Global Card Relationship (fka Global Transfers) experiences
Feb 21, 2019, 4:34 pm
#466
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: LAX
Posts: 177
I did the mistake to apply online twice. I followed the "online" instructions at https://www.americanexpress.com/glob...ed-states.html and thought something went wrong since I didn't get the expected outcome, so I applied again the day after. My first two hard pulls in US, one too many...
Feb 21, 2019, 5:46 pm
#467
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Singapore
Programs: FB Gold
Posts: 59
My experience using global transfer.
Owner of French authorized user platinum (doesn't count but still, it's on file), gold charge on my name opened 3 months ago and a gold air france-klm charge opened 1 month ago.
Applied online using the pre-filled application that accesses international data while logged in to my French account. After being instantly refused I called new cards and got transferred to the global transfer service. The knowledgeable agent quickly sorted it out and approved my US gold charge card. No conference call with the bank or any hassle. Fast, efficient and not treated like 2nd class citizen/resident/alien for not having US credit history.
The entire process took 15 minutes from applying online to being approved.
Owner of French authorized user platinum (doesn't count but still, it's on file), gold charge on my name opened 3 months ago and a gold air france-klm charge opened 1 month ago.
Applied online using the pre-filled application that accesses international data while logged in to my French account. After being instantly refused I called new cards and got transferred to the global transfer service. The knowledgeable agent quickly sorted it out and approved my US gold charge card. No conference call with the bank or any hassle. Fast, efficient and not treated like 2nd class citizen/resident/alien for not having US credit history.
The entire process took 15 minutes from applying online to being approved.
May 7, 2019, 2:03 pm
#468
Join Date: Dec 2014
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold
Posts: 1,073
Financial review and global transfers
I am happy to report that if you transfer your membership to a country where you are blacklisted due to failing a previous financial review, you are very likely to get approved for another card in the country.
Jun 2, 2019, 10:10 am
#469
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: DL Silver, AA Gold
Posts: 7
US -> France/UK/Italy
Hi all,
New to this board. I'm starting business school soon and am looking ahead. During the second year, they let us do an exchange term abroad for a semester. Would it be possible for me to get a UK/France/Italy Amex Plat through Global Transfer while I'm a student in any of those countries? Just curious how stringent they are. From what I've read, Germany seems to be pretty lax, but not sure about the others. I've been with Amex since 2011, and I have had a US Amex Plat for ~2 years now.
Also, if I were to get an Amex Plat abroad, could I still keep the account open even after I finish my term and move back to the States?
Thanks!!
New to this board. I'm starting business school soon and am looking ahead. During the second year, they let us do an exchange term abroad for a semester. Would it be possible for me to get a UK/France/Italy Amex Plat through Global Transfer while I'm a student in any of those countries? Just curious how stringent they are. From what I've read, Germany seems to be pretty lax, but not sure about the others. I've been with Amex since 2011, and I have had a US Amex Plat for ~2 years now.
Also, if I were to get an Amex Plat abroad, could I still keep the account open even after I finish my term and move back to the States?
Thanks!!
Jun 2, 2019, 11:02 am
#470
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DXB
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, A3 Gold, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 2,811
Shouldn’t be a problem (provided that you’re a legal resident in that respective country) and yes, you should be able to keep the account open as residency verification is usually only done when you open the card.
If you don’t tell them that you moved back to the States, they won’t be able to know.
If you don’t tell them that you moved back to the States, they won’t be able to know.
Jun 2, 2019, 12:46 pm
#471
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Dubai, UAE
Programs: Avis - PP, Bonvoy - Plat, BA - Bro, Hilton - Dia, Miles&More - FTL, Skywards - Sil, Sixt - Plat
Posts: 258
I wouldn't describe Germany as lax... I had two UK Amex cards, and when I did a global transfer to Germany the process seemed much more convoluted, including having to do this "PostIdent" / "VideoPostIdent" thing in order to get the application to start being reviewed.
Jun 3, 2019, 2:38 am
#472
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: DL Silver, AA Gold
Posts: 7
Shouldn’t be a problem (provided that you’re a legal resident in that respective country) and yes, you should be able to keep the account open as residency verification is usually only done when you open the card.
If you don’t tell them that you moved back to the States, they won’t be able to know.
If you don’t tell them that you moved back to the States, they won’t be able to know.
Interesting. Have you heard anything about France/Italy's process?
Jun 3, 2019, 2:48 am
#473
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DXB
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, A3 Gold, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 2,811
Can't comment on France/Italy, but the German process being "convoluted" is simply a result of legislation.
German KYC/AML law requires financial institutions to verify their customers' identity. With American Express, you can't walk into a branch to show your passport and residence permit - as there are none.
In theory, they could do address verification via credit bureaus (SCHUFA etc.), but they can't/aren't allowed to verify tax IDs (whereas I believe US credit bureaus do that).
I'm sure you don't want anyone to be able to open bank accounts or credit cards in your name, simply because they found out your address. ;-)
So the only way to do it is PostIdent - which means you show your passport to an employee of any post office. Which is still a hassle, but at least there should be a post office even in small towns.
Or you can do this VideoIdent thing, which means you just wave your passport in front of your webcam, so you don't even have to leave the house.
(In theory, the German national ID cards are smartcards. So you could get a chip reader and use that for identification. But as Germans are paranoid when it comes to data privacy, almost no one has that feature enabled and so almost no bank cares to support it.)
Yes, it's more convenient in places like Scandinavia where you just log in your country's official identification system (BankID in Norway etc.) using your tax ID number and the bank pulls your address right from the tax office's official residency register. But after experiencing dictatorships twice in a century, Germany are a bitskeptical paranoid when it comes to centralized data storage.
