Comments on: American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card: 15,000 Points Sign-Up Bonus + Double Points on Gas & Groceries

By: Risky

Risky — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:56:13 +0000

I signed up for this offer back in April, and I didn’t sign in using my existing AMEX account so they still gave me the full offer of 25k, but now, when I called them they said that my AMEX premier shares my membership reward # with my AMEX blue. Will I get the MR anyway? Why did they tie the 2 of them together? Customer Service said I’d need to confirm it with the MR department.

By: Mina

Mina — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:04:28 +0000

They can’t provide any valid promotion codes now, since AMEX doesn’t seem to be offering many bonus programs/fee waivers any more. A few days ago, most of them disappeared. The same is true of Citibank. Perhaps this is in response to the new Federal credit card regulations(?)

By: Lynda

Lynda — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:36:07 +0000

Nate & Brian,

How did you get the 50K offer? Do you have to get an offer in the mail to be eligible for it? Is there a promotion code you can share with the rest of us? Thanks

By: nate

nate — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:01:26 +0000

I meant Three Hundred and Seventy, not 270.

By: nate

nate — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:57:33 +0000

Wow.. I got a pleasant surprise from this offer. Instead of getting 15,000, I received 30,000 just for the signup bonus. I THINK they even gave me the 30,000 before I spent 1000.00. I just went to shop and redeem, and in the “specials” section of the MR website, they had bundles of 150.00 in gift cards for 11,500 instead of the full price of 15,000. Not much selection but it fit in with what I was looking for. I am getting TWO HUNDRED and SEVENTY dollars in gift cards for the 30,000 points:
2X Bundle of 50.00 GAP, 50.00 Olive Garden, 50.00 Nike – 23,000 points
50.00 Home depot – 5,000 points
2X 10.00 GAP – 2,000 points

SWEEEEEEEEET! I’m Rich Biotch!

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:43:35 +0000

What is with all the hate with amex? I have been an amex member for 10 years. I started out with the basic green card, then went to gold, then the new premier rewards card. I love amex, they have the best rewards program in the business and their customer service is excellent. For the $175 fee you also get (not mentioned in the article) roadside assistance (worldwide), car rental protection (worldwide), baggage insurance and extended warranty on certain electronics. Also not mentioned is amex has a bonus points website where you can get 3x-10x bonus points by shopping online at popular retailers. You also earn 2x points on hotel stays, cruises and vacation packages through their travel website, which my wife and I use a lot. Oh, also not mentioned is on their membership rewards site you can link your other rewards programs, so transferring points over is as simple as the click of a mouse. But hey, there is nothing wrong with visa, mc or discover. It is just a personal preference, and I prefer steak over ground round.

By: Brian #2

Brian #2 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:35:58 +0000

I’m not the same Brian that posted above, but I also received the same offer. I got it in the mail about two weeks ago and finally signed up today. It says very explicitly in very big letters on the page “50,000 points when you spend $500 by April 30, 2010.” There is a caveat of course, but it only says “You must charge $500 of eligible purchases between 2/1/10 and 4/30/10 to earn 50,000 bonus points [...] points will be credited 6-8 weeks after.”

I must be crazy, but doesn’t this mean that so long as I spent $500 in the next two months(which I obviously would have done regardless, with whatever credit card I have), that I get $500 free? If they try to rescind this offer, I’ll raise some hell!

By: Christian

Christian — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:04:04 +0000

Hey Brian, please share how it was that you got that offer. The link on this site results in 10,000 point offer. 50,000 points, no one should ignore that!

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:58:38 +0000

I just signed up but the offer was for 50,000 points and first year free. I could not pass that up.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:11:57 +0000

Good point Ryan. Thanks for pointing out the distinction. AMEX, I still love you.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:20:58 +0000

Actually if you are a charge cardmember then you’re right, you don’t get the free year. Your annual fee will be applied to the Premier fee. If you are a credit card member though you will get the free year.

That isn’t bait and switch, that is trying to get new customers. Card members that already use membership rewards know the value of the program so don’t need the free year to try it out.

By: Brotha Tech

Brotha Tech — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:48:56 +0000

Well this is our first AMEX card and we wanted our rewards to be as flexible as possible (don’t have one good plan for using the rewards yet) so this card seems like a good deal. We plan on doing allot of spending with this card, so we will see how good the rewards are after a year of so.

