AmEx Platinum marketing: sexist, stupid, or something else?
I've been interested in the Platinum card for a couple of years now. I travel for work, so I was initially interested in the lounges and travel credit. Recently the 5x points on airfare piqued my interest, given that I spend over $50k on airfare annually.
Over the past two years my husband has been offered the Platinum card three times with a 100k point bonus. During that same period I have only been offered a 50k bonus. I've told them I'm waiting to be offered the same bonus as my husband. Our credit ratings are the same, and most of our cards are joint accounts. My salary is also around twice that of my husband. I've got no idea why AmEx is more interested in my husband's business than mine. His spending is quite limited. He does not travel for work. The benefits of the card are of no use to him, and his spending wouldn't make much money for AmEx. If he were to get the card he would almost certainly cancel it after a year. I, on the other hand, spend well over $100k on travel each year. I travel frequently. I would be a valuable customer, and I would find the card useful enough to hold onto it after the initial year. The fact that I have (and heavily use) both the Chase United Club Card and the Sapphire Reserve, and that I have kept the Club Card for many years, should tell them that I am the kind of customer they are seeking. If I were to get the Platinum AmEx, there is a good chance I would cancel one of the two expensive Chase cards, assuming I found the benefits of the Platinum card worthwhile. What could be driving this stupidity? Happily for me, I'm liking the CSR, so I'm not in a huge rush to get the AmEx, but you would think that they might want to compete for my business. |
Do you have any other Amex card you didn't mention? Does your husband? Amex is known to offer 100k Platinum offers to people with no current Amex cards.
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Sexist? Really?
Perhaps to AMEX you're travel is already high and you're not who they are targeting for these promos. I'm sure there are more variables. |
Originally Posted by krazykanuck
(Post 27694909)
Do you have any other Amex card you didn't mention? Does your husband? Amex is known to offer 100k Platinum offers to people with no current Amex cards.
Thank you for the information. I guess that could be the difference. Their loss, really. |
Originally Posted by KENNECTED
(Post 27694912)
Sexist? Really?
Perhaps to AMEX you're travel is already high and you're not who they are targeting for these promos. I'm sure there are more variables. And you would think the fact that my travel (and concomitant travel spend) is high is exactly why they would want me to use their card. They get a cut of all purchases made. That means they want users who spend a lot. |
Interesting to contemplate. One thing I'll note is that you know you put a lot of travel spending on several Chase premium cards, but I don't think AMEX would know that. Does your spending on the Delta co-branded AMEX or on the company AMEX account authorized user card give AMEX a good sense that you're a large spender?
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dude it's just algorithm. algorithm can be faulty. it is not know all see all thing. how you can label that as sexist is beyond me.
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Ms mia receives much better offers from American Express than I, but some of them are for a card that she currently holds :rolleyes: . I take this to mean that their marketing algorithms are flawed. I don't see evidence of gender bias.
You could easily obtain a 100,000 point for the Business Platinum card by looking for a referral offer in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...e-posting.html The features of the business and personal cards have diverged a bit recently. The business version does not include 5X on airfare, but instead awards 1.5 points per dollar on individual transactions over $5,000 and has a more attractive Pay with Points redemption feature discussed here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...demptions.html |
Originally Posted by runb4fun
(Post 27695192)
dude it's just algorithm. algorithm can be faulty. it is not know all see all thing. how you can label that as sexist is beyond me.
Originally Posted by mia
(Post 27695209)
Ms mia receives much better offers from American Express than I, but some of them are for a card that she currently holds :rolleyes: . I take this mean that their marketing algorithms are flawed. I don't see evidence of gender bias.
You could easily obtain a 100,000 point for the the Business Platinum card by looking for a referral offer in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...e-posting.html The features of the business and personal cards have diverged a bit recently. The business version does not include 5X on airfare, but instead awards 1.5 points per dollar on individual transactions over $5,000 and has a more attractive Pay with Points redemption feature discussed here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...demptions.html |
Originally Posted by runb4fun
(Post 27695192)
dude it's just algorithm. algorithm can be faulty. it is not know all see all thing. how you can label that as sexist is beyond me.
Check out Weapons of Math Destruction. |
Originally Posted by mia
(Post 27695209)
Ms mia receives much better offers from American Express than I, but some of them are for a card that she currently holds :rolleyes: . I take this mean that their marketing algorithms are flawed. I don't see evidence of gender bias.
You could easily obtain a 100,000 point for the Business Platinum card by looking for a referral offer in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...e-posting.html The features of the business and personal cards have diverged a bit recently. The business version does not include 5X on airfare, but instead awards 1.5 points per dollar on individual transactions over $5,000 and has a more attractive Pay with Points redemption feature discussed here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...demptions.html I am, however, glad to hear that the algorithm favors some women, even if I'm still pretty sure it's stupid. |
Originally Posted by pshuang
(Post 27695125)
Interesting to contemplate. One thing I'll note is that you know you put a lot of travel spending on several Chase premium cards, but I don't think AMEX would know that. Does your spending on the Delta co-branded AMEX or on the company AMEX account authorized user card give AMEX a good sense that you're a large spender?
