I realize that the points advance seems to have disappeared since I got my card 3+ weeks ago, but there are several comments on the Membership Rewards Points Advance thread about when bonus points post, so I will continue in that vein....

• Got a Platinum with 100K bonus after $3K spend (yesss!)
• Tomorrow is first closing date
• Have spent (and seen posted) $2,600 to date.

Now a trip has come up where I may want to be able to access these points already. From what I read above, I may want to hasten the points arriving into the account by hitting the $3K spend before the end of tomorrow's billing cycle. Thus a suite of interrelated questions:

1. Is this true? Some posters above suggest that getting the bonus is billing cycle dependent. Others suggest it occurs when spend is met, regardless....
2. From other threads, it appears to me that allowable spend includes airline charges that receive AmEx credits, so if I decide to "fill" the remaining $400 spend in whole or in part with creditable purchases (Global Entry, club fee), that won't be a problem ... ?
3. Or am I already too late toward the end of the billing cycle? That is, even if I do some charges today, it is highly unlikely that they get to Pending much less show up by the close tomorrow of this first cycle....
4. Finally, there are posters up-thread who suggest that I will also need to pay this first cycle's bill before I get the introductory 100K points .... I would have liked to avoid doing this until end of month, but of course will do so if necessary -- and at that point should I be able to call and get the points posted?

Thanks in advance.