Braindrain

Yeah, the $50/yr fee for additional cards really suck. Sucks even more when the Amex Aerogold has 2 free supp cards.

I also applied and was approved. It's worth a try for the 1st year. We'll see how it goes after that...

cko64

http://www.americanexpress.com/canad...lp_11_en.shtml

Just applied and approved in 60 sec.

Vasyl

I was not instantly approved. I had to call - csr said that I could not have 3 credit cards with Amex. Bye-bye TrueEarnings.

Vasyl

+1

OTO-HNS

Bizarre application... the "First Name" box isn't large enough for 'Christopher'. Guess it's a pretty obscure and uncommon name...

CDNtravler

I was hoping the card would come with out of province medical insurance but alas, its only medical referral service. The CIBC aerogold card has this feature and helps make up for the annual fee. Before this, I bought an out of province travel insurance policy for around $110.00. The CIBC card also has trip interruption insurance which Amex doesn`t appear to (but appear similar with respect to flight delay and lost baggage coverage).

dingmah

Weird... I was not approved right away, so I called and the CSR said she talked to the application department, and the successful applicants will be processed by midnight tonight.

So basically... wait 7-10 business days for it in the mail.

ericw

I was approved but DARN! I failed the infamous Transunion ID check questions! How did that happen???!!! The AMEX agent couldnt help despite that I have an existing AMEX card for 5 years! Now I have to mail in a $1 cheque. This is ridiculous!

bacan

Wow! I guess the card has launched, at least as far as SPG is concerned. (The Amex page is still showing the pre-launch information.) Also, 11,000 seems like a weird number to me. Don’t get me wrong, 11,000 is certainly better than 10,000, but is there a reason for it?

I think it’s important to say great job to Amex for getting this card out within the timeframe that they committed to back in December. I think they’ve also done a super job designing the website. I’m also happy to see that this card has a decent travel accident, baggage and flight delay insurance package. ^

However, by way of some constructive criticism, I’d just like to point out that the new card does not have any of the following features, which are all standard on the Visa Infinite cards offered by RBC, TD and CIBC, all for the same $120 annual fee:
- trip interruption insurance (TD also offers cancellation insurance)
- travel medical for short trips
- 24 hour concierge service
- complementary TabletPlus membership
- no over limit fee (in contrast, the Amex card hits you with $29 if you go over your limit)

How do Starwood and Amex hope to attract current Visa Infinite customers with a card that is not only less widely accepted but doesn’t come with these benefits?

I will apply and I'm really looking forward to using this card! However, for now I'll be keeping my Visa Infinite, and I guess I will rethink things in a year's time.

bacan

Keep in mind the T&C for the 11,000 bonus point offer:

"Offer valid for applications received by American Express by May 31, 2010 through the links provided within this webpage and other select communications from SPG.com in conjunction with the RSVP code provided. This offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Account must be in good standing. To qualify for the 11,000 bonus Starpoints, you must have at least $1,000 in net purchases posted to your account on or before your three month anniversary date."

Braindrain

Thanks for the heads up. Interestingly enough, to get the normal 10K bonus, all you need to do is run one charge through.

One thing I do miss about the MBNA SPG MC, they had a great picture. I got questions and compliments everywhere. Something tells me I'm not going to get the same reactions with this card.

caribbeansun

+1

I also called - oh there's nothing wrong with the application, you'll just have to wait for us to review it in 10 business days.

No doubt due to the fact that I couldn't enter full details in a number of their fields due to character limitations that wouldn't even allow me to enter my full address, my occupation or employer name - nice way to start, geez...

Oh, and as I've become more aware of who does and doesn't take Amex I thought it was interesting that the service department at Lexus and my insurance company only take Visa and MC.

drwilliams

Cannot have three credit cards or total cards including charge cards?

Altaflyer

Unimpressed. The lack of out of country medical, a value of approximately $65 for me makes this card cost $185 as compared to the premium VISA cards. This is just very poor value for a card that features limited acceptance. I will take the 10,000 points but will not be renewing unless they lower the fee.

Vasyl

You can have two credit cards AND two charge cards but you cannot have 3 credit cards.