Aug 1, 2021, 12:53 pm
Last edit by: Dr Jabadski
Note: If you don't have a qualifying investment account, or if your only investment account is an Access Investing account, there is no longer an Engagement Bonus in the first year of having the CashPlus Platinum account.
Recommended step-by-step guide if goal is MS AmEx Platinum card with bonus and effectively no annual fee as of 8/1/21:
- Open MS Access Investing account (to establish the MS relationship) using online application with $5,000.
- Wait a few days.
- Open Platinum CashPlus account (requires existing MS relationship), must be opened by phone or through an advisor, cannot be done online.
- Fund Platinum CashPlus account with $25K.
- Wait a few days.
- Confirm CashPlus account's Account Fee Status page shows “Morgan Stanley Investment Relationship = Yes”.
- Apply for MS AmEx Platinum Card via the link that shows up in the CashPlus account once it's open.
- $5,000 monthly deposit or Social Security deposit in any amount and $25,000 Average Daily Cash Balance in the Bank Deposit Program to avoid Platinum CashPlus Monthly Account Fee.
- Meet minimum spending requirement on the AmEx Platinum card, as of 8/1/21: $6,000 within 6 months to receive sign-up bonus.
- Confirm $695 Annual Engagement Bonus posts to Platinum CashPlus account approximately 6 weeks after credit card approval. (As of 8/1/21, considerable discussion as to whether the FIRST Annual Engagement Bonus is paid within first few months of credit card account opening or at about 1 year after credit card account opening.)
- $1,000+ yearly spending requirement on the AmEx Platinum card needed to avoid having to pay taxes on the Engagement Bonus. (This language was removed from the disclosure statement after the Engagement Bonus was increased to $695.)
- Enjoy the sign-up bonus and all other AmEx Plat perks, don’t eat or drink too much
.
Notes:
All accounts can be opened the same day, best to wait a few days between account openings/applications to ensure each successive account is fully integrated into MS systems to avoid problems.
Few or no reports of MS AmEx Platinum credit card applications being declined for people with Access Investing and Platinum CashPlus accounts, seems once that MS relationship has been established, credit card approval is almost automatic.
The credit card will count toward Chase’s 5/24.
Premier CashPlus not eligible for $695 Annual Engagement Bonus for the MS AmEx Platinum Card.
MS launched Access Investing in December 2017, launched CashPlus in January 2020.
… I’m uncertain as to the requirements and procedures for a thread to have a Wiki(post). As with the New Platinum Card: To-Do List thread, might this thread qualify for a Wiki? Okay mia, you’re on. (Disclaimer: I have never applied for any of these MS accounts ... but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once 
.)
.) - Open MS Access Investing account (to establish the MS relationship) using online application with $5,000.
- Wait a few days.
- Open Platinum CashPlus account (requires existing MS relationship), must be opened by phone or through an advisor, cannot be done online.
- Fund Platinum CashPlus account with $25K.
- Wait a few days.
- Confirm CashPlus account's Account Fee Status page shows “Morgan Stanley Investment Relationship = Yes”.
- Apply for MS AmEx Platinum Card via the link that shows up in the CashPlus account once it's open.
- $5,000 monthly deposit or Social Security deposit in any amount and $25,000 Average Daily Cash Balance in the Bank Deposit Program to avoid Platinum CashPlus Monthly Account Fee.
- Meet minimum spending requirement on the AmEx Platinum card, as of 8/1/21: $6,000 within 6 months to receive sign-up bonus.
- Confirm $695 Annual Engagement Bonus posts to Platinum CashPlus account approximately 6 weeks after credit card approval. (As of 8/1/21, considerable discussion as to whether the FIRST Annual Engagement Bonus is paid within first few months of credit card account opening or at about 1 year after credit card account opening.)
- Enjoy the sign-up bonus and all other AmEx Plat perks, don’t eat or drink too much
. Notes:
All accounts can be opened the same day, best to wait a few days between account openings/applications to ensure each successive account is fully integrated into MS systems to avoid problems.
Few or no reports of MS AmEx Platinum credit card applications being declined for people with Access Investing and Platinum CashPlus accounts, seems once that MS relationship has been established, credit card approval is almost automatic.
The credit card will count toward Chase’s 5/24.
Premier CashPlus not eligible for $695 Annual Engagement Bonus for the MS AmEx Platinum Card.
MS launched Access Investing in December 2017, launched CashPlus in January 2020.
Morgan Stanley American Express Platinum Card (2012 - 2021)
Jul 14, 2021, 4:43 pm
#602
Join Date: Jun 2019
Programs: UA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 139
Put another away, did any bank during the 2010s provide at-market interest rates for demand deposit accounts, outside of products explicitly marketed as HYSAs? I'm not aware of any, particularly for clients with assets around $25k. Yield spreads were a significant income source for all brokerages until recent times.
This offer feels TGTBT, but I expect MS to make money in the following ways: (1) share of card swipe interchange from Amex, (2) cross-selling investment products with AUM fees, and (3) yield spread on CashPlus balance, which can only increase from present levels. There's also the defensive value of providing an all-in-one banking solution, preventing valuable clients from exploring other options. Nothing wrong with this... feels like a win-win-win to me.
Last edited by esquiar; Jul 14, 2021 at 4:45 pm Reason: fix
Jul 14, 2021, 4:48 pm
#603
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 234
Ignore.
Last edited by Stockjock; Jul 21, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Jul 14, 2021, 5:23 pm
#604
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,290
(These accounts seem like the perfect place to put funds previously held at BankDirect and/or Bask Bank.)
