Strategy to obtain US Amex

[blacksultan]

What is the SUB of CSP compared to WOH? You can convert chase UR points to Hyatt points.

I believe it’s 60 k .

 

[nj12]

Nope...I got it in the first month itself in OZ. However getting the US version setup was an arduous process of nearly 2 months.

Did you arrange Premier in OZ by phone? When you say 'ardous' are you referring to level of scrutiny regarding opening the US account or just length of time etc? Interested as I will be doing this once I get Premier.

 

[timmy1234]

Did you arrange Premier in OZ by phone? When you say 'ardous' are you referring to level of scrutiny regarding opening the US account or just length of time etc? Interested as I will be doing this once I get Premier.

The oz part was easy, i went to a branch in sydney. I think it was done in couple of days. Once you are premier you get access to HSBC permier globally. The US application took time as they were very slow since I needed to speak to the account mgr (BS...just a point of contact for everyone)..asked me the reason why I wanted (moving there for work)..then I did a face to face in Perth, HSBC office as I was there for work. The papers then went to the US etc..It took nearly 1.5 to 2 months.

 

[Franko Costa]

What are the benefits of getting the US charge card. For $100 spend and wanting to transfer to most airlines at 2:1 in Australia and 1:1 for the US cards:

AU: $100x2.25/2 = 112 points
US: $100/0.67x1 = 67 points

I'm lucky that my charge only costs me $1,200 that is basically all tax deductible anyway. What else am I missing?

 

[glasszon]

What are the benefits of getting the US charge card. For $100 spend and wanting to transfer to most airlines at 2:1 in Australia and 1:1 for the US cards:

AU: $100x2.25/2 = 112 points
US: $100/0.67x1 = 67 points

I'm lucky that my charge only costs me $1,200 that is basically all tax deductible anyway. What else am I missing?

No FX fee for foreign transactions (relevant for non-AUD transactions), points multiplier on certain spend for the US card.

You are right though that generally Amex US Platinum card isn't that attractive in Australia, as you cannot use US-specific credits provided by the card, doubly so with the current AUDUSD exchange rate.

Most people go for either US Gold Charge card for the bonus spend and low annual fee, or go for cards that provide unique benefits that are not obtainable in Australia, such as the Hilton Diamond status provided by the Aspire card.

 

[levelnine]

What else am I missing?

Depends on your personal circumstances.

How easy is it for you to earn 480,000 MR in Australia? Because I just earned the equivalent of that (240K US MR) with one Amex Business Platinum and Business Checking sign-up bonus.

Do you spend anything on flights? The US Amex Platinum earns 5x on airline bookings: 100*.67*5 = 335 points

Do you spend anything on restaurants? The US Amex Gold earns 4x on dining: 100*.67*4 = 268 points

Do you want access to Aeroplan, ANA, FlyingBlue, Hawaiian, etc?

If you have sizeable business spend where you're earning millions of Australian MR each year, I wouldn't bother with the hassle of acquiring a US Amex. The biggest benefit is the ability to access large sign-up bonuses once every couple of months in comparison to Australia we're restricted to one every ~20 months.

 

[sudoer]

Most people go for either US Gold Charge card for the bonus spend and low annual fee, or go for cards that provide unique benefits that are not obtainable in Australia, such as the Hilton Diamond status provided by the Aspire card.

Or the Green card to transfer AU MR to US MR (at the Forex rate) and access different partners or increase the partner transfer rate e.g.

500k AU MR can be converted to 335k US MR (at today's rate) which can be converted to 335k QF/CX/SQ miles. Going directly from your AU MR account will only yield 250k.

 

[blacksultan]

The oz part was easy, i went to a branch in sydney. I think it was done in couple of days. Once you are premier you get access to HSBC permier globally. The US application took time as they were very slow since I needed to speak to the account mgr (BS...just a point of contact for everyone)..asked me the reason why I wanted (moving there for work)..then I did a face to face in Perth, HSBC office as I was there for work. The papers then went to the US etc..It took nearly 1.5 to 2 months.I

In my case 3 years ago it took just 10 days

 

[levelnine]

Or the Green card to transfer AU MR to US MR (at the Forex rate) and access different partners or increase the partner transfer rate e.g.

If you're going to acquire a US Amex card solely for the purpose of transferring AU MR to US MR, I'd recommend the Amex Everyday or Amex Blue Business Plus. They will save you having to pay the Green's annual fee.

