Snob War

[credit_help]

Amex is losing snob war to Chase:

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/business/american-express-chase-sapphire-reserve.html

[ukaserex]

The future is unknown and unknowable. That said, no good success goes unpunished. Chase will end up coughing up some loot for all the rewards, and when the beans are tallied, they may not fare as well as they thought. Not to mention - a credit card doesn't make anyone look interesting. Cash would do that more so than a piece of plastic that anybody with a decent job whose paid their bills as part of a habit for a few years.

[Kat58]

Excellent article!

[TheVig]

Great article.

 

I'm not giving up on the Amex product anytime soon.

[hdporter]

Amex forfeited much of the cachet of their brand when they started issuing revolving credit and sought out "Everyday" spenders. (They would have been well advised to do so under an adjunct brand.)

 

CSR isn't the first instance of an issuer looking to encroach on Amex premium turf by offering a card with expanded services and a hefty fee. It is the first to package a compelling set of benefits. Still, were I Chase, I wouldn't have stretched the "Sapphire" Label to include the CSR product, but would have created a separate and unique labeling for the product ... possibly just Chase "Reserve".

Edited April 15, 2017 by hdporter

[credit_help]

 

 

Amex forfeited much of the cachet of their brand when they started issuing revolving credit and sought out "Everyday" spenders. (They would have been well advised to do so under an adjunct brand.)

 

CSR isn't the first instance of an issuer looking to encroach on Amex premium turf by offering a card with expanded services and a hefty fee. It is the first to package a compelling set of benefits. Still, were I Chase, I wouldn't have stretched the "Sapphire" Label to include the CSR product, but would have created a separate and unique labeling for the product ... possibly just Chase "Reserve".

How would naming it "Reserve" be different?

They seem to parallel what Amex has: Gold, and Platinum charge cards.

[Big Bear]

Okay, once I got past the early mention of using, or not using, a credit card because of how it will make others in your party feel I warmed up to the article. Ultimately, I don't care about the 'image war'. Give me a rewards war and leave the feelings and emotions out of it (which the author states is the benefit to the rest of us).

[mendelssohn]

It has been Chase number 1 and Amex number 2 in travel rewards for quite some time. This isn't new.

[hegemony]

It has been Chase number 1 and Amex number 2 in travel rewards for quite some time. This isn't new.

I hear subprime discovery is number 666 in the ranking.

[mendelssohn]

 

It has been Chase number 1 and Amex number 2 in travel rewards for quite some time. This isn't new.

I hear subprime discovery is number 666 in the ranking.

Tied with Crap1.

 

I still can't find the Discovery lounge at DFW.

[hegemony]

 

 

It has been Chase number 1 and Amex number 2 in travel rewards for quite some time. This isn't new.

I hear subprime discovery is number 666 in the ranking.

Tied with Crap1.

 

I still can't find the Discovery lounge at DFW.

 

AKA the cafe at the super walmart in Denton.

[mendelssohn]

Remember that Chase also uses the most favorable currency exchange rate with Amex second (Crap1 is last and Discovery second to last).

 

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=591100

[Kat58]

 

 

 

It has been Chase number 1 and Amex number 2 in travel rewards for quite some time. This isn't new.

I hear subprime discovery is number 666 in the ranking.

Tied with Crap1.

 

I still can't find the Discovery lounge at DFW.

AKA the cafe at the super walmart in Denton.

 

 

"American Express - Best of Breed in the category of subprime, scumbag tactics." ~ LKH

[TheVig]

I just don't see Discovery getting a hotel in Budapest to mail me personal belongings I left behind.

[cashnocredit]

I got my first CC, a BankAmericard around 1972, with a $500 CL (a useful limit in those days which they raised to $1,200 after about 6 months). Back then I'd travel on business but as a CS engineer when the customer was big enough and the problem hadn't been resolved. In those days a travel agency would arrange for the plane/hotel tix so incidentals could easily be covered by cash or the CC.

 

I was also sent overseas at times and things were a little closer then.

 

So, around 1974, Amex sent an offer for the green charge card, which I took. This was my card of choice when traveling on business and provided more flexibility and freedom than the travel agency / limited personal CC did. But I wasn't a big spender. Rare was the occasion where I would entertain customers. That's where the larger expenses occurred and the sales people had and needed a high spend card. Amex was king.

 

The ensuing years saw additional CCs and auto CLIs pushing my card CLs into the mid 5 figures. I used Amex less and less. Alone among my card issuers, in the early 80's Amex canceled my gold shortly after not using it for over a year but that's another story. They remain the only company that has canceled, rather than failed to renew, a CC.

