Strategy to obtain US Amex

[levelnine]

Hi mate,
I wonder what did you end up providing for FR please,was FR for your wife's buiness card or personal card pls. thanks.

Pay slips & bank statements. It was for the entire Amex account, but it was spending on a business card that triggered it.

 

[timmy1234]

I see your point, thanks for the detailed breakdown.

My issue is that I live in the UK and BA is my airline of choice because I get double Tier Points by booking holiday packages directly with them. This makes it very easy to achieve OneWorld status. So when using personal plat I get 5x MR but biz plat would get me just 1x MR.

I have an UK Biz Plat, using its Dell credit to buy Office 365 gift cards because they don’t have any other kind of gift cards. Does US Dell sell others?

If I wanted to get Biz and not keep it, should I cancel before or after second anual fee is posted?

Another good feature of the Amex Plat Biz is if you buy Biz/First class airline tickets (US domestic is good value as compared to QF) using MR points, Then the value of 1MR goes up to 1.54c (USD) and you get all the benefits from BA flying Biz/First such as points and status credits as if u r paying cash.

 

[Daventry]

Another good feature of the Amex Plat Biz is if you buy Biz/First class airline tickets (US domestic is good value as compared to QF) using MR points, Then the value of 1MR goes up to 1.54c (USD) and you get all the benefits from BA flying Biz/First such as points and status credits as if u r paying cash.

Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind when BA ends its double tier points promotion. It keeps being extended and right now it ends in 30 June 2025.

 

[mike0430]

Pay slips & bank statements. It was for the entire Amex account, but it was spending on a business card that triggered it.

Did you send through your OZ payslip and bank statement? Cheers

 

[levelnine]

Did you send through your OZ payslip and bank statement? Cheers

AU payslips and AU/US bank statements. It worked, but no idea if it always works — seems to really depend on the agent who reviews it.

 

[levelnine]

Some updates on the 4506C front. After getting instantly approved for a Biz Gold, I applied for another Biz Plat a few days later and got hit with with another 4506C request. My take aways from that are (1) application velocity might be a trigger and (2) it might vary according to card or application count.

I've heard of more and more people getting the request, so it is pretty common at this point.

Not that unhappy to be slowed down a bit. I'm already working on 1 Biz Gold 14x dining offer, 1 Biz Gold SUB, 1 Biz Plat SUB & 2 Chase Ink SUBs. Plus my usual Australian card SUBs. More than enough work for me atm.

 

[sudoer]

I'm already working on 1 Biz Gold 14x dining offer

Sounds tough, glad you are being afforded a break from all the hard work

 

[Tiki]

For those who applied for Chase biz cards, did you say your business was in the USA or Australia?

 

[levelnine]

For those who applied for Chase biz cards, did you say your business was in the USA or Australia?

What do you mean by that? Chase doesn't ask for place of incorporation or anything like that. You need to put your business address, but that can only be US — just say it is the same as your personal address.

 

[Tiki]

What do you mean by that? Chase doesn't ask for place of incorporation or anything like that. You need to put your business address, but that can only be US — just say it is the same as your personal address.

OK thanks.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Just FYI, Amex Bonvoy Biz has 5 FNC for 8K spend in 6 months. Good inbetween card for those chasing Chase (heh).

 

[cathalm8]

For me, it's basically a no brainer.

SUB: 250,000 MR
Points from MSR: $20,000*1 = 20,000 MR
Annual Fee: $695
3% Fee on MSR: $20,000*.03 = $600

MR can be cashed out, at minimum, at 1c/pt with business checking.

270K MR = $2700
-$695 - $600 = $1405.

In other words, 140,500 MR for absolutely free.

Then you have $600 in Dell credits, $400 in airline credits as gravy.

Edit: And this is the worst case scenario. If you have a Schwab Plat, you can cash out at 1.1c/pt. If you spend in the bonus categories, you earn 30K MR on the MSR. If you apply in December, you get $600 in airline credits, etc etc

Thanks for this info. I was wondering is the 3% fee the cost of forex on the purchases in Aus plus conversion to pay the bills? i.e. cost of having/using the card..

