Strategy to obtain US Amex

mike0430 said:
You could give them a call and they will look at it and approve it over the phone.
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Unfortunately calling them didn’t work, ended up having to wait for the internal credit team to approve it which took exactly 5 business days.

Here’s another DP of my latest Amex GT experience as a newbie without an SSN/ITIN (for context, I am actually moving to the U.S. in the coming months and wanted to start building my credit history ASAP).

1. Reactivated my old HSBC Australia account (took weeks after mailing in the account reactivation form and multiple phone calls chasing up).
2. Instantly converted my account to Premier status by walking into a branch and showing my payslips demonstrating that I can meet the monthly $9k deposit.
3. Applied for the U.S. premier bank account online on the same day. Was approved after one week of back and forth emails with the U.S. account opening team (had to show them my U.S. employment contract). Made my first deposit via Wise which settled overnight.
4. Updated my address to a family member’s house in the U.S. Waited one month for a bank statement to be generated that can be used as proof of us address. Also got approved for the HSBC US premier credit card as a foreigner at the same time which was a plus.
5. Got a US phone number via Talkatone.
6. Applied for an Amex card online via GT with my passport details and they asked for proof of US address. Unfortunately HSBC doesn’t do 3 way address verification calls anymore so had to upload my bank statement online.
7. Finally approved after a week of submitting my documents.
 
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I am thinking that I should more my number from talkatone to Tello but afraid of the transfer process will trigger so many issues
 
I actually signed up for Tello yesterday - dead simple to activate eSIM via wifi calling, had it working in about 10 minutes.

Didn't port my number from TextNow, just changed my number on my Amex profile instead. I don't use the TextNow number for anything else, and when dealing with Amex fraud protection a couple of years ago they told me another customer had the same number attached to their Amex profile so they couldn't verify me using SMS. A new number felt like a good idea before I branch off to other issuers.
 
sudoer said:
I actually signed up for Tello yesterday - dead simple to activate eSIM via wifi calling, had it working in about 10 minutes.

Didn't port my number from TextNow, just changed my number on my Amex profile instead. I don't use the TextNow number for anything else, and when dealing with Amex fraud protection a couple of years ago they told me another customer had the same number attached to their Amex profile so they couldn't verify me using SMS. A new number felt like a good idea before I branch off to other issuers.
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Just the unlimited minutes and no data plan - is that what works? I might sign up for it and then add it to my profile and delete the other one in two months
 
dein_gesicht said:
Just the unlimited minutes and no data plan - is that what works?
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I did 100 minutes no data. After Florida sales tax I think it cost $5.51/month. There's a couple of promo codes out there for 10% off too
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dein_gesicht said:
Just the unlimited minutes and no data plan - is that what works? I might sign up for it and then add it to my profile and delete the other one in two months
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I have a $10 credit referral thing too - will PM you
 
sudoer said:
I actually signed up for Tello yesterday - dead simple to activate eSIM via wifi calling, had it working in about 10 minutes.

Didn't port my number from TextNow, just changed my number on my Amex profile instead. I don't use the TextNow number for anything else, and when dealing with Amex fraud protection a couple of years ago they told me another customer had the same number attached to their Amex profile so they couldn't verify me using SMS. A new number felt like a good idea before I branch off to other issuers.
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I actually have both my Tello and Textnow numbers on my AMEX profile. Hopefully it will be ok.
 
I decided to get a Tello number as it's free with the Biz Plat wireless credit.

I got a number that had been in recent use and get a lot of calls/texts directed to the previous owner of the number. More of an annoyance than anything else. I assume it'll drop over time as people give up trying to contact the previous owner.
 
I use my US Amex card for first time and how can I pay that back to Amex card ? Which way is easier?
 
sudoer said:
I'm testing this and will report back
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I'm an idiot and tested with a Surpass, mistaking the $50 quarterly Hilton credit for $50 airline credits.

But purchasing an item from Qantas Marketplace (not a GV) did seem to categorise favourably.

Screenshot_20240506-230322.png
 
sudoer said:
I'm an idiot and tested with a Surpass, mistaking the $50 quarterly Hilton credit for $50 airline credits.

But purchasing an item from Qantas Marketplace (not a GV) did seem to categorise favourably.

View attachment 383753
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Interesting. I wonder if the Amex green or Biz Gold would get 3x bonus if you needed to get something from the marketplace anyway.

Has anyone tried to get gift cards on the marketplace site? My credit don't reset until next quarter
 
dein_gesicht said:
Interesting. I wonder if the Amex green or Biz Gold would get 3x bonus if you needed to get something from the marketplace anyway.

Has anyone tried to get gift cards on the marketplace site? My credit don't reset until next quarter
Click to expand...
That’s a very interesting idea :)
 
To those who have a HSBC Premier account, does the trick of transferring 9k in / out to maintain the Premier status still work?
 

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