STS-134

It's really too bad that having both the Plat and the CSR devalues both cards. One only needs a single Global Entry payment every 5 years. I really wonder if I could monetize the benefit on one of these cards by finding a friend who does not hold either card and wants Global Entry, and having him/her pay me back.

krazykanuck

Tell me about it! I have 3 GE credits (and counting) I can't use, and can't use for the foreseeable future because as a Canadian citizen who doesn't have a green card, I have to enroll via NEXUS which no card reimburses. I'm at the point where I'll probably try to hand them out at work in exchange for a friend buying me lunch because that's about all the GE credits are worth

747FC

Kahuna, in Hawaiian, is a wise or important person. Might you have been thinking of "Cojones?"

STS-134

And by that do you mean cojones?

747FC

HaHa. Spell check employed.

mikesyr18

I do admit that it was wise of them to raise the price by doing price + 50% and the advertising that price at 50% off with a coupon code or whatever, so I guess my word can still fit what I was trying to say.

mikesyr18

Why would they still include Costco in their earnings? I must be missing something. They lost Costco almost a year ago. At this point, either customers went with Citi, or they transferred to a different AMEX card. I think any pains of losing Costco were finished about nine months ago.

What AMEX is doing isn't really improving, but the numbers are reflected based on cut backs and the increased price of their products. The AF for the Blue Cash Preferred increased by $25 this year, while the Platinum (which will be reflected in next quarter's earnings) will have increased $100. I can't find any information here, but I'm gonna go on a limb and say the "clear cards" are the most popular besides the Premier Rewards Gold and the Platinum.

Personally I'd like to see AMEX find a new partner.. I wasn't impressed when they lost Jet Blue. I'd like to see them steal Amtrak away from Bank of America, or partner with Uber to create a credit card with benefits for both companies.

drwilliams

I read it as Costco was included in their earnings last year. For the year-over-year comparison they removed that revenue.

bigbuy

Maybe Pizza Hut got the idea@:-) of raising the price 50%, then running half price promo from Mike Lindell, founder of MY PILLOW. You know, the guy who got the idea of stuffing a pillow with chopped up foam while living in a drug crack house.

lepmd

As someone who falls between Gen X and Millennials (depending on different classifications based on birth year), I am loving my CSR right now and will cancel my Plat in July before it renews. I recently took a shopping/dining trip to France. I used the Plat to book one hotel with FHR months in advance but received the CSR the week before my trip. The Plat stayed in my wallet except for check-in to my previously booked hotel. We used the CSR for everything. Taxi fare was reimbursed with the CSR $300 credit. Even drinks at a nearby hotel were reimbursed. I haven't made use of the AmEx $200 travel credit in a couple of years. Checked bags are always covered if I'm flying internationally and/or in first/business. I'm not even sure if anyone I know uses that $200 travel credit anymore. The 3x points on dining is the best thing about the CSR for me. We had a few dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants; to get 3x points on those is outstanding. I even appreciate the 3x points when picking up take-out on my way home from work.

The only thing that would make me switch back to AmEx would be a better dining point option or if a card would offer extra points for shopping. I would've pulled out my AmEx at Chanel and Hermes if I would've received double points with AmEx for that. I ended up using CSR while shopping because I know that even my 1x points will be a better value when trading them in later with Chase rewards vs. AmEx.

Majuki

I imagine that Amtrak lacks the perceived prestige of an American Express travel partner. It remains to be seen what will happen with the SPG AmEx, but both the AmEx Hilton and Citi Hilton cards coexist. The loss of SPG/Marriott would leave AmEx with only Delta and Hilton as their cobranded cards?

With my current spending patterns and the transfer partners/rates, Membership Rewards isn't that compelling.

snic

I've disputed charges via Chase several times and have never been displeased with the outcome. In one case I actually said I wanted only a partial refund, and they refunded the entire purchase price (>$100).

And while it's true that Chase has the 5/24 rule, Amex has the once-per-lifetime rule for earning bonus points for opening any specific card. Both are intended to accomplish the same thing, and both are annoying.

STS-134

Why? There are numerous threads in this section on the forum explaining how to use the travel credit, one for each possible airline selection. Even if you do not fly, you can probably flip a gift card online for some percentage of its face value. Whatever that percentage is, it's better than getting $0.

mikesyr18

Yeah but one has a reputation and history of being favorable towards the cardholder, they'll always take your side first. Typically the process is much smoother than with a Visa or MasterCard.

Fortunately I've never had a dispute with a Chase credit card. I do bank with them mainly for their superior debit fraud protection. Chase is like the AMEX of checking accounts.

josephstern

There's a pretty clear request in this thread for Amex Platinum: bonus our dining.