Boraxo

I expect that is sufficient for many of us who do not do MS Particularly as dining, travel, grocery, gas and a few other bonus categories are charged to other cards. Blue+ also has the benefit of no AF so you don't have to worry about whether perks > AF.

If you just want straight 2% cash there are plenty of cards that offer that without any hoops (e.g. Fidelity, CitiBonus) with no limits or AFs.

I don't disagree about the valuations of C/F international travel, and of course there are many who prefer cash. That's fine with me, leaves more award seats available. Pre-covid I earned a good chuck of RDM through actual BIS travel, and can only use them for (saver) awards. And of course awards can be cancelled and miles redeposited, which is a very important feature now. Cash ticket refunds can get stuck in vouchers with expiration dates.

WasKnown

I don’t MS (out of fear of being audited by the IRS, though I have come to meet people making hundreds of thousands of US dollars per year from MSing Amex lol). However, I do put business spend onto the card. $50K is really not a lot for most businesses in the US. For personal spend, $50K is probably reasonable (though it is a business card so YMMV).

Either way, I think we agree. I think the plat is great and the Amex ecosystem is the best (by far) for CC rewards. I also think that’s to be expected given the nature of Amex as a company vs. Chase and Citi. I don’t expect Amex’s leadership to change anytime soon.

I do wish the US could get a card like the Cobalt though. 5x on dining and groceries would be insane.

Boraxo

All excellent points. All my biz spend has to go on a company card, so yes I'm thinking personal spend even though it is technically a biz card LOL.

I think Chase UR has strong partners so I would rank my Chase UR as valuable as Amex MR. Not a fan of Citi, CapOne or others though that's probably just my prejudice.

It was interesting to find in my last personal spreadsheet that Amex Plat card perks > JPM Reserve perks. Of course that is in part due to the fact that I am not traveling much by air, so I have slashed the value attributed to lounge access and other travel benefits. The JPM-R card includes United Club access for my entire family which is huge at SFO.

Cheers

mia

Most? What is the source of this information? Many small businesses don't have $50,000/year in gross revenue, let alone $50,000 in expenses that could be put on a card.

https://blog.reviewpoint.com/what-is...usiness-owners


https://www.zenbusiness.com/blog/sma...-annual-sales/

WasKnown

Ya makes sense. $50K for non-bonuses personal spend is a reasonable cap for most ppl for sure.

For me, Hyatt is pretty much my only Chase transfer partner. I have too many United miles to feasibly use. Maybe I’ll take a look at Aeroplan but FrequentMiler hasn’t made me very confident in redemption options there. I think Citi TYP is pretty great rn with Turkish and AA. Def a step down below MR and UR when AA goes away/gets nerfed.

I just had a long discussion on the JPM Reserve card in a churning telegram chat. Not sure this is the appropriate thread for this but many of us have been able to get waived annual fees this year (either for new card holders or for existing card holders). Not sure how long that will be continued but it’s obviously well worth it while it’s free. In the end, I took my (solicited) invite because it has a SUB that is not impacted by the 1 sapphire / 48 month rule. I have lifetime United Club access through Lifetime United Global Services but tbh hate United Clubs. I have never seen food in one that was worth the calories lol.

Other marginal benefits include that it is a hidden line of credit. Not worth much tbh. For me, it’s just another SUB and a free CSR for a year (hopefully longer).

Yikes dude. That’s quite a fit just over one word: “most”. I think you’re being awfully pedantic over literally a single world lmao. Replace “most” with “many” if it really matters that much to you. Regardless, $50K is not a lot of spend… for MANY businesses in the US. Relax lol

FT

Does AMEX allow you to open a new one under a different dba and still collect 2x (maybe no SUB though)?

FT

4x w/ Gold ain't bad either. If you can max out Dining and Uber the card is $10/yr (with Offers probably take care of and then some).

WasKnown

Not sure. Probably not worth the Amex CC slot though. The 5 CC max per player is really limiting. I think my long-term strategy for myself is:

2x Bonvoy Brilliant (not sure if feasible?)
1x Bonvoy Business
1x Hilton Aspire
1x Delta Reserve

For other players, I will put all 5 slots into hotel cards (if possible).

Gold is definitely great. IMO 5x brings earnings to another level in terms of optimized spend as you could cash that out at 5.5% back. However, I just looked at the card more carefully and it looks like all f&B spending is capped at $30K, even for dining. The Gold is seemingly uncapped for restaurant spend so it’s probably better for me in the long run.

FT

Where's the $30k limit coming from. Restaurants are unlimited (US only; although Green pays 3x internationally). Dining is capped at $25k.

WasKnown

I was referring to the cobalt with the $30K cap which unfortunately applies to the entire category (dining included).

https://www.americanexpress.com/ca/e...tinations.html

The gold is probably better for me because they split up supermarkets (capped) and dining (uncapped) so I guess not having the Cobalt is not a huge loss.

geclub1

2x Bonvoy Brilliant is of course feasible. But why though? The 2nd BR card does not get you more elite nights (capped at 15 nights on personal side.

WasKnown

Not sure what the limitations are for getting duplicate cards on Amex. Would even 3 of the same card be possible?

I want the 50K FNCs! I’m aware of the EQN cap. 30 from the business and personal is already enough for me.

friedablass

I'm assuming that the businesses referred to here are side kicks or hobbies and not set up to be the primary source of income. The person either has another job or a spouse that is the breadwinner. There is no way that I can personally see that a business that only generates $50k in revenue has a sustainable net annual income that covers basic living expenses.

In my experience, someone who opens their own business in order for that business to generate enough income/net profit to live a median lifestyle for a couple (nothing luxurious) that business would normally need to generate a lot more than 50k in revenue and if you have kids obviously even if more.

For my business $50k would by far not cover my annual expenses- product costs, advertising, shipping, etc. So while 50k x 2 is nice, unlimited x 2 would be even nicer 🙂.

mia

USA median household income is under $70,000. A business that generates ~$50,000 could easily be the primary source of income for many US households. In any event, my point was that many small businesses do not have $50,000 in card expenses. This can be true even when business revenue is in the hundreds of thousands. Service businesses, for example, do not purchase inventory.

friedablass

How does $50k in gross revenue (which was what the post I quoted stated) translate into $50k of income? Do they have $0 in expenses? That is highly unlikely.

I don't know what type of business(es) is being referred to but normally a business with $50k gross revenue generates a fraction of that in net profit/income and in IMHO isn't enough to be a primary source of income.

Just to clarify, a business with $50k revenue to me is most likely just a side source of income. But a business with $50k in net profit (which usually means there is a few $100k in revenue) can be a primary income source.