439.9% Representative APR

callum9999

artyboy said:

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

It's an interesting point though - I don't know if it would be economically viable for Amex, but if (say) they cut the hotel credit to £200 and offered fee free foreign transactions, I wonder if that would make it a more attractive 'all rounder' card for travellers...

It's major market is people who travel a lot for business - people who will be expensing the purchases so won't care about FX charges.

I couldn't imagine an increase in use by those who do care would outweigh that revenue loss.

Jasonh2015

It's surprising, I've had one since 2012 and couldn't believe they changed it to a credit card. I like the flexibility of a charge card, and it's supposed to be a premium card. I think making it a credit card will turn people off.

DullGreyGuy

Doshwaster said:

Steve_Tomlin said:

American Express Platinum card. I thought this must have been a typo on the TV advert. But it’s not. Isn't this higher than payday loans?

Just shows that the APR measure doesn't work for payday loans or premium credit cards.

Payday loans are designed to be short term but the APR extrapolates the cost over a whole year. Cards have to include the annual fee in their advertised APR even though it isn't related to the cost of borrowing. If you pay off your credit card in full each month then you won't pay any interest regardless of the APR. It's then up to you to decide whether the fee is worth it. 

Before Natwest redesigned their "premier" offering their Natwest Black credit card used to have a fee of a few hundred pounds and their website had a bit of a rant about APRs and how their product isnt designed for those running a balance of £1,200 

WillPS

callum9999 said:

artyboy said:

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

It's an interesting point though - I don't know if it would be economically viable for Amex, but if (say) they cut the hotel credit to £200 and offered fee free foreign transactions, I wonder if that would make it a more attractive 'all rounder' card for travellers...

It's major market is people who travel a lot for business - people who will be expensing the purchases so won't care about FX charges.

I couldn't imagine an increase in use by those who do care would outweigh that revenue loss.

Surely that'd be The Business Platinum card?

callum9999

WillPS said:

callum9999 said:

artyboy said:

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

It's an interesting point though - I don't know if it would be economically viable for Amex, but if (say) they cut the hotel credit to £200 and offered fee free foreign transactions, I wonder if that would make it a more attractive 'all rounder' card for travellers...

It's major market is people who travel a lot for business - people who will be expensing the purchases so won't care about FX charges.

I couldn't imagine an increase in use by those who do care would outweigh that revenue loss.

Surely that'd be The Business Platinum card?

No because that's for businesses. Plenty of places don't issue you business credit cards but expect you to pay yourself and claim it back.

Whether in reality the typical card user still falls under this I have no idea though!

callum9999

Jasonh2015 said:

It's surprising, I've had one since 2012 and couldn't believe they changed it to a credit card. I like the flexibility of a charge card, and it's supposed to be a premium card. I think making it a credit card will turn people off.

What's less flexible about the credit card?

The only thing I was aware of was the theoretically unlimited credit limit, but given they now have hidden limits on the charge card I'm not sure if theres much difference? I've never had one though so perhaps there's something I've missed?

CKhalvashi

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

Yes, but £595 a year?

The only things I'd use (and I'm sure many others) with that is the insurance and the lounge access. Insurance is bundled with a bank account for us (but probably would be about £150/year) and a Loungekey is bundled in with a credit card, which for anyone who doesn't meet these eligibility requirements for a free card is £255 a year for 2 people, or about 6 visits per person to make this card on this feature alone better than the free one. Not sure what this one retails at independently.

artyboy

CKhalvashi said:

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

Yes, but £595 a year?

The only things I'd use (and I'm sure many others) with that is the insurance and the lounge access. Insurance is bundled with a bank account for us (but probably would be about £150/year) and a Loungekey is bundled in with a credit card, which for anyone who doesn't meet these eligibility requirements for a free card is £255 a year for 2 people, or about 6 visits per person to make this card on this feature alone better than the free one. Not sure what this one retails at independently.

Except of course it would be 4 people that get lounge access because it offers a free supplementary card - that is (I think) unique among the elite cards that offer lounge access and could be a strong selling point to people travelling with family on holidays (in addition to alone on business)

As a case in point - I'm the only one in my family that has consistently had airline status over the past 15 years, and so we've not been able to use OneWorld lounges when travelling with the kids...

I'd agree that some of the other benefits look a bit like window dressing (although would be interesting to understand if the travel insurance is significantly different/better than those offered by other cheap packaged accounts). The £400 hotel credit would definitely be used if I had the card.

And TBH I wouldn't actually spend that much on it because my platinum cashback card has a better earning rate. 

Finally, not very MSE I know, but this card was supposed to be the springboard to get invited to apply for a Centurion card (as a side note, I wonder if that is also now a credit card...?). As long as you spent a lot on it each year - I've heard that over a quarter of a million gets you noticed...

Anyway as I mentioned upthread, this card's not for me any more but I can see that it has some appeal - and it won't be to people that are fixated on the APR!

Jasonh2015

callum9999 said:

Jasonh2015 said:

It's surprising, I've had one since 2012 and couldn't believe they changed it to a credit card. I like the flexibility of a charge card, and it's supposed to be a premium card. I think making it a credit card will turn people off.

What's less flexible about the credit card?

The only thing I was aware of was the theoretically unlimited credit limit, but given they now have hidden limits on the charge card I'm not sure if theres much difference? I've never had one though so perhaps there's something I've missed?

You are not tied to a pre-set limit, so charge what you need and pay it off. No hassle having to call them to agree a transaction/charge depending on your history.

WillPS

CKhalvashi said:

WillPS said:

Alex9384 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

But you get £400 of statement credit for using certain restaurants and stores, Priority Pass for you and 1 additional cardholder which on paper is £340 each, MR points, hotel status etc. Its certainly not cheap and the random undocumented benefits used to be more generous but if you travel a fair amount and flying flag carriers rather than RyanAir then it can be interesting... somewhat ironically if you travel a lot then its value depreciates as you'll have your own airline/hotel status which removes the need for Priority Pass etc.

Isn't it a bit funny that Amex cards are advertised as traveller cards but they charge non-sterling transaction fees? Unlike real travel cards with no foreign conversion fees.

Not really. It's advertised as a card with perks for those who travel a lot, rather than a no brainer card for use abroad.

Yes, but £595 a year?

The only things I'd use (and I'm sure many others) with that is the insurance and the lounge access. Insurance is bundled with a bank account for us (but probably would be about £150/year) and a Loungekey is bundled in with a credit card, which for anyone who doesn't meet these eligibility requirements for a free card is £255 a year for 2 people, or about 6 visits per person to make this card on this feature alone better than the free one. Not sure what this one retails at independently.

Those aren't the only features. For the right kind of traveller I can see it totally making sense - status benefits with several major hotel operators, credit at Harvey Nicks, credits at certain high end restaurants.

It's not for me (occasional churn aside), but if I lived in London and stayed regularly (but not so regularly that I held status anyway) in decent chain hotels it'd probably be a no brainer.

Centurion is much harder to make a case for but then it's aimed at the type of customer who doesn't really care much for value for money.