April has come and is quickly going. Here is an update on our progress:
* My last Amex Biz Plat bill was over 50K (yes, one statement). I’m progressing nicely!
* My plum card is averaging 5-10k per month.
* I’ve slowly moved expenses from my Chase CO card to my Amex. Its tough because for each 15k on my Chase card I get Elite Qualification Miles on CO (EQM’s). But if this all works out I can count on the Black Card giving me status anyway. Main expenses moved are travel, dining and other items that may indicate a lavish lifestyle! If I fail on my quest, I’ll move 100% of my spending to the CO card. That way I’ll get at least silver elite each year (even though silver is worthless) and tons of miles.
* Thanks to Amex’s bonus 5000 miles for spending more than 10k/mo on my biz plat card, Last month I gathered over 60,000 membership reward points. That can be a round trip upgrade to Asia on CO. Using a full fare BusinessFirst price factor thats a value of $.14 per mile. As opposed to cashing in on Amex where its $.01 per mile. Not bad!
* I used Amex Platinums Fine Hotel & Resorts program to book some great properties in Asia and for a trip to the West Coast soon. Great program and the hotel gives you a special welcome note when you arrive. Bravo!
My total spending since inception of this idea 3 months ago is over $95,000. Add in a payment to the IRS in a bit and we’ll be more than 1/2 way to the $300,000 goal. All before the end of April ;)
Talk to you all soon!
QFB feels we’re making progress towards the goal. We’ve convinced tons of vendors, suppliers and whatnot into taking American Express. Thus far, we’re amazed at how many have offered to take it and don’t care about the commission. Where this happens we are using our Platinum and at this point earning 25,000 MR points per month. Not a bad start!
And, for those who pass the cost to us, we accept up to 1.5% of it and charge on the Plum card. Then at least we break even.
Best of all, a new promotion until Feb 2011 has come out, where spending $10,000 on your business Platinum will net you another 5,000 points per month. So at this point you can really gather up the points which can be used for travel all over the place - you can transfer to tons of airlines or even buy tickets with points as a currency.
The promo is here and has no signup: https://www212.americanexpress.com/dsmlive/dsm/int/businessplatinum2010pilot.do?vgnextoid=1813451a0caf6210VgnVCM100000defaad94RCRD&om_rid=DSSL4z&om_mid=_BLjDHcB748hsSp&om_lid=axp9
If you’re charging $10,000 on a corp card consistently, you’ll earn at least 180,000 points over the next year. At this pace I’m looking at 300,000 points.
That isn’t even counting my taxes. They are going on my Amex too ;)
Till next time…..
QFB
QFB took a break from our home improvement duties for a quick trip to Sunny (not really) Florida. Of course, we took advantage of Amex every time we could… Our Platinum Card helped us receive star treatment at National Car Rental (even QFB couldn’t stomach what Hertz is charging these days), and of course skipping the CDW saved us a buck or two.
Taking advantage of the Airport Club was of course a nice touch, as always. The Platinum Card is really indispensable to any level of traveler. In one trip we saved almost 1/2 our membership fee… Not bad.
Now, its back to home improvement. More things to order, more charges. The quest continues!
Unexpectedly, we are moving from one unit in our building to another. We own the building, which definitely makes it easy. But with this comes a month of hell and tons of renovations. And what better a partner to have (other than Mrs. QFB) than my Amex Platinum? Already I’ve found tons of Amex partners to buy my wares from, with bonus rewards points in the area of 4X the original purchase cost. That’s what I call a deal. So when you are looking for contractors, suppliers or other tools of the trade, always check for their ability to accept the card. When all is said and done, we’ll have a free trip anywhere, or a good upgrade, all thanks to our MR Points.
QFB gets Google alerts for the Black Card and today we received one linking to eBay….
Now why would someone want to “collect” an old Black Card? And, why would someone who had one want to sell it? Frankly, its probably been reported lost or stolen. In which case someone needs to investigate.
The sickest thing is that its received 12 bids! From no price to $35.00. Crazy!
Since our quest began, expenses have found us. Today, we added a new vendor for 100K this year, and he’ll be getting paid via Amex. Gotta love it. January is almost over and we’ll be easily over 25K this month. At that rate we’ll hit 300. Though our goal is to go higher. Stay tuned for more updates, soon!
—QFB
Another great Amex benefit: The Fine Hotels & Resorts program. American Express works with some of the best properties in the world to offer you better rates, benefits and more.
Take in part our experience. We are booking a trip to Las Vegas, and took advantage of the buy 2 nights, get one free at the Wynn/Encore. Now, with this program, not only did you get this discount, but you also get a free upgrade when available, free breakfast each day, 4pm checkout, and one free lunch (these benefits vary per property). It’s a no brainer! We booked the Encore Parlor Suite, receiving our free night, and are hoping for an upgrade to the biggest suite in the house. Either way, we’ll be happy.
Now, the biggest thing to remember is that for any trip, you need to book via American Express. QFB was at the Encore last month and tried to get the same benefits but they weren’t available - we booked via Encore directly. Same case last summer when we stayed at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem - no upgrade available because of how we had made the reservation. So, keep that in mind.
QFB is also going to China soon, and will try to use this benefit at some hotels in Shanghai and Beijing. We’ll let you know how that goes. Till next time, keep charging!
Most people who hold American Express Cards didn’t even know about this one. I didn’t! The American Express Auto Purchasing Program makes car buying a relatively hassle-free experience.
Last fall I was shopping around for an Audi A4. I had test driven at a local dealer but was astounded when we sat to talk about numbers. The dealer’s best price was $625 per month on a 36 month lease! That dog won’t hunt!
So I had temporarily given up on my Audi ambitions, there is no way that $625 is a good price for that car. Maybe for an A6 thats loaded, but not the A4 I wanted (Manual transmissions only come on the A4 and A3 now). But then, enter the Amex APP. I found this via some hidden link on the American express site and gave it a try.
Basically, you go step by step through the process, you price the car you want by choosing all of the features… Then the system pairs you up with a local dealer. The dealer called me within an hour, and without any haggling we had a purchase price well, well under invoice.
Within a week I was driving my new, manual transmission A4 (silver, exactly what I wanted), and the lease cost was only $500.00 per month. Savings over the term of the lease? $4500.00. Thanks Amex!
Try it yourself, here:
My Amex family got together for lunch despite their missing Blue card brother (Don’t know where I left him!)
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