Strategy to obtain US Amex

[hill]

Update - redid the application again and today the passport and DL worked with equifax and was able to go through - need to call Amex tomorrow but interesting part is that the AU credit report got converted into a US equivalent report (her 1002 AU score got converted to a 753 US score and was flagged as low risk) - it even converted all the loans to tradelines with the oldest as 167 months

Hopefully call tomorrow morning and all sorted - now I just have to get her to call - dammit

Nice! Exactly the same with mine as well - it all got converted into the US format, very interesting to read.

 

[hill]

not relevant to us Amex, can anyone please recommend good VPN site or app to use ?

Mullvad is the 'gold' standard in terms of privacy but there are heaps of other providers like Nord, Surf as Georgie mentioned that regularly go on sale for 100% or more on cashback sites.

Nord/Surf work fine with AMEX as it is pretty easy going.

You can setup your own "vpn" pretty easily for free/cheap as well if you have technical know how.

 

[djchuckles]

not relevant to us Amex, can anyone please recommend good VPN site or app to use ?

I;ve used Nord and Surfshark extensively with no issues. Also Express VPN. Pic whichever one has 100% cashback on Rakuten!

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 11:18 PM

The good folks at ozbargain seem to have discovered a free plan - phone number, data, VoWiFi: Free USA eSIM Including 3GB Free Data Per Month, 100 Min Calls, 300 Text & US Number @ Helium Mobile

Better than Tello in every way, the only question is the longevity of such a provider.

Better how exactly - apart from being $5 cheaper

 

[GDale]

Better how exactly - apart from being $5 cheaper

Having 3gb of data connectivity for when you're in the US is a pretty big upside for me, and whilst it may only be a $5 per month saving, the plan being free makes it far more of a "no brainer, no loss giving it a shot" option I think.

Also, it may just be sampling bias, but I'm not seeing anyone complain about VoWiFi and dual SIM voice over cellular not working on Helium. VoWiFi on Tello works perfectly well once you figure out the address set up requirement, but connectivity on cellular seems a bit more patchy?

 

[djchuckles]

Having 3gb of data connectivity for when you're in the US is a pretty big upside for me, and whilst it may only be a $5 per month saving, the plan being free makes it far more of a "no brainer, no loss giving it a shot" option I think.

Also, it may just be sampling bias, but I'm not seeing anyone complain about VoWiFi and dual SIM voice over cellular not working on Helium. VoWiFi on Tello works perfectly well once you figure out the address set up requirement, but connectivity on cellular seems a bit more patchy?

Agreed - i (and i know many others here) have done it as a 2nd number/backup - but not sure I’d risk it as my sole US number….

Had no issue using my Tello sim on Wifi or cellular on my iPhone - though it only works on WiFi on my Pixel

 

[pyramidforce]

Tello Vo2ndsim works on iOS only. This is not a Tello issue, this is an Android issue.

Note every Android is a bit different so maybe it works on your specific device but 99% of pixels, Samsung galaxy, Huawei, etc will not support it properly.

VoWifi works even if it says no service.

 

[Ko0l]

Tello Vo2ndsim works on iOS only.

Works on my Pixel and my friends Samsung galaxy s24.

 

[djchuckles]

Works on my Pixel and my friends Samsung galaxy s24.

On wifi? Or on cellular?

 

[Ko0l]

cellular

Cellular. Just have to enable the setting. The setting is called automatic data switching.

Can make calls on the tello sim using data from the other sim etc.

 

[djchuckles]

Cellular. Just have to enable the setting. The setting is called automatic data switching.

Can make calls on the tello sim using data from the other sim etc.

Good to know. Will try that

 

[djchuckles]

Cellular. Just have to enable the setting. The setting is called automatic data switching.

Can make calls on the tello sim using data from the other sim etc.

Just tried - no dice (pixel 9 Pro XL on Telstra). Send and receive (between Pixel and iPhone) worked fine when both devices are on Wifi. Switch Pixel off WiFi and won’t send (or receive). iPhone with no WiFi works fine send and receive.

(When Pixel off Wifi it says under the SMS ‘Waiting to connect. Check Options’)

Immediately as I switch WiFi back on for the Pixel sent the message (and received the test successfully sent from the iPhone whilst on cellular only)