Originally Posted by
Boraxo
The irony of the coupon book approach is that it does nothing to incentivize anyone to whip out the card for everyday spend. They simply jump through whatever Amex hoops are needed to collect the prize. I suppose that brings a sense of satisfaction to some (plus a few hundred net of AF), but I don't see it creating the type of frequent engagement Amex wants. The better play is to incentivize people to carry the card in their wallets with dining & grocery bonus (hello Gold card) or travel expenses (hello CSR). But what do I know, I'm just a cynical customer.
I really don't like the coupon book approach and high AF myself. However I can see why Amex would keep doing it.
They are very innovative in making money from targeted marketing for merchants through Amex Offers. And clearly some of the targeted Amex Offers are only available to PLT card members (who are most likely big spenders.)
Majority of the Amex offers are funded by the merchants instead of Amex's own pocket.
Then they started to offer "200" Uber credits by getting Uber to fund at least part if not all of the 15/month. That expanded to other relatively less successful services. Guess Netflix doesn't think it needs this marketing so it's not one of the options.
Those merchant funded credits are so successful that now even Citi and Chase are offering copycat offers. Citi correctly named it "Citi Merchant Offers".
I think Amex makes more money from those offers than from every day spending....that's a smart strategy than competing with Chase and Citi on cashbacks which can really hurt profits.
Also the higher the AF, the more likely the card can be used as a status symbol for bragging rights. I suppose the AF can only go higher going forward, maybe with some additional coupons.