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

 

[georgie23]

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?

My understanding is that W8 form goes to US government to state you are tax payer from another country and that in our case Australia we have a tax treaty with them
As far as I know there are no local implications - I fill in w8 forms for share holdings in US - at end of day all tax is paid locally in Australia