Strategy to obtain US Amex

[velli25]

Yes I got it too. I recently found a browser plugin that accepts all the offers for me automatically.

On another thought, I see more and more people on FB talking about how to get US amex cards. Anyone worried that amex will catch on and ban all our accounts?

I think the amount of work that needs to be put in will scare most people off. This thread has boat loads of info but I still found the process a little tricky. If people do get onto it only a small amount would actually get through to the final stages

For anyone with a US Amex, Qantas have an offer of spend $1250 get $250 back. Remember these figures are $USD not $AUD.

Thanks to my US cards, I so rarely book expensive cash fares these days that I can't see a plausible use for it. The irony!

Spend is for flights originating from the US only...bugger

 

[ETW]

For anyone with a US Amex, Qantas have an offer of spend $1250 get $250 back. Remember these figures are $USD not $AUD.

Thanks to my US cards, I so rarely book expensive cash fares these days that I can't see a plausible use for it. The irony!

Flight must originate in USA (as per the T&Cs on the offer I got on my Aspire)

 

[levelnine]

Flight must originate in USA (as per the T&Cs on the offer I got on my Aspire)

Spend is for flights originating from the US only...bugger

What the T&Cs say and what happens in practice are often two different things:

Strategy to obtain US Amex

At least you had the card, I guess that's the only positive with that one. is this through GT? If it is, you could just tell them (over the phone) that you haven't got a payslip yet in the US. maybe they accept your OZ one? If they don't, I suggest letting it go and trying again in like 3...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[velli25]

Interesting...I got some flights to book internally so may give it a crack. Thanks!

What the T&Cs say and what happens in practice are often two different things:

Strategy to obtain US Amex

At least you had the card, I guess that's the only positive with that one. is this through GT? If it is, you could just tell them (over the phone) that you haven't got a payslip yet in the US. maybe they accept your OZ one? If they don't, I suggest letting it go and trying again in like 3...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Franko Costa]

Yes I agree it is a lot of work. I just wish my ITIN still wasn't 3 months away

 

[_TheTraveller_]

What the T&Cs say and what happens in practice are often two different things:

Strategy to obtain US Amex

At least you had the card, I guess that's the only positive with that one. is this through GT? If it is, you could just tell them (over the phone) that you haven't got a payslip yet in the US. maybe they accept your OZ one? If they don't, I suggest letting it go and trying again in like 3...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I would be careful and still be prepared for it to not be credited.

Previously the taxes for my award flights from AS would count as the airline credit as part of the aspire card but this year, it's no longer considered. And yes, according to the TCs it was never eligible but the system credited it anyways.

I think they have started looking at the e-ticket information provided by airlines as part of the checks and it wouldn't surprise me that the US origin is now enforced.

 

[jbmemories]

For anyone with a US Amex, Qantas have an offer of spend $1250 get $250 back. Remember these figures are $USD not $AUD.

Thanks to my US cards, I so rarely book expensive cash fares these days that I can't see a plausible use for it. The irony!

As part of its condition is that the port of origin MUST be from the US in order to trigger this credit. Can't get it for buying points, etc.

 

[albyd]

Yes I agree it is a lot of work. I just wish my ITIN still wasn't 3 months away

amen to that - I'm trying to use the time to identify my strategy. I already have:

• AMEX Green
• AMEX Bonvoy (ex SPG)
• Citi Premier

I don't want to go overboard especially with AFs, I've closed my St George Amplify so have that AF to spend on new cards. I see these cards as additional "keepers"

• Capital One Venture (2x everywhere)
• CSP - I understand I'll need it to convert points from Ink cards to Chase UR points otherwise, I think the Premier is sufficient for me.
• Thinking about AMEX Marriott Business Card - will get me to 30 nights with my other Bonvoy card (can I get away with ITIN only or do I need EIN for these :business" cards, esp for Chase? Thinking not enough to get to Platinum without some stays - not yet there in terms of going the Marriott Brilliant as it's a Huge AF ($A1,000).
• various Chase Ink cards over time as churners

Am I on the right track, what cards outside of the Chase Ink cards should I be looking at to "churn" as I think the above are far too many cards as "keepers".

