Welcome to Sweden!
1) None of those cards help with status. There are two cards which do: AMEX EuroBonus Elite which credits 20.000 status points each qualification period, and the MasterCard EuroBonus Premium which credits 1.000 status point each month if you had at least 1kr charged to the card that month.
Both of them are quite expensive (400kr/month for the AMEX, 1495kr/year for the MasterCard). To offset that expense you would need to make your own calculation if it is worth it to you. For me, the AMEX is worth it (well, assuming no Covid-crisis) as I get two vouchers each year (at 150k kr spend and after 300k kr spend) for a 50% reduction on the point cost for *A awards. Suddenly booking an LH F award becomes affordable and is worth the money to me. The insurance which comes with those cards... not sure. never had the need to use them, so cannot say if they are worth it. For the MasterCard, there is the option to book SAS Business and SAS Plus seats at the price if Go tickets on awards if you reach certain point levels. So, to maximize on these cards, you need to earn enough points to book award flights and then get your return. Of course, the higher earnings on those cards help with that a bit.
2) You WILL need a MasterCard (or VISA) in Sweden. AMEX is widely accepted but still from time to time I hit business which do not accept them, e.g. Lidl, Byggmax, my VW car shop, the hairdressers, almost all online shops. I use AMEX 90% of the time in my regular shops. But without the MasterCard, which is accepted everywhere, I would be lost. So, if you only want to have one card, take the Master Card.
3) Well, obviously the card which a) credits the most points for each purchase and b) the card you can use.
- AMEX Classic - 10 point for 100kr
- AMEX Premium - 15 points for 100kr
- AMEX Elite - 20 points for 100kr
- MasterCard - 15 points for 100kr, 20 points for 100kr in foreign currency, 25 points for 100kr in bookings with SAS
So, unless you take the AMEX Elite, the MasterCard is a solid earner.
4) See 2)
5) There are some companies which offer such a service, e.g. betalo.se. Two problems with that: 1) the credit card companies sometimes register these type of transaction as cash withdrawal and do not credit any points for that while at the same time charge the cash withdrawal penalty (for AMEX 4%, at least 25kr, for MAsterCard 3%, at least 40kr) and 2) the service companies often charge a fee as well, e.g. betalo charges 1.9% for their service if you use a MasterCard and 2.5% for using an AMEX.
In short: Not worth it.
Well, with 5 to 10 flights a year, you are definitely a frequent flyer. That is more flights than my parents did in 75 years
Two more things:
1) You will need your person number and the registration in the population register to apply for the card. AMEX is often quite picky when it comes to accept a new customer without a credit history in Sweden. There it helps if you had an AMEX in another country before. For the MasterCard is a bit easier, there it helps to have your Allkonto, where you get your salary, also at SEB. But in general, you might get rejected if you did not file at least one tax return in Sweden so they can see you have steady income.
2) There are sign up bonuses for the cards: 45.000 points for the AMEX Elite, 30.000 for the AMEX Premium, 10.000 for the MasterCard Premium and 3.000 for the MasterCard. In addition, if you use an invite link AMEX will add 18.000 points for the Elite Card, 12.000 for the Premium if you hit the spending goal (Elite 20.000kr in 3 months, Premium 15.000kr in 3 months). I'm happy to share my invite link (as I get the referer bonus
) if you want, just send me a PM.