@NoHardLimits wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:I have perhaps the most obsolete of Amex's offerings... the "Amex EveryDay" card.
I'll see your ED and raise you my American Express Blue, which came with a handy card reader for shopping on the world wide web at all of today's biggest merchants like Circuit City and KB Toys, that plugs into my printer port (LPT, not USB) and also gets me 30% off CDs at Virgin Megastores!
#AmexLifer My cards aren't going anywhere.
Ha ha.
I think my EveryDay was originally a Blue with Membership Rewards Express. I product changed it after the EveryDay was introduced. I'm surprised that you still have your Blue after all this time.
By the time I finally decided I'd PC it to ED (to play back and forth ED/EDP upgrade bonus games; it makes zero sense for me to actually use Blue, ED, or EDP, since BBP gets 2x on everything and Gold gets 4x vs EDP's 3x on grocery), Amex changed their mind about Blue being part of that family and decided the only PC option for Blue is Cash Magnet which for me is less than the 1x I'd earn if for some reason I used Blue anyway (I think the last small charge to keep it open before I realized they'll likely never close it anyway was about 5 years ago).
@OrangeRange wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:As a none Amex Delta card holder, this is a good news!
I have only BCP Amex and don't see any value for other personal cards that they offer! So revamping their lineup to be more competitive is great.
Always liked AMEX and their services, so hopefully they "revamp" their obsolete cards such as 1.5% rewards etc...
Honestly, if they just made the non-cat base for BCP 1.5% and raised groceries to $10K from $6K, they'd have the best one and done cashback card.
1.5% base / 3% transit and gas / 6% streaming and groceries (up to $10K)...Wouldn't need another card really other than for online shopping.
You are almost describing the original Blue Cash card. It was once 1.5% base rate, dropped to 1.25%, and now sits at 1% for those of us still holding one of these cards. These forums now refer to that product as "old" Blue Cash. It still offers 5% cashback rates for grocery, gas, and drugstores with a $50k cap after meeting $6.5k spend each anniversary year.
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:I have perhaps the most obsolete of Amex's offerings... the "Amex EveryDay" card.
I'll see your ED and raise you my American Express Blue, which came with a handy card reader for shopping on the world wide web at all of today's biggest merchants like Circuit City and KB Toys, that plugs into my printer port (LPT, not USB) and also gets me 30% off CDs at Virgin Megastores!
#AmexLifer My cards aren't going anywhere.
Ha ha.
By the time I finally decided I'd PC it to ED (to play back and forth ED/EDP upgrade bonus games; it makes zero sense for me to actually use Blue, ED, or EDP, since BBP gets 2x on everything and Gold gets 4x vs EDP's 3x on grocery), Amex changed their mind about Blue being part of that family and decided the only PC option for Blue is Cash Magnet which for me is less than the 1x I'd earn if for some reason I used Blue anyway (I think the last small charge to keep it open before I realized they'll likely never close it anyway was about 5 years ago).
I concede that you win the contest for holding the most obsolete Amex card!
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:I have perhaps the most obsolete of Amex's offerings... the "Amex EveryDay" card.
I'll see your ED and raise you my American Express Blue, which came with a handy card reader for shopping on the world wide web at all of today's biggest merchants like Circuit City and KB Toys, that plugs into my printer port (LPT, not USB) and also gets me 30% off CDs at Virgin Megastores!
#AmexLifer My cards aren't going anywhere.
Ha ha.
By the time I finally decided I'd PC it to ED (to play back and forth ED/EDP upgrade bonus games; it makes zero sense for me to actually use Blue, ED, or EDP, since BBP gets 2x on everything and Gold gets 4x vs EDP's 3x on grocery), Amex changed their mind about Blue being part of that family and decided the only PC option for Blue is Cash Magnet which for me is less than the 1x I'd earn if for some reason I used Blue anyway (I think the last small charge to keep it open before I realized they'll likely never close it anyway was about 5 years ago).
I had this old Blue and took the PC to the Cash Magnet. 1.5% back is better than 1 pt per dollar, and I liked Amex better than my equally lucrative 1.5% back Quicksilver, especially since Amex eventually un-bucketed my card.
To get back on topic, however, @Aim_High makes good points about the relative values of annual fee cards. If you're not going to get at least some meaningful credits to offset some or all of the annual fees, especially high ones, it just doesn't make sense to keep an AF card. I'm not going to pay for the privilege of keeping dead weight in my wallet, and I don't think I'm the only one. I don't begrudge Amex; they're a corporation and exist to make money. I'll be curious to see how many cardholders decide to cut ties when the hikes take effect, especially the users on this forum. Would be a good case study.
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:I have perhaps the most obsolete of Amex's offerings... the "Amex EveryDay" card.
I'll see your ED and raise you my American Express Blue, which came with a handy card reader for shopping on the world wide web at all of today's biggest merchants like Circuit City and KB Toys, that plugs into my printer port (LPT, not USB) and also gets me 30% off CDs at Virgin Megastores!
#AmexLifer My cards aren't going anywhere.
Ha ha.
By the time I finally decided I'd PC it to ED (to play back and forth ED/EDP upgrade bonus games; it makes zero sense for me to actually use Blue, ED, or EDP, since BBP gets 2x on everything and Gold gets 4x vs EDP's 3x on grocery), Amex changed their mind about Blue being part of that family and decided the only PC option for Blue is Cash Magnet which for me is less than the 1x I'd earn if for some reason I used Blue anyway (I think the last small charge to keep it open before I realized they'll likely never close it anyway was about 5 years ago).