 

[Puzzle.minty]

"Wise" seems not acceptable as a proof of address for AMEX application. Is there any alternatives?

 

[Franko Costa]

Thanks @glasszon @levelnine @sudoer @blacksultan for your thoughts. I had never thought of getting an amex to then go and get another credit card or using it churn points

Can you maintain an Australia and US amex at the same time?

 

[blacksultan]

Thanks @glasszon @levelnine @sudoer @blacksultan for your thoughts. I had never thought of getting an amex to then go and get another credit card or using it churn points

Can you maintain an Australia and US amex at the same time?

Yes . Multiple countries Actually

 

[nj12]

The oz part was easy, i went to a branch in sydney. I think it was done in couple of days.

Thanks for sharing your experience with HSBC. I just called HSBC and the Premier department insisted it was 6 consecutive months of meeting the criteria before my account could be upgraded. It looks like i'll be visiting a branch to see if I can get it done in person instead. I wanted to start my Chase journey early next year but may have to wait a bit longer now.

 

[blacksultan]

Thanks for sharing your experience with HSBC. I just called HSBC and the Premier department insisted it was 6 consecutive months of meeting the criteria before my account could be upgraded. It looks like i'll be visiting a branch to see if I can get it done in person instead. I wanted to start my Chase journey early next year but may have to wait a bit longer now.

This new process of qualifying is longer but easier to maintain . and I believe you have been advised correctly . The previous qualification process was quicker but you needed to deposit $200k and it took a few days .
Since I had already qualified I only need to deposit $9 k every month .

 

[Tiki]

The ACH system for deposits is so annoying! It takes maybe 10-12 hours for Wise to deposit my money in my B of A account. Then over 24 hours for ACH to go from “processing” to “cleared”.

 

[DC3]

Does the Fico score appear under the "Profile" tab in your AMEX account ?

In the Amex app, Account>Financial Tools>FICO Score

 

[_TheTraveller_]

For those having difficulties with GoogleFi, what's the road block? You get on your US VPN create a US google account and go to the Google Fi and create a Google Fi account.

I don't recall it being this difficult and I also had to ship the physical sim!

 

[nomad2000]

For those having difficulties with GoogleFi, what's the road block? You get on your US VPN create a US google account and go to the Google Fi and create a Google Fi account.

I don't recall it being this difficult and I also had to ship the physical sim!

I just tried to activate a new Google Fi service on my iPhone 12 on an E-Sim.
Chose their Unlimited Plus plan that has free data coverage in AU as well.
I used a Google account with a US credit card as a payment method and a US address to activate it.
Had to download Google Fi app on the phone and a US vpn to activate the plan which was successful (got a new number successfully)
However, couldn't get use the service, had a chat with their customer service and they said unless you're a US military or a State department employee outside of the US, you can't use the service outside of the US.

What I got from the conversation was, it needs to be activated first in the US and then you should be able to use it overseas. That said, they said if you spend "too long" overseas, they might disable your service and enable it once you're back in the US.

So not that useful for folks in AU.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

I just tried to activate a new Google Fi service on my iPhone 12 on an E-Sim.
Chose their Unlimited Plus plan that has free data coverage in AU as well.
I used a Google account with a US credit card as a payment method and a US address to activate it.
Had to download Google Fi app on the phone and a US vpn to activate the plan which was successful (got a new number successfully)
However, couldn't get use the service, had a chat with their customer service and they said unless you're a US military or a State department employee outside of the US, you can't use the service outside of the US.

What I got from the conversation was, it needs to be activated first in the US and then you should be able to use it overseas. That said, they said if you spend "too long" overseas, they might disable your service and enable it once you're back in the US.

So not that useful for folks in AU.

Ah yes that does ring a bell. You just need to activate it in the US once then you should be fine. That's unfortunate. For those headed there might be worthwhile getting one.

Once you do active it you can just pause the service when you're not using it.

 

[ETW]

Applied yesterday and got a 'conditionally approved so give us a call' however every number I tried I was met with "the computer system needed to answer your questions is currently not available". Cool, it was Sunday night, I'll try again today.

Woke up this morning to the below, not able to view the decision as I don't have an SSN to input and every number I try gives the same automated message saying the computers are down.. any suggestions?