May 4, 2016, 7:42 am
Last edit by: goodeats21
After being announced in early 2015, the long rumored Schwab American Express were available for application on March 21, 2016. Both cards require you to have an eligible Schwab brokerage account in order to apply. From the Schwab website:
Update June 2018 on eligible Schwab account per the Schwab website:
Note that if you are not currently a Schwab Customer, you can still get these cards by opening the Schwab Brokerage Account. To do so, a hard pull is required and most report that pull is with Equifax. There is a $1000 minimum investment to open the brokerage account, but if you open a linked high-yield investor checking account with the brokerage account, the balance requirements are waived.
Schwab Investor Card
This is card is basically a straight 1.5% cashback back card where you cash back can be deposited straight into your Schwab Brokerage Account. You can then choose to either invest money or transfer the cash to another account.
Schwab Platinum Card
This has all the benefits of the standard American Express Platinum Card with two notable advantages:
Link to Charles Schwab card information. Scroll down to read FAQ or to apply:
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...s/credit_cards
An eligible brokerage account means a Schwab One® Account or Schwab General Brokerage Account held in your name or in the name of a revocable living trust where you are the grantor and trustee. Eligibility is subject to change.
An eligible account means (1) a Schwab One® or Schwab General Brokerage Account held in your name or in the name of a revocable living trust where you are the grantor and trustee or (2) a Schwab Traditional, Roth or Rollover IRA that is not managed by an independent investment advisor pursuant to a direct contractual relationship between you and such independent advisor. Eligibility is subject to change.
Schwab Investor Card
This is card is basically a straight 1.5% cashback back card where you cash back can be deposited straight into your Schwab Brokerage Account. You can then choose to either invest money or transfer the cash to another account.
Schwab Platinum Card
This has all the benefits of the standard American Express Platinum Card with two notable advantages:
- You have the ability to cash out membership rewards at a rate of 1.10 cpp [changed from initial 1.25 at inception] into the brokerage account. This is called "Invest with Rewards". There is a separate thread debating the advantages and disadvantages of doing this. You can invest the cash or transfer out of Schwab.
- There is an appreciation bonus in the form of a statement credit if you have significant assets with Schwab (essentially a discount on the annual fee). If you have $250k-$1M, you get a $100 statement credit. If you have $1M+ you get a $200 statement credit. More details are here: http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...r_faq_platinum
Link to Charles Schwab card information. Scroll down to read FAQ or to apply:
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...s/credit_cards
American Express to Partner with Schwab. Applications online 3.21.2016.
Jan 12, 2018, 9:20 am
#211
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: DFW
Posts: 684
No 1099's were issued in 2017. Too early to say if any will be issued in 2018, but no reason to believe that anything has changed. Only weird quirk was when someone cashed MR out into a Schwab IRA account.
Jan 13, 2018, 10:42 pm
#212
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,419
It's kind of a shame they raised the annual fee to $550. While the card is worth it for the new member bonus, the annual fee is kind of stupidly high. I guess some urban types can use the $15 monthly Uber credit, but for most of us the main value is the Centurion Lounges. It's very hard to visit enough Centurion Lounges to "pay for" Platinum membership. If you like the Centurion Lounges, it's better to just game it with rotating Platinum cards. It's a shame. I kind of think that if you have a million dollars at Schwab, you should just get this card for free: you could argue that $350 isn't a horrible deal (and it's not). But it isn't a compelling deal, either.
Jan 13, 2018, 11:03 pm
#213
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: HHonors, TrueBlue, Delta SkyMiles, Hyatt Discoverist, Starwood Preferred Guest, American Airlines.
Posts: 2,035
It's kind of a shame they raised the annual fee to $550. While the card is worth it for the new member bonus, the annual fee is kind of stupidly high... It's very hard to visit enough Centurion Lounges to "pay for" Platinum membership. If you like the Centurion Lounges....
