439.9% Representative APR

callum9999

Jasonh2015 said:

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.

But you do have a pre-set limit on the charge card, which is why I'm confused at the major difference nowadays.

I've also seen plenty of cases where people got their credit limit temporarily increased to cover a big transaction, which is effectively what you'd also have to do with the charge card. But I'm not sure if Amex are a) still allowing that with the credit card and b) less generous than they would be with the charge card.

Jasonh2015

callum9999 said:

Jasonh2015 said:

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.

But you do have a pre-set limit on the charge card, which is why I'm confused at the major difference nowadays.

I've also seen plenty of cases where people got their credit limit temporarily increased to cover a big transaction, which is effectively what you'd also have to do with the charge card. But I'm not sure if Amex are a) still allowing that with the credit card and b) less generous than they would be with the charge card.

The selling point is no "pre-set" spending limit, it can go up and down depending on usage, you can check if a charge will be authorised, but you cannot check the limit. Rumour is it's  3 x your credit card limit if you have one with them. 

DullGreyGuy

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.

I know, its hard to believe its so cheap!

Clearly it will only work for some people, its not a card that's designed for everyone.

Loungekey is 3 visits for 2 people (total of 6) whereas Priority Pass from AmEx is unlimited visits for 4 people (2 members who can take a guest each) but even if you say your £255 for lounges and £150 for insurance (AmEx includes car hire benefits so that's another insurance policy normally) you are already at £405 and that's before you consider the £300 restaurant rebates and £100 Harvey Nicks at which point you are at £805 benefit against a £595 fee.

For us we also use the Hilton status that comes with the card that gets 2 free drinks per stay and free breakfast for the room each night and so if we stay 5 nights a year that's £200 saved 

Shop Small, terms change each year and how many times it happens changes but that's often another £75 to £100 per year.

Through the year there are often other random savings offered which looking online last year that added up to £400 on what we would have bought anyway.

MR points can be converted to Avios etc and last year we took 8 business class flights for less than the price of economy tickets. Hard to say the exact saving as most likely we'd have booked PE rather than Business if it was a cash booking but still probably in excess of £300 per flight so £2,400 - points saved over more than 1 year

Some of the events have been thin on the ground thanks to Covid but just before that went to various free events sponsored by AmEx inc an evening with Bollinger's UK importer during which had £400 of drinks for free on top of the actual formal event samples and nibbles, had an evening 5 course dinner in a London 5 star hotel for free that's probably about £200 and a craft beer event for £50ish. Plus a load others that I cannot remember if they were in 2019 or the year before. 

If you dont travel, dont like eating out, dont live near London etc then it represents terrible value but just because its bad value for you its easy to see how its great value for others. 

CKhalvashi

DullGreyGuy said:

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.

I know, its hard to believe its so cheap!

Clearly it will only work for some people, its not a card that's designed for everyone.

Loungekey is 3 visits for 2 people (total of 6) whereas Priority Pass from AmEx is unlimited visits for 4 people (2 members who can take a guest each) but even if you say your £255 for lounges and £150 for insurance (AmEx includes car hire benefits so that's another insurance policy normally) you are already at £405 and that's before you consider the £300 restaurant rebates and £100 Harvey Nicks at which point you are at £805 benefit against a £595 fee.

For us we also use the Hilton status that comes with the card that gets 2 free drinks per stay and free breakfast for the room each night and so if we stay 5 nights a year that's £200 saved 

Shop Small, terms change each year and how many times it happens changes but that's often another £75 to £100 per year.

Through the year there are often other random savings offered which looking online last year that added up to £400 on what we would have bought anyway.

MR points can be converted to Avios etc and last year we took 8 business class flights for less than the price of economy tickets. Hard to say the exact saving as most likely we'd have booked PE rather than Business if it was a cash booking but still probably in excess of £300 per flight so £2,400 - points saved over more than 1 year

Some of the events have been thin on the ground thanks to Covid but just before that went to various free events sponsored by AmEx inc an evening with Bollinger's UK importer during which had £400 of drinks for free on top of the actual formal event samples and nibbles, had an evening 5 course dinner in a London 5 star hotel for free that's probably about £200 and a craft beer event for £50ish. Plus a load others that I cannot remember if they were in 2019 or the year before. 

If you dont travel, dont like eating out, dont live near London etc then it represents terrible value but just because its bad value for you its easy to see how its great value for others. 

I travel and live somewhere near London, but don't use Hilton hotels, am more than happy with an HSBC Premier insurance policy and their World Elite Mastercard, plus don't pay anything for either.

I don't use Hilton hotels (which are overpriced anyway), preferring independent accommodation, still get rewards and don't pay £595/year, so actually it's very expensive.

DullGreyGuy

CKhalvashi said:
I don't use Hilton hotels (which are overpriced anyway), preferring independent accommodation, still get rewards and don't pay £595/year, so actually it's very expensive.

Personally think the £50 for overnight parking, 2 large glasses of wine, fully cooked buffet breakfast for 2 people plus obvious the room itself, it very reasonable for when we are driving up north after work (suspect its a bit more now) and want to break the journey but if that's overpriced to you then would love to know where you suggest.

