Strategy to obtain US Amex

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levelnine said:
It does now. Contains a 'flexible business credit', which covers staples.com e-gift cards. I'd still only get it for one year and cancel, but takes $240 off the $295 annual fee if you consider the credit as good as cash, which it is for AirBNB in my opinion.
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Nice find! It's annoying with these credit spilt up over a month. I think I'll need to quit my current job to track everything all the time ;)

I recently got the Biz Hilton so I will need to wait a little bit longer to apply for this one. I will put $15k on the card so I can get another free night cert. Pity I can't use any of the bonuses as they are for US only
 
dein_gesicht said:
Nice find! It's annoying with these credit spilt up over a month. I think I'll need to quit my current job to track everything all the time ;)

I recently got the Biz Hilton so I will need to wait a little bit longer to apply for this one. I will put $15k on the card so I can get another free night cert. Pity I can't use any of the bonuses as they are for US only
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Yes they're an absolute pain, especially from Australia where most are worthless. Which is why the Biz Gold one is so great — I will definitely get use out of an AirBNB credit, even if I don't use them particularly often.

The administration when you scale up is a real cost. I'm currently working on the SUBs of 8 different US cards. My spread sheets skills are in hyper drive. But it'll be worth it for the ~750K points I'm getting out of it. Even better that they are points in useful currencies (ie not QF 🤣 ).
 
levelnine said:
Yes they're an absolute pain, especially from Australia where most are worthless. Which is why the Biz Gold one is so great — I will definitely get use out of an AirBNB credit, even if I don't use them particularly often.

The administration when you scale up is a real cost. I'm currently working on the SUBs of 8 different US cards. My spread sheets skills are in hyper drive. But it'll be worth it for the ~750K points I'm getting out of it. Even better that they are points in useful currencies (ie not QF 🤣 ).
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That's some hardcore activities there. I am have another 2k to get my Westpac SUB, wife was just approved for ANZ 6k SUB, waiting for wife US green amex 3k SUB, and then waiting for my Biz Hilton 3k SUB to arrive. Then I have to put a total on US$20k of spend this CY for 2 free hilton certs and waiting for the new CY so I can convert my 2.2m AU MR to US.

It is so much more. I wish I had an SSN as ITIN is just a little harder. I was actually tempted to fly to the US for 3 days to open up bank accounts while I was there :)
 
Which service was quick for you to get an ITIN?

I can see there is EIN EXPRESS, SH STUDIO, and then this one for $150 vs the others that were costing hundreds more?

Maza | Acceso al sistema financiero en los Estados Unidos. | Maza

¿Vives en Estados Unidos sin un número de Seguro Social? Obtén tu ITIN y haz crecer tu dinero hacia tu sueño americano con un bono anual de 5.00%*.
withmaza.com withmaza.com

I want to see which one is the best and most cost effective.
 
levelnine said:
Just realised the Biz Gold flexible credit can be used to buy electronic AirBNB gift cards at staples.com. And very easy to use USD-loaded AirBNB credit anywhere in the world — converts automatically. Well worth looking into a Biz Gold 150K SUB before AF goes up in February.
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That is superb!
Ya, I'm very keen to get biz gold before AF revision, but can't seem to find 150k SUB...I have the usual 70k SUB..is the 150k targeted or via referral link?
 
maverick1 said:
I've been in the pop jail for past 2-3 months. I've been approved for 3Amex's in past 6-7 months and been trying to get a 4th one...
I tried using different browsers, incognito mode but nothing worked so finally what worked was to use someone's referral link logged in via Miami IP address (VPN) as I live in the posh Sarasota ;) ...voila the app went through...
However, It is still pending approval they asked for ID proof etc which I've supplied but they haven't approved, its usually instantaneous but been more than 48hrs in my case...YMMV...
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Update - my hilton Surpass card got approved earlier today (170k HH points)...Gonna try for a charge card now preferably gold before the new AF kicks in...
 
levelnine said:
Yes they're an absolute pain, especially from Australia where most are worthless. Which is why the Biz Gold one is so great — I will definitely get use out of an AirBNB credit, even if I don't use them particularly often.

The administration when you scale up is a real cost. I'm currently working on the SUBs of 8 different US cards. My spread sheets skills are in hyper drive. But it'll be worth it for the ~750K points I'm getting out of it. Even better that they are points in useful currencies (ie not QF 🤣 ).
Click to expand...
Totally agree on the "not QF" part - I was naïve and loyal to them since 2017 till 2023 - oh wow..... I am still kicking myself over how many points I would have saved a lot if earning other currencies as well.
 
Sora said:
Which service was quick for you to get an ITIN?

I can see there is EIN EXPRESS, SH STUDIO, and then this one for $150 vs the others that were costing hundreds more?

Maza | Acceso al sistema financiero en los Estados Unidos. | Maza

¿Vives en Estados Unidos sin un número de Seguro Social? Obtén tu ITIN y haz crecer tu dinero hacia tu sueño americano con un bono anual de 5.00%*.
withmaza.com withmaza.com

I want to see which one is the best and most cost effective.
Click to expand...
I was wondering the same but dont want to risk anything so just followed ppl here and use SH Studio with 10% off the referral link on fiverr.
Please let me know your experience if you decide on other service providers that cheaper. Thanks.
 
I used to a place off fiverr and got it all wrong. I had to pay again and went with the more expensive ones on this forum and it worked. Do whatever you want
 
dein_gesicht said:
I used to a place off fiverr and got it all wrong. I had to pay again and went with the more expensive ones on this forum and it worked. Do whatever you want
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sorry to hear your bad experience, I was so tempted to use the cheaper one. Still have 1 more ITIN to apply so just wait and see how my one goes.
 
How did some of you manage to successfully apply for the AMEX checking account ? I tried opening one 7 months ago, and sent in the required docs and still failed. (I already have an Aspire card with them for 10 months too at that time !)
 
desafinado74 said:
How did some of you manage to successfully apply for the AMEX checking account ? I tried opening one 7 months ago, and sent in the required docs and still failed. (I already have an Aspire card with them for 10 months too at that time !)
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No idea.

I applied online and they came back with heaps of requirements. I was going to call them a week later and then I got an email saying that I was approved.
 

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