Strategy to obtain US Amex

[timmy1234]

I've found Wise to generally be the best for transfers, but always worth shopping around on the day of transfer to get the best rate.

I like Revolut, but am wary of sending large amounts with them given a lot of user reviews saying they shut down their account and lost their funds for no reason.

Regarding Revolut, I was under the same impression. Even their support could not figure it out. But I had a gut feeling. 1) If you are on the free version, you can transfer only 9k without issues. After that it is based on luck and additional fees. I tried transfering 12k on the free ver in smaller chunks and the last transaction got in a limbo 2) I have signed up for the $99 Per annum middle tier which allows u to transfer 20k AUD per month. I have transfered 20k AUD with them and no issues. Conclusion: If you stick to their tier limit, the transfers should go. Do note, the first transfer per month with Revolut is free (no fees) so you could potentially transfer 15k AUD without fee in the middle tier

Post automatically merged: Sep 27, 2022

Received a retention offer on my green card . Spend $2000 usd in 3 months to receive a $100 statement credit .

I got spend 2k to get 15k points

 

[tlspambait]

Hi,
Aussie Platinum card holder, so i've just made my first attempt for a GT (Hilton Aspire Card).

After completing the pre-filled in application form it gave me the following:

You can help speed up the process by confirming your income. Please continue by uploading one of the following documents:

• Request for Transcript of Tax Return (Form 4506-T)

Any one get this, no option to upload any other supporting documentation. Obviously I don't have a US tax return, the only other post i've seen was someone who didn't to a GT.

I've selected the "decline" to submit the 4506-T form and provided "Don't currently have a US Tax history" as the reason.

Any advice?

 

[nomad2000]

Hi,
Aussie Platinum card holder, so i've just made my first attempt for a GT (Hilton Aspire Card).

After completing the pre-filled in application form it gave me the following:

You can help speed up the process by confirming your income. Please continue by uploading one of the following documents:

• Request for Transcript of Tax Return (Form 4506-T)

Any one get this, no option to upload any other supporting documentation. Obviously I don't have a US tax return, the only other post i've seen was someone who didn't to a GT.

I've selected the "decline" to submit the 4506-T form and provided "Don't currently have a US Tax history" as the reason.

Any advice?

that might have been a randomly triggered income check.
my suggestion is call their CS tomorrow and explain that you're "new" to the US and this was a GT application, hopefully you should be good to go
this might have been triggered because you chose a high end card to start with..
usually people start with a no annual fee card as their first card and then after you have some history with Amex and a credit score, try to go for a higher tier card

 

[travelguy83]

Hi,
Aussie Platinum card holder, so i've just made my first attempt for a GT (Hilton Aspire Card).

After completing the pre-filled in application form it gave me the following:

You can help speed up the process by confirming your income. Please continue by uploading one of the following documents:

• Request for Transcript of Tax Return (Form 4506-T)

I was just about to do my first attempt for a GT (Marriott Brilliant) but will hold off for now. Keep us updated

 

[timmy1234]

Hi Blacksultan,

I actually intend to open a HSBC Premier bank account in both Singapore and Malaysia (I was born in Malaysia and have family and friends in both countries ) after i qualify for premier status.

Do you know what type of valid reasons will work for opening bank accounts in these countries ?
And is there a limit on how many premier accounts you can open ?

If you still have family, it is easy to open there saying to pay for family expense or buying investment property there (Malaysia/Singapore). You could also get a local credit card in those countries if you like.

 

[timmy1234]

Anybody got business platinum? I just took the upgrade offer 140,000 with 10k spend. Any idea on $400 dell credit? It looks like I could buy xbox gift cards, the only GC available. Redeem them in US microsoft account and use it in their store to get Surface stuff when I go to the US. It's pretty much not worth it to buy stuff and send to the mail forwarding company. Over the years I racked up quite a bit in United travel bank and AA gift cards and now this store credit lol No plan to go to the US anytime soon.

Getting the Xbox GC is a hit and miss cause after the order gets processed, it goes into pending state and after 3 to 4 days it gets declined. I was only only buy the second $200 with Xbox and not the first $200 ($200 per 6 months). So I bought a cheap Dell computer, Headphones etc

 

[timmy1234]

What's your current set up? I think CSP/CSR is valuable because of the transfer out option to Hyatt. Tremendous value compared to Marriott and Hilton.

I am with Finale, rather than applying for the CSP go for the Chase Hyatt card if your goal is Hyatt points. Furthermore, you get Hyatt stays for spends. I have both cards (Hyatt and CSP) and rarely use it since I am binging on Amex biz cards and have to meet min spends. However, At Hyat hotels I use the Hyatt card and at the start of the year to make the 15k spend to get my second free Cat 4 cert and total 11 nights.

 

[blacksultan]

that might have been a randomly triggered income check.
my suggestion is call their CS tomorrow and explain that you're "new" to the US and this was a GT application, hopefully you should be good to go
this might have been triggered because you chose a high end card to start with..
usually people start with a no annual fee card as their first card and then after you have some history with Amex and a credit score, try to go for a higher tier card

You can withdraw application and try again in a few months as per my experience .

