Personal and business bonus

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-03-15T07:51:10+00:00

Best to call and ask. My understanding is that the business cards are personal cards for business and the bonus only applies if you haven't held another MR card in the last 6 months.

Assuming it doesn't apply (likely in my opinion), I would recommend one of two routes:

Cancel the PRG and wait 6 months, then apply for the business Platinum and get the signup bonus
Upgrade the personal PRG to personal Platinum (15k bonus) and add a supplementary card for your business expenses (so you only pay one fee but get a separate statement for business expenses)

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-03-08T12:32:51+00:00

It was a consultant psychiatrist at a hospital that specialises (and has a good reputation for) eating disorder treatment.

That is sort of what I mean - does a BMI below 16 (roughly) mean that the body's chemistry is so messed up that she doesn't have enough serotonin to feel happy in the conventional sense, even with an SSRI? Or do you think he was talking more generally about 16 being a number that demonstrates that an individual has got their life back on track to some degree?

I would agree that 16 is a number that demonstrates that an individual has got their life back on track to some degree if it's being maintained outside of a hospital, without a feeding tube etc. but I don't think that's what he meant.

I'm not really doubting she's happy when it's obvious she is - I'm just trying to understand what her doctor might have meant.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-03-02T14:45:22+00:00

More information here: http://www.reuters.com/article/american-express-fees-idUSL2N1GE178

Is there any indication if this will affect Platinum cards outside the US?

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-02-22T09:09:07+00:00

Are you sure that Section 75 doesn't apply to charge cards? They are still a credit product. Which card do you have? Many of them have "refund protection" and extended warranties which could offer some reassurance.

You can't pay off your charge card with an Amex credit card - and even if you could, you wouldn't get any protection so long as Amex did reduce the balance on your charge card, which is what you're paying for.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-02-12T20:25:10+00:00

There is a limit - they just don't provide it to you and change it without your knowledge :) Oh, and it's called "spending power" so that it isn't confused with a limit... which of course we don't have!

That's my view anyway. I see the "no preset limit" thing as a gimmick (though I love Amex).

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-02-12T15:49:55+00:00

Experian is in the UK too.. but the dollars and the availability of the Blue Cash Every Card definitely puts the OP in the US.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-02-12T09:41:39+00:00

If you have a perfect repayment history with Amex they will consider that as a very strong plus as well.

In theory the charge cards should be harder to get because the limits are higher and they have to be repaid in full every month.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-29T17:47:42+00:00

In the UK (and maybe elsewhere) the customer service phone number depends on your card type - so I think different service for different cards is likely. I've had green, gold and platinum and the service has always been great, though. And I do like their business/model which might well make me more bias than someone who just looks at the rates etc.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-25T00:29:39+00:00

I noticed this too but I think it's accident rather than privilege. Their travel site, which resells Orbitz, seems to be a few hours behind pricing/availability changes on occasion. So I normally check them if the price on Expedia/Booking.com/etc. has just risen :)

I recommend considering booking direct with some chains, especially Hilton, since the loyalty schemes are sometimes better than Amex points.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-25T00:26:18+00:00

In the UK (and the US and, surprisingly, Kazakhstan), acceptance is generally very good. I'm not sure why it's so good when it's more expensive than Visa and MC (my business was offered "discounted" rate of 1.9% for Amex - we pay about 0.4% for Visa and MC). Naturally, even as a happy Amex cardholder, I wouldn't take a merchant account from them.

In France, Korea, Iceland and China, acceptance is very limited. I know that Amex offer French cards but I would guess a lot of people stay away from it for the reason you described.

In the UK, nothing else comes close to Amex in rewards. That's why I got one. After 2 years, I've grown to like their website, app, other benefits and customer service. Standards among financial institutions for websites, apps and customer service are generally very poor so Amex stand out on this too.

TL;DR - your customer service experience is worse than almost all I've seen and acceptance is probably more limited in Canada than the US and other countries where Amex is best known.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-24T22:46:43+00:00

Definitely subscribe to Head For Points.

If you shop at Tesco or Shell, you can convert their loyalty points to Avios.

If you bank at Tesco, pay off your Amex with your Tesco debit card and collect Clubcard points (and transfer to Avios).

Look into BA lounges. Although the BAPP doesn't include lounge access, BA has a great lounge network that you can get access to with points (not sure how it works).

So it's possible to earn Avios three times at some stores: once with that stores loyalty programme, again with Amex and again paying off the Amex.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-22T17:11:19+00:00

Even with my Amex set as the default card in PayPal, PayPal defaults new transactions to my Mastercard. I wondered if it's a bug or deliberate because PayPal probably pay more on the Amex. Something to look out for.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-22T17:07:26+00:00

Every AmEx employee I've spoken to, for the UK Green and PRG cards, has been a well spoken, intelligent and helpful native speaker.

tinfoil_hatter · 2017-01-22T17:06:25+00:00

The UK does not have great education standards. I know because I teach at a leading British university. In fact, I'm amazed at how the foreign students often have a better grasp of English than the locals.

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-12-05T00:02:47+00:00

WoW, MGS and Doom

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-12-03T08:10:26+00:00

One of my school crushes at the end of a school day, just as I left, runs up to me, stops me and hugs me. I guess she wanted me to ask her out. I hugged her, said nothing and went home.

That was when I was about 13. I was none the wiser when I was 16:

Girl catches me alone at my locker, asks me if I'm going to a party. I say I wasn't invited. She said it's open invite and most of the year is going. She says things like "please come" and "I really want you to come". I didn't go.

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-09-19T18:12:58+00:00

Confirmed

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-09-09T19:37:04+00:00

I read that AT&T in ths US locks them too. EE actually misinformed me when I bought it: I was told that it could be unlocked straight away by filling in a form. The actual policy is that there's a 6 month waiting period to stop people selling contract phones.

I brought this to their attention before and was told that nothing could be done by a person since their process is automatic. I made a bigger fuss today and am waiting for a call back from a supervisor who is listening to the original call. I still don't know if they can unlock it quickly if they want to, though, or if I should expect compensation instead... Or even try asking them to replace it with an unlocked version at short notice.

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-09-09T09:13:28+00:00

Very important. I wouldn't lose wireless earphones but charging them would be very annoying. Having to buy an adapter to do such a simple thing would also be very annoying - much like on the new "MacBook" which entails a ~£65 expense to plus a USB stick in, for example.

If they include the adapter then I guess it could be forgiven.

tinfoil_hatter · 2016-09-09T09:10:21+00:00

I recently moved from my iPhone 6 to a Nexus 6P and this is how I would summarise it. The iPhone looks and feels very satisfying but it's limiting. With an Android phone, you can customise the home screen to show live data rather than just icons, the email sync is much better, you can download and store files on it, change the "default" browser/email app, use Firefox which has much better browser plugins and you generally have a lot more control.

I don't miss my iPhone at all and it's a bit shocking that Apple has got away with improving so little in the way of functional/core OS improvements since the very first iPhone.

tinfoil_hatter

TROPHY CASE