Jan 14, 2018, 9:45 am
#214
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Los Angeles, AA Plat 2MM, DL GM
Posts: 131
It's kind of a shame they raised the annual fee to $550. While the card is worth it for the new member bonus, the annual fee is kind of stupidly high. I guess some urban types can use the $15 monthly Uber credit, but for most of us the main value is the Centurion Lounges. It's very hard to visit enough Centurion Lounges to "pay for" Platinum membership. If you like the Centurion Lounges, it's better to just game it with rotating Platinum cards. It's a shame. I kind of think that if you have a million dollars at Schwab, you should just get this card for free: you could argue that $350 isn't a horrible deal (and it's not). But it isn't a compelling deal, either.
Jan 14, 2018, 6:04 pm
#215
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,419
The $200 per annum airline benefit, which you are almost sure to consume if you have use for the lounges, reduces the net fee to $150. For us, on a recent trip to Japan the Hilton and Marriott gold status which the card offers gave us upgrades to pretty nice suites as well as two weeks of free breakfasts, drinks and snacks. So, while I would love to pay nothing for the card, it turns out to be a good deal at $350 even without Uber.
Jan 17, 2018, 5:56 am
#216
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: AA Plat, UA Gold, SPG Plat, MAR Plat
Posts: 12
Recently opened up a Schwab brokerage account and a Schwab checking account to apply for the Schwab Amex Platinum. My brokerage account appeared immediately while my Checking account did not. I contacted support and they informed me that it'll take 24 - 48 hours to open the account due to necessary Patriot Act checks.
Switch over to Amex, I was able to open the card with no issues and link it to my dashboard / login. However, there is not an option to "Invest with Rewards" on Amex. Chatted support and was informed that it can take up to 2 days to enroll the card in membership rewards.
On to the questions:
Switch over to Amex, I was able to open the card with no issues and link it to my dashboard / login. However, there is not an option to "Invest with Rewards" on Amex. Chatted support and was informed that it can take up to 2 days to enroll the card in membership rewards.
On to the questions:
- Will my Schwab accounts be closed? I have this gut feeling that the rep was lying and that for some reason, my Checking account was not approved.
- If my Schwab accounts are closed, is it possible to reopen just the Brokerage account? I'm sitting on a large amount of MR points and want to cash some out (hence the Platinum Schwab Amex).
Jan 17, 2018, 8:25 am
#217
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
I only opened the Brokerage account. I just signed up for the Schwab Platinum and transfer right into the brokerage and into my Bank of America checking account. The Amex-Schwab MR transfer is instant, the transfer to BofA takes 24 hours. I'm unsure why Schwab would deny someone from opening a brokerage account.... it's their main business....
Jan 17, 2018, 10:23 am
#218
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: AA Plat, UA Gold, SPG Plat, MAR Plat
Posts: 12
I only opened the Brokerage account. I just signed up for the Schwab Platinum and transfer right into the brokerage and into my Bank of America checking account. The Amex-Schwab MR transfer is instant, the transfer to BofA takes 24 hours. I'm unsure why Schwab would deny someone from opening a brokerage account.... it's their main business...
UPDATE: Accounts are open and in good standing. [Unfortunately] It does take a few days for Schwab to open up the accounts and have them tied to your online profile / dashboard.
Last edited by Livingintheair; Jan 22, 2018 at 5:30 am
Jan 25, 2018, 1:34 pm
#219
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: San Francisco & London
Programs: UA1k, Oneworld Sapphire, Hyatt Globalist, IHG DiamondAmb, Hilton Diamond, Marriott LTP,
Posts: 1,785
I have been approved for the CS Platinum Card todaytoday.... I have never held the Charles Schwab version of the Plat Card (have had the regular Plat card),
Any issues getting the bonus to post after meeting 5k spend?
Any issues getting the bonus to post after meeting 5k spend?
Jan 25, 2018, 4:16 pm
#220
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: SEA, or BOS, or MUC, or other places (probably connecting). "Detroit, Michigan is in the Eastern time zone."
