Amex Platinum Edge vs Gold Charge

[Liski]

Hi all,

I haven't been an Amex customer for over 8 years and looking at going back to compliment my Citibank Signature card to slowly get rid of my Westpac SQ Platinum card which has been slowly loosing value.

I'm interested in the Gold Charge card simply due to the 30,000 bonus referral points vs the 15,000 with the Platinum Edge. I do like the free domestic flight with the PE but not sure if I'd use it.

I don't mind the charge card bit of the Gold as I usually either BPAY the funds after each transaction or pay it at the end of the month.

Any help? tips? advice?


Liski

 

[hummel]

Hi all,

I haven't been an Amex customer for over 8 years and looking at going back to compliment my Citibank Signature card to slowly get rid of my Westpac SQ Platinum card which has been slowly loosing value.

I'm interested in the Gold Charge card simply due to the 30,000 bonus referral points vs the 15,000 with the Platinum Edge. I do like the free domestic flight with the PE but not sure if I'd use it.

I don't mind the charge card bit of the Gold as I usually either BPAY the funds after each transaction or pay it at the end of the month.

Any help? tips? advice?


Liski

It all depends on your spending habits. I used to have a gold charge but have had the plat edge for 3+ years now and haven't looked back. The 3pts/$1 at supermarkets (incl giftcards) is a real points earner for me. Plus 2pts/$1 on fuel spend as well keeps it ticking along nicely.

You can get referred to the plat edge card and recieve extra bonus points (PM if you'd like)

All in all, I'd be going the Plat edge as it's hard to beat 3pts/$1 at supermarkets!

 

[visable v]

I would go for the platinum edge, more points in the long run. Or you can just get the gold charge for the initial points and then get yourself the platinum edge as a companion card for free and use that for purchases.

 

[Liski]

Or you can just get the gold charge for the initial points and then get yourself the platinum edge as a companion card for free and use that for purchases.

Really? How is this possible?

 

[visable v]

AMEX charge cards have companion cards free of charge. Prior to upgrading to the platinum charge I had the gold charge and called them up to ask if I can get the plat edge as a companion card, they sent me out all the info for it and it's free as long as you hold your gold charge.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Note that as reported by Keith009 that with the Gold charge card as your main Amex account, you have to pay an additional $80 to sign up to Membership Rewards as this does not come free with the Gold Charge card, even if MR is a complimentary feature of the Platinum Edge card.

So it costs $210 all up ($130 + $80) to have a Gold charge card if you want MR points.

I am not sure if you can still get this though.

In another thread recently a Plat Card holder posted that they could not get the Plat Edge as their companion card in place of the Reserve Card.

 

[prozac]

AMEX charge cards have companion cards free of charge. Prior to upgrading to the platinum charge I had the gold charge and called them up to ask if I can get the plat edge as a companion card, they sent me out all the info for it and it's free as long as you hold your gold charge.

Good tip!

There are also discussion threads about how to make your Plat Edge worth 3 points at secondary retailers as well (Dan Murphy's, Big W, Officeworks etc) by purchasing gift cards at the supermarket for these outlets.

Like hummel said there are more bonus points by referral. Send him a pm.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Good tip!

Like hummel said there are more bonus points by referral. Send him a pm.

Visible v is actually correct that a referral for Gold is better (lower $ cost plus more referred points) if it gets free companion Edge card...rather than Hummels recommendation to be referred for the Edge directly.

I would just check that you can still get a free Edge Card on it.

 

[prozac]

I think hummel was offering to refer any Amex card. Most have more bonus points by referral.

FWIW I commented Good Tip to Visibles suggestion, hence why I quoted him.

 

[mitwg]

As others have already recommended in the thread, +1 to the Plat edge over the Gold charge. I feel that the everyday points earn will eventually overcome the 15k in bonus points deficit.

However, if you must have a charge card, I feel that the Gold charge is such a poor card compared to its annual fee, especially if you consider the extra $80 you have to fork out to get into MR. If you can swallow the fact that you are getting a standard card (apparently some people still buy this Gold/Plat/Cent/Godzilla cough), I think the Green charge is a much better card for the money than the Gold. Although I've had neither cards, I had a look at AMEX's website and I'm having trouble working out exactly what the difference is between the Green and the Gold in terms of actual tangible benefits.

It seems like Green gives 10k MR with a referral, so this is obviously a poorer deal than both the Gold or the Plat Edge.

Another option is the BMW gold credit card. This has no signup bonus but it also has no annual fee and I feel that it is a steal of a card, especially considering it comes with MR for free as well. I think this is a well known card on AFF but the fact that it is not offered directly on AMEX's website means its not a common card that people consider at first. There should be loads of information available about this card but if you want more info, happy for you to PM me.

A lot of my friends signed up for the BMW gold actually. Normally, they either sign up to a Gold charge (30k) or a Plat reserve (40k) to get the once off signup bonus through referral then prior to the anniversary date, they sign up to the BMW gold (the MR from both cards gets pooled) and cancel their fee-paying AMEX and retain the gold. The main reason why they do that obviously is because if you do it the other way around (i.e. sign up to the BMW gold first), you aren't guaranteed to get the signup bonus for the other cards.

 

[Liski]

Thanx everyone, seems like the obvious choice is the Platinum Edge.

 

[newformula]

AFAIK the Gold Charge does not come with a companion card; I thought this was only with the high end Platinum Charge (the Reserve). Happy (very happy) to be proven wrong, if anyone happens to call Amex about it and ask.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

AFAIK the Edge does not come with a companion card; I thought this was only with the high end Platinum Charge (the Reserve). Happy (very happy) to be proven wrong, if anyone happens to call Amex about it and ask.

The posts above suggested that Gold may and NOT The Edge.

 

[newformula]

Thanks, mental typo, edited my reply.

 

[prozac]

Thanx everyone, seems like the obvious choice is the Platinum Edge.

So Liski, did you get your referral for the extra sign-on bonus points?

 

[jlien]

Would also be interested to know if the gold charge comes with a free platinum edge as the companion card.

 

[prozac]

Would also be interested to know if the gold charge comes with a free platinum edge as the companion card.

No it doesn't. I am happy to refer you for either.

I prefer the plat edge.

 

[prozac]

Would also be interested to know if the gold charge comes with a free platinum edge as the companion card.

Just brushed up online about the Gold Charge card. jlien, I am not sure that it even comes with a supplementary (companion) card. I think Amex only offer supplementary cards for the credit variety.

 

[jlien]

Just brushed up online about the Gold Charge card. jlien, I am not sure that it even comes with a supplementary (companion) card. I think Amex only offer supplementary cards for the credit variety.

Thanks, I am interested in the gold charge purely for the larger sign on bonus, if it came with the platinum edge, then that would seal the deal for me, hence my interest.

 

[prozac]

Thanks, I am interested in the gold charge purely for the larger sign on bonus, if it came with the platinum edge, then that would seal the deal for me, hence my interest.

Sorry, can't change that for you.