about Platinum Charge card in EU. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I would have the following feedback:

1. It makes a lot of sense to have this product in EUR rather than AUD. AU Plat charges additional fees if used overseas. Hence, local product is the way to go to minimise your financial exposure in these interesting economic times.

2. AMEX acceptance in EU is patchy at best outside of original Schengen zone. Original Schengen zone is mostly OK. Outside of this area, you may encounter issues with acceptance. This is something to consider. Your options may or may not be limited by this fact alone.

3. You may/will have to present source of income if you are semi-retired. AMEX likes to have some sort of evidence (proof) of income. If you don't have previous relationship with them, please consider. You may have to call them to discuss this aspect and consider eligibility.

4. If you have existing relationship with AMEX in Australia, why not contact AU Amex team and discuss strategies? Food for thought... AMEX is a global company and they may have resources available to help/discuss options to set you up financially in the EU zone.

I hope my perspective offers some things to consider...

Kind regards,

D

 

[albyd]

Might be worth getting an AU card first if you don’t already have one then apply for one in the country you’re planning to live in via Amex Glibal Transfer program. It uses your Amex AU credit history to assess you for one abroad. You’ll likely need to provide an address (yours or a local friend or relative in that country). There’s a thread on AFF specifically focused on getting US cards via this method but I think many of the principles will be the same for an EU card.

Shirt of that, then there’s the Amex International Currency Card. Get the version in EUR. I’m not sure what their credit criteria are. I have a green charge card I have used very sparingly over time. I originally got it as part of my HSBC Expat relationship. The relationship with HSBC Expat has ended so I don’t know how easy or hard these are to get.

YMMV.