Reduced AMEX earn rates from April 2019

[k3nnis]

Ok thanks. Only thing I don’t like about the dragon visa are the annual fees? Is it worth it to get 0.75 KF per $

 

[michael65]

Thanks for the reply. I’m thinking whether to stick with the Amex to get 1.5 KF per dollar when using supermarkets and petrol. Or get a st George visa and get 0.75 KF per dollar.

Hi, I may try and get bonus points for referring my wife to AMEX to get the Edge card hopefully with a bonus for her. I will cancel the Edge card after transferring all points out to KF and Velocity. My wife will have the Edge card for 18 months and then she will cancel and I will reapply hopefully getting bonus. Also I will shop around for those bonus points with the banks. I believe I will be a lot better off. If they decide to double all points for all Membership Rewards cards, then I will just keep the card.

 

[Gold60]

I am planning - i think - on keeping my AMEX EDGE until i make an SQ award booking for 2020.

This will almost certainly be my last award booking. i wont have enough spend to make retaining the AMEX EDGE, and for that matter my Virgin Global Wallet. Unless of course i can still make the travel credit from AMEX work for me. But AMEX is looking very marginal to me over the medium and long term.

Are all of you keeping your amex cards after this enhancement?

I'm still in 2 minds. I have a plat edge and citi signature free for life at the moment.

I normally just transfer to krisflyer and sometimes get some gift cards.

 

[Chicken]

Are all of you keeping your amex cards after this enhancement?

I'm still in 2 minds. I have a plat edge and citi signature free for life at the moment.

I normally just transfer to krisflyer and sometimes get some gift cards.

Citi Signature earns 0.4 SQ mile, the Edge would earn 0.5 post April. the only difference is, how much do you spend on petrol and Woolworths e gift cards?

I’m sticking but will consolidate to just the Platinum Charge. Will make my life administratively simpler (getting to fly up front more often is good enough incentive to keep it complicated). Thinking about whether to bother with the Platinum edge for the extra 0.375 point earn on supermarket spend now Visa1 doesn’t work anymore.

You get the card for free anyway so why not just keep it? With Woolworths, you just use the Edge to buy 5% off e gift cards, so it's not like your Edge card is taking up space in your wallet, and you can use e gift to top up Opal card and petrol.

 

[Colin 2905]

With regards to supermarket spend, at this stage I'm still leaning towards keeping my Platinum Edge, and continuing to buy Wish e-Gift cards through the usual channels. But.....

I recently noticed that nib Rewards now accepts Amex for payment of Coles e-gift cards. There's a 1% card fee (regardless of Visa, MasterCard or Amex), effectively reducing the 5% discount to 4.05%, but when I crunch the current numbers based on 1.5ppd (wife's Amex Explorer), going the non-e-Gift card route and spending directly with my Platinum Edge at Coles means that I'm effectively paying about 2.58¢ per point for those extra points, which is more than I'm prepared to pay. Post mid-April, that becomes about 7.43¢ per extra point; definitely no thanks then.

 

[60spud]

Hi can someone tell me how and where to buy e gift cards with 5% discount. I go to the woolies wish gift sight put in $1000 and it comes up $1000.

 

[Bell21]

Are all of you keeping your amex cards after this enhancement?

I'm still in 2 minds. I have a plat edge and citi signature free for life at the moment.

I normally just transfer to krisflyer and sometimes get some gift cards.

It's a really interesting question re post-April. Just when I thought I had everything set-up perfectly through a combo of a number of personal and business AMEXs, supplemented by a premium Visa card, AMEX have gone and 'pulled the rug out'. They've made a business decision to substantially change things, but thankfully, from my perspective, they've given us sufficient time to work-out new strategies.

I still need to work through the finer details, but I suspect that I will get rid of both business AMEX's, as although they earn 2 points / $ now, they won't have much value post-April. I'll probably keep the Plat charge and the PE, but I suspect the main change will be that my AMEX vs Visa spend will change substantially - whereas now, it might be 95/5, that could reduce to eg, 40/60 or less under the new 'enhancements'. A key driver will be that RP may not continue to be attractive, which will drive down AMEX spend, and probably cause a switch to a Visa based similar provider. Lastly, I'll probably have to switch to an uncapped Visa, such as St G, with lower points earn, rather than a capped Visa with better points earn.

