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-   -   Amex Premier Rewards Gold new benefits and higher annual fee, 6.1.2015 (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1658333-amex-premier-rewards-gold-new-benefits-higher-annual-fee-6-1-2015-a.html)

Dieuwer Feb 26, 2015 12:54 pm

Amex Premier Rewards Gold new benefits and higher annual fee, 6.1.2015
 
Looks like the fee will be increased to $195 per year. New: $100 airline fee credit and no forex fees.

mnCO Feb 26, 2015 1:06 pm


Originally Posted by dieuwer2 (Post 24420391)
Looks like the fee will be increased to $195 per year. New: $100 airline fee credit and no forex fees.

Source?

EDIT: Here's a link. 2x MR for Dining, $100 airline fee credit (making the annual fee effectively match the CSP).

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americ...193500209.html

NYCRuss Feb 26, 2015 1:35 pm


Originally Posted by dieuwer2 (Post 24420391)
Looks like the fee will be increased to $195 per year. New: $100 airline fee credit and no forex fees.

Also, 2x points at restaurants.
http://about.americanexpress.com/new...gold-card.aspx

mediator Feb 26, 2015 1:38 pm

And finally the FTF is gone!

BooG690 Feb 26, 2015 2:04 pm

American Express Adds New Benefits to Premier Rewards Gold Card
 
http://about.americanexpress.com/new...inkId=12585057


Effective June 1, 2015, American Express is enhancing its Premier Rewards Gold Card, adding more value with 2x Membership Rewards points for purchases at U.S. restaurants, a $100 airline fee credit for incidental charges such as baggage fees, and a personalized travel service. Card Members will also no longer pay foreign transaction fees when spending abroad.

In addition to the added benefits mentioned above, Premier Rewards Gold Card Members will continue to receive:

3x Membership Rewards points on flights purchased directly from airlines2x Membership Rewards points for purchases at U.S. gas stations and U.S. supermarketsAccess to The Hotel Collection, a roster of more than 350 of our Card Members’ favorite properties around the world; Card Members are eligible for a $75 hotel amenities credit and a room upgrade if available

“We’re making one of our most popular cards even better..This latest investment for our Premier Rewards Gold Card Members is designed to deepen our relationship by providing more value in the areas they spend most -- from everyday spending on things like gas and groceries, to dining and larger travel purchases,” said Lisa Durocher, SVP, Consumer Charge Cards & Benefits at American Express.

The newly added benefits can help Card Members accumulate points faster, and they can use those points easily for a wide variety of rewards that fit a diverse range of interests. There are a number of flexible and convenient ways to use points with the Membership Rewards program, featuring more than 20 airline and hotel point transfer partners, as well as the ability to redeem points at point of sale with Amazon, Uber, NYC taxis and McDonalds.

The new annual fee for the Premier Rewards Gold Card will be $195 effective June 1, 2015. The current annual fee is $175. Card Members can add up to 5 Additional Cards to a Premier Rewards Gold Card account at no additional cost.

pugsley21 Feb 26, 2015 2:08 pm

Amex Premier Rewards Gold New Benefits and Increased Fee
 
Just ran across this. Here is a clip of the article and link:


2x Bonus on Dining
Starting June 1, 2015, you’ll earn 2X Membership Rewards points at restaurants, which is a nice added benefit and clearly a play to compete better with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which offers 2x points on all travel and dining.

Playing Catch-up With Foreign Transaction Fees
Starting June 1, 2015 the card will no longer levy foreign transaction fees, which is a good announcement, but Amex is clearly playing catch-up since most other comparable travel credit cards, like Sapphire Preferred, Citi Thank You Premier and Barclaycard Arrival Plus already waive these fees.

$100 Airline Benefit
The card will also come with a $100 Airline Fee Credit each calendar year, which I assume will be similar to the $200 Airline Fee Credit currently offered by the Platinum Card from American Express. I’ve maximized that benefit every year because Amex actually rebates a wide variety of airline charges in my experience (and that of many TPG readers).

Increased Fee and On The Heels of Other Bad News
The annual fee is being increased from $175 to $195, which is an interesting move if they’re really trying to compete with Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee) and Citi Thank You Premier, which recently dropped the annual fee from $125 to $95. Clearly they need to cover the cost of the $100 travel credit, but I’m surprised they’re increasing the fee since Citi Thank You Premier which just changed up its bonus categories is lowering the annual fee from $125 to $95 starting on 4/19/15.

Another hit to the card came last year when Amex announced last year that the15,000 Membership Rewards spending bonus for hitting $30,000 in spend was going away in 2015. Amex claims this benefit was removed due to a lack of use, since the majority of cardholders did not meet the annual spending threshold to receive the bonus points. As someone who did hit that bonus every year, it was definitely a blow and I have used the PRG much less in 2015- especially since I have the new Aviator Silver card from BarclayCard which gives me 3 American Airlines miles per dollar spent on AA/US airfare. The PRG used to have the edge with the 15k bonus at $30,000 in spend, though now with other lucrative options my airline spend has mostly gone elsewhere.

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/02/amex...increased-fee/

davie355 Feb 26, 2015 2:17 pm

Wow, nice. Are existing cardholders grandfathered into the $175 AF?

g8trgr8t Feb 26, 2015 2:26 pm

so will the changes make this a new product qualified for a new bonus??

elg26 Feb 26, 2015 2:36 pm


Originally Posted by davie355 (Post 24420845)
Wow, nice. Are existing cardholders grandfathered into the $175 AF?

That's a good question...as since I just got this card a month and 1/2 ago, wouldn't this be like a bait and switch on next years AF?

NYCRuss Feb 26, 2015 3:01 pm


Originally Posted by elg26 (Post 24420951)
That's a good question...as since I just got this card a month and 1/2 ago, wouldn't this be like a bait and switch on next years AF?

This is not even close to bait and switch. You're getting at least the product that you signed up for at the price that you expected for one year.


Originally Posted by g8trgr8t (Post 24420864)
so is this a new product that would now qualify for a bonus?

It's being presented as the same product, but with higher annual fee and enhanced features. My guess is no new signup bonus if you've had the PRG before.

Sant Feb 26, 2015 3:39 pm


Originally Posted by mnCO (Post 24420464)
Source?

EDIT: Here's a link. 2x MR for Dining, $100 airline fee credit (making the annual fee effectively match the CSP).

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americ...193500209.html

What's CSP?

mia Feb 26, 2015 3:40 pm


Originally Posted by Sant (Post 24421303)
What's CSP?

Chase Sapphire Preferred (VISA) card.

mia Feb 26, 2015 4:17 pm

This is a marketing blunder.

It's counterproductive to announce a price increase, from $175 to $195, when you are actually lowering your price, from $175 to $95. I understand why they want to offer the Airline Fee Credit rather than an outright fee reduction, but increasing the top line fee is a distraction. They should have left the annual fee alone, and implemented an $80 credit.

What is the benefit to announcing these changes three months before they become effective? I suppose they want to use them as a retention tool to reduce cancellations in March, April and May, and to counteract Citi's forthcoming Premier card campaign, but how difficult or expensive could it be to implement at least some of these changes immediately?

Dieuwer Feb 26, 2015 4:30 pm

Can the airline fee credit be applied to any airline, or do you have to pick a favorite for the year as with the AMEX Plat?

reclusive46 Feb 26, 2015 5:20 pm

This is also a great way to annoy non-us Amex holders. I still have to pay a foreign transaction fee on my UK Platinum Amex when the Gold doesn't even have it in the US. To make it worse, some third party issued Amex cards in the UK don't have a foreign transaction fee!


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