American Express Membership Rewards - Delta Amex Prep

I am thinking about applying for the Delta Amex. I have a Hilton Amex, that I use. I also have had a SPG Amex, 6 months old, that I don't use much.

Would I improve my chance of getting approved on the Delta , by closing the SPG first?

Do you have a good credit limit? Could you just call and ask to convert the card instead of closing one to open another?

Did AMEX stop allowing stuff like that when they stopped credit line reallocation?

i know that you can switch from delta to spg, so i assume that you can do the reverse as well w/o applying anew.

not sure why you'd abandon spg in favor of the delta card though. it's more expensive and they've gotten rid of all the periodic bonus miles and all the double miles except on delta purchases. (they still have annual mileage boost for reaching some spending limit)

I am thinking about applying for the Delta Amex. I have a Hilton Amex, that I use. I also have had a SPG Amex, 6 months old, that I don't use much.

Would I improve my chance of getting approved on the Delta , by closing the SPG first?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-credit-card-programs/931002-70-000-delta-miles-2-american-express-card-signups.html

read post 10 and 11 in the above thread - seems there is a 2 credit card (not charge card) limit per person.

Some others have reported getting Amex cards having 2 or more cards already so its a very YMMV case.

If you want to be sure, and really dont need the SPG card, then cancel before getting the Delta card would be a "playing it safe" way.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-credit-card-programs/931002-70-000-delta-miles-2-american-express-card-signups.html

read post 10 and 11 in the above thread - seems there is a 2 credit card (not charge card) limit per person.

Some others have reported getting Amex cards having 2 or more cards already so its a very YMMV case.

If you want to be sure, and really dont need the SPG card, then cancel before getting the Delta card would be a "playing it safe" way.


This is not good advice!

If you already have a credit card with American Express and you want a different credit card, you can:

(a) apply for a new one
(b) convert from the old card to the new card. You will receive the current promotion for the new card. (Note: that you cannot get the same benefit twice)

It does not make sense to close the account and reapply. It will adversely affect your credit unnecessarily (i.e. you will get an inquiry, a new account, and decrease your average age of accounts).

I tried to do exactly what you suggested (convert existing card) BEFORE applying.
Spoke with 3 different reps - seems things have changed alot at AMEX. If you want a new card now you MUST APPLY FOR IT. They are not permitting converting one card to another (or transfering credit limit from one card to another).

YMMV ofcourse, but that is what I was told 3 times.

Another point, was that on the phone, the Delta offer they said was available was for 20K miles, while the one I got online will get me 35K miles.

The points you mention about adverse affect on credit will be EXTREMELY minimal - obviously dont cancel a card that has 20yrs age on it - but if you cancel a card say that has only 1yr age (and many churners have cards that are "very young") then your credit score will hardly move.

The extra inquiry IS VALID - but in my case I had some NWA miles which were not good for much - but now with the Delta AMEX miles, combined, I now have a business class ticket to Paris (assuming I can get it - which is a BIG assumption)

I tried to do exactly what you suggested (convert existing card) BEFORE applying.
Spoke with 3 different reps - seems things have changed alot at AMEX. If you want a new card now you MUST APPLY FOR IT. They are not permitting converting one card to another (or transfering credit limit from one card to another).

YMMV ofcourse, but that is what I was told 3 times.

Another point, was that on the phone, the Delta offer they said was available was for 20K miles, while the one I got online will get me 35K miles.

The points you mention about adverse affect on credit will be EXTREMELY minimal - obviously dont cancel a card that has 20yrs age on it - but if you cancel a card say that has only 1yr age (and many churners have cards that are "very young") then your credit score will hardly move.

The extra inquiry IS VALID - but in my case I had some NWA miles which were not good for much - but now with the Delta AMEX miles, combined, I now have a business class ticket to Paris (assuming I can get it - which is a BIG assumption)


On Thursday my girlfriend converted her Delta Gold AMEX to a Hilton Honors AMEX. Maybe you got the wrong person.

Do you have a good credit limit? Could you just call and ask to convert the card instead of closing one to open another?

Did AMEX stop allowing stuff like that when they stopped credit line reallocation?
I did just that a few days ago. Asked to do a "product change" from AMEX
Costco cc to Hilton HHonors cc. Even will get the Welcome Bonus HH is offering new card holders.
Only drawback is card change isn't scheduled for a few weeks, so it likely is a longer wait than if I did a straight-out new application.

Moderator Hat On

This seems like a better fit in the AMEX MR forum.

Moderator Hat Off

http://www201.americanexpress.com/sbsapp/FMACServlet?request_type=alternateChannels&lpid=267

not bad for the platinum card

Reading another thread I now see why I could not convert to a Delta card - the card I wanted to convert was an Amex BLUE and seems that product can only be converted to other BLUE cards - but not to a co-branded card.

Keep learning new things every day on this forum - fantastic.

UPDATE on my new DELTA cards - even before 1st statement has printed, I received 5000 miles for 2 additional cardholder cards, and 10,000 welome miles - still need to wait for the 20,000 miles special bonus, which can take 8-12 weeks.

is the point of the bonus delta miles to use for tickets or is there a continued path to convert them to some other set of points that are more useful to a non-delta-flyer?