 

[Chicken]

when I crunch the current numbers based on 1.5ppd (wife's Amex Explorer), going the non-e-Gift card route and spending directly with my Platinum Edge at Coles means that I'm effectively paying about 2.58¢ per point for those extra points, which is more than I'm prepared to pay. Post mid-April, that becomes about 7.43¢ per extra point; definitely no thanks then.

I have been buying Coles gift cards with 5% off for 6 years (before there was such a thing called e gift card), and I have never paid Coles with my Edge card forgoing the 5% discount. The points from Edge do not worth 5%

Hi can someone tell me how and where to buy e gift cards with 5% discount.

I get Coles via API, Woolworths via Cashrewards

 

[k3nnis]

I am planning - i think - on keeping my AMEX EDGE until i make an SQ award booking for 2020.

This will almost certainly be my last award booking. i wont have enough spend to make retaining the AMEX EDGE, and for that matter my Virgin Global Wallet. Unless of course i can still make the travel credit from AMEX work for me. But AMEX is looking very marginal to me over the medium and long term.

What is the consensus on spend amount on the edge to make it worth keeping the card annually?

 

[lopes2017]

I have been buying Coles gift cards with 5% off for 6 years (before there was such a thing called e gift card), and I have never paid Coles with my Edge card forgoing the 5% discount. The points from Edge do not worth 5%



I get Coles via API, Woolworths via Cashrewards

The thing that annoys me with Coles eGift cards is they cannot be used on Coles online

 

[k3nnis]

Thanks. Please explain how do I top up opal with e-gift cards? I get 3 points per dollar with this and also 5% discount?

Also how did you get 0.4 sq mike with Citi signature? Is that based on normal spend or big retailers or restaurants?

I never buy Woolworths e gift cards so maybe I should?

I normally just use my edge at the checkout of Coles. I spend more at Coles than Woolworths. I also go to Aldi.

I spend approx $200 a week in groceries and $100 a week on petrol. Sometimes more for petrol. Which card should I use?

Citi Signature earns 0.4 SQ mile, the Edge would earn 0.5 post April. the only difference is, how much do you spend on petrol and Woolworths e gift cards?



You get the card for free anyway so why not just keep it? With Woolworths, you just use the Edge to buy 5% off e gift cards, so it's not like your Edge card is taking up space in your wallet, and you can use e gift to top up Opal card and petrol.

 

[jkbaus]

Thanks. Please explain how do I top up opal with e-gift cards? I get 3 points per dollar with this and also 5% discount?

Also how did you get 0.4 sq mike with Citi signature? Is that based on normal spend or big retailers or restaurants?

I never buy Woolworths e gift cards so maybe I should?

I normally just use my edge at the checkout of Coles. I spend more at Coles than Woolworths. I also go to Aldi.

I spend approx $200 a week in groceries and $100 a week on petrol. Sometimes more for petrol. Which card should I use?

Re Woolworths e-gift card opal top up.

Buy e-gift card online.
You will receive an email with reference number, another email which is tax invoice and a 3rd email which provides e-gift card number to be used in store, another number for online and a PIN.
These emails are usually received over the next 3 hours but can take as long as 24 hours.

For opal top up you go to Woolworths counter where the top ups are sold and tell staff member you wish to pay with e-gift card. You then enter required details in the machine where credit cards are normally swiped or paid.

Nb Not all Woolworths stores sell Opal top ups so check first.

Hope this helps.

 

[k3nnis]

Re Woolworths e-gift card opal top up.

Buy e-gift card online.
You will receive an email with reference number, another email which is tax invoice and a 3rd email which provides e-gift card number to be used in store, another number for online and a PIN.
These emails are usually received over the next 3 hours but can take as long as 24 hours.

For opal top up you go to Woolworths counter where the top ups are sold and tell staff member you wish to pay with e-gift card. You then enter required details in the machine where credit cards are normally swiped or paid.

