If I cancel my AMEX Plat Charge, what happens to my Plat Reserve?

[Febs]

Hi all,

Did a brief search but couldn't find a definitive answer on this one. I have an AMEX Plat Charge card due for renewal soon. I also have the free associated Plat Reserve card. I'm planning on calling to cancel the Charge card (even though they reduced the annual fee last year, I can't see them dropping it this year to a level that I'd be happy to pay).

Just wondering, from experience, if the Reserve card (which has a separate card number / account) also gets cancelled, or if it stays active and then when the $395 annual fee is charged (which in this instance, won't be for another 10 or so months), I either have to pay it or cancel?

If the Reserve is cancelled, are complimentary flight bookings still honoured if they've been made already? Presumably so.

Oh and while I'm here - I'm considering the AMEX Edge as a replacement, but what do AMEX consider a "new customer" to be for the 10,000 bonus pts? New Edge customer, or new AMEX customer?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[Keith009]

FWIW I cancelled my Platinum Charge card but retained the Platinum Reserve credit card, and ended up getting a pro rata refund of part of the annual fee. This was a month after I paid the $900 fee. I believe you get any refunds immediately (pro rata difference between the $900/$395 fees) and the full $395 annual fee will be charged at the start of the new membership anniversary should you decide to keep the Reserve. There was some confusion around when my membership anniversary was meant to be as I originally got the Platinum Reserve card (then the Platinum Credit Card) prior to upgrading to the Charge card.

Also you get a complimentary Gold Charge card with the Platinum Reserve which is very useful for hotel pre-authorisations.

 

[Febs]

Oh and while I'm here - I'm considering the AMEX Edge as a replacement, but what do AMEX consider a "new customer" to be for the 10,000 bonus pts? New Edge customer, or new AMEX customer?.

Lady I just spoke to at AMEX said that any existing AMEX-issued AMEX = no bonus points (but if you have a bank/DJs AMEX, you're OK). Is that how it works in practice?

FWIW I cancelled my Platinum Charge card but retained the Platinum Reserve credit card, and ended up getting a pro rata refund of part of the annual fee. This was a month after I paid the $900 fee. I believe you get any refunds immediately (pro rata difference between the $900/$395 fees) and the full $395 annual fee will be charged at the start of the new membership anniversary should you decide to keep the Reserve. There was some confusion around when my membership anniversary was meant to be as I originally got the Platinum Reserve card (then the Platinum Credit Card) prior to upgrading to the Charge card.

Thanks Keith. Just a bit confused about what your pro rata refund was for? Was your $900 due, you cancelled, and they refunded you $505? Can you cancel the Charge, get the $900 fee reversed, but keep the Reserve until the membership fee on it is due?

The Reserve card really doesn't offer anything I need over the Edge card*, so the only reason I'd keep it would be if it was free, until the $395 was due again (around November 2013 for me). Then I'd cancel. My Reserve card is definitely linked to my Charge card though, as the MR points tells me to "Refer to Charge card" in my Account screen. So when the Charge card gets cancelled, not sure how they handle that.

Cheers,
- Febs.

* To be honest, the only reason the Edge holds appeal for me is the SPG transfer option, and the bonus flight. The Reserve "international" flight option is useless for me, as it's practically impossible to get a decent flight to NZ under it!

 

[Keith009]

I didn't cancel the Plat Charge card immediately after paying the fee, was probably a month (or 2 maybe, can't remember) after. So they worked out a pro-rata refund rather than a full refund of $900. The $395 will only be charged at the next membership year of the Reserve card. But this is because I have 2 different anniversary dates - if your membership years are one and the same then I guess they'll ding you the $395 immediately. You have to let them know that you wish to keep the Reserve card.

I'm reviewing my cards as well and was thinking of downgrading to the Edge card also. Even though the new earn structure of the Reserve suits my spending pattern, there are a lot of places in Brisbane that don't take AMEX or take AMEX surcharge-free, I'm thinking a Westpac-Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer card (will be burning to all sorts of weird and wonderful places like USM in the next few years) along with an Edge at selected merchants might be the sweet spot for an identical amount of annual fees.

 

[zig]

I preferred to take the Platinum Edge with my Platinum charge due to the points earnt on supermarkets/ fuel etc. When I cancelled my PC they offered that I keep the PE card complimentary as long as I took a Gold Charge. As I had been planning to keep the PE this offer suited me, so I now have a Gold Charge which I still haven't used in the 6 month I have held it, but the fee for it is less than the PE which remains complimentary. I'm sure you could arrange the same with the PR.

 

[Keith009]

Interesting! Never knew they offered the Platinum Edge gratis with the Gold Charge card. My Gold charge card, which I ever only use for pre-authorisations rather than actual transactions - very useful as it doesn't eat up the available balance on the credit card, is offered free with the Reserve. I was going to downgrade my Reserve to the Edge and thought I'd be losing the free Gold card in the process. So now I guess I'll just ask to downgrade to the Gold card and ask for a free Edge card - I hope your experience wasn't a one off error.

 

[zig]

I don't think you will have any problems Keith009. I had an issue with the fees, ie/ which fee they were going to charge me, PE or GC and over the course of a few emails Amex confirmed in writing that my PE was complimentary for as long as I held the GC card.

 

[Febs]

Thanks zig, Keith. Good to know.

I've gotta say, the MR earn changes have actually worked out well for me. 3:1 for all bars and restaurants (where most of my spend has been) is brilliant. But not $900 brilliant. (Also potentially not permanent either?)

Whilst the rest of the card's features have been ok (concierge has come in handy 5-10 times, but I'd say I've only really "needed" their services once), the events suck (no imagination - nothing really useful unless you like AFL, art or sailing), and all up I just don't see $900 value in the card.

Cheers
febs.

 

[Keith009]

Just following up on this - I rang up to enquire about the process of downgrading from the Reserve to the Edge and the guy on the phone (sounded American btw and much more pleasant than the usual Sydney call centre) confirmed that I'd be paying for the Gold Charge card and keeping the Edge card as a complimentary companion card. Result! But it's a manual process since I already hold both and they'd need me to ring back once my application for the Edge has been approved.

 

[Febs]

Called up today to cancel my Plat Charge card. Consistent with everyone else's experience - no offer of reduced fee or bonus pts (which is fine - I wasn't looking). Was also told the Reserve would have a $395 fee charged again next month if I kept it (I declined). However, 5 minutes later I left the call very satisfied.

The CSR did a good job of explaining the benefits, but when it was clear I wasn't keen to continue (basically I no longer saw value in the $900 fee - the coughpy and limited range of "invite only" events was a large part of it), she mentioned the Gold charge card. 1:1 and no QF transfer? She quickly realised I wasn't interested.

She then mentioned the Edge, and that she could switch me over straight away. I mentioned I was considering it, but unless the 10-15k bonus pts were on offer for a switch (they weren't), I'd sign up separately (I have an existing Corp card so would retain my "Member since" designation).

I thought we were done, when she asked if I'd be willing to keep the Plat Reserve, if she waived the $395 fee? Umm, yep! That will do nicely thanks. I was willing to pay $149 for the Edge (QF isn't a deal breaker, but I wanted an AMEX for SPG), but the Reserve for $0 was even better.

Pretty happy.

Cheers
- Febs.