Strategy to obtain US Amex

[levelnine]

Employee card offers are available with the $0 employee card option. Don't need to spend $95 per employee card.

 

[nthd_nthd]

Employee card offers are available with the $0 employee card option. Don't need to spend $95 per employee card.

oh ok, but it's still $20K spend for 75K.

 

[levelnine]

oh ok, but it's still $20K spend for 75K.

If you are spend constrained, you should always be going for a new card SUB.

If you have unlimited spend, especially in the right categories, they are attractive.

15K points for $7K spend plus another 28K points if you hit that 7K spend in a 4x Biz Gold category. Do it 5 times and you've earned 215K points.

 

[djchuckles]

oh ok, but it's still $20K spend for 75K.

yes but the same $20k spend also forms the $15k SUB spend. So i could pay $375 + $95 and then spend $4k on 4 employee cards and get 276k points (200 + 16 + 60)

 

[levelnine]

yes but the same $20k spend also forms the $15k SUB spend. So i could pay $375 + $95 and then spend $4k on 4 employee cards and get 276k points (200 + 16 + 60)

Do not pay $95. The bonus applies to the $0 option.

 

[djchuckles]

Do not pay $95. The bonus applies to the $0 option.

Yes I saw that too

 

[nthd_nthd]

If you are spend constrained, you should always be going for a new card SUB.

If you have unlimited spend, especially in the right categories, they are attractive.

15K points for $7K spend plus another 28K points if you hit that 7K spend in a 4x Biz Gold category. Do it 5 times and you've earned 215K points.

I cant really take advantage of the 4x on Gold card in Aus. Not much spend on 4x cat. Mainly paying bills

 

[Voele]

I believe it’s $95 fee for all 5 cards, not each. Plus it looks like you can get an expense card for $0

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 6:45 PM

I guess this is my answer to whether I will have enough in the Pay Over Time 0% to hit the SUB spend

Thanks for this, I was wondering the same thing!! $15k is better than I expected tbh.

If you are spend constrained, you should always be going for a new card SUB.

If you have unlimited spend, especially in the right categories, they are attractive.

15K points for $7K spend plus another 28K points if you hit that 7K spend in a 4x Biz Gold category. Do it 5 times and you've earned 215K points.

These employee card mini SUBs are not always available, right? I tried a URL a few days ago, but the site said the offer wasn't available for me.

 

[georgie23]

Just checking but I am thinking that the employees need to have ITIN or SSN to be valid?
I am trying to see if eligible but blank page for me

 

[levelnine]

These employee card mini SUBs are not always available, right? I tried a URL a few days ago, but the site said the offer wasn't available for me.

Correct. You get targeted for a period of time then it goes away. You might also be targeted for a lesser offer.

Just checking but I am thinking that the employees need to have ITIN or SSN to be valid?
I am trying to see if eligible but blank page for me

Add yourself as an employee (I've done it thousands of times), never confirm the card & do the spend within 60 days before they are auto deactivated.

 

[georgie23]

Correct. You get targeted for a period of time then it goes away. You might also be targeted for a lesser offer.

Add yourself as an employee (I've done it thousands of times), never confirm the card & do the spend within 60 days before they are auto deactivated.

Thank you - will see when valid about adding myself

 

[djchuckles]

I cant really take advantage of the 4x on Gold card in Aus. Not much spend on 4x cat. Mainly paying bills

Transit is about the only one

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:34 PM

Correct. You get targeted for a period of time then it goes away. You might also be targeted for a lesser offer.

Add yourself as an employee (I've done it thousands of times), never confirm the card & do the spend within 60 days before they are auto deactivated.

I get the offer when logged in but regardless of what way I try and add employees cards I get error or blank pages. Will I still get the 15k points if I add via chat?

 

[levelnine]

I get the offer when logged in but regardless of what way I try and add employees cards I get error or blank pages. Will I still get the 15k points if I add via chat?

Try a different browser. The EC offer pages come up blank for me in Chrome, but work in Firefox. You can receive and activate these offers by phone — just ask if there are any employee card offers on your business cards when you call.

 

[djchuckles]

Try a different browser. The EC offer pages come up blank for me in Chrome, but work in Firefox. You can receive and activate these offers by phone — just ask if there are any employee card offers on your business cards when you call.

Good news. Firefox worked. Bad news : the offer you are looking for is currently unavailable

 

[pyramidforce]

Does it always take exactly 5 days for Amex points to show up next to the transaction?

I have 4 day old transactions (accounting for US time zone) that still have the message

You'll be able to see Rewards information for an eligible charge within 5 days of the charge posting to your account. Please check back later.

 

[FirstKiwi]

DP - Alliant Credit Union Checking account - able to open from Australia
If you can't get HSBC Premier for some reason or want a backup bank account that can open from Australia it was very easy to open

Need ITIN

Go to this page https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership scroll down a little and will see what you need to apply

Cat 1 - ITIN
Cat 2 - Foreign Passport
Cat 3 - Utility bill - I used origin electricity bill

Download the W8 form and the application form in pdf form (can't do the online version if applying with Australian details) and then call and get a secure link sent to email to upload forms.

1. Call us at 800-328-1935 to request that we send you a secure email with instructions that will enable you to securely upload your completed hard copy application.

I completed a week ago and was approved 3 days later - they gave me member number and will post welcome pack and debit card to Australia

A few notes
- I tried a few months ago using my ITIN and a US address and bank statement and was unsuccessful as failed KYC - other's may pass that way
- I am planning on adding a mailing address (to a US one) once I receive everything to have another bank statement with US address on it
- I had my Australian mobile on my application - when trying to set up online banking adding the US mobile (Tello) failed as they had a different number on file - they deleted Aust one and only have US on file - able to receive the texts but not working and have to wait 24 hours for system to reset - If have US mobile I would probably just put that down on application and not list Aust one
- Phone support is excellent - very fast to get through and on par with Amex in terms of quality and trying to solve issues

Well done!

Does completing W8 / W8BEN trigger any alerts to ATO to let them know you have a US bank account?

Are there any perceived local AU tax or bank implications when submitting W8 / W8BEN, such as FATCA or FBAR etc?

 

[sudoer]

But how do we get notified about HSBC bonus transfer?

LoyaltyLobby daily newsletter always covers these things