Platinum card questions

[JohnK]

Can somebody out there please explian to me why AMEX would keep sending you an application for a platinum credit card when you have used AMEX for about 3 years and have an income of $25,000 after tax?????.

You must be very lucky. I have never received an application for a platinum credit card and I have been using Amex about 6 years.

 

[serfty]

You must be very lucky. I have never received an application for a platinum credit card and I have been using Amex about 6 years.

As an SG you'll start getting these things on a more regular basis; I reckon about 3 per year.

Since becoming a WP in October last year, I have received no less than 5 invitations for such things, three from Amex. :-|

 

[alien]

at the end of the day you get approx 450k in points a year (if your spending $300k pa) anyway so why not use them???? I would stick with what you have.

 

[jad01]

I notice that as of the the start of this month they have altered the conditions for the free flight.
Basically they have cut Perth and Canberra so now from Sydney it's Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne only.

The other thing that ticks me off is that the travel insurance doesnt cover rental car excess like other annual travel policies do.
Subsequently I end up having to pay for duplicated travel insurance so now I am wondering whether it's any good to me any more.

JASON

 

[Maca44]

I notice that as of the the start of this month they have altered the conditions for the free flight.
Basically they have cut Perth and Canberra so now from Sydney it's Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne only.

The other thing that ticks me off is that the travel insurance doesnt cover rental car excess like other annual travel policies do.
Subsequently I end up having to pay for duplicated travel insurance so now I am wondering whether it's any good to me any more.

JASON

Due to my concerrn that the SYD PER flight was really the only flight I was interested in, seeing that there are many cheap deals for flights going around, I contacted AMEX Plat service and was advised that the change in route ONLY applies to members who apply for an Amex Platinum Card AFTER 1st June 2006. Although Plat card members who had their cards prior to 1st June still have access to the PER route I suspect that they might change this in the future. Therefore, seeing I have only just received my card, and asap, I will book my PER flight and if they do change the T&C I will then revert back to Rewards Max card.

 

[mick]

I notice that as of the the start of this month they have altered the conditions for the free flight.
Basically they have cut Perth and Canberra so now from Sydney it's Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne only.

Actually, Canberra is still a valid destination from Sydney:



but I agree, the removal of Perth as an option from the eastern states has diluted the benefit somewhat, IMHO. At least the flight offer is genuinely free (being all-inclusive), as opposed to what a QF award is...

 

[jakeseven7]

You must be very lucky. I have never received an application for a platinum credit card and I have been using Amex about 6 years.

Hmm I've had a Amex gold card for a month and recieved a pre-approved application for platinum... hmmm. Whoever said their mail house has gone mad is right, I also yesterday got another gold card mailed to me, no explanation - just a new card to replace my 28 day old one?! I rang up, fearing identity theft or something lol and the Amex callcentre which just HAS to be in India..... ahem had no idea why it had happened

 

[Maca44]

Actually, Canberra is still a valid destination from Sydney:

View attachment 11

but I agree, the removal of Perth as an option from the eastern states has diluted the benefit somewhat, IMHO. At least the flight offer is genuinely free (being all-inclusive), as opposed to what a QF award is...

I think you missed my previous post where due to my concerrn on this particular issue about the Sydney Perth flight I contacted AMEX Plat service and they advised the change in route ONLY applies to members who apply for an Amex Platinum Card AFTER 1st June 2006. So, if you had your Amex Platinum card prior to this date Perth is still covered (so Amex tells me), but thats not to say they won't move the goal posts and remove it in a year of so.

 

[Maca44]

Well, Amex have moved the goal posts again. In my previous post I mentioned that I had contacted AMEX Plat service who advised the change in routes ONLY applies to members who applied for an Amex Plat Credit Card after 1st June 2006. So, if you had your Amex Platinum card prior to this date Perth is still covered in the schedule. They have changed their terms and conditions as follows.

If You opened a Platinum Credit Card Account on or before 31 May 2006, You can choose to redeem from all routes in the matrix below, for the first full year of Card membership. Upon completion of your first full year of Card membership, the shaded routes (now in red for this post) in the table below will be removed from the Qantas domestic Economy return flight offer.

Departure City Arrival Cities
Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney
Brisbane Adelaide Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney
Canberra Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Perth Sydney
Darwin Adelaide Brisbane Sydney Perth
Hobart Melbourne
Melbourne Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Perth Hobart Sydney
Perth Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Sydney
Sydney Adelaide Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth

I have only had the card since May 2006, and can fly SYD PER, but the only reason I got the card was for the Perth flight so this card is definitely going and I'll go back to the Rewards Maximiser and save over $200 a year. I could probably buy a cheap return tix between SYD and an east coast city on their revised schedule for less.

 

[Mal]

Looks like Perth was way too popular for the award redemptions I wonder why that was?

Agree the card's perceived value to me has been reduced. A flight to ADL is still ok as a benefit, but nowhere near as good as Perth.

I wonder if the changes were caused by the offering of the Amex Qantas co-branded cards (Which have a slightly more restrictive flight offer in that Canberra isn't offered), or the cost of the flights to PER, or a deal they had with Qantas fell through.

More "enhancements". It becomes very hard to follow all of the changes sometimes!

 

[oz_mark]

I would guess that they got their calculations wrong (or Perth was much more popular than the were expecting it to be). Of course, for us sitting in Perth there are still some good deals available.