jags86

there’s a 70k incognito platinum offer I see all the time.

mikesyr18

I do like how the travel category isn't restricted to AMEX travel purchases. Perhaps AMEX will loosen up a little and strip the requirement from the Platinum for hotel purchases, seeing as the cardholder gets screwed unless they're booking with the Fine Hotels program. It's not possible to use your AAA discounts and such through AMEX travel, where I routinely save $30 a night at some places.

lax01

I mis-spoke - its $109 for Clear...so basically $9 as a SkyMiles Member...I also have Global Entry / TSA Pre and never wait in line but I guess it can't hurt to have Clear in case you get stuck somewhere with long TSA Pre lines - I mean, for $9? Why not

miadukes

I think it's actually $119 for skymiles and 109 for elite, so for me it would be $20. But yeah, for $20 not bad.

355F1

haha....I’m still trying!!!

ymx

I was locked into a $99 clear membership from a few years back just as a basic Skymiles member with no elite status.

rasheed

I think they said something along these lines on the investor call. They were not trying to create a combination of cards for a cardholder to carry together. The only exception was those who held a corporate card, they wanted to pitch the personal cards more to that group.

They definitely did lift travel quite a bit. I am intrigued people are interested in the Away bonus. The bags are really expensive, but I don't think they are Tumi-like standards. eBags (another common Offers partner, now owned by Samsonite) tends to have a lot more choices (from low price to more expensive). Of course, eBags does a lot of marketing spend on discounts that stack all over.

The annual fee is a bit high though for the entry card, but AmEx has been pretty clear on focusing on the AF products. I don't think they will completely get rid of cards like Everyday and Magnet, but they could.

krazykanuck

I was thinking about this tonight as I walked home and thought you know a Green/Gold/Plat combo would really cover nearly all expenses in a bonus category. But it would require $950/yr in gross AF spend, with $920/yr in potential credits. So the question then becomes - what % of face value do you assign to all the credits, and can you continue to use them (esp in light of recent changes in the wind of airline credits). I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't and haven't paid for a Clear membership, so I mentally don't count that as an offset.

lax01

When I went through the process, it was $109 when you have a SkyMiles account associated with a Delta Sky Miles AMEX card...

hotturnip

Have you checked the referrals thread? That's where I got my 70K Platinum offer. (I did have to try 5 browsers on 2 computers before it came up correctly, however).

355F1

Embarrassingly enough, I have not. 🙄😒

I don’t really know anything about those referrals but I guess I am now going to read that thread now!

thank you!

hotturnip

I agree that this card is a Chase Sapphire Preferred competitor, and a good one. It could even give CSR a run for its money if you're someone who doesn't use the PP membership or the Chase travel portal. (That travel portal has saved my ... several times when trying to economize on trips.)

It's bizarre how Amex's "high-end" Platinum is actually a pretty limited point earner, whereas this little green card could be a dynamo.

I wonder if you're considered a prior holder of this card if your old green card was upgraded to gold?

lsquare

I actually agree with you on this. Seems like a pretty good card to get and might even be easier to get than a CSR since it’s a charge card.

My question is if AMEX is as generous as Chase’s definition of travel? Does all OTAs, transit, ferries, hotels, and travel agencies qualify as travel? If so, I could see this at least replacing CSP.

eddiehuang97

Yes. But not all travel places accept amex.

lsquare

Oh...you’re right. Aside from that, you sure the AMEX Green covers as much categories as CSP/CSR? It would be nice to see an in-depth comparison.