Strategy to obtain US Amex

glasszon said:
On a more positive note, seems like the UA travel bank for the Airline travel credit is back!
www.doctorofcredit.com

United Airlines Travel Bank No Longer Works for American Express Airline Credit [Working Again?] - Doctor Of Credit

Update 2/18/21: This appears to be working again according to US Credit Card Guide & FT datapoints. Beginning January 14th, United Airlines Travel
www.doctorofcredit.com
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Is UA travel bank - is that like a gift card we can purchase? Is this the only Airline that travel credit works for a gift card?
Post automatically merged:

glasszon said:
On a more positive note, seems like the UA travel bank for the Airline travel credit is back!
www.doctorofcredit.com

United Airlines Travel Bank No Longer Works for American Express Airline Credit [Working Again?] - Doctor Of Credit

Update 2/18/21: This appears to be working again according to US Credit Card Guide & FT datapoints. Beginning January 14th, United Airlines Travel
www.doctorofcredit.com
Click to expand...
Is UA travel bank - is that like a gift card we can purchase? Is this the only Airline that travel credit works for a gift card?
 
Igreen said:
Bad news: HSBC going to bail out of the US retail business
www.reuters.com

HSBC to announce exit from U.S. retail banking, reshuffles top jobs

HSBC is set to withdraw from U.S. retail banking, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday, as Europe's biggest bank seeks to dispose of a business that has long underperformed.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
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Not surprised as most of the HSBC branches had been shuttered long ago. Last time I went into a HSBC branch they had zero other customers in the 30 minutes I was there trying to complete what should have been a simple transaction.
 
Were any of you requested to provide income support documents (Salary slips or Tax Statement) for a new credit card application or a review for your multiple cards? I heard Amex will request documents to support your source of income after your threshold hits 35k. My source of income is in Oz.
How do you manage to keep the credit limit (CL) for charge cards below? Do you thinker with the CL to a lower value on your old cards?
I was told Amex combines personal and biz CL on the net.
 
Toula92122 said:
Not surprised as most of the HSBC branches had been shuttered long ago. Last time I went into a HSBC branch they had zero other customers in the 30 minutes I was there trying to complete what should have been a simple transaction.
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Doesn't look like anything was mentioned in their earnings release yesterday - likely safe for the moment but where there's smoke, there's fire - wonder what will happen to our accounts should they close it - I'd hope they'd be "sold" to another bank so we can continue being customers.
 
Igreen said:
Were any of you requested to provide income support documents (Salary slips or Tax Statement) for a new credit card application or a review for your multiple cards? I heard Amex will request documents to support your source of income after your threshold hits 35k. My source of income is in Oz.
How do you manage to keep the credit limit (CL) for charge cards below? Do you thinker with the CL to a lower value on your old cards?
I was told Amex combines personal and biz CL on the net.
Click to expand...

Charge cards don't count. If you apply for many credit cards, Amex will move your limit around ie from old cards to a new card.

You might be asked to provide documents if you request a new limit that makes your overall limit over 35k. I also heard asking for a limit over 25k on one card might trigger it as well.

Mine was around 32k and last time I applied for Bonvoy business, they gave me 2k extra + moved 8k from Aspire to it (10k). I think as long as you don't request over those numbers yourself, you should be fine. Some people got limit over 35k without having to provide any docs.
 
So just an update, we finally received the wife's bonvoy brilliant amex! So from where I left off, I had to call amex again till I got someone who was willing to give me my tracking number. With that in hand I was ready to chat to MyUS to look for the missing package. Unsurprisingly amex had left out the suite number. Now the next part was a bit different, it was in my suite but under review, and when I asked to expedite it they wanted to know who the seller is and their address. They wouldn't budge without knowing the address of the seller. After a bit a back and forth trying to explain that it is a credit card and its from AMEX, I noticed that one of the photos supplied by myus had a return address for amex (1801 NW 66TH Ave Ste 103. Plantation, FL, 33313 for anyone interested). I gave them that and it worked, card is now ready to send! Happy as Larry, chose the fastest FEDEX delivery method and paid extra for urgent handling cos I wanted to have the card asap. Who would of thought that the US would be hit with huge snow storms, pretty much grinding the fedex Memphis hub to a halt... so I was to wait another week, just watching if everyday if my package had moved. Finally the day before yesterday I see it in Honolulu, then yesterday in Sydney, and this morning on board for delivery today!
Got the card in my hands now, and it looks and feels really good. The material it is made of feels far more superior than the Aspire counterpart. Can't wait to start using it!
 
