LWT3

That would have been a much better approach for Amex to have taken from the beginning. Too bad they went overboard instead.

krazykanuck

And do most middle class people have a credit card that carries a $450 annual fee? I highly doubt that. Those people probably aren't the target audience for this card, though at the same time, I'm sure Amex would love to have a ton of Platinum cardholders who paid the fee and rarely used the benefits.

36902BRF

That certainly wasn't true when this first hit. The majority of my points are not from the 100k offer and early on when this first hit I could not transfer any amount out. However within a couple of days I was able to make transfers (these were small and well below the amount where I'd be hitting the 100k from the Platinum offer).

Andrea Waters

For at least the first year to earn 100K points?

Absolutely. I know dozens of those people.

After the first year? Probably not but there's no denying that 100K MR points for $450 is a steal of a deal if the points are used carefully.

pritomd

Most middle class / non "churning/travel" people I know balk at the idea of even a $85 annual fee.

Steve M

At the risk of stating the obvious, I think that the target market for the Mercedes Benz Amex Platinum card are (drumroll please) people who own or are thinking of owning a Mercedes Benz automobile. Aside from churners and perhaps a few astute FT types that were already in the market for an Amex Platinum and chose the MB variant in order to get the higher signing bonus, most of the holders of this card are almost certainly MB owners or soon-to-be owners. According to a Bloomberg article that comes up in Google, that puts their average annual income as of 2010 at $174,558. I'm certain that this has not escaped Amex's attention and was part of the planning for this promotion. That target market is not going to have a problem meeting a $3000 spend requirement for the bonus, and not just for their one big annual vacation. What the average middle class family does is not relevant for the MB card.

mia

The card discussed in this thread is the basic Platinum Card ($450), not the Mercedes Benz co-branded version ($475).

LizGross144

Just another data point:

Both my partner and I got Platinum Cards under the 100,000 offer, met the minimum spend through legitimate spending (he met about a month ago, I met this week), and are unable to transfer our points. I got the same 6-8 week explanation after calling, and when pressing a bit further was told it's because "there has been a lot of fraud on the Platinum accounts."

I have no intention of canceling this card during the first year, and likely will keep at least one for the family b/c we like the airline fee benefit, lounge access, etc. It's unfortunate that those of us that were just waiting for a good signup bonus to pull the trigger on this card as a legitimate addition to our wallet were caught up in this, but I understand why they're doing it.

LWT3

I find it hard to believe anyone knows dozens of friends, neighbors and coworkers who carry credit cards with a $450 annual fee and just happen to mention it in casual conversation. If you're referring to people you "know" from flyertalk and similar boards, that's not a cross-section of society.

pritomd's answer is a lot more realistic.

mbfanos

I just received a call from FR saying my account is being reviewed.
Apparently this was because of this offer for the Platinum card. Well, it's been fun, Amex.:-:
I decided to close all my accounts.

TMM1982

Good for you. Flipping AMEX da bird.

thrillhouse763

How did you know it was FR? Could've just been the membership rewards team.

farnorthtrader

If all of the information on your apps has been correct, a FR is really no big deal. I went through a commercial one, really only took me about 15 minutes to pull all the information together. Probably have earned at least a million points since then, so I don't see the sense in terminating the business relationship

TMM1982

He's standing up for himself.

farnorthtrader

How so? They are asking to confirm the financial information he gave them. Seems like reasonable request. At the same time, he is foregoing this 100,000 points plus all possible future bonuses, none of which make AMEX any money. So he is refusing a reasonable request in order to hurt his own interest and minimize AMEX' point expenses? Thanks, I will be happy not to stand up for myself.
Between my wife and I, we picked up 3 platinum cards and an everyday preferred card over a month, along with more than 280,000 MR points. By time all is done, we will have received $600 in flights, the 280,000 points and have paid as much as $475 in fees. Even if we have to wait to transfer some or all points, and even if they wanted to do a FR, I think I am considerably further ahead of AMEX than if I decided to stand up for myself by refusing to cooperate.

On the other hand, if the OP made some "mistakes" on their application, then it probably doesn't matter what they do at this point.