Of course there’s so many life situations and I can’t cover all of them, so I’d love to hear how you guys value your setups whether Amex Trifecta or other! Let’s keep learning from one another! 💳🔵 Learn More: Blue Cash Preferred $0 Annual Fee First Year: www.cardonomics.com/i/anthonyventure/blue-cash-preferred-card-from-american-express 💳 💎 My Top Credit Card Picks! www.cardonomics.com/i/anthonyventure Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the Venture Capital Discord🤖: discord.gg/R8kMzqneVk
My solution: just cut the platinum lol. The selling point is the centurion lounges…but you can’t get in them anymore with the crazy lines! And also, I choose to minimize my time in airports. It adds zero value to me.
I spend so little time in airports that, while I’m in them, I like to explore, so lounges don’t appeal to me. I’m also a solo traveler, though, so maybe I’d care more if I weren’t, but at that point, I’d need paid AU’s to get others in too.
Totally agree Jim. It’s nice that it covers Disney plus bundle, but the rest of the credits you would have to work for to make sure they are all used up
@@newagain9964 my wallets too thin for travel this year but I definitely will be getting this card in a few years once my career is secured! It’s right for the right person but I’m too broke lol
What bugs me is that they are going up on the fee at all for the gold card. It seems to be just assumed that Amex goes up on the fees every few years when the Chase preferred has been at the same fee forever
Stumbled upon your videos the other day and your content is awesome man, because you don't sugarcoat your situation or cards and tell it like it is. I appreciate that you can relate with us "normies" that don't fly 67 times a month and stay at 41 different hotels each year. Looking forward to your future videos!
I definitely agree with your assessment throughout this video that things like the Credits should be working backwards from your lifestyle, and not the other way around where you are exhausting yourself trying to utilize the Credits in any way that you can. In your case, the Resy Credit makes a lot of sense, the Dunkin/Dining Credits don't as much, and of course there may even be people on the other side of things with the Amex Gold of course. Similar mindset to the Platinum in that ultimately it's just a decision on whether the Credits/Benefits fit into your lifestyle. Great video Anthony!
Brilliant video!! Personal Finance is personal and none of us should judge another too harshly. I mean the overwhelming majority of folks are in crippling debt and will never be financially stable. And this is in the country with the most opportunities in the history of the planet!! $650-$800 car payments, $6k+ credit card debt and folks making $30k a year holding the Amex trifecta will always make me feel like I’m living in an alternative reality 😂! Here’s your baseline. Anyone NOT pushing $100k a year thought Amex cards probably shouldn’t hold the Amex trifecta. I said what I said. 😅
Honestly, I know it sounds harsh, but I agree! I know from the Discord I’m a Niche use case but, last year we put 37K on the gold card between dining and grocery. End up switching over to using a sub on the CFF to maximize 5X on grocery for the rest of the year. On the platinum side, we paid 38K on flights. Granted 32 of that was from Work spent but, the lounge access and credits give me good value. The BBP has just been my go to catch all card for years now, so the rest of my spend was on there. And to your point we weren’t quite at 100k but we came close with a total around 89k. Even with all of that I’m planning on closing my gold card. It doesn’t make sense to have it when I can get 3x with the savor 1 or 2x on the BBP for FREE! Worst case scenario if I need MR points I’ll look for a NLL SUB. Also, if the platinum goes up again or Chase expedites their lounge network I don’t see a path where I keep the platinum open.
Wait you mean to tell me my new Mastercard elite will give me free peacock???! Anthony?! We need a master card elite benefits breakdown or a visa infinite card benefits breakdown for sure soon
Great video Anthony! 🫵 I think most people not spending $15k+ every year will do a lot better with a 2x or 3x grocery card and not dealing with 3 monthly credits and 38 credits every year. Trying to justify the AMEX trifecta with low spend and medium to low income makes little to no sense.
I downgraded my platinum to green because it is my oldest Amex card. I just got tired of the coupon book. My current setup: Amex Green, Gold, Blue Business Plus, and Delta Reserve Business. The DRB is a much better anchor card for me and my wife than the platinum.
