mmff

That is when the FFP rules changed, not the terms and conditions of the credit card.

I may be wrong but I think credit institutions cannot change their terms and conditions and apply those changes retroactively, meaning that the affected clients must be notified in advance.

weero

This is how I understood it.

So you have 36 months to burn those miles. And if you ever charge 3K pro anno to the card, counter resets. How is that different from my reading?

htb

My understanding is that the counter doesn't get reset. The counter doesn't even get suspended. It will just be ignored for the current year.

Each individual mile has an individual age and will expire accordingly.

HTB.

gum

I am very surprised that American Express Membership Rewards of Switzerland lists the transfer option to Miles & More:

https://www.americanexpress.ch/de/bo...el/miles-more/

This would be the perfect way around any devaluation of the Swiss Miles & More Cards if it would happen anytime in the future.

Membership Rewards Switzerland has no expiry date of the MR points ("kein Punkteverfall"). Hope this helps.

https://www.americanexpress.ch/de/bo...ds/uebersicht/

mmff

How easy would it be to get one without an address in CH? What are the yearly fees?

nldogbert

Can anyone confirm this? Is this ONLY for the German M&M Mastercard or? So if you drop from SEN to Blue (even with the Business version of the card), miles will expire within 36 months?

I am totally confused with this? What about if you have 2 different M&M credit card from different countries?

Wow.. this makes the whole thing so complicated if you have different cross border cards..

Anyone can have clarity on this?

Cheers!

gum

The best way to get the corresponding info would be to call them:

https://www.americanexpress.ch/de/ku...-card/kontakt/

On the footer of the welcome page it is stated that the American Express Cards in Switzerland are issued by Credit Suisse. Therefore asking your local branch also may work.

Sorry that I couldn't help you further. Using my German Amex card and having besides that no contractual relationship with them.

Before applying for the card you should just do the maths concerning the earning/transfer ration. And beware of the blue card of Switzerland. It has a different loyalty programm named pointup and doesn't participate in Membership Rewards.

PSE let us know the result.

MarcoGT

So, I have a M&M CC Business Classic, so my miles will expire at the end of the year if I do not put 3,000 on it, right?

gum

I don't know how the DKB bank will handle the grace period.

But from 2015 on your assumption is true.

IMH

For many people the 1.15% p.a. interest on credit balances means that the overall deal is still attractive. (Especially for those who find it difficult/inconvenient to constantly open new accounts and transfer funds between them.)

mmff

If you put 3000 EUR on the card (wire transfer deposit, no spending) and leave it there to accrue interest, does it prevent miles from expiring?

marbe166

Nope, you have to collect 3000 miles by using the credit card (i.e. spend 3000 EUR with it) to prevent the miles from expiring.

gum

@imh/mmf: Interesting considerations!

If you would hold this 2nd credit card only for the purpose of holding a deposit the calculation would be as follows:

If you put your money on a traditional call money account of a direct bank in Germany this would give you an interest rate of 0,4 - 0,5 %. Assumed that you don't like bank and account hopping.

The DKB Card at the moment delivers 1,15 %:

1.) Interest difference (pre withholding tax): 1,15 % - 0,50 % --> 0,65 %
2.) After tax, with approx. 28 % withholding tax assumed:
0,828 % net - 0,36 % net = 0,468 % net.

So you get 0,468 % additional interest for 95 Euros fee.

This is a smart deal if your credit balance in average reaches 20.299,15 Euro.

The last change of interest rates according to the website was on April 15th, 2013. "(5) Zinssatz pro Jahr, variabel, letzte Änderung 15.04.2013, monatliche Zinsgutschrift."

Really don't know when this interest rate will be "enhanced".

So it is crystal clear that the advantages of the Miles&More Credit Card have to be found within the scope of the other services.

IMH

Thanks for doing the sums for us, gum!

DKB have generally been pretty good in this respect. I would expect them to remain competitive.

You're right and -- to return to the core thread topic -- a major benefit of the "gold world business" card is keeping miles alive for members whose interest in earning M&M status has been enhanced away in recent years.

htb

Be aware, however, that any purchases will be deducted from your balance immediately. So not only don't you get free credit for up to 4 weeks, you also get less interest because your balance is reduced.

HTB.