February 26th, 2010
New AMEX Charge Card: Premier Rewards Gold Card!
Update 2: In order to be able to see and apply for the Premier Rewards card (as opposed to just upgrading and not getting the signup points) you may need to delete your browser’s cache and cookies. After deleting the cache and cookies you should see the 15,000 point offer. (Which has actually paid out 30,000 points for numerous readers)
Update: A number of people have emailed me and posted on the dansdeals forums that they have received 30,000 AMEX MR points after applying for this card…so how many points did you get from it?
Originally posted on 10/27/09:
AMEX Premier Rewards Gold Charge Card Linky
This is a brand new card offering from AMEX. You should get the signup bonus for this card even if you have had other AMEX cards in the past. (Generally speaking I have never had a problem churning AMEX charge cards and have gotten multiple signup bonuses on the same AMEX charge card in the past)
The card comes with 15,000 AMEX MR points after you spend $1,000 on the card within the first 3 months of having the card. Those points can generally be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to these airlines or at varying ratios to these hotel programs.
You get 3 points for every dollar spent on airfare, 2 points for every dollar spent on gas or groceries, and a point per dollar everywhere else.
You also get 15,000 bonus MR points for spending $30,000 in a calendar year.
The card also comes with a myriad of other buyer protections and insurances.
The annual fee is currently waived for the first year, so go on and grab those signup bonus points while this card is still free for the first year!
October 27th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
dan, do you think this is better than spg?
October 27th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
@joe:
For a signup bonus it’s great.
For airline tickets it’s for sure better than SPG.
For gas/groceries it may or may not be better than SPG depending on how you value MR Points versus Starpoints.
I’d probably peg MR points at a value of 1.7 cents per point and SPG at about 2.5 cents per point.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
since its a charge card can you spend it in places that would normally count as cash advance (such as money orders, travellers checks, etc) or is it the same rules as credit card?
October 27th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Can MR points be transferred to any hotel programs?
October 27th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
@Mordy:
Yes, I’ve updated the post with a link.
Also occasionally AMEX runs specials for a bonus 50% on transfers to all hotel programs.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Hi Dan,
How do you churn these cards?
I already have a Amex Rewards Plus…do I keep it and get a new one, or transfer to the Premier?
In the past, with transfer one does not get the promo points or miles.
Plus, what happens to the fee i’ve already paid for the current card?
Thanks for your advice.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
@John:
Keep what you have and apply for a new one.
If you cancel a card that you paid a fee for you will get a pro-rated refund.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
what’s SPG?
October 28th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
@dealchapper:
Starwood (Preferred Guest)
October 28th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I have the Rewards Plus Gold for 8-9 years now, so I just applied and got approved for the Amex Premier, my question is for my credit standing, how will it affect it if I close my current card? (which has a nice long history, and replace it with a brand new one which has no history).
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I just recently got the amex spg and am working toward spending $15,000 in 6 months. Can I open this card and have two diff acounts till I earn the 15,000 on this card and then merge them to my amex spg? Am I eligible for this if I currently have a open Amex SPG account?
January 11th, 2010 at 12:26 am
why transfer to CO??
January 11th, 2010 at 12:46 am
@bb:
They give me the most flexibility by far.
Sure if you want to use them specifically for a certain place (Israel, etc.) there may be better places to park your miles.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:14 am
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
And to Israel, where is the better place tpo transfer to?
January 11th, 2010 at 2:15 am
how do you et 6000 ba miles for 1000 Amex?
January 11th, 2010 at 2:27 am
what is credit card churning????
January 11th, 2010 at 7:07 am
The terms and conditions on the card makes it sound that the 3x miles are only for
US based carriers. Anybody know the list of which carriers are eligible?
January 11th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Dan,
is it 6,000 BA for every 1,000 MR? or just a one time thing?
January 11th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Just got approved for this card. I currently have a amex green just to hold onto my MR points to transfer into miles. I am thinking of cancelling that card and just keeping this one since it is free the first year and this way still hold on to my MR points. Any thoughts on that?
January 11th, 2010 at 10:50 am
hi dan
how can i get 6k ba miles for 1k amex points?
January 11th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
If you transfer any amount of your amex points to BA, you get a bonus 5k. 1k is the minimum transfer.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Mendel asks a great question, one that is usually ignored.
These are “hard inquiries” on your credit standing, you can see that when you check your credit rating.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
It seems that there’s a 175 dollar annual fee after the first year. Do u recommend cancelling it within the first year?
January 11th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
What’s the definition of Churning a credit card?
also, if i’d like to get my first (rewards) credit card which is the best to get? (i’d like to wait with starwood untill i need to spend $15,000 within 6 months)
January 11th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Can you tell us how to get 6k ba points for 1k starwoods?
January 11th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
can you have 2 charge cards at once? (this plus plat? 2 gold?)
can you combine 2 charge cards into 1? (a 1st year one and a paid one-to get fee free)?