Programs: DL PM/1MM, AS 100K, NEXUS/GE, CLEAR, Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,201
None for me. I got the card in late Sept (physically received it early Oct), spent on it, and got the 60K MR with no trouble.
Mar 8, 2018, 6:06 pm
#221
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 103
Thanks everyone. I understand the IRS has final say, just a little concerned that Schwab isn't reporting these deposits into my IRA as true contributions, and they are responsible for submitting Form 5498 to the IRS detailing my contributions. I agree that at the end of the day, the IRS will most likely not let this "loophole" / website glitch increase my annual IRA contribution cap beyond $5,500.
I sent a secure message to Schwab and asked again about this situation - mainly about the tax-deductability of MR deposits directly into my traditional IRA account - here was the response I received, which was very informative:
"At Schwab, we’ve historically taken the view that these types of promotions and bonus awards deposited to an IRA, should be treated as bonus earnings and not a contribution. To address Internal Revenue Code prohibited transaction concerns, we have advised that such awards/gestures should be nominal (in relationship to the value of the account) and where possible, to avoid offers, promotions or account gestures that exceed the IRS maximum contribution limit applicable to IRAs for the year in question."
"Fairly recently, the IRS in a private letter ruling, characterized an IRA bonus as interest or other earnings credited to the IRA. Although not explicitly addressed, the implication of this ruling is that the bonus (i) is not taxable to the IRA owner until distributed and (ii) does not count against the IRA annual contribution limit. This serves as helpful persuasive authority with respect to how the IRS views these types of issues, and supportive of the approach that Schwab has taken over the years, although it is possible for the IRS to come to a different conclusion under a different fact pattern."
I was informed that if you would like all your previous rewards deposits be counted as contributions we should be able to change the coding of them so they instead count for that.
"Fairly recently, the IRS in a private letter ruling, characterized an IRA bonus as interest or other earnings credited to the IRA. Although not explicitly addressed, the implication of this ruling is that the bonus (i) is not taxable to the IRA owner until distributed and (ii) does not count against the IRA annual contribution limit. This serves as helpful persuasive authority with respect to how the IRS views these types of issues, and supportive of the approach that Schwab has taken over the years, although it is possible for the IRS to come to a different conclusion under a different fact pattern."
I was informed that if you would like all your previous rewards deposits be counted as contributions we should be able to change the coding of them so they instead count for that.
tl;dr: If you want to deposit MR into a Schwab IRA for tax benefit purposes, you must deposit MR --> Brokerage Account --> t-IRA in order to have them counted as "contributions" in the eyes of Schwab and, more importantly, the IRS.
Last edited by Thefirst; Apr 6, 2018 at 10:35 am Reason: Updated
Apr 19, 2018, 1:34 pm
#222
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: SFO
Posts: 266
Hello, I've owned the personal and Mercedes Platinum cards in recent years. I've gotten tired of the endless cycles of chasing retention offers and opening/closing new card accounts to offset part of my annual fees. I've decided I'll be content with just getting the guaranteed AF offset with the $250k Schwab balance. I'm seeking any guidance on best strategies to transfer my existing brokerage assets to Schwab.
I'm fairly limited in what I want to transfer to Schwab to meet the $250k. My prior employment 401k has ridiculously cheap management fees (Fed Govt TSP), so I'm not incentivized to roll that into Schwab. Which leaves me a very few options as currently nearly 95% of all my investable assets are at Vanguard and I want to continue using Vanguard as my primary brokerage. Here are my options:
1. All new brokerage investments will now go to Schwab
2. Transfer full Roth IRA balance
3. Transfer any cash that result in planned fund liquidations.
But with these 3 options, I'm still almost $100k short, due to the fact that I'm a buy-and-hold investor and I'm dependent on investment gains in my Roth due to contribution limit rules. While I have more than enough to cover $250k, I'm hesitant to do a complete holdings transfers which would be the easiest, mostly due to cost basis reporting concerns. When I asked the Schwab CSR about my concerns, he said that Vanguard will be obligated to report all known cost basis to Schwab as part of my transfer, which I kind of find hard to believe as I've been at Vanguard for over 10 years. There are also limits on fractional share transfers, etc.
