I've been doing a little more thinking about this project. I've restricted myself to only Amex US cards which have no currency fee - according to Amex's US website. I looked at primarily MR cards as I'm primarily interested in redeeming MR for Premium air travel. The Hilton and SPG cards also captured my attention as I've previously redeemed MR for Hilton and SPG points in the past - unlikely to now given the Aussie transfer rates.
I've assumed:
- US MR convert to airline points at 1:1 - found this via Googling but not directly on Amex's site as I don't have a login.
- AUD/USD cross rate is $US0.72
- Applied this cross rate to the advertised earn rate for 'regular' spend - particularly given that 'bonus' categories are restricted to US based merchants (incidentally, Citi US cards currently honour the bonus rates for overseas merchants too eg restaurants, travel, etc).
- Currency isn't an issue - I understand that it's a variable factor depending on Amex's rate on settlement and your ability to get a good deal from your FX provider and how well you manage it.
I've put together the table below which I'd be interested in receiving some feedback on - particularly for accuracy.
View attachment 145412
My thinking for MY circumstances:
- I might be interested in switching my Explorer post devaluation to the US SPG card if possible assuming I've understood the earn rate correctly;
- Alternatively, may look at the Hilton card depending on the eventual fate of the Macquarie Hilton card;
- with the exchange rate where it sits, unless I've misunderstood, I'd be better off (except for overseas spend at 3% currency conversion fee) with the Australian Platinum Charge card - despite the annual fee differential (US550 vs AUD1450).
Interested in your feedback and corrections if I've missed something that will make this a whole lot more favourable