Well -- I agonized about it all week and for reasons that are 70% vanity and 30% for the benefits that come with the card, I took the plunge and called about the upgrade offer I received for the Amex Platinum. They pulled an inquiry (which I was a little ticked off about -- but Experian is pretty good about deleting Amex inquiries when I dispute them) and told me I was approved and should receive the card by August 8th. The price is steep, but the more I thought about it, I began to realize it would be nice to give my ego a little reward for seeing this whole credit repair thing through. I'll wait for next year to roll around to decide if I am going to keep it permanently.
They do an AR every 2-4 weeks...WHAT DO THEY NEED A "HARD" FOR??? I would have said "WITH-OUT A HARD, OR NO DEAL" ...but that is me...
Enjoy your AmEx Plat =) We've had it for a long time and it is indeed a very neat card to have in your wallet. PawMix
Re: Amex Platinum Approved Congratulations, that's great!! AmEx Platinum is a powerful symbol, and in your case represents a credit rebuilding job well done. As for the cost, let me provide some perspective from my experience, which may parallel your own: As recently as a year ago, I was paying $275 in annual fees for 5 subprime cards. When I accepted my first card with an annual fee, namely my Capital One Visa, I told myself that I wanted to eliminate that particular fee because a $200 card at a very ordinary interest rate simply wasn't worth the expense. But I also told myself that, having paid an annual fee for a subprime card, I would never hesitate to pay the same fee for a card that provided benefits and symbolized success, especially American Express. You could afford to pay for subprime cards when you started. You can afford to pay for a good card now that you're finished. If you want to prove that you're a person with a good income and a good credit record, then you deserve to spend some money for that.
Re: Amex Platinum Approved Excellent point. I certainly was paying at least that in fees of some sort to the subprime cards. That's a perspective I didn't have.
Re: Amex Platinum Approved DaveLV, I too agonized for days about whether or not to upgrade to Platinum. I finally did it and have not had any regrets since. I like using the card and have found that Amex stands behind its customers. We recently had a dispute over an $80.00 charge. After investigating, the charge was reversed. I was very happy with the no hassle customer service. While $395.00 seems to be an excessive fee, I like the appeal to my ego and the reaction of my friends when I whip out the "Platinum Card". Enjoy! ChesterR
Re: Amex Platinum Approved I forgot about the inquiry. So, I definitely will not be answering the offer they sent me. You can imagine the feeling I had when I accepted the offer to upgrade my gold to gold rewards and got a hard inquiry. A hard just to get MR points. Congrats on the card, Willis
Re: Amex Platinum Approved It's a great card, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I bet you'll find yourself actually using more of the benefits that you think you will. The fine hotels and resorts program is wonderful and you can get a lot of extras just from that as well as the nice magazine. Being allowed into the frequent flyer clubs and the free drinks in there are very enjoyable as well. It is the main card I use now. I used to use quantum but just dont feel the same about them once mbna started jacking rates and lowering the necessary cl for the card.
Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved I just call or write Experian and dispute the inquiry. Amex never replies to inquiry disputes in my experience.
Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved Next time I'm in the Crown Room, I'll ask and let you know, George.
Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved I was at dinner tonight and the place was so crowded we ended up eating dinner at the bar. The guy next to me paid his tab with an Amex Platinum card. Made me bummed mine is going to take a week or so to get here...
Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved Hmmn, nice justification, although I couldn't deal with that annual fee. $395 is a little steep for me for I tend to look at it as a bank charge/interest charge. To me, having good credit means that I don't have to pay an exhorbitant subprime-like fee for someone to loan me money (particularly for a charge card product). I took a quick tour of the card and sincerely doubt those benefits merit the fee. Just my humble opinion though....I couldn't do it but if you like it, I love it. Congratulations Dave LV!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved THEY STILL DO HAVE FREE COKE GEORGE ......... THE CROWN ROOM IS NOT A BAD PLACE TO PASS THE TIME.....WAITING FOR THAT CONECTION
Re: Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved You also get to use the northwest airline clubs and the continental airlines clubs in addition to Delta's crown. The northwest one seems the best because in addition to free alcohol (and soft drinks) there is free youghurt and cheese and dansih and pretzels. There is enough there so that you can get a way without buying meals in the airport.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved Yeah, but I was focusing on the Delta benefit, because I try to concentrate my frequent flyer miles between Delta and Southwest. The others will be nice when I travel for work though. I've never flown Contenental or Northwest, but when I do travel on business I get to submit three airlines I prefer. Guess which ones I'll submit now... Now I don't know what I'm going to do with my new Bank One United Visa Signature. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow to see if I can get it converted to something else.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Amex Platinum Approved their disney card is sweet ....of course I live 30 miles away and have a baby girl
