As a millennial, one of the things that bug me is that the "invitation only" events are not well advertised as I mention on a different thread. Why do I have to find out about the free Coachella event through the points Guy? Same thing with the Hamilton buyout night, which I found out about here. And no, I don't want to pay $3,000 a ticket to go wine tasting. The first and only event that I found interesting was the $750 Hamilton VIP event they are having in la this fall. None of the other events appeal to me.
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Originally Posted by josephstern
(Post 28186188)
Frankly, I think any business that doesn't take Amex is paying attention to their costs, and potentially making a smart decision. ... Any merchant is pretty sure their customer will have a non-Amex with them.
Would they still come and use another card? Definitely some would, the question is how many would not. |
Originally Posted by drwilliams
(Post 28186327)
It can be a tough decision to take amex or not. In my business (restaurants) amex customers average charges are twice the average for visa or mastercard.
Would they still come and use another card? Definitely some would, the question is how many would not. 5x MR points/$ on restaurants on the Plat card might just be enough to get me to put the CSR away though...especially because I already have over 300k UR points that I am not sure what to do with at the moment. And giving us benefits that we can actually use, like $200 travel credit good for ANY travel expense throughout the year and a $100-200 Uber credit that is also valid for UberEats (and explicitly says so in the terms) that is valid anytime during the calendar year would probably get a lot more Millennials to sign up for the card. The fewer hoops I have to jump through to use my benefits, and the more spend bonuses I have, the more likely the card is to come out of my wallet frequently. |
Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186356)
Probably more people would go out of the way to use their Amex at restaurants (and hence, make a point of going to restaurants that take Amex cards) if Amex had a better reward structure for spending at restaurants. For me, restaurant spend does not go on my Amex anyway so I couldn't care less.
5x MR points/$ on restaurants on the Plat card might just be enough to get me to put the CSR away though...especially because I already have over 300k UR points that I am not sure what to do with at the moment. And giving us benefits that we can actually use, like $200 travel credit good for ANY travel expense throughout the year and a $100-200 Uber credit that is also valid for UberEats (and explicitly says so in the terms) that is valid anytime during the calendar year would probably get a lot more Millennials to sign up for the card. The fewer hoops I have to jump through to use my benefits, and the more spend bonuses I have, the more likely the card is to come out of my wallet frequently. |
Originally Posted by jediwho
(Post 28184218)
EDP is absolutely fantastic and so are Business Gold and Premier Gold. Their combo of Personal and Business Platinum to get 5x on airline and 2 cent redemption is also fantastic.
I do travel quite a bit, but after points/miles redemption, chase/citi airline credits, the amount left to be charge by AMEX just too far from $10k to make the annual fees worthy. |
Originally Posted by Explorer789
(Post 28186378)
5X dining would easily making it my top card since I eat out a lot. But it is not sustainable from a profitability standpoint. They would have to cap it up to a certain spend amount and then maybe reduce it to 2-3X unrestricted. Even then, it would be a big improvement.
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Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186356)
Probably more people would go out of the way to use their Amex at restaurants (and hence, make a point of going to restaurants that take Amex cards) if Amex had a better reward structure for spending at restaurants. For me, restaurant spend does not go on my Amex anyway so I couldn't care less.
I am sure there are a multitude of reasons why they do, but the fact that they do is a big reason to accept amex. |
Originally Posted by drwilliams
(Post 28186397)
But that makes no difference to my point regarding accepting amex. Amex customers spend more money per visit than either visa or mastercard.
I am sure there are a multitude of reasons why they do, but the fact that they do is a big reason to accept amex. |
Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186389)
I dunno, when I look at what a MR point is worth, and what a UR point is worth, and consider that Chase gives 3xUR points on all travel and dining with no cap, it must somehow be sustainable, unless Chase is using the extra UR point/$ on the CSR as a loss leader (I highly doubt this though). If they can do uncapped 5x for airfare, why not for dining?
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Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186389)
I dunno, when I look at what a MR point is worth, and what a UR point is worth, and consider that Chase gives 3xUR points on all travel and dining with no cap, it must somehow be sustainable, unless Chase is using the extra UR point/$ on the CSR as a loss leader (I highly doubt this though). If they can do uncapped 5x for airfare, why not for dining?
Amex doesn't have that same level of diversified banking portfolio. Uncapped 5X airlines was nothing more than a marketing ploy imo. How many of platholders travel enough to be able to utilize it? A very small number of business travelers probably really happy about it. On top of that, CSR has trip delay protection, making it the better card to use for flights. |
Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186402)
But unless I use the Amex at restaurants, there's no point in trying to woo me in by accepting it. I'd just use the CSR and I won't really care if the restaurant takes it, nor will I go out of my way to eat at restaurants that do take it. So until Amex does something that gets me using my Plat at restaurants, it's really irrelevant whether a restaurant takes it. Doing so won't change their chances of getting me in their door as a customer.
If you use visa, I take that to woo you in. If you do not use amex then there is no cost to me, as the cost of taking amex only comes into play when someone uses amex. And for me it makes sense, as they spend more, that is all my point is. |
Originally Posted by drwilliams
(Post 28186418)
I am not trying to woo people in by accepting amex who do not use amex. I am trying to woo people in who do.
If you use visa, I take that to woo you in. If you do not use amex then there is no cost to me, as the cost of taking amex only comes into play when someone uses amex. And for me it makes sense, as they spend more, that is all my point is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correl...mply_causation |
Originally Posted by Happy
(Post 28183987)
Last time we flew out MIA it was the same thing. Luckily we could use the Premium lounge that QR used for their business class passengers - during the QR time slot, the foods/drinks all are better than what were offered in the Centurion, more options, better quality. Most importantly, far more seating areas available for a quiet meal without having people mulling around you.
Do you expect a lounge independent of airline and class with a nominal annual fee (Centurion) to be comparable to a lounge access attached to a premium ticket (QR lounge)?
Originally Posted by Explorer789
(Post 28186413)
Chase was referring to the 100k bonuses as being the loss leader. In the long run, it is sustainable especially since Chase is using CSR as a lure to sell their credit cards and banking products to try to sell to high income customers. So far it has worked, since even I now have a Chase checking account.
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Originally Posted by STS-134
(Post 28186474)
It really only makes sense if the fact that you take Amex causes people to spend more at your restaurant, or causes them to spend money there at all, that they would not otherwise have spent on a Visa or Mastercard. If the vast majority of those folks would have come in and spent the same amount on a Visa or Mastercard, then taking Amex could actually be costing you money. Amex could be playing on a common fallacy and they really need to go a lot farther to prove that taking Amex causes people to spend more if they want to make that claim.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correl...mply_causation Whether the same customers would come in and spend the same amount of money is the great unknown. |
Originally Posted by Explorer789
(Post 28186378)
5X dining would easily making it my top card since I eat out a lot. But it is not sustainable from a profitability standpoint. They would have to cap it up to a certain spend amount and then maybe reduce it to 2-3X unrestricted. Even then, it would be a big improvement.
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