Buy Membership Reward points (American Express Platinum card)

Jonathan.

Super Platinum Elite Member
TLDR: When you sign up for the (non-Ameriprise) American Express Platinum card you are essentially just buying Membership Reward points.

The reason?

The only difference between the non-Ameriprise and Ameriprise versions of the platinum card is the points, and the upfront annual fee.

That's it.

What more, I just discovered the Ameriprise card is churn-able. So you can have its benefits at any time, and you can do it again later. In fact, I had the verison with the welcome bonus before (not available now) and just got the card again recently (no welcome bonus) and still am getting the benefits (my travel credit just posted for sw gc).

And guess what else? If you sign up in December, you can get the travel credit 3 times (same is true of any Platinum card, but mentioning this, as its a great time to apply... again!)

So the next time you read another blogger touting the latest Platinum bonus, just remember that title could just as well say "Buy MR points for X cpm".

In the case of the current public 60k offer, you are buying points for 1cpm ($550 + $100 you for-go on a 2% card for 5k spend / 60,000). In the case of the 100k offer you fare better at .65 cpm. A great value no doubt, but an exercise solely in buying miles (with some added risk, if you have to MS to meet spend).
 
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im_is_ninja

New Member
Luckily I was able to get the 100k offer for my personal Plat card. However the moment my AF hit, I will probably begin to churn the Ameriprise card for as long as it is available.
 

italdesign

Level 2 Member
Nice. This is basically a no annual fee card (1st yr) with a SUB of $400-600 airline credit + $100 Uber + other benefits.
 
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