Any advice appreciated

 

[levelnine]

I think they have started looking at the e-ticket information provided by airlines as part of the checks and it wouldn't surprise me that the US origin is now enforced.

You're confusing different types of credits.

Airline fee credits & Amex offers are different types of credits that have different triggers.

There are plenty of 'hacks' with the airline fee credits that still work (eg UA TB).

We don't know what precisely triggers the Qantas Amex offer, but previous experience has shown a USD booking will trigger it even if the flight does not originate in the US. Presumably the system uses the fact that the charge is in USD as a proxy for that T&C.

Same thing occurs with the Amex Uber credits. If the amount is charged in USD (eg you're in Ecuador), you get the Amex Uber credit even though it is only for US rides.

But the general warning is a good one. You should never rely on something occurring that is outside the T&Cs.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

You're confusing different types of credits.

Airline fee credits & Amex offers are different types of credits that have different triggers.

What would trigger an Airline Fee? Because previously simple charges by AS would trigger it but they've tighten that up.

I think the point that I'm trying to make is that, yes there are things that can happen outside the TCs to our benefit but based on my experience, I've seen Amex implement more rigorous checks.

 

[levelnine]

What would trigger an Airline Fee? Because previously simple charges by AS would trigger it but they've tighten that up.

I think the point that I'm trying to make is that, yes there are things that can happen outside the TCs to our benefit but based on my experience, I've seen Amex implement more rigorous checks.

There are huge threads on FlyerTalk for each airline fee credit, detailing exactly does and does not trigger the credit for each airline. As you can see from reading those threads, they occasionally tighten up the criteria, but more often than not let loopholes persist for years. And these are loopholes used by hundreds of thousands Amex users in the US.

You have to remember that, for Amex to ensure the Qantas credit is only triggered by flights leaving the US, it would need to code all that into their system.

To what end? To prevent 20 Australians using US Amexes to buy flights in Australia in USD (taking a 5% haircut on the exchange rate conversion in the process).

They're going to lose more money in programmer pay than what they're going to save in cracking down on this loophole.

Am I saying the loophole definitely still works? Of course not. But you have to remember the incentives at play here. 99% of people making use of the Qantas Amex offer will be Americans buying flights to Australia.

Moreover, the offer is largely paid for by the retailer, not by Amex. So it is Qantas that loses out, not Amex. Even less incentive for Amex to crack down on it. We know that retailers pay for these offers after the hilarious fail that was the recent Elegant Office offer: (Update: Shipping Fee & Cancellations) AmEx Offers: The Elegant Office online, Spend $100 & Get $100 Back (Free Stuff) - Doctor Of Credit

 

[velli25]

There are huge threads on FlyerTalk for each airline fee credit, detailing exactly does and does not trigger the credit for each airline. As you can see from reading those threads, they occasionally tighten up the criteria, but more often than not let loopholes persist for years. And these are loopholes used by hundreds of thousands Amex users in the US.

You have to remember that, for Amex to ensure the Qantas credit is only triggered by flights leaving the US, it would need to code all that into their system.

To what end? To prevent 20 Australians using US Amexes to buy flights in Australia in USD (taking a 5% haircut on the exchange rate conversion in the process).

They're going to lose more money in programmer pay than what they're going to save in cracking down on this loophole.

Am I saying the loophole definitely still works? Of course not. But you have to remember the incentives at play here. 99% of people making use of the Qantas Amex offer will be Americans buying flights to Australia.