By: Mary M

Mary M — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:41:14 +0000

I saw the add in the WSJ for the new no-fee-for-first year gold card. While still an AMEX cardholder, I was prompted to use it when I signed up. Sure enough, as already mentioned, a fee for $175 showed up on my bill. After several phone calls, I believe I will have to cancel all AMEX cards and only then will AMEX waive the first year fee when signing up for the new gold card. This is such a bait and switch strategy, and only angers current card holders. We have owned an AMEX card since 1974 and found it valuable over the years when traveling (stolen purse, emergency travel, car damage).

By: Credit scores, credit cards, oh my… « Seeking Financial Liberty

Credit scores, credit cards, oh my… « Seeking Financial Liberty — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:19:07 +0000

[...] directly from his blog)… American Express is promoting a new charge card called the AmEx Premier Rewards Gold Card, which is different from their other Gold/Gold Rewards/Platinum/Precious Metal cards. Sign-up [...]

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:34:13 +0000

Also, here is my previous review of the Costco TrueEarnings AmEx:

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/arc.....eview.html

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:33:17 +0000

What rewards do you get with the Costco amex card?

By: Shane

Shane — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:45:08 +0000

We recently selected the Schwab 2% Visa for our new cashback card. It pays 2% on all purchases, no AF, no cap.

By my calculations it will give us more cash back (on about 25k annual CC spending) than any of the cards with more creative structures (eg Discover More with it’s 5/0.25/1 structure.

YMMV but do consider it. And if you really want an amex network card (for whatever reason) go for the Fidelity Amex, identical to the schwab visa. (Both are FIA/BofA cards)

By: Riskable

Riskable — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:37:47 +0000

Don’t forget the ultimate in membership rewards boosting: Buying $1 coins from the Franklin Mint. You can order $500 worth of coins at a time I think (with free shipping) and then just take them to the bank for deposit.

Note: I don’t condone just taking them to the bank… The point of the “order coins” program is to get $1 coins back into regular circulation. Use them to pay for stuff that needs cash (tolls, tips, etc).

By: Christian

Christian — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:23:38 +0000

don’t see why you should a $175 annual fee for a Amex charge card when you can get a Amex credit card for free.

Me neither. Well, expect I have washed, rinsed, and repeated these kinds of Membership Rewards deals many times over the years. AMEX really must make serious $ from these, because they continue to pay out good to both the new card member and they pay well in referral fees. On that note, Jonathan can’t say this, but I can, if you sign-up for this deal, please do it through his link so that you can give back a little to him and this site.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:08:52 +0000

I’ll stick with the Amex Truearnings card via Costco. I don’t see why you should a $175 annual fee for a Amex charge card when you can get a Amex credit card for free.

By: Jared

Jared — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:36:22 +0000

What type of Credit Score are they looking for to qualify for the Gold Charge card?

By: SavingEverything

SavingEverything — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:23:30 +0000

Some management leasing companies allow their renters to pay the monthly rents using credit cards. This can help you reach the spend limit. Also, you may be able to put the daycare, the SAT course, tuition (for those schools that still accept without a fee), and even your property taxes and income taxes (though there is a fee– around 2.5%). These help to reach the spending limits to get the yearly bonus points.
One thing that amex hasnt updated on their terms and conditions for the Membership Rewards program, is whether the rewards program is free or not. preferred rewards gold is on it; but not this premier rewards.

By: James

James — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:24:29 +0000

Watch out, you might get charged the first year fee if you already have a AMEX charge card. From the terms:

Pay no annual fee for the first year – then $175(1)

(1) Offer not available to existing consumer American Express Charge Cardmembers. Annual fee for the Premier Rewards Gold Card is $175.

By: 26 Best Money Offers from Other Financial Blogs - Finance Blog Carnival #4 | MaximizingMoney.com

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:28:47 +0000

[...] 3. American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card: 15,000 Points Sign-Up Bonus + Double Points on Gas &… [...]

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:42:28 +0000

General ideas to nock out those spending limits as soon as possible:

For the initial spending requirement, you can also prepay your cell phone, cable TV, and any other utilities like telephone that take credit cards. Any overpayment just gets applied to future bills. You can also buy grocery gift cards at a grocery you shop at (ex. Safeway cards at Safeway) and prepay that way.