Strategy to obtain US Amex

[albyd]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll give them my ITIN letter if need be - though that's addressed to my Sarasota address. I hope that's not an issue.

 

[desafinado74]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll give them my ITIN letter if need be - though that's addressed to my Sarasota address. I hope that's not an issue.

You are welcome! My ITIN letter has my agent's address on it ( A New York one ) I think you will be ok.

Anyway, I hope your application will get approved. ( Applying and getting approved for an American credit card and bank account is such a lottery isn't it?! )

 

[albyd]

Applying and getting approved for an American credit card and bank account is such a lottery isn't it?!

It is applying from AU. It's been reasonably simple with Amex that it's easy to get a false sense of security. My Citi card, I got after going to the US, attending a branch and setting up a checking account. I happened to be going to the US. I imagine most people won't be going to such lengths on purpose. The benefit isn't worth the cost of the trip and opportunity cost of going to work.

 

[nthd_nthd]

You are welcome! My ITIN letter has my agent's address on it ( A New York one ) I think you will be ok.

Anyway, I hope your application will get approved. ( Applying and getting approved for an American credit card and bank account is such a lottery isn't it?! )

yes indeed, holding my breath everytime

 

[desafinado74]

yes indeed, holding my breath everytime

Lol...it is a nerve wreaking experience for sure. Especially if something goes wrong.

 

[nthd_nthd]

Business Gold 200k . When can I apply again after rejection?

 

[levelnine]

Business Gold 200k . When can I apply again after rejection?

Note minimum spend is $15K for that offer.

I'd wait 30 days after a rejection before applying again.

 

[DC3]

Note minimum spend is $15K for that offer.

 

[pyramidforce]

Do AU stores like Officeworks share L3 data with AMEX US? Can they tell if we just buy 15k USD of Visa gift cards? etc

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Do AU stores like Officeworks share L3 data with AMEX US? Can they tell if we just buy 15k USD of Visa gift cards? etc

They don't but...... a little sus.

 

[blacksultan]

I applied for one of their low end credit cards last year, and i just gave them a copy of my passport and ITIN letter.

Were you successful ?

 

[levelnine]

Do AU stores like Officeworks share L3 data with AMEX US? Can they tell if we just buy 15k USD of Visa gift cards? etc

Make sure you avoid anything that looks like an even number or an even number + $5.95USD. They are claw back targets.

Edit: Should add that Amex mostly claw back bonused grocery spend. And they don't typically claw back SUBs, only regular 4x bonuses. So you should be fine.

 

[Tiki]

Do AU stores like Officeworks share L3 data with AMEX US? Can they tell if we just buy 15k USD of Visa gift cards? etc

I can't speak for Amex but I have been buying Activ gift cards at Officeworks (5 x Chase Ink Cash) to meet minimum spend and using them to pay everything else except Foxtel and Vodafone which also earn 5x. I've thrown some random restaurant spend in. No problems so far and the first half of my SUB is pending in the UR account. When I go to the US in October I will probably do the same, buy giftcards at an office supply store and use them for shopping.

 

[levelnine]

I can't speak for Amex but I have been buying Activ gift cards at Officeworks (5 x Chase Ink Cash) to meet minimum spend and using them to pay everything else except Foxtel and Vodafone which also earn 5x. I've thrown some random restaurant spend in. No problems so far and the first half of my SUB is pending in the UR account. When I go to the US in October I will probably do the same, buy giftcards at an office supply store and use them for shopping.

Amex & Chase are a bit different in this regard. Chase do not care. They don't claw back. They do shut down people for rewards abuse (eg abuse of Air Canada's Pay Yourself Back feature has led to a spate of shut downs lately), but not for something simple like running up 5x on gift cards at office supply stores on an Ink Cash. You can max that out without issue and don't need to try to hide the transactions.

 

[desafinado74]

Were you successful ?

Yes I was. I got approved for the SavorOne credit card ( The version with the good credit rating )

 

[Tiki]

I am really appreciating the flexibility of the Chase UR. I was able to book a domestic Brazil flight to Alta Floresta (small airport that is popular for bird watchers) for 18,500 UR with CSP. Although both UA and AC partner with Azul, neither had availability on the day I needed and UA would have been 17,500, or 15,000 for AC.

 

[pyramidforce]

Make sure you avoid anything that looks like an even number or an even number + $5.95USD. They are claw back targets.

Edit: Should add that Amex mostly claw back bonused grocery spend. And they don't typically claw back SUBs, only regular 4x bonuses. So you should be fine.

I'll make sure to add a pack of pens.

While we are here, anyone used Activ Visa gift cards to send money to themselves via Revolut/Remitly/Western Union/etc before? Yes I get there are fees but when you have a 15k minimum for 200k points or something it might be worth paying even ~3% to meet the last mile

 

[Tiki]

I'll make sure to add a pack of pens.

While we are here, anyone used Activ Visa gift cards to send money to themselves via Revolut/Remitly/Western Union/etc before? Yes I get there are fees but when you have a 15k minimum for 200k points or something it might be worth paying even ~3% to meet the last mile

I tried to use it to load my Wise card but it didn't work. I would love to know a way around this. It fails on some kind of verification.

 

[levelnine]

While we are here, anyone used Activ Visa gift cards to send money to themselves via Revolut/Remitly/Western Union/etc before? Yes I get there are fees but when you have a 15k minimum for 200k points or something it might be worth paying even ~3% to meet the last mile

As with all forms of MS, start small, try lots of different options to see if anything works & think carefully about all your costs.

On the last point, if you lose ~3% to load an account with a prepaid gift card, your true loss might be closer to ~5% because you might lose about 1% purchasing in AUD on a US Amex & you might lose about 1% transferring the money back to the US.

If your true cost is closer to 5%, you're probably better off trying something like prepaying a utility/insurance bill.

 

[pyramidforce]

I tried to use it to load my Wise card but it didn't work. I would love to know a way around this. It fails on some kind of verification.

I don't think it works with Wise because of Visa 3ds(?), but there are other options like Western Union etc which may or may not take them. I guess someone has to go and buy a card and check each of these services


The total fee that I have worked out is about 3% including
$9 purchase fee from officeworks
~$10 transfer fee to the USA
~$10 amex USD-AUD Foreign exchange "non-fee" markup.

Spend 10k USD legitimately then buy a bunch of visa gift cards as necessary to make up the rest