Moreover, the offer is largely paid for by the retailer, not by Amex. So it is Qantas that loses out, not Amex. Even less incentive for Amex to crack down on it. We know that retailers pay for these offers after the hilarious fail that was the recent Elegant Office offer: (Update: Shipping Fee & Cancellations) AmEx Offers: The Elegant Office online, Spend $100 & Get $100 Back (Free Stuff) - Doctor Of Credit

Would this also play out for other spend categories such as hotels - Hilton, Marriott etc. which T&C's only include American Based hotels ?

 

[levelnine]

Would this also play out for other spend categories such as hotels - Hilton, Marriott etc. which T&C's only include American Based hotels ?

Generally not. The hotel offers tend to be more tightly enforced simply because the exploitation would be off the charts if they weren't enforced (ie Americans using the credit to get a discount on their European summer vacation). There can still be some loopholes (eg buying a physical gift card at an American property and applying it to an international stay). Generally, if you follow the comments in the doctorofcredit.com thread for the particular offer, you'll quickly see which ones leave open loopholes and which do not, at least for the very popular ones.

 

[velli25]

Awesome information mate!

Generally not. The hotel offers tend to be more tightly enforced simply because the exploitation would be off the charts if they weren't enforced (ie Americans using the credit to get a discount on their European summer vacation). There can still be some loopholes (eg buying a physical gift card at an American property and applying it to an international stay). Generally, if you follow the comments in the doctorofcredit.com thread for the particular offer, you'll quickly see which ones leave open loopholes and which do not, at least for the very popular ones.

 

[velli25]

Hi everyone - I tried my luck on a a second GT around 5-6 weeks ago on the green card given the large bonus. The application was not approved as they required an additional US income form. The lady I spoke to at the time confidently said to re-apply in a months time. Would I be best to hold off until developing a FICO or try my luck again based on what she said (to re-apply after a month). It's been around 4 months since my first AMEX which was the gold charge card. Would there be any negatives to getting declined again? From what I understand it is only a soft pull.

 

[DC3]

…The application was not approved as they required an additional US income form ..

I’m not sure why the matter of US income would be raised for GT. Are you sure that you were talking to someone from the GT team?

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Hi everyone - I tried my luck on a a second GT around 5-6 weeks ago on the green card given the large bonus. The application was not approved as they required an additional US income form. The lady I spoke to at the time confidently said to re-apply in a months time. Would I be best to hold off until developing a FICO or try my luck again based on what she said (to re-apply after a month). It's been around 4 months since my first AMEX which was the gold charge card. Would there be any negatives to getting declined again? From what I understand it is only a soft pull.

This effectively means that they've linked your profiles together and tried to pulled your CR without a score.

I had a similar encounter and they said wait till you get a FICO score. It's a mixed bag. Foolproof would be to wait for a FICO. You can keep trying to apply but I wouldn't hold my breathe given the 4 month gap

 

[velli25]

I’m not sure why the matter of US income would be raised for GT. Are you sure that you were talking to someone from the GT team?

Not sure if I spoke to someone from the GT team, but it definitely pulled data from my Aus account through the application. When logging into AMEX US account the computer prompted me to provide additional documents (form with a number). AMEX CR also said the same.

This effectively means that they've linked your profiles together and tried to pulled your CR without a score.

I had a similar encounter and they said wait till you get a FICO score. It's a mixed bag. Foolproof would be to wait for a FICO. You can keep trying to apply but I wouldn't hold my breathe given the 4 month gap

Yeah seeing others get other cards gives me a little glimpse of hope, especially if it won't affect my history with AMEX

 

[Viridis]

amen to that - I'm trying to use the time to identify my strategy. I already have:

• AMEX Green
• AMEX Bonvoy (ex SPG)
• Citi Premier

Is that an Australian Citi Premier card or a US one?

If it’s the US one how did you get it without an ITIN or SSN?

 

[albyd]

It’s a U.S. one opened ages ago when they were setting these up for Australians and you just needed to have a checking account open (opened in person at a branch). They had a list of cards they’d set up under this program.

They don’t do this anymore unfortunately.