Spazmos said:
So just an update, we finally received the wife's bonvoy brilliant amex! So from where I left off, I had to call amex again till I got someone who was willing to give me my tracking number. With that in hand I was ready to chat to MyUS to look for the missing package. Unsurprisingly amex had left out the suite number. Now the next part was a bit different, it was in my suite but under review, and when I asked to expedite it they wanted to know who the seller is and their address. They wouldn't budge without knowing the address of the seller. After a bit a back and forth trying to explain that it is a credit card and its from AMEX, I noticed that one of the photos supplied by myus had a return address for amex (1801 NW 66TH Ave Ste 103. Plantation, FL, 33313 for anyone interested). I gave them that and it worked, card is now ready to send! Happy as Larry, chose the fastest FEDEX delivery method and paid extra for urgent handling cos I wanted to have the card asap. Who would of thought that the US would be hit with huge snow storms, pretty much grinding the fedex Memphis hub to a halt... so I was to wait another week, just watching if everyday if my package had moved. Finally the day before yesterday I see it in Honolulu, then yesterday in Sydney, and this morning on board for delivery today!
Got the card in my hands now, and it looks and feels really good. The material it is made of feels far more superior than the Aspire counterpart. Can't wait to start using it!
Click to expand...
Congrats mate.
 
pyusha said:
How was your experience applying for a Bonvoy business? Did they ask for any business related? I'm wanting to apply for one soon if it can be worked out.
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I just followed the step by step process noted in the free course on Free Tools - 10xTravel. No further questions asked from Amex.
Follow the below step by step guides for anyone interested in
  1. Chase business card: Chase Ink Business Preferred Card Complete Guide
  2. Citi Business: How to complete a Citi Business card application. (AA Advantage and Costco)
Do note only the chase ink business Preferred card has no FX fees whereas both the Citi ones have no FX fees. So if you are aiming to below the Chase 5/24, apply for the business cards. The Capital one business cards get reported on your personal credit file.
 
Igreen said:
I just followed the step by step process noted in the free course on Free Tools - 10xTravel. No further questions asked from Amex.
Click to expand...
The guides you provided were certainly helpful! However, don't you need an EIN/SSN to apply for them? Or will an ITIN be fine/do for those who don't have a SSN?

I know getting an EIN is free but the loophole for us getting it is difficult is it not (i.e. must be in US)?
 
jbmemories said:
The guides you provided were certainly helpful! However, don't you need an EIN/SSN to apply for them? Or will an ITIN be fine/do for those who don't have a SSN?

I know getting an EIN is free but the loophole for us getting it is difficult is it not (i.e. must be in US)?
Click to expand...
You could be right. I have an SSN but no EIN. I am not sure how it will work for people with ITIN. FYI - I have not applied for the above cards myself other than the Amex Marriott Bonvoy business .
 
For Amex, ITIN is fine for business cards. Some successfully applied with just a passport. I did with ITIN. You apply as a sole proprietor which is a type of business (sole trader in Australia). Your business name is your legal name. Your name will be printed 2 times on the card. This is very similar to Australian Amex business cards.

Chase is also possible with ITIN but it could be a little tricky as Chase normally needs to verify a business information and ask questions ie address, type of business, startup cost, how much you expect to make, number of employee etc Just that you need to be prepared with whatever business questions they might ask.

Citi is also possible but I heard it could be even more difficult. Citi doesn't have interesting business cards anyway. Maybe just AA to get SU. Think they only have a couple of cards.

When applying as a sole proprietor, ITIN/SSN is important. EIN isn't until you form LLC/Coporation. EIN is very easy to get and can be done from anywhere in the world. Setting up LLC and having a proper business would make things easier but I'm not sure if it's going to be worth it when you can apply as a sole proprietor.

I don't have much info on Citi as their cards aren't interesting. With Chase, I haven't proceeded that far as I only just got the first card in Sep last year. I only read some info. Maybe someone here want to try? :D
 
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pyusha said:
How was your experience applying for a Bonvoy business? Did they ask for any business related? I'm wanting to apply for one soon if it can be worked out.
Click to expand...

Just realized only part of my message showed up. I used ITIN to apply. When checking online status, it asked me to confirm ITIN by typing. I then called and was told that they just needed to confirm it was my ITIN as it was the first time I used it then approved on the spot. No need to send them any documents. I guess I would be approved without calling since the confirmation was already done online.
 

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