I’m pretty sure your calculator for this card isn’t factoring in the 15K MR point bonus for reaching $30K spend in a calendar year. Also, there’s nothing in the calculator to account for how much of your spend is on airline miles. While the airline miles may be harder to account for in your calculator, you might want to add a note about them in your review.
For instance, last year I had $25K of airline travel expenses, which is by no means the upper end for a lot of people. I just recently got this card, but if I had put all of that on this card, I would have earned 50K bonus MR points for a total of 75K MR points, just for my reimbursable business travel. So, for people who would put a lot of airline travel on the card, the 3x points feature is especially valuable and easily outweighs the $175 annual fee.
http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet
Hey Scott, thanks for the note! I think you’re right about the 15,000 annual point bonus. We’re looking into that now.
As for the airline bonus, it is hard to account for that in our calculator, but as you point out, it could be a big benefit for those who spend a lot of money on travel. We always have to make choices when designing our tools on how to keep things as simple as possible for our average user, but still effective for credit card power users, so suggestions and comments like yours are always helpful.
Even if we aren’t able to factor those into our calculations, the information you’ve provided should be valuable to anyone who decides to give this card a look. Thanks!
http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet
We did a bit more digging, and the offer that you are seeing (and that I saw when I checked) is exclusive to you, not to all users. The deal we advertise on our site is the one that is available to the public at large, but AmEx uses cookies to keep track of who you are, and may show you a different deal accordingly.
I’m guessing it is because you are already an AmEx customer, is that true?
Scott C
I am pretty sure that this wasn’t a bonus offer but is a standard feature of the card. If you look at the Rewards tab for the PR Gold Card on Amex’s site, it says Earn an extra 15000 bonus points when you spend $30,000 in a calendar year. It’s the third bullet under Golden opportunities to earn points. From the terms & conditions: To qualify your total purchases (net of credits for returns and disputes) charged to your Premier Rewards Gold Card must meet or exceed $30,000 from January 1 to December 31st. Cash and cash equivalent transactions (including balance transfers, convenience checks and cash advances), finance charges, fees and purchase credit adjustments are not eligible for qualification.
I was an Amex member a long time ago, but had cancelled my card and recently returned with this card. So I don’t think it was targeting me because of that relationship. I can’t say there wasn’t some other reason to receive a targeted offer, but I believe this is a standard feature.
http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet
It’s not a bonus offer, it’s just a different offer. Credit card companies typically offer multiple variations on their cards. I’m seeing the exact same offer as you in one browser, but if I click through in another browser, I see the offer that we’re displaying on our site.
We have confirmed with American Express that the offer we are displaying is correct. If you (or any of our other users) sees a better offer when they visit the site, I say jump all over it. An annual 15,000 bonus points for spending $30,000 seems a lot better to me!
Scott C
Thanks for the clarification. In your experience, do you see the best offers if you clear your cookies before going to a site. I’ve typically seen better bonus offers from cards if I clear my cookies first, but I haven’t paid attention to seeing whether other terms appear to change.
Anyway, your site is a great resource. Thanks for all the information.
http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet
Huh, I actually haven’t paid enough attention to know whether most offers are better or worse after clearing my cookies. Not all of them change, so it wouldn’t be a large enough sample size. Plus credit card companies tend to reward loyalty, and I have accounts with all the major issuers, so clearing my cookies would probably have the opposite effect.
Glad you like our site though, and keep the feedback coming!
Scott C
They do tend to reward loyalty, but they’re also looking to attract new business. It seems that if you are checking in on say Discover frequently, they are seeing that you are visiting their page looking at card offers, so they think you are already interested and can lure you in with a $50 cash offer on activation. But if you clear your cookies, you might see $100. This is only a theory and based on a very small sample. But I’ve had a couple times where I’ve seen someone post a new offer for a card that I am unable to see until I clear my cookies. Probably a YMMV scenario.
Wesley
I’ve been looking at this card. I agree with Scott C that the 15,000 bonus points for spending over $30,000 per calendar year is available to anyone. One thing I was wondering is that, you can transfer your points to the SPG program (I think 1:1) and if you spend more than $30,000 a year, doesn’t it make more sense to get this card than the SPG card?
ann @ merchant services
Very detailed and compelling! The information were clearly stated. And I wonder if I will get one.