CKhalvashi said:
I travel and live somewhere near London, but don't use Hilton hotels, am more than happy with an HSBC Premier insurance policy and their World Elite Mastercard, plus don't pay anything for either.

World Elite credit card is £195/year (https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/premier-credit-cards/) gets you half the access to lounges and none of the other stated benefits

As I said, different products suit different people, given I got nearly £5,000 of benefits it clearly would be worth while for me but if you dont eat out when you travel, want nothing from any of the companies with AmEx promos, dont buy from small businesses etc then it would be very bad value for you. The world would be boring if we were all the same. 

CKhalvashi

DullGreyGuy said:

CKhalvashi said:
I don't use Hilton hotels (which are overpriced anyway), preferring independent accommodation, still get rewards and don't pay £595/year, so actually it's very expensive.

Personally think the £50 for overnight parking, 2 large glasses of wine, fully cooked buffet breakfast for 2 people plus obvious the room itself, it very reasonable for when we are driving up north after work (suspect its a bit more now) and want to break the journey but if that's overpriced to you then would love to know where you suggest.

CKhalvashi said:
I travel and live somewhere near London, but don't use Hilton hotels, am more than happy with an HSBC Premier insurance policy and their World Elite Mastercard, plus don't pay anything for either.

World Elite credit card is £195/year (https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/premier-credit-cards/) gets you half the access to lounges and none of the other stated benefits

As I said, different products suit different people, given I got nearly £5,000 of benefits it clearly would be worth while for me but if you dont eat out when you travel, want nothing from any of the companies with AmEx promos, dont buy from small businesses etc then it would be very bad value for you. The world would be boring if we were all the same. 

There is no charge for the card if you meet certain requirements

We don't need lounge access for 4 people, we do eat out when travelling, but again prefer independent restaurants and I very much doubt we'd spend enough to make other promos worthwhile.

Agreed that life would be boring if we were the same however.

DullGreyGuy

CKhalvashi said:
There is no charge for the card if you meet certain requirements

We don't need lounge access for 4 people, we do eat out when travelling, but again prefer independent restaurants and I very much doubt we'd spend enough to make other promos worthwhile.

Agreed that life would be boring if we were the same however.

Unusual, most the banks make a big thing about fees being waived if your earnings are above a certain amount etc. Did look to open a HSBC Premier account a few years ago but their approach to pre-existing conditions on the travel insurance didn't work for us. Back then they only had one premier credit card so didn't get into the conversation about fees being waived on the higher card.

Not 100% sure what you mean by keep repeating "independent"? Its generally not a term I am a fan of nor really sure most people mean the same thing when they say it. Our local steak joint has circa 8 sites now and call themselves independent but two of the sites are included in the restaurant rebate list.  Oddly enough McDonalds and Harvester are not on the list and most that are would be considered "independent" by most yard sticks.

If you always travel alone or as a couple then that's great, the higher lounge access perk that wouldnt be of value for you. We do sometimes travel as a larger number and so the 4 has been useful (the EuroStar lounge access was very useful for a while whilst go out to Paris regularly which isnt available via LoungeKey or Priorty Pass (both which are owned by the same company anyway)) but a colleague who goes out to their holiday home in Spain with their two kids many times a year found it exceptionally useful. Similarly it being members plus guests has meant if the Mrs goes away with a friend for something (or I) then its fine to bring them in as a guest... where you have a capped access it can be more questionable if you use it or save it for when travelling with your spouse etc.

artyboy

CKhalvashi said:

DullGreyGuy said:

CKhalvashi said:
I don't use Hilton hotels (which are overpriced anyway), preferring independent accommodation, still get rewards and don't pay £595/year, so actually it's very expensive.

Personally think the £50 for overnight parking, 2 large glasses of wine, fully cooked buffet breakfast for 2 people plus obvious the room itself, it very reasonable for when we are driving up north after work (suspect its a bit more now) and want to break the journey but if that's overpriced to you then would love to know where you suggest.

CKhalvashi said:
I travel and live somewhere near London, but don't use Hilton hotels, am more than happy with an HSBC Premier insurance policy and their World Elite Mastercard, plus don't pay anything for either.

World Elite credit card is £195/year (https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/premier-credit-cards/) gets you half the access to lounges and none of the other stated benefits

As I said, different products suit different people, given I got nearly £5,000 of benefits it clearly would be worth while for me but if you dont eat out when you travel, want nothing from any of the companies with AmEx promos, dont buy from small businesses etc then it would be very bad value for you. The world would be boring if we were all the same. 

There is no charge for the card if you meet certain requirements

We don't need lounge access for 4 people, we do eat out when travelling, but again prefer independent restaurants and I very much doubt we'd spend enough to make other promos worthwhile.

Agreed that life would be boring if we were the same however.

Assuming you're talking about Jade status, or possibly very substantial borrowing/investing with HSBC, then I think 'no charge' is a stretch, with what you're already paying for them to manage your money/service your loans.

Not much truly for free in this world, but if it meets your needs then that's all that matters!