Nb Not all Woolworths stores sell Opal top ups so check first.

Hope this helps.

Ok thanks. Me and my wife spends $100 a week combined on train via opal. So at 3 points per dollar not bad eh? I’ve been only earning 1 point per dollar this whole time! But that will change to 1.5 KF miles per dollar in April next year

 

[foggy]

What is the consensus on spend amount on the edge to make it worth keeping the card annually?

you don't have to spend much at all to make the card worth keeping. The card pays for it self with the travel credit + statement credits. Just make sure you have the max amount of supplementary cardholders.
$195 annual fee and you get a $200 travel credit. OzB marketplace has $200 travel credits selling for $150 (amex $200 type:classified - OzBargain Search)
So all you need is to get at least $50 back in statement credits which is very easy to do with small shop and you are already ahead.
Of course this means you are forgoing the "sign up bonus" if you sat out for 18 months, but I have found with AMEX, it is worth your while to keep it and just churn other visa / mastercards.

 

[hossein_au]

Thanks for the reply. I’m thinking whether to stick with the Amex to get 1.5 KF per dollar when using supermarkets and petrol. Or get a st George visa and get 0.75 KF per dollar.

Which card is going to earn you 3 points per dollar after the devaluation (I assume this is what you meant by 1.5KF per dollar)?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Of course this means you are forgoing the "sign up bonus" if you sat out for 18 months, but I have found with AMEX, it is worth your while to keep it and just churn other visa / mastercards.

Have to calculate the statement credits value vs the sign up points soon myself. Hard to know which is best but the 18 month exclusion is a long time when most others are 12. You make a good point in your last sentence.

 

[k3nnis]

Which card is going to earn you 3 points per dollar after the devaluation (I assume this is what you meant by 1.5KF per dollar)?

Sorry I meant before devaluation. I would get 3KF miles per $1 at supermarkets.

 

[theblank]

What is the consensus on spend amount on the edge to make it worth keeping the card annually?

$1 pa should be enough. But surely you buy food and petrol? those two alone are $10,000pa for me, so thats 15,000 pts.
its not a great deal for me, but its somehere between double and triple most Visa/MC earn rates.

 

[Chicken]

Also how did you get 0.4 sq mike with Citi signature? Is that based on normal spend or big retailers or restaurants?

Your Citi Signature earns 1 Citi points per $, and you need 3 Citi points to get 1 SQ mile, so that is $1 = 0.33 SQ mile (I said 0.4 which is a bit off with rounding)

I never buy Woolworths e gift cards so maybe I should?

I spend approx $200 a week in groceries and $100 a week on petrol. Sometimes more for petrol. Which card should I use?

Re Woolworths e-gift card opal top up.

You should keep the Edge for sure. You are losing so much on straight 5% plus the double up with petrol.

Ok thanks. Me and my wife spends $100 a week combined on train via opal.

So you spend $100 on Opal + $100 petrol + $200 food, that is $400 per week.

Firstly, $400 - 5% e gift discount is $20 off.

Then, because you top up your Opal at Woolworths, you get a 4c off petrol voucher.

$100 petrol say 120.9 c/L, that's 82 L of fuel, 4c off each = $3 off extra

 

[k3nnis]

Your Citi Signature earns 1 Citi points per $, and you need 3 Citi points to get 1 SQ mile, so that is $1 = 0.33 SQ mile (I said 0.4 which is a bit off with rounding)





You should keep the Edge for sure. You are losing so much on straight 5% plus the double up with petrol.



So you spend $100 on Opal + $100 petrol + $200 food, that is $400 per week.

Firstly, $400 - 5% e gift discount is $20 off.

Then, because you top up your Opal at Woolworths, you get a 4c off petrol voucher.

$100 petrol say 120.9 c/L, that's 82 L of fuel, 4c off each = $3 off extra

Thanks. For Citi signature I understand for big national retailers you get 1.5 Citi points per $ spend. But what is considered national retailers ?

Also for overseas spend is using play edge better or Citi signature? As of today.