January 11th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
@Dan/Ctownbochur: cant u get to Israel for 50k thru alitalia flying CO??
January 11th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
you can transfer 25k to flying blue, for a economy to israel promotion right no with FB
January 11th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
what are ba miles?
January 11th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Dan, I think you need to clarify for people that you live in Cleveland where Continental has a major hub. For Chicago, Continental is not so attractive. Or is it?
January 11th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
breaking news: now u can pay ur taxes with amex membership reward points! yipee
January 12th, 2010 at 12:29 am
@sam:
You can only do it once per AMEX MR account, just go to the MR section and it mentions the offer.
@mayer:
Opening and closing credit cards for the purpose of earning multiple signup bonuses.
@BitterJew:
Probably all US based carriers
@Schneur:
One time 5,000 point transfer bonus.
@Leo:
Opening this card sounds like a good strategy to earn more MR points and keep your MR account alive.
@sam:
Yes.
@CholentFresser:
Starwood is by far the best mileage currency out there. Get that card now and if in the future you have large purchases you can always open it again for the 15K bonus.
@itch:
You can’t.
@anon:
You can have multiple charge cards, but there is no combining or charge cards-they don’t even have credit limits to apply.
You need to have one charge card open to keep your AMEX MR account alive.
@$$$:
No, Continental moved to Star Alliance and no longer partners with Alitalia.
@mendy:
Yes you can, but fuel surcharges will apply and dates are limited.
@mr:
British Airways.
@Joe:
No connection. Continental miles are extremely valuable now that they are in the Star Alliance. If you’re in Chicago you can use their miles on United or 30 other airlines if you so desire. Plus they have no fuel surcharges like foreign airlines and no evil Starnet award blocking like United has.
People, check out http://www.dansdeals.com/forums for a much better and easier format to discuss all of these issues!
January 12th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Hi Dan,
I cant seem to find a link anywhere on your site for the 25K SPG Business Card offer does it still exist?
Thanks!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Dan, I just got a great deal from amex. Add an additional card and get 2500 bonus mr points up to five cards for a total of 12500 just did it for me and wife! That’s 25,000 points with no new accounts and no credit inquiries on my credit report! Call them at 1-800-354-4763 rsvp: 698H should work for any amex gold mr account. Check it out dan let us know the scoop.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
they now offer 10000 bomus points after two purchases
February 21st, 2010 at 4:01 pm
@mendy: can you explain in simple english a way to use spg points to get to israel for 25000 spg points
February 21st, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I have the Rewards Plus Gold for 8+ years now, so I applied and got approved for the Amex Premier, my question is for my credit standing, how will it affect it if I close my current card? (which has a nice long history, and replace it with a brand new one which has no history).
February 21st, 2010 at 5:04 pm
@Mendel:
Charge cards aren’t great for building credit because they have no credit limits so they don’t help your overall credit utilization.
Do you have other cards that are old as well?
February 21st, 2010 at 8:10 pm
I just got approved but it says on the aPPLICtion only 15000 points after 1000 dollars. How do u get 30000?
February 21st, 2010 at 9:25 pm
@izzy:
Yup, that’s what the app says, but a number of people wound up getting 30K!
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:20 am
@Dan:
So tell us…did you get 30k?
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I was not able to determine based on previous comments. If I have a Amex Gold Card for a few years, is it worth changing to the Premier Rewards?
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
@Ari:
Based on people getting 30K AMEX points, definitely! I have a few gold/plat cards and just applied for this one!
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
so does that mean change, apply for a new one or cancel??
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:55 pm
You don’t get the full bonus points for changing card types.
Just apply for a new one.
February 22nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
now what do I do about the yearly fee on my other credit card? I dont wnat to cancel because thats no good for my credit card. Correct?
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
@Ari:
Cancelling a charge card has a very small negative affect as they have no defined credit lines.
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:01 pm
I can confirm (like I did in the forum) that I received 30,000 MR points less than two months after signing up for this card and not even spending $1000. My only question is, can I call them after I spend $1000 and ask for an additional 15,000 points?
Keep it up Dan!!
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:36 pm
@Leo:
That would be awesome…definitely worth spending $1K to try to get 16K more points…46K total AMEX points would be crazy!
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:34 pm
@Dan/Ctownbochur:
Yes I do have plenty but this is my oldest card.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Anyone knows what bureau Amex will pull the inquiry? Thanks!
February 27th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
I only see 10,000 now, are the 15,000 links gone?
February 28th, 2010 at 12:47 am
@Daniel:
Delete your browser’s cache and cookies and try again, you should get the 15,000 link.
February 28th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Amex pulls experian.
March 1st, 2010 at 3:38 pm
just got my 30k!!!! before even getting my first statement
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:39 am
@itch:
Awesome!
Did you even use the card at all?
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
@dan:
Let me clarify. I did spend a thousand on the card but my first statement hasn’t printed yet and the 30k is already in my MR account. I’m wondering if I will get another 15k when my statement prints. I just ordered one for wife too! 30k is hard to pass up.