Strategy to obtain US Amex

levelnine said:
Yes, that's right. But once you have US MR, you realise that Qantas points are mediocre value in most situations. You can get AUD 2.4c/pt on J class cash fares using the Business Plat, so you have to be maximising Qantas points to the very limit to beat that, let alone the superior value you get from Avios/Cathay/Aeroplan/etc.
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Interested, afaik it comes down to individual circumstances again - QF is valuable to me because I frequently fly out of, in to, and around Australia. Award choices (as much as I'd complain about it) are far superior to any other airline for that purpose, especially including WP release requests. AU > USA can be worth 4-7 AUD cents PP if you look at full fat retail fare?
 
mike0430 said:
When I spoke with rep on Thursday I was told ITIN and amex statement were both accepted, but passport needs to be re-uploaded (as I was holding corner of it). Faxed passport the next day.
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Thanks for replying. Please update your experiences. I am planning to apply for this card or the CSP as well.
 
nj12 said:
I can appreciate your frustration. I went through the same process when I got approved for my first Chase card in Dec 23', also a CSP. I must have made 6 or 7 calls which all ended with "You need to go into a branch with two forms of ID to have it setup". I kept calling and eventually got a rep who simply asked for my email address and sent a link to create a new password and my online account was setup in less than 5 mins. As others have mentioned - persistence is key. The links you have provided are helpful as i'm sure others will encounter this issue as well.
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Hi Mate.
The rep who approved you over the phone, which department is he from please. I seem to be transferred to verification team most of the time as they want to verify if its myself who applied for the card. Yes, I have been told to go to branchalmost everytime...
 
DC3 said:
HUACA, rinse and repeat, again and again and …….
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Will try again. I wonder if there is any particular department that I need to talk with please, currently I am talking with verification team most of the time. thank you.
 
mike0430 said:
Hi Mate.
The rep who approved you over the phone, which department is he from please. I seem to be transferred to verification team most of the time as they want to verify if its myself who applied for the card. Yes, I have been told to go to branchalmost everytime...
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I was referencing the experience of setting up an online account after approval for my first Chase Card. The approval itself did involve many different verification requests and like others I had trouble receiving short codes by text.
DC3 said:
HUACA, rinse and repeat, again and again and …….
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DC3 is spot on with Chase...just keep calling until you get a knowledgeable rep who knows who to progress your application. I used HSBC Bank statement, ITIN letter and Passport for validation without issue but if they've told you Amex statement is ok I assume it's just a matter of persistence.
 
Right, my brain is currently experiencing gen z brain rot and I have found a way to speedrun getting banned by Citibank any percent.

0. Get an ITIN etc etc
1. Get a Citi Strata Premier
2. Get a Citi rewards plus
3. Set up a script to charge 1c transactions to Telstra. Citi rewards plus guarantees 10 points minimum per transaction. This is what people did when the Bankwest Qantas Debit Card gave 5 QF points per transaction.
If you have a $99 Telstra bill, thats 9900 cents, or 99000 citi thankyou points
4. Get banned before you transfer the points to your Citi Strata Premier card and transfer out to your favourite FF program
5. Cry when you get audited by the IRS

But in all seriousness, this card seems like a tremendous earner. Currency Fluctuations dont matter because of the 10 point guarantee. Even if you dont abuse the system, and you pay a 3% currency fee, it still sounds good? You can legitimately go and buy a AU$1.03 whatever garbo junk thing at colesworth per day and get 10 Krisflyer miles etc.
 
nthd_nthd said:
about right. If you have AU HSBC Premier - then you can open checking HSBC US Account then apply for FREE HSBC CC (35K bonus) to keep as well as building credit report also.
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I have just become Au HSBC Premier 'enabled'. However there is only a generic call centre number under 'My Relationship Manager' in internet banking.

I've called that twice and been put on hold for 30 mins before giving up...

I then tried to sign up for a checking account via the US HSBC site (clicking yes, I am a Premier member overseas), but was auto-rejected after completing the application.

For those that have done this recently, are 30+ min on hold phone calls the only way to leverage Au HSBC 'Premier' status for a US transaction account ?
 
Grrr said:
I have just become Au HSBC Premier 'enabled'. However there is only a generic call centre number under 'My Relationship Manager' in internet banking.

I've called that twice and been put on hold for 30 mins before giving up...

I then tried to sign up for a checking account via the US HSBC site (clicking yes, I am a Premier member overseas), but was auto-rejected after completing the application.

For those that have done this recently, are 30+ min on hold phone calls the only way to leverage Au HSBC 'Premier' status for a US transaction account ?
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I also did the premier route, still waiting for approval on the US side but im surprised to hear about auto rejection. Did they specify a reason?
 
dpfarce said:
Did they specify a reason?
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Nope. Just a curt

Dear
We're writing to let you know that your application for a HSBC Premier checking account was declined.
Sincerely

I presume this is because the online application didn’t actually ask me for proof of Premier outside of the US, so it failed somewhere before that - likely passport verification. But the process is so opaque so who knows

l
 
Can you try again and this time upload your premier banking statement as your address verification? Im not sure if that would work but I guess worst they can do is just reject you again
 
Hi all,

This thread has been great! Just wanted to provide some info on my own journey for others as it may be useful:
  1. Massive points/card churner in oz, would consider myself expert level
  2. Moved to UK a little while ago, would say I am now a similar level in terms of knowing the market and maximising points
  3. Discovered this thread a few weeks ago and have made this my current points project. Process so far:
    1. Opened a HSBC US checking account (already premier with accounts globally as part of my move to the UK)
    2. Got a MyUS address and VOIP number (both basically free)
    3. Applied for a HSBC US Premier Credit Card (which was approved using UK payslips and bank statement with MyUS address)
    4. Applied for an ITIN through Maza for US $5/m, has been successfully submitted to the IRS
    5. Once ITIN is received will apply for first US Amex (if MyUS address doesnt work, I have a friend in the US who I will use their address)
    6. Once FICO score is decent will apply for Citi AAdvantage Card and aim to get Oneworld Emerald Status through spending 125k US$ a year as I regularly fly Oneworld and this won't be too hard for me to do. However will work out the cost benefit with the fx rates etc so maybe not.
If anyone has any questions (or suggestions/tips!) let me know :)
 
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IceFlyer said:
Opened a HSBC US checking account (already premier with accounts globally as part of my move to the UK)
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Can you explain exactly how you did this ? I have yet to be able to actually speak to a ‘relationship manager’ via their call centre
 

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