The 20k USD spend in 3 months is way above my natural spend so not sure it suits me unless I was to commence MS.

Good news is I just rec'd my Fico score showing as 695 on equifax this week. I have a SSN and about 3-5k AUD of natural spend per month approx. Any recommendations for best strategy / options for cards from this point? I believe I need to wait to 13 months to apply for chase cards..

Am I now able to commence using referrals and applying for AMEX, CITI, C1, WELLS FARGO cards etc?

 

[levelnine]

Thanks for this info. I was wondering is the 3% fee the cost of forex on the purchases in Aus plus conversion to pay the bills?

No forex fee on the ABP, so only cost you'll incur is on conversion from AUD to USD (~1%) and Amex tends to convert about 1% below the mid market rate if your purchases are in AUD.

I personally put 3% because that's the max cost I incur in my circumstances.

 

[sudoer]

I was wondering is the 3% fee the cost of forex on the purchases in Aus

Amex US cards don't charge foreign exchange fees?

 

[cathalm8]

Amex US cards don't charge foreign exchange fees?

Yes true, but as L9 said above although there is 'no fee' there is a hidden fee of around 1% when they convert the AUD cost into USD.

 

[sudoer]

although there is 'no fee' there is a hidden fee of around 1% when they convert the AUD cost into USD.

Earning a SUB or a decent bonus spend category will offset the 1% loss.

 

[levelnine]

Any recommendations for best strategy / options for cards from this point?

Have a look at Frequent Miler's best credit card offers page to see if there are any attractive cards with elevated bonuses. Can look at US Credit Card Guide to see whether a card's SUB is at an all time high.

Some options to consider with that spend:
- Amex Gold/Plat (Plat has 175K SUB atm)
- Amex Business Gold (150K SUB)
- Citi Strata Premier (75K SUB)
- C1 Venture X (75K SUB)

All are worthy of a 5/24 slot.

 

[cathalm8]

Have a look at Frequent Miler's best credit card offers page to see if there are any attractive cards with elevated bonuses. Can look at US Credit Card Guide to see whether a card's SUB is at an all time high.

Some options to consider with that spend:
- Amex Gold/Plat (Plat has 175K SUB atm)
- Amex Business Gold (150K SUB)
- Citi Strata Premier (75K SUB)
- C1 Venture X (75K SUB)

All are worthy of a 5/24 slot.

Thanks L9

 

[scibo10]

You can apply for a biz card with an ITIN. Chase will not accept your application with <12m history and that needs to be reported history. You don't need Amex to link your ITIN but usually a sure way to link your ITIN to your existing Amex records is to apply for another Amex with your ITIN.

Edit: I would wait 13-14 months before attempting with Chase.

So just to clarify, I have a 3 year history with 2x US Amex cards and am in the process of getting my ITIN. Once I get the ITIN, if I apply for an additional US Amex card to link my ITIN to my current 2x Amex cards (plus the new Amex card), then would I still need to wait 13-14 months before attempting a Chase card? Or would Chase recognise the previous 3 year credit history with Amex and I can apply a few months after receiving the new Amex card?

I'm interpreting 'needs to be reported history' to mean I'd have to wait 13-14 months, but not 100% sure.

Also, does the same rule apply for Citi and Cap1? Thanks!

 

[cathalm8]

Have a look at Frequent Miler's best credit card offers page to see if there are any attractive cards with elevated bonuses. Can look at US Credit Card Guide to see whether a card's SUB is at an all time high.

Some options to consider with that spend:
- Amex Gold/Plat (Plat has 175K SUB atm)
- Amex Business Gold (150K SUB)
- Citi Strata Premier (75K SUB)
- C1 Venture X (75K SUB)

All are worthy of a 5/24 slot.

Would it be a good idea to upgrade my existing Amex green GT to the Amex Plat if possible or is this a bad idea?

If not I will likely want to downgrade the green to a zero fee card if possible in Dec 24 as the annual fee likely makes it not worth holding and I think I need to keep the account open as its my first card.