From your experiences, what do you think is the best, most efficient and non-taxable way of achieving this transfer. And keep in mind, my goal is simply to meet the $250k. I plan on using Vanguard as my primary brokerage.
My only idea is, I can do a full transfer of entire asset holdings (but not the entire brokerage account) for recently purchased investments to ensure cost basis is properly accounted for. The low hanging fruit in this case would be holdings in single stocks, and recent purchases of funds.
I'm fairly limited in what I want to transfer to Schwab to meet the $250k. My prior employment 401k has ridiculously cheap management fees (Fed Govt TSP), so I'm not incentivized to roll that into Schwab. Which leaves me a very few options as currently nearly 95% of all my investable assets are at Vanguard and I want to continue using Vanguard as my primary brokerage. Here are my options:
1. All new brokerage investments will now go to Schwab
2. Transfer full Roth IRA balance
3. Transfer any cash that result in planned fund liquidations.
But with these 3 options, I'm still almost $100k short, due to the fact that I'm a buy-and-hold investor and I'm dependent on investment gains in my Roth due to contribution limit rules. While I have more than enough to cover $250k, I'm hesitant to do a complete holdings transfers which would be the easiest, mostly due to cost basis reporting concerns. When I asked the Schwab CSR about my concerns, he said that Vanguard will be obligated to report all known cost basis to Schwab as part of my transfer, which I kind of find hard to believe as I've been at Vanguard for over 10 years. There are also limits on fractional share transfers, etc.
From your experiences, what do you think is the best, most efficient and non-taxable way of achieving this transfer. And keep in mind, my goal is simply to meet the $250k. I plan on using Vanguard as my primary brokerage.
My only idea is, I can do a full transfer of entire asset holdings (but not the entire brokerage account) for recently purchased investments to ensure cost basis is properly accounted for. The low hanging fruit in this case would be holdings in single stocks, and recent purchases of funds.
Last edited by mdosu; Apr 19, 2018 at 1:43 pm
Apr 20, 2018, 3:37 am
#223
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ATL
Posts: 802
I can't answer your question but after more than 25 years with schwab i can tell you that they generally have great customer service.
On the cost basis thing i would call again to test the first reps answer.
I have the Schwab Platinum Amex and in addition to getting a $200 appreciation credit they also gave me an extra $100 credit about after i held the card for 11 months. I did not ask for a retention but will do that soon
On the cost basis thing i would call again to test the first reps answer.
I have the Schwab Platinum Amex and in addition to getting a $200 appreciation credit they also gave me an extra $100 credit about after i held the card for 11 months. I did not ask for a retention but will do that soon
Apr 20, 2018, 6:55 am
#224
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Los Angeles, AA Plat 2MM, DL GM
Posts: 131
In 2015 I transferred several securities from an RBC brokerage account to my existing Schwab account, and the cost bases were correctly transferred to Schwab, so I would be inclined to believe the Schwab CSR. You should also save a copy of your last Vanguard statement just to be sure the data isn't lost.
Apr 20, 2018, 11:07 am
#225
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: SFO
Posts: 266
thanks, this is very useful. I think my issue with cost basis likely will come up with legacy investments I had even before vanguard, when I transferred assets from another brokerage. I think for those assets, I will leave them alone. I have at least $200k worth of investments that were original investments at Vanguard, so there's no excuse for them not have the cost basis reporting for those assets.
That's pretty sweet that they gave you a $100 addition bonus. It makes carrying the Platinum card a no brainer.
That's pretty sweet that they gave you a $100 addition bonus. It makes carrying the Platinum card a no brainer.