The only mistake is that the green card has an annual fee and that is your Oldest Card. Your first one should always be a no annual fee as recommended because it’s gonna cost nothing to keep open for history. I had a Chase freedom unlimited, and product changed to the freedom flex. The credit history stays with me when I product change. I just have to remember to keep it open because I had a card in May 2000 from Citi bank as my first when I was 20 years old and I forgot to use it and it got closed in 2015 due to inactivity plummeting my average age of accounts. Now the freedom flex that was previously a Freedom unlimited is my oldest once again. I get more value out of the flex and I don’t lose the credit history.
We are in two different camps. I prefer Amex MR points. The platinum card is a charge card. The lowest annual fee charge card is the green card. Yes, Amex has a no annual fee credit card, but that is a different card product. That product was not available when I got my platinum card. Furthermore, I wouldn’t have been interested if it were available because I got the platinum card for a very specific reason, premium travel, which greatly surpassed the benefits I ever received from chase .
My solution is ditching the Amex experience as a whole You can easily go get the Capital One saver one and combine that with Capital One venture Or you could do Chase Sapphire preferred and freedom unlimited Either of those combos would be much better for any lower to middle income person.
It’s the coupon book fatigue. Paying $700 to sometimes use the centurion lounge when it’s not packed just isn’t worth it. Since it always packed you feel like you need to use the credits or else you’re just wasting $700. I’m thinking of cashing out my Mr points and focusing on chase cards since my airport is a United hub
Interesting points anthony. So based on my calculations you would need to spend at least $1375 per month or $16,500 per year on the gold card in the 4x categories to out earn the bbp, assuming zero use of credits & at least a 1 cpp once you subtract the $325 AF. Me personally im a borderline case. I averaged about $1200 a mth on my gold card in 4x categories but i also put some of dining spend on my chase cards. So if i combined all food spend to the gold card i would probably come out ahead without using any credits.
@@newagain9964 - i do you use some of the credits occasionally, but i don’t rely on credits to justify the AF. For me, my natural spend must be high enough to justify any card for me to keep it.
I don’t disagree canceled my gold card two years ago as most of my grocery spend is in wholesale clubs And I eat out once a month - take my lunch to work everyday Credits regardless didn’t fit my situation I now use rotating category 5 percent cards six months a year and use Citi custom cash the other 6 months for grocery spend Put restaurant spend on chase card or venture x
Never been an AMEX charge card fan. Have plenty of their credit cards but never tried for the charge ones. With the lifetime language and ease of approval it doesn’t make sense until you are at Endgame status anyways. You know how I love my Wyndham Earners Business Card but I also love the Earners + as it also gets 4X at restaurants and grocery stores. And there is no limit and it’s worldwide. I pair them with the Capital One Duo and it covers all my spend when not chasing a SUB
Granted, the trifecta is still cheaper than If you were to qualify for the AMEX black card, but for a lot of people it was expensive than before the gold card increase and it’s still expensive now to have this trifecta.
Luke and Credit Frog are cancelling THE PERSONAL AMEX, but they still have and keeping the $695 AMEX BUSINESS PLATINUM. with the same Airport lounges ... Keep it 100 Anthony 🧢. I'm doing the same thing, I have 2 platinums, a personal and a business. AMEX targeted me for 250K in points. if i got the Business Platinum and spent 15K in 3 months. I LOVE THE BUSINESS PLATINUM better than the personal one too.
Oh damn I thought Luke cancelled his Business Platinum too 💀 whoops, either way, yeah I think the lounge access is powerful, and hard to replace so that makes sense! Thanks Carter for being here man!!
@@iCARTER not exactly. I got the welcome offer on the biz after I canceled the platinum I think. Getting the biz version was really just a SUB play. It’ll get canceled after the first year. I think I both version are top tier cards but I also fly 20+ times a year. At one time my whole set up was the Amex trifecta and a no af no ftf MasterCard and the credits were easy to keep up with. At 40+ cards it’s too hard. I just simplified. For now.
