notquiteaff

I think 2% or 2.625% cash back cards are great for saving a baseline amount without any further work. Those of us in this thread probably consider looking for good new signup bonuses and tracking/redeeming Amex/Chase offers to be part of the travel optimization hobby. Others don’t want another part time job.

mia

...but it may not beat it by enough to justify the $695 fee. Here's my idiosyncrasy. I don't care what conclusions others reach, but I am very interested in the reasoning and evidence they use to get there. When I ask this type of question it doesn't mean I disagree, it means there was a gap in the explanation that I'd like to understand.

Acid

Did any existing cardmember with renewal dates Jan or later get notice of higher fee in their July statement? My account anniversary is in Dec but the annual fee bills on Jan statement. I'm assuming I'll be hit with $695 fee.

July statement closed with notices about CS Invest with rewards, new benefits, centurion access changes but no mention of fee increase.

notquiteaff

Did you get this email last week?




my AF posts in late January.

txpenny

I can move the travel over to chase and save the $695. My sapphire reserve fee is already covered by dining.

gnomie

Below is an email that my AU received last week - they have a free gold card. It clearly states which benefits are "shared" with the primary card holder.

(sorry for the size, I had to edit and remove many of the images to get the file size small enough for FT requirements)

Super Mario

The AMEX gold would arguably be the best return on AMEX CB for me. People are attracted to 4 and 5x returns. However, I am curious how the actual math would look to most people. To have the Gold and Platinum is $945 in AFs. If we're talking about a 1-2x difference between other cards, that is quite the spend to get there. While I wouldn't be mad at a better grocery return, some of us buy most of our stuff in warehouse clubs or superstores where this does no good. Heck, I spent more on Lyft the past month than I did in grocery stores. CIC gets me 7.5% on recurring charges like internet, TV streaming, and cell phone. That's without having to redo my plans to work around some "credit".

It's tough to group all of the spending habits of "regular people." Everyone spends their money differently. Some people would be legitimately better with a free card. Some people don't even know where they spend their money. Some are missing out on big rewards for multiple reasons. As much as people hate to hear this, the 4 and 5x points are largely for theater. Your average person isn't cleaning up nearly as much as they think they are.

Acid

I got the email, but prior rumors were that July statement will include the official notice of fee increase. Cardmember agreement also mentions $550 still. So does a December anniversary but Jan statement AF post date mean we are still considered as Dec 'renewal'?

notquiteaff

Hmm, that’s an interesting point. The screenshot of my email talks about anniversary renewal date. What’s the definition of that - the date on which the annual fee posts, or the actual anniversary of the opening date of the account? My AF posts apparently at the end of the January billing cycle near the end of Jan, but that statement always has some trx from December, so I presumably opened my account in December.

I haven’t received my July statement yet, so unfortunately I can’t answer your actual question.

Acid

I'm assuming there will be many like us here - 'triple dip' season folks who opened their cards in Dec with AF billed in Jan. The 'renewal' date is not clear.
Wondering if anyone with Feb-June AF bill date has their cardmember agreement reflecting $695 fee

notquiteaff

I just chatted with Amex CS and they confirmed Jan XX as my renewal date.

festriaqua

When does the $200 travel credit reset?

Zorak

See the T&C:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...num/terms.html

the credit is "$200 per calendar year", so Jan 1-Dec 31. Supposedly the date of the transaction is the one that "counts" (not when it posts) but at least one person reported otherwise in the DL-specific thread (I don't closely follow the others), so best not to cut it close if you want to be sure.

EDIT: sorry, I had the airline fee credit in my mind by default, but it seems like you were asking about the new-ish $200 travel credit.

jamesteroh

One benefit they could add is to cover Nexus

Diplomatico

Be better if it was for Lexus.

"I named my daughter Alexis because that's the car I could afford if I didn't have children".

(Think about it for a minute.)