:D!

Thanks mia this will probably answer everything.

garykung

I assume you can get the card transferred.

AMEX does not care.

Remember - most AMEX cards associate with annual fees. AMEX will be happy when you keep the card and do nothing.

And then keep the old cards to continue spending in both (or more) countries?

No - Although you will have new account number through Global Transfer, it is still an existing account. Unless the application says otherwise, you are not eligible for anything for being a new cardmember.

It is not always a good idea. In some cases, your existing AMEX can get you more benefit.

No AMEX can get your airlines status by spending, unless you are holding a non-U.S. AMEX Platinum or AMEX Centurion (from any countries).

stimpy

Yes, Global Transfer is a bad idea in this respect. Better to get a bank account in the new country and apply for a new Amex to get the nice signup bonuses. In many cases, it is super easy. In Europe for instance they don't seem to do intensive credit checks or job checks. I'm not sure what they do, but I have had almost no questions asked.

alexjohnson

Moved back to the US (I'm not American) from the UK and started the conversation with Amex today to move my account. It started in the US in the '90s, and has bounced over the Atlantic three times in the past. It seems that the powers that be have decided to make this much more complicated: I have to open a new online account, which I didn't before; they don't deal with account closure; and if I have any credit already then Global Transfer apparently doesn't work anyway. They have taken what was a good experience and made it inferior. I have no idea why they would do this, though the UK value proposition also seems to have been to jack up the fees and remove service so perhaps it's all part of a global initiative.

In passing on this good news (!), the agent told me that I might want to think about applying online and said that there was some space to enter my current UK details. I am not sure about this - I thought the whole point of this was because non-US residents would expect to be declined absent a reasonably current credit history. But, I started to look - and this is my question:

Which charge card makes sense? I've been Platinum for a long time, but it seems that the car rental insurance benefit is now offered to everyone, including Green. Green (and Gold) are free for a year; Platinum isn't. They all offer purchase protection. I get that Platinum has lounge access, but I get through BA Exec Club Gold for 95%+ of my journeys, and I've got a Platinum Amex Corp card that offers this same benefit. I have never found the concierge to be useful. The more I look at it, I would just be paying for bling: the stuff I'd want is now on Green. The exception might be the car rental stuff and I guess? hotel programs, but I'm still current on those from the UK.

It seems like what I would get for $450 is the chance not to save $95 for a year, and some silver plastic. What am I missing?

jn in ca

You're moving back to the US, and AmEx is giving you a hard time. There really is no excuse for that. AmEx isn't some global franchise business. All the different countries' members are all customers of the same American Express company.

So the bottom line is that you want to get an AmEx card with full MR rewards, I assume because you are bringing in a big pile of MR points from the UK, and you've discovered that all the cards now have the benefits you want. Is that right? It is true, most of the well known benefits, like car rental insurance, are included on all AmEx cards.

It seems as if what you are asking is if there is some secret benefit you're missing to make the Platinum AmEx justify that $450 price. There isn't.

The benefits of the 2 cards are easily compared at the website. The Platinum only benefits, lounge access, companion ticket, concierge, hotel program, etc., make the card's $450 fee easily justifiable by some heavy users, but they aren't used by everyone, and it sounds like you get most of those already.

The original American Express Card has become the forgotten step sister in the lineup. The marketing goes to the other cards. If the benefits you want are on the Greenie, then do the smart thing and save yourself the $350 difference.

little bunny

Recently applied for a new US card following steps described @ https://www.americanexpress.com/global-card-transfers/

Background:
In June 2012, I obtained a gold charge card in Japan. My monthly spending has been 4K on average.

On June 11, I called up the number on the website and asked for an upgrade to Platinum. *In Japan, Plat is invitation only. After checking my eligibility for the transfer, a telephone operator mentioned that if I applied online, I would be eligible for the 25K promo! Their online application was experiencing technical problems however, and I couldn't enter my current card info. So after I submitted my online application, she manually had to input missing data and only needed to verify my address to get it approved. After my bank verified it over the phone, I was told the card would arrive no later than June 21.

On June 17, the card arrived by USPS first class mail.

It says card member since 2012, but MR points balance is 0 because I didn't ask to have my points transferred to my new card. I'm still keeping my old card for the time being. They didn't seem to check my employment or asked for my bank account info. Let's see if they will honor the bonus points

Overall, it was a very smooth transition. I spoke with two representatives and they were both very nice and courteous.

mia

There are some differences between the Platinum and Green versions of these benefits. For example, Platinum CDW covers cars with a higher value than the Green version, Platinum Purchase Protection includes "lost" items which Green does not.

rk164

Hi there,

I wanted to know how to start the process of global transfer.

I will shortly be moving from the US -> UK. When I look on the the Amex website it asks for the destination country and goes to the homepage for that country.

Do I need to start an application or call a number or something else?

Thanks in advance

rk164

WORLDWIDE TRAVELER

You have to call and request the transfer of your card to a UK one.

FlyerTalker7654

I had a really positive experience getting an Amex card here in the US. I moved over from the UK. I rang up the department here in the US, gave my UK gold card number and within days they sent over a US gold card. Even better they transferred my 60k points into my US a count at the current rate of 1.5!! Amazing!!

flyertalker00143

we were discussing with a friend on the way to moving to the UK

he was wondering if he should call Amex France to request a card in the UK

can he easily get a SPG amex card immediately without going thru global transfer or is GT faster ?

is sign-up bonus granted even with global transfer ?


thanks

platinumPizza

Question:
If I move to Europe with my cent from the US do I lose the US card? Are you able to keep the US and obtain the Euro? It's a 1-2 year move, and a return back to the states. The US card is obviously harder to obtain.

Tia

stimpy

There may be no need to change. The US Cent has no currency exchange fees so you can keep using it in Europe. The only reason to change would be to get special benefits in Europe, which appear to be fewer than the US benefits.

platinumPizza

Good point, thanks!

LAXRuss

Just read your comments somewhat belatedly. It sounds like you might be far better off with an International Dollar Card from AMEX London. For your needs, you might even find some of the benefits superior to the US card. For one, you receive a free secondary Platinum for someone else, both of you receive Priority Pass--one that allows access to the United lounges which you may use if you live in the U.S.-- United lounges are inaccessible through the US-issued AMEX Priority Passes. The car rental insurance is superior as primary coverage. The travel insurance is superior because it is not dependent on charging the travel to the card. Similarly, if you simply want a basic AMEX card, IDC has them too.