Biz Plat is extremely strong, if you actually use it for your business transactions and not your "business" transactions, it's an easy tax write off, and still gets you access to the lounges, credits, etc. Team Biz Plat > Personal Plat all day.
In my opinion it's not about being expensive, but more is it too much or too complicated for the price. Going back to keeping things simple. If all I had was Amex, thenthe AFs would be fine.
I don't value the lounges and $695 for a single card is crazy and my travel frequency isn't enough to justify the card along with none of the credits being something I'd use besides Uber. I personally get annoyed trying to split points and benefits between issuers so most of my spend is on Amex-issued cards. I use a setup with as little annual fees as possible. So I combo the Gold and BBP alongside Rakuten and also have the No AF fee Hilton just for the 5th night free benefit and get a big vacation.
@@oscargomez7070 The only way to recoup AF on most cards is through spend. At $30k income, most people can't even provide the bare basic necessities for themselves. So $95 spend that requires more spend to justify? No thanks.
I totally agree. I probably don't the most popular cards because I really wouldn't get the most use out of them unless I go out of my way and probably over spend. I make my own Trifecta. I only have one annual fee card and I 'm thinking about letting it go because I have long periods of time where I don't spend on it.
Hey Anthony why don't you ask Amex for replacement for original Gold card. Then spray paint the White Gold card try to customize it make it look like the black card. I think black ground make it look like a black card and white gold layout
Nice video Anthony. BCP is a powerful underrated card as a cash back setup that can replace Amex Gold if you don't spend that much on groceries. Plus you can use it the Rewards dollars to cover the AF or cash out abd use to book a night at nice hotel. I use my BCP and get 6% on streaming and YT monthly memberships along with groceries.
The Blue Cash Preferred is a great card. However, AMEX Reward Dollars can only be used as a statement credit. You can not cash them out to a bank account.
Ever u derstood why anyone would have the gold. The annual difference between the gold and green will be hard for most people to make up with food and restaurants. Not to mention the dumb credits and the lack Of other real benefits the green brings on!!! Add the Blue Bus Plus as a free catch all!!
Personally I don’t like the Blue Cash Preferred. I get it, you have higher multipliers but that $95 eats into it; like you said, and it’s even worst when you compare it against the Savor One. $6k spend subtract the annual fee $265 but then factor the opportunity cost of the Savor One you’re only ahead $85. However two things to consider, is to make it worth it you have to spend close to $6k a year; whereas the Savor One you don’t have to worry about that because the card doesn’t cost anything. Second thing is if you do spend more than $6k the Savor One, it doesn’t have a cap, so with more spend you would come out ahead using the Savor One. However that’s just my two cents on the Blue Cash Preferred.
Oh yeah for sure, just an example of earnings power, but that can be a Savor, Citi Custom cash or whatever, and that’s why I also mentioned it’s free the first year and then can downgrade the year after so no harm no foul with a 10% ROS welcome offer if you so choose to. But yeah I agree, always a better card or strategy out there! Thanks Calby for being here as always man!
@@CalbyNg BCP is basically 4.4% back on groceries with a cap. But it has some good extras. For cash back you’ll be hard pressed to beat the AAA card @ 5% ($10k cap)
Amex cards are definitely targeted towards high spenders, but its nice that the entire annual fees CAN be justified with the credits even if you don’t spend any money on the Gold or Platinum. It just depends on whether or not you can AND want to use all of the credits
Well said. In my experience the bulk of the people who find fault with AMEX, are generally those who signed up for their charge cards without doing the math first.
Anthony I’m new to your channel but a long time credit card TH-cam watcher. You make a AMAZINGLY compelling argument to why the platinum card isn’t as important as it once was. I really had no idea about the Mastercard elite hotel program. For most people that is a direct competitor against FHR and depending on your card… FREE. I’ve really been crunching the numbers and there are many $95 fee and below cards that make Amex almost seem crazy. Compare the citi double cash and citi strata combined your 2x base, 3x gas, groceries, and other things for $95. How can the gold be justified against that ? But anyways I think the Mastercard hotel program needs more limelight … just my 2 cents!!! Keep up showing regular folks how to maximize !!!