Couldn't you PC it to the Cash Magnet, and then some time later just ask for another PC to either the BCE or BCP (if they don't send you an upgrade offer)?
@OrangeRange wrote:Couldn't you PC it to the Cash Magnet, and then some time later just ask for another PC to either the BCE or BCP (if they don't send you an upgrade offer)?
I could, but cash back isn't really something that interests me outside of 5% on US Bank Cash+. The card isn't really useful for me at all no matter which Amex revolver it became, but I keep it for its age and potential upgrade offers where spending on it might make sense.
@blossom_rebuilding wrote:I had this old Blue and took the PC to the Cash Magnet. 1.5% back is better than 1 pt per dollar, and I liked Amex better than my equally lucrative 1.5% back Quicksilver, especially since Amex eventually un-bucketed my card.
...If you're not going to get at least some meaningful credits to offset some or all of the annual fees, especially high ones, it just doesn't make sense to keep an AF card. I'm not going to pay for the privilege of keeping dead weight in my wallet, and I don't think I'm the only one...
For me, 1 MR point is more valuable than 1.5% cash back, but that's an issue with having so many Amex cards; there's not really any scenario outside of promotional offers where it makes sense to use a 1x card when you can earn 2x to 4x on another Amex card you already have.
Totally agree with your point. There was a brief period a couple of years ago where I thought keeping my personal Platinum card may have no longer been worth it because of the other cards I have, but so far I'm still in the positive each year.
@Wu-CreditEDP is a poor value already at $95. I don't think anyone will bite at $150, or at least no one using their brain. At $150, if it were not for the corporate advantage discount I would say no to the BCP also and downgrade to BCE for sure. With the current $50 discount I'd likely keep it, but would hope a raise to $150 would up the cap discount to $75 like it is on green currently.
@Zoostation1 wrote:@Wu-CreditEDP is a poor value already at $95. I don't think anyone will bite at $150, or at least no one using their brain.
While I'm personally not all gung-ho on the value of Member Rewards points, I wouldn't be so fast to dismiss the EDP. Whether it's a decent card depends on how those MR points are redeemed as well as how the card is used overall. MRs can be worth as little as 0.6 cpp for cash, up to about 1 cpp in gift cards or within the AMEX portal but they can soar to 1.5 to 2.0 cpp if transferred to partners with a savvy consumer. Besides the redemption value of the MRs, the other secret weapon with this card is the 50% points bonus for using it at least 30x in a billing cycle. So all-in-all, as a daily driver, ...
(And Before taking the $95 AF into account) ...
3x groceries up to $6K x 1.5 bonus = 4.5 MRs
(4.5 MRs = about 4.5% in 1x cash but at 1.5/2.0 cpp, worth 6.75% to 9.0%)
2x gasoline or AMEX-booked travel x 1.5 bonus = 3.0 MRs
(3.0 MRs = about 3.0% in 1x cash but at 1.5/2.0 cpp, worth 4.5% to 6%)
1x everything else x 1.5 bonus = 1.5 MRs
(1.5 MRs = only about 1.5% in 1x cash; however at 1.5/2.0 cpp, could be worth 2.25 to 3.0%)
So the value is there if someone is skilled in finding high-redemption travel uses for their MRs to maximize rewards. It could be a respectable single-wallet card for the right consumer. But IMO, if you're not skilled at finding high value in MRs for travel using ANY MR card, they may not be as competitive as other rewards alternatives.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@redpat wrote:
It's the same people that say they don't eat at McDonalds......
What's "McDonalds"?
(OK, as a vegan I really don't go there, at least in the US. Elsewhere they do have real vegan options)
LTL, my condolences being vegan.
But you did go to MickeyD's before becoming vegan.
Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
I am going to take a different and controvertial approach to this. I think AMEX should raise annual fees and remove some benefits. Yes, I know, crazy and the exact opposite of what everyone here (including myself) plans for their CC strategy. Currently, I sit at roughly $4k in AFs and profit just over $2k off of it (accounting for useful credits from organic spend and points earned at their respective values). To reach this number, I only needed $15k in category spend across my AF cards. IMO the spend needed to be profitable off of $4k worth of annual fees should be higher.
Additionally, I think this may also help with some of the overcrowding we see at lounges. A lot of the benefits seem to be geared towards young professionals in major metros. For example, I know a lot of people in mid-20s that have the Platinum/Gold cards but only travel once or twice a year. However, as they typically use Uber, Grubhub, streaming services, and even can value the Equinox credit, it becomes easy to offset the AF. Most of them are not exactly financially responsible with their budgeting but thats a different story. Even though they don't travel often, the 1-2 times a year they do travel (multiplied by however many thousands may fit this description) can lead to surges at lounges and the overcrowding we see. Likewise, with cards handing out status like candy and providing (mostly) useful benefits to offset the annual fees, loyalty status has essentially lost all value now since anyone can have Gold/Diamond/Platinum. So while a lot of us gain value in terms of $$ from these cards (which is the main focus), we still lose value in other areas (i.e. lounges, status, etc.) as they add easy-to-use benefits to offset annual fees.
Alright I am sure I probably didn't make many friends with this. Now you can call me crazy.
