Strategy to obtain US Amex

[QF_Flyer]

That's good to know! I wonder if there is any way to buy foreign currency in Australia and have it code as something else? I need some Indonesian and maybe some Turkish currency. I need to pay the guides in cash.

I'm not sure, however I do know that, when I purchased currency at Tesco (supermarket in the UK), it coded as cash - a lot of them have currency conversion centres which are run by Travelex (I think), so they're essentially a separate merchant (Travelex by Tesco). Tesco used to (maybe still do) have a credit card which treated those specific cash transactions as purchases though, so while I lived there I had that CC and used it for that reason. I don't think Coles or Woolies offer anything similar!

I haven't obtained cash other than by ATM at destination for a long time, I think Auspost can do it but I'd guess they'd make you pay by cash, or at best debit card (or if they do accept CC, it'd code as either cash or Government and not earn points).

Personally, I'd just make sure you've got a decent bank account and withdraw cash at your destination. ING Orange Everyday would be my recommendation, as not only is there no forex or cash advance/ATM fees, they refund the ones which the foreign ATMs charge (up to 5 per month, if you meet the necessary criteria). Then just use any ATM at the airport, make sure you reject DCC (accept the charge only in their local currency, not their kind offer to convert to AUD at a terrible rate) and accept any ATM service charge, which will be refunded a couple of days later by ING.

There are a few ways around cash advance transactions, but none which are simple, and most involve multiple products.

 

[Tiki]

I'm not sure, however I do know that, when I purchased currency at Tesco (supermarket in the UK), it coded as cash - a lot of them have currency conversion centres which are run by Travelex (I think), so they're essentially a separate merchant (Travelex by Tesco). Tesco used to (maybe still do) have a credit card which treated those specific cash transactions as purchases though, so while I lived there I had that CC and used it for that reason. I don't think Coles or Woolies offer anything similar!

I haven't obtained cash other than by ATM at destination for a long time, I think Auspost can do it but I'd guess they'd make you pay by cash, or at best debit card (or if they do accept CC, it'd code as either cash or Government and not earn points).

Personally, I'd just make sure you've got a decent bank account and withdraw cash at your destination. ING Orange Everyday would be my recommendation, as not only is there no forex or cash advance/ATM fees, they refund the ones which the foreign ATMs charge (up to 5 per month, if you meet the necessary criteria). Then just use any ATM at the airport, make sure you reject DCC (accept the charge only in their local currency, not their kind offer to convert to AUD at a terrible rate) and accept any ATM service charge, which will be refunded a couple of days later by ING.

There are a few ways around cash advance transactions, but none which are simple, and most involve multiple products.

I normally would use an ATM at the destination too. I just thought this might be a way to make progress on minimum spends for SUBs if I can do it and it doesn't code as a cash advance or purchase of money which won't count for SUB.

 

[levelnine]

It certainly would be nice if there were some easy ways to manufacture spend in Australia. I haven't come across any particularly attractive ones. Paying tax in Australia by credit card is attractive for US cards because they earn at full rate (as opposed to many Australian cards).

 

[Daventry]

You've got quite a lot of research to do. I suggest you doing some Googling of US credit card basics as there is a lot you are missing. Also go back to the start of this thread and read from scratch.

A few tips:
- You should apply for an Amex through GT
- You need to consider the value of the points, not just the earning rate (Hilton points are worth way less than MRs)
- You can product change a Hilton Aspire to a Hilton no annual fee card to keep that credit line open forever
- You need to factor retention bonuses into the calculation for the ongoing value of Amex cards

Thanks for your feedback,

I did apply through GT back in January but they asked for proof of address which I didn’t have back then. Now I can provide it.

I’ll keep going through each card’s benefits, I know that MR points are more valuable than Hilton’s.

 

[Daventry]

You might want to consider an mr card with no AF as your first card as you can keep it forever at no cost and use it to warehouse your MR points transferred from oz . Everyday Is a great option.

Post automatically merged: Jul 30, 2022

I was offered bonus to upgrade to platinum on my gold . Downgraded to green and was immediately offered 60k to upgrade back to gold .

Was Gold your first US Amex card?

 

[joakgarp]

Phoned in to have my 2nd Amex card to be shipped abroad. Was of course no issue at all since I had my first Amex handy and gave the Cs rep my credentials from the card.