Jul 15, 2021, 4:44 pm
#606
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 78
i have a scheduled call with a ms financial advisor tomorrow morning so i can open a cashplus account. i found her email on the ms directory for our local branch and emailed her about opening a cashplus account and she replied and said she would be happy to explain the process of opening one but also discuss our current financial needs. anyone else deal with a financial advisor trying to sell them on other services? should i just be straight up with her and tell her the main reason i'm doing this is to get the engagement bonus for the platinum card?
Jul 15, 2021, 4:52 pm
#607
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 234
Ignore.
Last edited by Stockjock; Jul 21, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Jul 15, 2021, 5:09 pm
#608
Join Date: Jun 2019
Programs: UA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 139
i have a scheduled call with a ms financial advisor tomorrow morning so i can open a cashplus account. i found her email on the ms directory for our local branch and emailed her about opening a cashplus account and she replied and said she would be happy to explain the process of opening one but also discuss our current financial needs. anyone else deal with a financial advisor trying to sell them on other services? should i just be straight up with her and tell her the main reason i'm doing this is to get the engagement bonus for the platinum card?
Professional advising can be worth the fees if you’re too risk averse to manage your own money. Last year I received a small bit of inheritance, but I kept it in cash and missed the big recovery. Lost out on a 50% gain, but I did avoid an AUM fee. If I fail to hold and buy more when the next crash comes, I’m going to hire a pro
Jul 15, 2021, 5:34 pm
#609
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 234
Ignore.
Last edited by Stockjock; Jul 21, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Jul 15, 2021, 10:42 pm
#610
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Proud resident of flyover country.....
Programs: MS AMEX PLAT- Marriott Titanium-HH G- UA Silver-JPM RC . DL-AA-BA
Posts: 3,892
For what it's worth I believe that both my accounts were open a day or two before they took my application over the phone from the local office. I do not believe any funds had arrived in either account yet.
Jul 15, 2021, 10:45 pm
#611
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Proud resident of flyover country.....
Programs: MS AMEX PLAT- Marriott Titanium-HH G- UA Silver-JPM RC . DL-AA-BA
Posts: 3,892
Jul 16, 2021, 9:37 am
#612
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,290
(With all due respect for financial professionals.) Fees and commissions paid to investment advisors or managers or brokerages are a complete and absolute WASTE of money. Any fee paid is a direct decrease to one’s earnings and appreciation. They all compare themselves to an index and rave when they beat the index by 1% yet are remarkably quiet when they underperform compared to the index. None of them, mutual fund managers included, consistently beat the market year after year after year.
Much better off with a portfolio of cash and no-load index funds (or leveraged index funds). My several close relatives who utilize an advisor are basically paying (a lot) for some hand-holding. (Which is fine if one understands they’re paying for hand-holding.) There’s no evidence at all that professionals do any better over time than individuals, and it’s impossible to prove one way or the other.
Even not knowing their motivation, I’ll give those 3 MS financial professionals credit for their honesty and telling me that they had nothing to offer in terms of improving upon my 40 years of investing.
Much better off with a portfolio of cash and no-load index funds (or leveraged index funds). My several close relatives who utilize an advisor are basically paying (a lot) for some hand-holding. (Which is fine if one understands they’re paying for hand-holding.) There’s no evidence at all that professionals do any better over time than individuals, and it’s impossible to prove one way or the other.
…(FWIW, a year ago (4 months into COVID) I did contact MS. Ended up exchanging a few emails, sending a listing of my current investments, and having a conference call with 3 Wealth Advisors/Portfolio Management Directors of a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management team near my home. Bottom line, mainly due to my desire for self-direction and that my portfolio is 80% unrealized gains which I’m very hesitant to sell due to tax implications, was that they did not think MS had anything more beneficial.)
Last edited by Dr Jabadski; Jul 16, 2021 at 9:48 am
Jul 16, 2021, 10:03 am
#613
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: MSP
Posts: 497
Fees and commissions paid to investment advisors or managers or brokerages are a complete and absolute WASTE of money.
...
My several close relatives who utilize an advisor are basically paying (a lot) for some hand-holding. (Which is fine if one understands they’re paying for hand-holding.)
...
My several close relatives who utilize an advisor are basically paying (a lot) for some hand-holding. (Which is fine if one understands they’re paying for hand-holding.)
The math of investing is easy, but returns are largely dictated by investor behavior. It's far too easy to discount this as "just hand-holding" when you have data like Fidelity's internal study that their best performing investors in self-directed retirement accounts were inactive (old job 401k forgotten about) or dead. https://theconservativeincomeinvesto...tors-are-dead/
I lean more toward the Boglehead-ish side of investing so I have the same reservations on AUM fees, but I also recognize that for a lot of people taking away the control of investment decisions through robo advisors or at least having a traditional full service advisor where you need to have a sanity-check discussion to change allocations will lead to better outcomes.
In this thread alone we now have 40+ pages of posts of answering the same questions repeatedly for what is essentially a 3-step process. We all tend to need more help than we think we do.
Jul 16, 2021, 10:25 am
#614
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,290
A Fidelity study is biased, it’s not evidence that paid professionals do any better than individuals.
Disagree, re help. It’s, like most other things, a bell-shaped curve. Some need much more help than they think they do, some need much less, the vast majority are in between.
Jul 16, 2021, 10:48 am
#615
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 234
Ignore.
Last edited by Stockjock; Jul 21, 2021 at 4:40 pm