Hey Anthony !!! Thanks so much for that Tip for Peacock Credit w/any World Elite MC card ... I immediately updated my Peacock acct w/my Savor One card and instantly got the Credit applied .... You Rock Man ... Big Hugs from Spanish HarLem, NYC !!! 💥
The Amex fees are out of hand. I will keep the Platinum and the Gold. The Business Gold was just canceled. It just saved me $375. Ink cards are the way to go. Thank you Papi!
I don't value lounges at all. Especially now when they cover only the card holder. I never travel alone. The Delta lounge is also complicated, so I never used it.
It is all about lifestyle and what meets your needs at the end of the day you have to ask yourself does the credits actually give me value and if so does that value outweighs the AF? As far income levels goes you can always make more money as long as you have a willingness to do so and do what makes you happy. Reality is you can only cut cost but so much but when it comes to making more money there is endless possibilities.
Cancel for now, such a great concept. I canceled when it went from 0 in year 1 for gold, to $195-250 change. Will I come back to gold? Maybe? But for now team no gold
I love the amex cards and the fee's dont matter to me at this point in my life. I would rather have the life experiences that comes with traveling. Thanks for the video
I get it if some experience overcrowding or long waits to get into lounges. I’ve come across crowding at Centurion Lounges and Sky Clubs on a few occasions at JFK and LHR, the new Sky Club at LAX I’ve had to wait about 5 minutes once since it opened and I fly Delta out of LAX 7-10x annually.
Platinum card might just have to go tbh. It’s nice to have, but we are still waiting for that AF to rise as well. The Gold card can work depending on the person, but the Platinum card is the glaring option to cut.
The Platinum card AF increase will shake the foundation of all Amex fanboys. It's time to be practical folks. I doubt many are jetsetting travelers who use the Platinum as an essential part of their lives.
Savor one codes butchers as grocery stores..3x baby!!! Gotta get rid of those seed oils. I also use the 10x Uber earn rate to get grassfed beef bricks delivered from grocery store
Right now with the blue business plus I'm getting 4x at gas stations due to " offers " ( it has to be 76 or Conoco ) but that's what I use anyway . Its super useful
Since you are shopping mostly at the “meat locker” 😂 do think you would ever pick up the USBAR to get a better multiplier if they have tap to pay or just ride it out on a 2x card?
With the platinum, I can’t stomach the annual fee. Another thing I would have to try to force myself to use enough credits to justify the annual fee, and I don’t live neither an airport that has any centurion lounges nor let alone at all. It’s a very small airport so it would be useless to me. The very most I went to is gold and stopped. I do have the blue business plus to keep my points safe should I cancel the gold card. And of course that’s after getting coupon fatigue and don’t get a good retention offer. I wasn’t spending at this place, but I can use the GrubHub, Uber eats and Dunkin credits and That’s $324 with a credit my effective annual fee only a dollar. The rest would come out of my grocery and dining. I have no use for resy and The hotel credit.
What I did to hit the bonus for the business plus well first I pay taxes whatever but I also paid my phone bill like one year ahead And it has no ideal fee for like 12 months
Might go for a retention offer on the gold next month ... BUT I have other alternatives since I'm churning. The cash back route seems better though now that we have a baby.
The problem is the AF is very high for a mid range card so normies like me can't really justify it but the high spenders are also having the issue where the earnings are capped so if you aren't a high spender then it probably won't suit your lifestyle and if you are a high spender you have a limit on what you can earn so it doesn't make sense in that regard if those limits effect your potential earnings
PEOPLE LISTEN TO ANTHONY CANCEL YOUR PLATINUM CARDS!!! ok now that there's more room in this lounge, I'll have another drink. Also Anthony say butcher shop one more time
![[Live] : ONE 168 วันนี้!! "โจนาธาน vs ซุปเปอร์เล็ก"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0jIN65KgJsI/mqdefault.jpg)
Of course there’s so many life situations and I can’t cover all of them, so I’d love to hear how you guys value your setups whether Amex Trifecta or other! Let’s keep learning from one another!
