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Originally Posted by JapanFlyerT
(Post 37478896)
That is the card, and with the 45 elite plus 3 free night certs meant platinum was effortless. Add in well-timed leisure travel and titanium was in reach. However, in October AMEX JP raised the annual fee to ¥82,500, reduced some earnings, plus increased spend requirements from ¥1,500,000 to ¥4,000,000. On the plus side they raised the free night cert from 50-75,000.
I may downgrade next year after I get my cert, which will mean just 5 elite from my Japan card in the future and a goal of platinum. Three more years and I will have the lifetime plat. To be honest I really don’t see much difference between plat and titanium. |
Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
(Post 37480534)
I am most certainly going to downgrade the Japan Amex Premium, if not even cancelling it entirely. The benefits for 82K yen is just not good enough, and i am still not convinced that I am better off with the standard, rather than to diverting the spend to JAL Cards.
I am not quite done with stays for the year, but I am at 50 paid, 13 redeemed, 20 from double nights, 15 from Amex for a total of 98 nights and 11K spend. Another 5 paid nights coming before 31.12.
Originally Posted by JapanFlyerT
(Post 37480558)
Agreed. ¥50,000 more in annual fees for a cert that is worth 75,000 instead of 50,000 is a joke. The 15 elite nights are nice, and making Titanium in reach meant an extra 35,000 cert, but still not worth it.
I too am on the fence with the standard. The ¥2,500,000 spend is doable, but the annual fee is still on the high side, and with the strong dollar I prefer to use US cards. On the other hand, the added hassle of applying for another Japan card is something to consider. Shame the spend requirement for Ambassador is so high... They did have a retention offer ready, spend 300,000 yen within 2 month of paying the renewal, and get 30,000 points. Pretty miserly in my opinion. I do wonder if they don't see quite an impact to the number of card holders. |
77 nights. $16,093.
No promos, no credit cards. |
16 nights
15 from credit card 1 from free nigth certificate 0 spend on nights Fallen ambassador Quite a bit of spend from dining in hotels regularly Sad at how bad the experience for Lifetime Titaniums have become that so many of us barely stay in Marriotts now. I had 130 nights in Hyatt last year.bi usually do 10-20 paid nights in Marriott a year since 2018 but 2025 90% of my travel was with family and suites were necessary |
20 or so nights, $3,700 spend. More than I would like to with MAR these days given meager benefits and general program downtrend.
But LTT a nice backup for when I have conferences in said hotels, or the occasional leisure stay (did have a nice one at the Naka Island). Legacy Starwood Lux Collections would be the only properties I would seek out. |
Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
(Post 37546355)
The decision was made, the Japan Bonvoy Amex is now history for me. I just could not see benefits in keeping the standard card either. Sure I loose some Bonvoy points from hotel stays, but that either goes to JAL points or some Points I might find interesting.
They did have a retention offer ready, spend 300,000 yen within 2 month of paying the renewal, and get 30,000 points. Pretty miserly in my opinion. I do wonder if they don't see quite an impact to the number of card holders. I plan to let mine renew, collect the elite nights and 75,000 cert (already made the 2025 spend at the lower requirement), then downgrade. I was told they prorate the annual fee. I still need help getting enough elite nights for a couple more years for lifetime platinum. |
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