Questions and Answers

Dear Lucky
I’m about to hit my 10000 bonus for the year on my Amex gold card. by which time I should have about 100k reward points. (Do they pay that straight away or do I have to wait till renewal time?)
I’m thinking I’d like to then cancel the card, wait six months and sign up for the platinum card and get the sign up bonus.
So I’ll have to transfer my Amex points to an airline, right?. I’ve got 31k QA points(gold soon to be platinum), and about 21k BA points(Blue), negligible Flying Blue points.
Do I hold out for a transfer bonus offer? Should I wait for BA avios?
What to do?

Hi Kev, how long have you had the card? With AmEx getting far more aggressive about churning I would keep it open for at least a year and then close it during the window after your anniversary when you will get a full refund. If you don’t have a current need for the points you would be better off downgrading the card to a no fee option and preserving your MR points. They will become transferable again once you open another eligible card like the Platinum..

Also in my experience MR points can post before the end of the statement. You can check progress at membershiprewards.com.

This is the original poster, KevQAFF by the way, I remembered my login details!

Thanks for the reply Gaurav,
I’ve had the card for 5 years now, it renews in October so it’s a bit late for the full refund of the fee.
Downgrading the card will not help me as my goal is to qualify for the platinum card [I]sign up bonus[/I] which you cannot get if you hold another membership reward card of any kind (centurion green, gold or platinum).
I think I have to shift the Amex MR points to an airline. So the question is, should I wait for any one world transfer bonus, should I wait for a BA Avios transfer bonus or is there some other option

Ah, OK. I’m a little spoiled living in MA where we can still cancel and receive a prorated annual fee.

I’m not actually sure of the veracity of your statement that you cannot get the sign up bonus if you hold another MR card. Unless something has changed very recently I don’t think that’s the case. I would double check the veracity of that before making any transfers. Also I would try to get the 100k Plat offer unless you need to get the card for other reasons..

I assure you it is correct, it’s posted on TLFL, head for points and I called Amex myself to check. Also, yes, the point of my post is to empty my MR Amex account, cancel the card, wait six months, then apply for the Platinum card and get the sign up bonus.

Do you happen to have a link?

I know I’ve received sign up bonuses for a MR card while holding another MR card–for e.g. Everyday and Platinum and other combos. They are all regarded as unique products.

[URL]https://www.headforpoints.com/2019/03/22/new-american-express-sign-up-bonus-rules/[/URL]

So I’ll transfer my MR points to BA Avios then get one of the Amex BA cards, wait two years and switch to Amex platinum.
Amex have shot themselves in the foot here.

Ahhh–you have the UK version! That’s the source of the confusion. Sorry, I’m not familiar at all with the rules for Blighty!