💳🔵 Learn More: Blue Cash Preferred $0 Annual Fee First Year: www.cardonomics.com/i/anthonyventure/blue-cash-preferred-card-from-american-express
💳 💎 My Top Credit Card Picks! www.cardonomics.com/i/anthonyventure
Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the Venture Capital Discord🤖: discord.gg/R8kMzqneVk
My solution: just cut the platinum lol. The selling point is the centurion lounges…but you can’t get in them anymore with the crazy lines! And also, I choose to minimize my time in airports. It adds zero value to me.
I spend so little time in airports that, while I’m in them, I like to explore, so lounges don’t appeal to me.
I’m also a solo traveler, though, so maybe I’d care more if I weren’t, but at that point, I’d need paid AU’s to get others in too.
Totally agree Jim. It’s nice that it covers Disney plus bundle, but the rest of the credits you would have to work for to make sure they are all used up
@@joetaylor6581 if the Amex trifecta is too expensive, it is, and always has been, because of the Platinum. Not because of the recent Gold revamp.
If you travel often, plat is cornerstone. And STILL tops all other travel cards. Those who know, know.
@@newagain9964 my wallets too thin for travel this year but I definitely will be getting this card in a few years once my career is secured! It’s right for the right person but I’m too broke lol
What bugs me is that they are going up on the fee at all for the gold card. It seems to be just assumed that Amex goes up on the fees every few years when the Chase preferred has been at the same fee forever
The BBP has 12 months of 0% APR. That's a nice interest free loan. You can even throw it in a CD and earn 5% interest
Stumbled upon your videos the other day and your content is awesome man, because you don't sugarcoat your situation or cards and tell it like it is. I appreciate that you can relate with us "normies" that don't fly 67 times a month and stay at 41 different hotels each year. Looking forward to your future videos!
I definitely agree with your assessment throughout this video that things like the Credits should be working backwards from your lifestyle, and not the other way around where you are exhausting yourself trying to utilize the Credits in any way that you can. In your case, the Resy Credit makes a lot of sense, the Dunkin/Dining Credits don't as much, and of course there may even be people on the other side of things with the Amex Gold of course. Similar mindset to the Platinum in that ultimately it's just a decision on whether the Credits/Benefits fit into your lifestyle. Great video Anthony!
Brilliant video!! Personal Finance is personal and none of us should judge another too harshly. I mean the overwhelming majority of folks are in crippling debt and will never be financially stable. And this is in the country with the most opportunities in the history of the planet!! $650-$800 car payments, $6k+ credit card debt and folks making $30k a year holding the Amex trifecta will always make me feel like I’m living in an alternative reality 😂! Here’s your baseline. Anyone NOT pushing $100k a year thought Amex cards probably shouldn’t hold the Amex trifecta. I said what I said. 😅
Honestly, I know it sounds harsh, but I agree! I know from the Discord I’m a Niche use case but, last year we put 37K on the gold card between dining and grocery. End up switching over to using a sub on the CFF to maximize 5X on grocery for the rest of the year.
On the platinum side, we paid 38K on flights. Granted 32 of that was from Work spent but, the lounge access and credits give me good value. The BBP has just been my go to catch all card for years now, so the rest of my spend was on there. And to your point we weren’t quite at 100k but we came close with a total around 89k.
Even with all of that I’m planning on closing my gold card. It doesn’t make sense to have it when I can get 3x with the savor 1 or 2x on the BBP for FREE! Worst case scenario if I need MR points I’ll look for a NLL SUB. Also, if the platinum goes up again or Chase expedites their lounge network I don’t see a path where I keep the platinum open.
Solid take. I am more of a budget traveler, so I use the AMEX Duo - Green+BBP.
Wait you mean to tell me my new Mastercard elite will give me free peacock???! Anthony?! We need a master card elite benefits breakdown or a visa infinite card benefits breakdown for sure soon
Too expensive? Get the business versions and all problems will be solved 👀
It was too expensive before the gold card annual fee hike.
@jdbdidoek Relax rich guy. Nobody said anything about bankrupting, all I said it was too expensive before the annual fee hike.