Feels good to not pay those expensive 50 usd or w/e to MyUs. Will need to wait another week though for delivery.

 

[Tiki]

Phoned in to have my 2nd Amex card to be shipped abroad. Was of course no issue at all since I had my first Amex handy and gave the Cs rep my credentials from the card.

Feels good to not pay those expensive 50 usd or w/e to MyUs. Will need to wait another week though for delivery.

Did you wait the 10 days? I want to get my 2nd Amex shipped here too.

 

[joakgarp]

Did you wait the 10 days? I want to get my 2nd Amex shipped here too.

Yes you will need to wait 10 calendar days from when your card was approved.

 

[blacksultan]

Was Gold your first US Amex card?

No I had a green which I opened in Dec 2019 and then churned . Not showing on my credit report though .

 

[QF_Flyer]

Phoned in to have my 2nd Amex card to be shipped abroad. Was of course no issue at all since I had my first Amex handy and gave the Cs rep my credentials from the card.

Feels good to not pay those expensive 50 usd or w/e to MyUs. Will need to wait another week though for delivery.

How long did you have your first US Amex before being approved for the second?

 

[blacksultan]

How long did you have your first US Amex before being approved for the second?

Usually 3-4 days via dhl

 

[PPS_SYD]

Better hurry up and milk those US cards before it's too late... Senate Bill Would Kill Credit Card Rewards By Limiting Merchant Swipe Fees - View from the Wing

These bills come and go, lot of hot air and nothing ever comes out of them.

 

[PPS_SYD]

There is a T-mobile shop near LAX and I can go in with my US passport and do what is needed if I still want a Cap 1 card.

Do not rely on the T-mobile shop in the arrival hall at LAX. This is not a normal T mobile outlet and only sell very pricey sims (cheapest was $35/day if I remember correctly). Go into the town and do it if you can.

 

[blacksultan]

I've activated T-Mobile Prepaid E-Sim in Australia with Wifi calling. I used Mint Mobile's E-Sim here and it was easy to activate and use With Wifi calling too. Mint mobile is basically the same company as Ultra mobile. The difference is Ultra doesn't provide E-Sims and is a bit cheaper.

I downloaded the sim and purchase the $10 plan. It it does not work even with wifi calling .
Any ideas ? Does this have anything to do with the fact that I have an existing esim for my oz no ? Only one seems to work at a time .

 

[nomad2000]

I downloaded the sim and purchase the $10 plan. It it does not work even with wifi calling .
Any ideas ? Does this have anything to do with the fact that I have an existing esim for my oz no ? Only one seems to work at a time .

Does your phone support running 2 sims at the same time?
I tried this on iPhone 12 and 13 and both worked fine.
You can run one physical sim and 1 esim on iphone 12 simultaneously and 2 esims on iphone 13

 

[blacksultan]

Does your phone support running 2 sims at the same time?
I tried this on iPhone 12 and 13 and both worked fine.
You can run one physical sim and 1 esim on iphone 12 simultaneously and 2 esims on iphone 13

When I switch on one esim the other automatically switches off . I still can’t get the t mobile e sim to work even with ther other one switched off .mine is an iPhone 11

 

[nomad2000]

When I switch on one esim the other automatically switches off . I still can’t get the t mobile e sim to work even with ther other one switched off .mine is an iPhone 11

Have you checked if you installed both E-Sims on the same IMEI or not? you phone should have 2 IMEIs.
anyhow, you can only run one E-Sim and one Physical nano sim on iPhones prior to 13.
One must be physical.

Using Dual SIM with an eSIM - Apple Support

Set up and use Dual SIM.

support.apple.com

 

[larrymull]

Hi Guys,

Is there a certain page on this post that I should start with if I was to educate myself about the strategy for obtaining a US Amex? Reading from the 1st post might be a bit null and void. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[DC3]

Is there a certain page on this post that I should start with if I was to educate myself about the strategy for obtaining a US Amex?

Time spent researching is seldom wasted. Some of the early posts are still relevant. Anyway, if someone suggests starting at post # 2000, for example, there may be some earlier information that you could find useful.

 

[DC3]

Did you wait the 10 days? I want to get my 2nd Amex shipped here too.

You will find that there’s no choice about the 10-day minimum wait. They are pretty strict on that.