German KYC/AML law requires financial institutions to verify their customers' identity. With American Express, you can't walk into a branch to show your passport and residence permit - as there are none.
In theory, they could do address verification via credit bureaus (SCHUFA etc.), but they can't/aren't allowed to verify tax IDs (whereas I believe US credit bureaus do that).
I'm sure you don't want anyone to be able to open bank accounts or credit cards in your name, simply because they found out your address. ;-)
So the only way to do it is PostIdent - which means you show your passport to an employee of any post office. Which is still a hassle, but at least there should be a post office even in small towns.
Or you can do this VideoIdent thing, which means you just wave your passport in front of your webcam, so you don't even have to leave the house.
(In theory, the German national ID cards are smartcards. So you could get a chip reader and use that for identification. But as Germans are paranoid when it comes to data privacy, almost no one has that feature enabled and so almost no bank cares to support it.)
Yes, it's more convenient in places like Scandinavia where you just log in your country's official identification system (BankID in Norway etc.) using your tax ID number and the bank pulls your address right from the tax office's official residency register. But after experiencing dictatorships twice in a century, Germany are a bit
Jun 4, 2019, 4:35 am
#475
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DXB
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, A3 Gold, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 2,811
Your first US card should ALWAYS be a true credit card, not a charge card tlike the Platinum. I made that mistake and even though I have had my US Plat for over a year, Chase did not approve me for the Sapphire Reserve.
I will now have to wait another year until my SPG credit card will have built enough credit for me.
I will now have to wait another year until my SPG credit card will have built enough credit for me.
Jun 4, 2019, 5:27 pm
#476
Join Date: Dec 2014
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold
Posts: 1,073
Your first US card should ALWAYS be a true credit card, not a charge card tlike the Platinum. I made that mistake and even though I have had my US Plat for over a year, Chase did not approve me for the Sapphire Reserve.
I will now have to wait another year until my SPG credit card will have built enough credit for me.
I will now have to wait another year until my SPG credit card will have built enough credit for me.
Just mentioning this for the sake of others reading this thread.
Jun 6, 2019, 5:08 am
#478
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: DL Silver, AA Gold
Posts: 7
Can't comment on France/Italy, but the German process being "convoluted" is simply a result of legislation.
German KYC/AML law requires financial institutions to verify their customers' identity. With American Express, you can't walk into a branch to show your passport and residence permit - as there are none.
In theory, they could do address verification via credit bureaus (SCHUFA etc.), but they can't/aren't allowed to verify tax IDs (whereas I believe US credit bureaus do that).
I'm sure you don't want anyone to be able to open bank accounts or credit cards in your name, simply because they found out your address. ;-)
So the only way to do it is PostIdent - which means you show your passport to an employee of any post office. Which is still a hassle, but at least there should be a post office even in small towns.
Or you can do this VideoIdent thing, which means you just wave your passport in front of your webcam, so you don't even have to leave the house.
(In theory, the German national ID cards are smartcards. So you could get a chip reader and use that for identification. But as Germans are paranoid when it comes to data privacy, almost no one has that feature enabled and so almost no bank cares to support it.)
Yes, it's more convenient in places like Scandinavia where you just log in your country's official identification system (BankID in Norway etc.) using your tax ID number and the bank pulls your address right from the tax office's official residency register. But after experiencing dictatorships twice in a century, Germany are a bitskeptical paranoid when it comes to centralized data storage.
German KYC/AML law requires financial institutions to verify their customers' identity. With American Express, you can't walk into a branch to show your passport and residence permit - as there are none.
In theory, they could do address verification via credit bureaus (SCHUFA etc.), but they can't/aren't allowed to verify tax IDs (whereas I believe US credit bureaus do that).
I'm sure you don't want anyone to be able to open bank accounts or credit cards in your name, simply because they found out your address. ;-)
So the only way to do it is PostIdent - which means you show your passport to an employee of any post office. Which is still a hassle, but at least there should be a post office even in small towns.
Or you can do this VideoIdent thing, which means you just wave your passport in front of your webcam, so you don't even have to leave the house.
(In theory, the German national ID cards are smartcards. So you could get a chip reader and use that for identification. But as Germans are paranoid when it comes to data privacy, almost no one has that feature enabled and so almost no bank cares to support it.)
Yes, it's more convenient in places like Scandinavia where you just log in your country's official identification system (BankID in Norway etc.) using your tax ID number and the bank pulls your address right from the tax office's official residency register. But after experiencing dictatorships twice in a century, Germany are a bit
Jun 6, 2019, 5:14 am
#479
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DXB
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, A3 Gold, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 2,811
It’s really just for ID verification. The post office or VideoIdent provider has nothing to do with your application.
All they do is let the bank know that you are indeed the person you’re claiming to be. Before that part has been completed, your application cannot be processed.
All they do is let the bank know that you are indeed the person you’re claiming to be. Before that part has been completed, your application cannot be processed.
Jun 20, 2019, 7:48 am
#480
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Dubai, UAE
Programs: Avis - PP, Bonvoy - Plat, BA - Bro, Hilton - Dia, Miles&More - FTL, Skywards - Sil, Sixt - Plat
Posts: 258
It’s really just for ID verification. The post office or VideoIdent provider has nothing to do with your application.
All they do is let the bank know that you are indeed the person you’re claiming to be. Before that part has been completed, your application cannot be processed.
All they do is let the bank know that you are indeed the person you’re claiming to be. Before that part has been completed, your application cannot be processed.