@jdbdidoeka 25k McDonald’s meal wouldn’t bankrupt me. But 25k for McDonald’s is too expensive.
Can you get that though your head or is that to complex
Great video Anthony! 🫵 I think most people not spending $15k+ every year will do a lot better with a 2x or 3x grocery card and not dealing with 3 monthly credits and 38 credits every year.
Trying to justify the AMEX trifecta with low spend and medium to low income makes little to no sense.
I downgraded my platinum to green because it is my oldest Amex card. I just got tired of the coupon book. My current setup: Amex Green, Gold, Blue Business Plus, and Delta Reserve Business. The DRB is a much better anchor card for me and my wife than the platinum.
The only mistake is that the green card has an annual fee and that is your Oldest Card. Your first one should always be a no annual fee as recommended because it’s gonna cost nothing to keep open for history. I had a Chase freedom unlimited, and product changed to the freedom flex. The credit history stays with me when I product change. I just have to remember to keep it open because I had a card in May 2000 from Citi bank as my first when I was 20 years old and I forgot to use it and it got closed in 2015 due to inactivity plummeting my average age of accounts. Now the freedom flex that was previously a Freedom unlimited is my oldest once again. I get more value out of the flex and I don’t lose the credit history.
We are in two different camps. I prefer Amex MR points. The platinum card is a charge card. The lowest annual fee charge card is the green card. Yes, Amex has a no annual fee credit card, but that is a different card product. That product was not available when I got my platinum card. Furthermore, I wouldn’t have been interested if it were available because I got the platinum card for a very specific reason, premium travel, which greatly surpassed the benefits I ever received from chase .
Good for you for caring about your health and seed oils. Love the Blue Cash Preferred.
My solution is ditching the Amex experience as a whole
You can easily go get the Capital One saver one and combine that with Capital One venture
Or you could do Chase Sapphire preferred and freedom unlimited
Either of those combos would be much better for any lower to middle income person.
It’s the coupon book fatigue. Paying $700 to sometimes use the centurion lounge when it’s not packed just isn’t worth it. Since it always packed you feel like you need to use the credits or else you’re just wasting $700. I’m thinking of cashing out my Mr points and focusing on chase cards since my airport is a United hub
Interesting points anthony. So based on my calculations you would need to spend at least $1375 per month or $16,500 per year on the gold card in the 4x categories to out earn the bbp, assuming zero use of credits & at least a 1 cpp once you subtract the $325 AF.
Me personally im a borderline case. I averaged about $1200 a mth on my gold card in 4x categories but i also put some of dining spend on my chase cards. So if i combined all food spend to the gold card i would probably come out ahead without using any credits.
Why would u even this card (or most others with credits) if u don’t use the credits?🤷♂️🤣
@@newagain9964 - i do you use some of the credits occasionally, but i don’t rely on credits to justify the AF. For me, my natural spend must be high enough to justify any card for me to keep it.
I don’t disagree canceled my gold card two years ago as most of my grocery spend is in wholesale clubs
And I eat out once a month - take my lunch to work everyday
Credits regardless didn’t fit my situation
I now use rotating category 5 percent cards six months a year and use Citi custom cash the other 6 months for grocery spend
Put restaurant spend on chase card or venture x
Never been an AMEX charge card fan. Have plenty of their credit cards but never tried for the charge ones. With the lifetime language and ease of approval it doesn’t make sense until you are at Endgame status anyways.
You know how I love my Wyndham Earners Business Card but I also love the Earners + as it also gets 4X at restaurants and grocery stores. And there is no limit and it’s worldwide. I pair them with the Capital One Duo and it covers all my spend when not chasing a SUB
“Is the AMEX trifecta too expensive?” The AMEX platinum is too expensive alone 😭😭
Granted, the trifecta is still cheaper than If you were to qualify for the AMEX black card, but for a lot of people it was expensive than before the gold card increase and it’s still expensive now to have this trifecta.