 

[levelnine]

I am with Finale, rather than applying for the CSP go for the Chase Hyatt card if your goal is Hyatt points.

Why not both? And if you want to go all in on Hyatt, do Hyatt personal, Hyatt business then a MDD CSP+CSR double application.

 

[travelguy83]

Anyone had a similar issue on Amex GT site? - Once I click on 'Personal Card' to try and select which card I want to apply for, the website doesn't work. I've been trying for days.
I've tried a different browser and clearing cache, doesn't work.

 

[nomad2000]

Anyone had a similar issue on Amex GT site? - Once I click on 'Personal Card' to try and select which card I want to apply for, the website doesn't work. I've been trying for days.

Change your browser
You can just go to : americanexpress.com/us

 

[glasszon]

Anyone had a similar issue on Amex GT site? - Once I click on 'Personal Card' to try and select which card I want to apply for, the website doesn't work. I've been trying for days.

You don't have to apply via the link. Just log in to your Amex AU account first, then use any of the public or referral links you found for the Amex US cards you want and it should ask you whether you want to use your Amex AU profile when you start the application process.

 

[travelguy83]

You don't have to apply via the link. Just log in to your Amex AU account first, then use any of the public or referral links you found for the Amex US cards you want and it should ask you whether you want to use your Amex AU profile when you start the application process.

Ohh thanks got it now.
Would it be better to use my AUS driver license or AUS passport as ID? Or doesn't matter.
Also, I already have a gold status Marriott account linked to my existing AUS Amex account. Should I let Amex create me a new Marriott account when doing this GT or use my existing Marriott account number?
*Note I plan to get MMP very soon.

Also, what annual income amount is ideal for successful application?

 

[nomad2000]

Ohh thanks got it now.
Would it be better to use my AUS driver license or AUS passport as ID? Or doesn't matter.
Also, I already have a gold status Marriott account linked to my existing AUS Amex account. Should I let Amex create me a new Marriott account when doing this GT or use my existing Marriott account number?
*Note I plan to get MMP very soon.

Also, what annual income amount is ideal for successful application?

It's better to use the same Marriott account number to accumulate all points into a single hotel program.
I used my converted AUD income to USD and put that on the application.
Better to use passport number as its easier to verify if they ask for a copy.

 

[desafinado74]

If you still have family, it is easy to open there saying to pay for family expense or buying investment property there (Malaysia/Singapore). You could also get a local credit card in those countries if you like.

Many thanks for the reply

 

[timmy1234]

Why not both? And if you want to go all in on Hyatt, do Hyatt personal, Hyatt business then a MDD CSP+CSR double application.

The CSR has a big annual fee with not alot of benefits. I have my CSP holding my chase points in the event I have drained all my Hyatt points. I agree the Hyatt Biz is another good card but I am not sure what documents Chase will request for a biz app. Amex Biz app is very simple. I have bank statement with the address but do not have a utility bill with my name and my relo address

 

[levelnine]

The CSR has a big annual fee with not alot of benefits. I have my CSP holding my chase points in the event I have drained all my Hyatt points. I agree the Hyatt Biz is another good card but I am not sure what documents Chase will request for a biz app. Amex Biz app is very simple. I have bank statement with the address but do not have a utility bill with my name and my relo address

Chase biz are as easy as Amex biz in my experience, but you need at least 12 months of US credit card history before you can try, which you would have if you already have the CSP.

I know this thread is mostly for beginner strategies, but there are ways to attain the CSR for a net annual fee of -$50 (ie they pay you $50 to hold the card) through product changing between the CSP & CSR. I won't derail the thread with this as it is an advanced strategy, but if you want some information on how to do it, see #35, 36 & 37 of this post: Sapphire FYIs : garettg

 

[glasszon]

Hi,
Aussie Platinum card holder, so i've just made my first attempt for a GT (Hilton Aspire Card).

After completing the pre-filled in application form it gave me the following:

You can help speed up the process by confirming your income. Please continue by uploading one of the following documents:

• Request for Transcript of Tax Return (Form 4506-T)

Any one get this, no option to upload any other supporting documentation. Obviously I don't have a US tax return, the only other post i've seen was someone who didn't to a GT.

I've selected the "decline" to submit the 4506-T form and provided "Don't currently have a US Tax history" as the reason.

Any advice?

It might be best to call the US Global Transfer team and tell them that you don't currently have US based income. The whole point of Global Transfer is to acknowledge that you won't have local income or credit history when you move to a new country, so they let you use your credit history from the country you used to reside in. So asking for Form 4506-T defeats the whole purpose of Global Transfer as you won't have a US tax return until at least 1-2 years after you move over.

 

[travelguy83]

Anyone else have the absolute worst experience with TextNow? The app is glitching out like crazy and doesn't let me do a thing. It's unbelievable. I've tried redownloading app and creating new accounts on both phone and computer. Clearing cache. Still won't work.
Any alternatives?

 

[blacksultan]

Anyone else have the absolute worst experience with TextNow? The app is glitching out like crazy and doesn't let me do a thing. It's unbelievable. I've tried redownloading app and creating new accounts on both phone and computer. Clearing cache. Still won't work.
Any alternatives?

Yes . I keep losing the number and now I can’t re register for a new number .