 

Pretty much followed the same pattern using debit cards instead of CCs though the 90's and eventually had no CCs. That was a mistake as everyone here knows though I didn't at the time.

 

But now I'm with CCs once more including Amex. Before getting the Amex I had an emergency need to charter a small jet for a family member. I was eventually able to get it done with my Citi secured card. I was able to negotiate 20k on the card and 10k by check the next week but Citi declined the charge even though I had 25k avail. I called their CSR number who could see the decline but had no idea why the decline occurred. So I was immediately escalated to people that could figure out what was wrong. The charter operator billed through a third company and it was all card no present stuff. They were able to fix it so I got my charter.

 

At that point I realized that just because a card has a CL on it doesn't mean they will actually let you make a charge up to that limit. And things that might trigger flags as being unusual or high risk, such as an air charter on a secured card with a high "card not present" charge, would be more normal with Amex.

 

I value Amex for those occasions I need a high spend card and have put some pretty large charges on it. However, I have yet to charge another jet charter on any card. And all the high fashion, status, event crap they send me has zero appeal. Well, with the exception of some restaurant ideas. I'm into creature comfort and functionality. Status, not so much.

 

I only keep a suit for weddings and funerals.

Edited April 15, 2017 by cashnocredit

[daveberk]

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

[cashnocredit]

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

 

Yes, and that is the kind of service Amex is known for. It's one of the reasons I still have a Plat. Right up there with the high spend flexibility. Otherwise it really isn't very special.

[credit_help]

 

 

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

Did the wired cash go on your Amex Platinum as cash advance or regular purchase/sale?

[daveberk]

 

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

Did the wired cash go on your Amex Platinum as cash advance or regular purchase/sale?

 

It was treated as a purchase. No fee or interest charged. I even received MR points for the amount they wired me.

[credit_help]

 

 

 

 

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

Did the wired cash go on your Amex Platinum as cash advance or regular purchase/sale?

It was treated as a purchase. No fee or interest charged. I even received MR points for the amount they wired me.

Nice!

[Konrad2012]

I just don't see Discovery getting a hotel in Budapest to mail me personal belongings I left behind.

Of course not because they'd have thrown you in jail if you tried to use a Discover card in Budapest.

[Konrad2012]

 

Despite Chase's more generous benefits, Amex remains ahead on customer service. A few months ago when my wallet was stolen abroad, I called Chase to send me a new Reserve card. The representative said that Chase only ships emergency

replacement cards to US addresses. When I called Amex about my stolen Plat., they asked how much cash I needed and then wired that amount immediately at no charge. They also shipped me a card which arrived within a few days.

 

Yes, and that is the kind of service Amex is known for. It's one of the reasons I still have a Plat. Right up there with the high spend flexibility. Otherwise it really isn't very special.

Hands down best customer service and best spend capacity.

 

 

 

The recent changes like 1.5MR/$ on $5K charges are great. 5 MR/$ on AmexTravel and the $0.02/MR redemption value and I'm getting a minimum of 10% cash back on my flights overseas.

[FormerAnalyst]

I think for most people charge cards are pointless when you have cards with 25k+ lines. how many charge that much in one month and pay it all off the next? A lot of the benefits that used to be valuable to some are obsolete with the internet on you smartphone. They really need to step it up on their rewards. Perks aside, with are valuable to a few, who wants an annual fee card with mediocre rewards?

[mendelssohn]

I think for most people charge cards are pointless when you have cards with 25k+ lines. how many charge that much in one month and pay it all off the next? A lot of the benefits that used to be valuable to some are obsolete with the internet on you smartphone. They really need to step it up on their rewards. Perks aside, with are valuable to a few, who wants an annual fee card with mediocre rewards?

I do and so do many others.

 

The PRG has great rewards, personal Platinum 5x on airfare, Business Platinum 2 cpp for airfare, etc.

[Big Bear]

 

I think for most people charge cards are pointless when you have cards with 25k+ lines. how many charge that much in one month and pay it all off the next? A lot of the benefits that used to be valuable to some are obsolete with the internet on you smartphone. They really need to step it up on their rewards. Perks aside, with are valuable to a few, who wants an annual fee card with mediocre rewards?

I do and so do many others.

 

The PRG has great rewards, personal Platinum 5x on airfare, Business Platinum 2 cpp for airfare, etc.

 

 

+1

 

I think that 'most' sentiment is off-base. And of course rewards need to evaluated on an individual value basis.