You would think that AmEx might wonder why they have lost that spend. Heck, it wouldn't be a terrible idea for them to flag accounts that have seen a significant drop in use and query the cardholders about the reason. Airlines and hotel chains definitely reach out to customers they think they are losing to ask them what they can do to win them back. |
It sounds like you don't know how credit really works.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
Our credit ratings are the same, and most of our cards are joint accounts.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
My salary is also around twice that of my husband.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
I've got no idea why AmEx is more interested in my husband's business than mine. His spending is quite limited. He does not travel for work. The benefits of the card are of no use to him, and his spending wouldn't make much money for AmEx. If he were to get the card he would almost certainly cancel it after a year.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
I, on the other hand, spend well over $100k on travel each year. I travel frequently. I would be a valuable customer, and I would find the card useful enough to hold onto it after the initial year.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
The fact that I have (and heavily use) both the Chase United Club Card and the Sapphire Reserve, and that I have kept the Club Card for many years, should tell them that I am the kind of customer they are seeking.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
If I were to get the Platinum AmEx, there is a good chance I would cancel one of the two expensive Chase cards, assuming I found the benefits of the Platinum card worthwhile.
Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27694793)
What could be driving this stupidity? Happily for me, I'm liking the CSR, so I'm not in a huge rush to get the AmEx, but you would think that they might want to compete for my business.
It is costly to lurk customers for new cards, which even Chase admitted that publicly. That's why AMEX is holding off the 100K offer to those who have the most potential. Your thought, in summary, is basically criticizing AMEX not to extend the 100K offer to you. But you seem ignoring the purpose of a prescreened offer - lurking potential customers - those who don't use credit often - to have the card. And your heavy usage with Chase in fact contradicts such purpose. In fact, even in the case of existing customers, issuers tend to have better promotional offers (i.e. bonus points, BT, rate reduction, etc.) to those who don't use the card often rather than those who regularly use the card. Bottom line - simply because you believe you deserve the 100K offer does not mean AMEX has to agree with you. |
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
It sounds like you don't know how credit really works.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
No credit rating is the same, even everything you have is jointly owned. At the minimum, AAoA and/or age of the oldest account vary (unless you are married with your husband before you establish credit).
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
Your salary may be a factor for credit applications. But it is not a factor for a prescreened offer.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
You misunderstand an important concept - the person who uses a card the most does not mean he/she generates much revenue. Instead, issuers profit from those who generate fees and interests.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
How does AMEX know in this case?
A recipient of your credit file does not know what kind of accounts you have. How does AMEX know?
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
Sorry to say, but I would have to say you are the one, as you have overthought the situation.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
It is costly to lurk customers for new cards, which even Chase admitted that publicly. That's why AMEX is holding off the 100K offer to those who have the most potential.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
Your thought, in summary, is basically criticizing AMEX not to extend the 100K offer to you. But you seem ignoring the purpose of a prescreened offer - lurking potential customers - those who don't use credit often - to have the card. And your heavy usage with Chase in fact contradicts such purpose. In fact, even in the case of existing customers, issuers tend to have better promotional offers (i.e. bonus points, BT, rate reduction, etc.) to those who don't use the card often rather than those who regularly use the card.
Also, your argument that AmEx cannot know how much I spend on other cards should apply equally here. If you are correct that his low spending makes my husband attractive to AmEx, how can they know how little my husband spends (if, as you say, they can't know how much I spend)? It's the same principle.
Originally Posted by garykung
(Post 27696273)
Bottom line - simply because you believe you deserve the 100K offer does not mean AMEX has to agree with you.
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Originally Posted by lexdevil
(Post 27696397)
... AmEx will take 3.5% in merchant fees on most transactions.
The average discount rate was 2.47 percent and 2.45 percent for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, and 2.46 percent and 2.48 percent for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively. The increase for the three-month period reflects the absence of Costco merchant volumes in the current year, which were at a lower discount rate than the average. The decrease for the nine-month period was driven primarily by a prior-year benefit related to certain merchant rebate accruals, growth of the OptBlue program and merchant negotiations, including those resulting from the recent European regulatory changes, partially offset by the benefit to the discount rate from the decline in Costco merchant volumes in the current period. We expect the average discount rate will likely decline over time due to further expansion of OptBlue, overall changes in the mix of spending by location and industry, merchant incentives and concessions, volume related pricing discounts, strategic investments, certain pricing initiatives, competition, pricing regulation (including regulation of competitors’ interchange rates) and other factors. |
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