Oct 4, 2018, 1:05 pm
Last edit by: roberto99
Faq amex: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/campaigns/gold-card/gold-update-faqs.html
For existing and new cardholders
For new cardholders (Oct 4 2018 and after)
For existing cardholders (Oct 3 2018 or before)
For existing and new cardholders
- Changes below are effective immediately
- 4x US grocery (25k/calendar year), 4x US dining* (*pervasive reports that many dining transactions are not coding as 4x, including but not limited to those from Square or Toast-based POS systems. Scroll down in thread for more reports and information.)
- $120 dining credit ($10 monthly in certain restaurants)
- No change
- $100 calendar year airline reimbursement
- Other
- $250 AF (see below for existing cardholders)
- No 2x gas (removed, see below for existing cardholders who have it till Oct 2019)
- Metal card (contactless)
- Rose gold card - limited edition until Jan 9 2019
- Regular gold card
For new cardholders (Oct 4 2018 and after)
- You may be able to find targeted/referal 50k/$2k, but first AF is not waived
- Signup bonus: You get 20% off restaurant up to $500 restaurant spend (3 month)
- You do not get 2x gas (only for existing cardholders, see below)
For existing cardholders (Oct 3 2018 or before)
- AF will change to $250 for anniversary dates after April 1 2019
- 2x gas will be removed after Oct 2019
- You can chat/call for the gold/rosegold metal card. AU card will get whatever primary cardholder is getting, cannot be different
Premier Rewards Gold refresh: 4x USA dining, groceries, $10/mon dining credit. $250.
Oct 14, 2018, 10:18 am
#571
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
im not understanding how contactless is supposed to work now
5 years ago i just held card up and it always worked fine
so far cashiers have only seen 'app' pay rather than contactless cards
5 years ago i just held card up and it always worked fine
so far cashiers have only seen 'app' pay rather than contactless cards
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Oct 14, 2018 at 11:52 am
Oct 14, 2018, 11:34 am
#573
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,505
Oct 14, 2018, 11:58 am
#574
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
apparently there are many different forms
im assuming the old amex expresspay is a different technology?
SPG Amex - now with ExpressPay!
amex now has new technology that works completely differently?
im assuming the old amex expresspay is a different technology?
SPG Amex - now with ExpressPay!
amex now has new technology that works completely differently?
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Oct 15, 2018 at 9:11 am
Oct 14, 2018, 11:59 am
#575
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 10
this is not unique to Amex Gold.
Oct 14, 2018, 12:08 pm
#576
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
removed
Oct 14, 2018, 12:16 pm
#577
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,223
... and also there's so many good noodle shops, salad spots, mexican restaurants and sushi available on Seamless that are close by.- I used Apple Pay and my AMEX at a Square POS unit - coded as Category: Restaurant - Bar & Café = 1x
- Caviar via Apply Pay - coded as: Category: Restaurant - Restaurant = 4x
- Seamless via using Card # - coded as Category: Restaurant - Restaurant = 4x
Also, for my Dining Credit DP:
- Used Seamless as a new user in app on 10/10 - the $10 credit shows posted on 10/13
- Posted as "AMEX Dining Credit"
Oct 14, 2018, 12:18 pm
#578
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,505
apparently there are many different forms
im assuming the old amex expresspay is a different technology?
SPG Amex - now with ExpressPay!
amex now has new technology that works completely differently?
im assuming the old amex expresspay is a different technology?
SPG Amex - now with ExpressPay!
amex now has new technology that works completely differently?
Oct 14, 2018, 2:49 pm
#579
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
now supposed to literally tap card somehow rather than holding it near reader?
seems odd to have some kind of tap or other motion rather than just proximity
seems odd to have some kind of tap or other motion rather than just proximity
Oct 14, 2018, 4:23 pm
#580
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
Oct 14, 2018, 5:04 pm
#581
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SFO/TPE
Programs: UA GS slavery, *A Gold, Marriott/SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle
Posts: 281
Meaning it's necessary to have a rfid secure wallet. 
Oct 14, 2018, 5:51 pm
#582
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
I went from 0 interest in Membership Rewards to signing up and being approved for the new PRG. It'll replace my CSR on US dining, but I do have one question for the MR veterans - how liberal is Amex's definition of dining? Does it include bars that don't serve food? The CSR is very liberal with bars and nightclub establishments / concession stands at ballparks. Is Amex the same way?
As above - if the Square merchant has chosen a restaurant MCC, then AMEX better be giving 4x points. Problems arise when Square merchants don't put in the right MCC (or don't put one in at all). IME, many Square merchants in my area that primarily (or only) sell prepared food code as grocery stores for some reason, so I don't get bonuses on my CSR.
Oct 14, 2018, 6:19 pm
#583
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,505
Other forums have confirmed that it is possible to request a non-contactless version of the PRG, if you truly want one. Consider this, though:
- Real-world range is only a few inches at most. (Yes, I'm aware that it is possible to extend this further, but I haven't heard of such attacks happening outside of research groups.)
- The data read from the card wirelessly isn't enough to create a clone of the card, nor actually run transactions. For instance, online transactions typically still need the billing address and/or the CID on the front of the card, not to mention that the dynamic CVV generated on the chip is different for each in-person transaction.
- Using contactless isn't going to bypass any authentication that may occur when inserting/swiping (thanks to AmEx US not doing chip and PIN and eliminating the signature requirement).
- Our fraud liability is still zero and merchants don't assume additional liability due to customers tapping. If contactless truly caused that many fraud losses for AmEx, it would not be an option on any card in any country.
Oct 14, 2018, 6:40 pm
#584
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: *G^2, Bonvoyed, NEXUS
Posts: 3,506
See, I would have tried to fix the issues at Apple Pay launch partners before release rather than take that approach.
Also, while people would just insert if their contactless cards don't work, they will blame AmEx instead of individual stores if it happens often enough. In the worse case, it might turn people off from contactless altogether; they've already had a hard enough time getting people to use mobile wallets. If merchant acceptance is that big of an issue on the mobile wallet side, contactless cards should either have been MSD only too or not been offered.
Also, while people would just insert if their contactless cards don't work, they will blame AmEx instead of individual stores if it happens often enough. In the worse case, it might turn people off from contactless altogether; they've already had a hard enough time getting people to use mobile wallets. If merchant acceptance is that big of an issue on the mobile wallet side, contactless cards should either have been MSD only too or not been offered.
Nothing to do with Square and everything to do with the MCC the merchant set up. I have lots of examples of getting the 2x (now 4x) bonus at Square restaurant merchants.
Oct 14, 2018, 7:01 pm
#585
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SF
Programs: UA, VX, QF, EY, VA
Posts: 756
FWIW, the contactless chip on my SPG Luxury card is inoperative.
The new rose gold PRG contactless works.
So I'd test it somehow first (I used an Android phone I had lying around with the NFC Tag app).
As for Square, I have multiple transactions where Square coded as "Restaurant - Bar & Cafe" (for Blue Bottle Coffee in SF) isn't showing 4x online. But I don't think it's 100% accurate until the statement closes and you can see the bonus points awarded under Membership Rewards -> Points Summary. Will be interesting to find out. The CSR earns 3x there.
The new rose gold PRG contactless works.
So I'd test it somehow first (I used an Android phone I had lying around with the NFC Tag app).
As for Square, I have multiple transactions where Square coded as "Restaurant - Bar & Cafe" (for Blue Bottle Coffee in SF) isn't showing 4x online. But I don't think it's 100% accurate until the statement closes and you can see the bonus points awarded under Membership Rewards -> Points Summary. Will be interesting to find out. The CSR earns 3x there.