It really has always been too expensive
@jdbdidoek I have the plat but am perfectly content with the savor one as my food card so as to not jump through the hoops of the gold
@@yer992fine. Cool. But some ppl make use of the credits, making gold superior to savor1, esp. once u add in other gold benefits
Luke and Credit Frog are cancelling THE PERSONAL AMEX, but they still have and keeping the $695 AMEX BUSINESS PLATINUM. with the same Airport lounges ... Keep it 100 Anthony 🧢. I'm doing the same thing, I have 2 platinums, a personal and a business. AMEX targeted me for 250K in points. if i got the Business Platinum and spent 15K in 3 months. I LOVE THE BUSINESS PLATINUM better than the personal one too.
Oh damn I thought Luke cancelled his Business Platinum too 💀 whoops, either way, yeah I think the lounge access is powerful, and hard to replace so that makes sense!
Thanks Carter for being here man!!
@LukePointsandMiles do you agree with my statement or am I wrong?
@@iCARTER not exactly. I got the welcome offer on the biz after I canceled the platinum I think. Getting the biz version was really just a SUB play. It’ll get canceled after the first year. I think I both version are top tier cards but I also fly 20+ times a year. At one time my whole set up was the Amex trifecta and a no af no ftf MasterCard and the credits were easy to keep up with. At 40+ cards it’s too hard. I just simplified. For now.
Biz Plat is extremely strong, if you actually use it for your business transactions and not your "business" transactions, it's an easy tax write off, and still gets you access to the lounges, credits, etc. Team Biz Plat > Personal Plat all day.
In my opinion it's not about being expensive, but more is it too much or too complicated for the price. Going back to keeping things simple. If all I had was Amex, thenthe AFs would be fine.
I don't value the lounges and $695 for a single card is crazy and my travel frequency isn't enough to justify the card along with none of the credits being something I'd use besides Uber. I personally get annoyed trying to split points and benefits between issuers so most of my spend is on Amex-issued cards.
I use a setup with as little annual fees as possible. So I combo the Gold and BBP alongside Rakuten and also have the No AF fee Hilton just for the 5th night free benefit and get a big vacation.
I wouldn’t recommend any AF card to someone with 30k income. IMHO living wages start at 50k.
Not even a low $95 AF ?
@@oscargomez7070 The only way to recoup AF on most cards is through spend. At $30k income, most people can't even provide the bare basic necessities for themselves. So $95 spend that requires more spend to justify? No thanks.
@@chadpennycuff agree with Chad. Anyone @ $30k needs to focus on income, not reward crumbs.
@@LukesPointsandMilesfax. I’d bump it up to $50k really..or at least don’t have AF cards at that income.
@@newagain9964 can’t argue that.
I totally agree. I probably don't the most popular cards because I really wouldn't get the most use out of them unless I go out of my way and probably over spend. I make my own Trifecta. I only have one annual fee card and I 'm thinking about letting it go because I have long periods of time where I don't spend on it.
Hey Anthony why don't you ask Amex for replacement for original Gold card. Then spray paint the White Gold card try to customize it make it look like the black card. I think black ground make it look like a black card and white gold layout
This works If you don't care about Traveling Much
Nice video Anthony. BCP is a powerful underrated card as a cash back setup that can replace Amex Gold if you don't spend that much on groceries. Plus you can use it the Rewards dollars to cover the AF or cash out abd use to book a night at nice hotel. I use my BCP and get 6% on streaming and YT monthly memberships along with groceries.
The Blue Cash Preferred is a great card. However, AMEX Reward Dollars can only be used as a statement credit. You can not cash them out to a bank account.
Ever u derstood why anyone would have the gold. The annual difference between the gold and green will be hard for most people to make up with food and restaurants. Not to mention the dumb credits and the lack
Of other real benefits the green brings on!!! Add the Blue Bus Plus as a free catch all!!
Personally I don’t like the Blue Cash Preferred. I get it, you have higher multipliers but that $95 eats into it; like you said, and it’s even worst when you compare it against the Savor One. $6k spend subtract the annual fee $265 but then factor the opportunity cost of the Savor One you’re only ahead $85. However two things to consider, is to make it worth it you have to spend close to $6k a year; whereas the Savor One you don’t have to worry about that because the card doesn’t cost anything. Second thing is if you do spend more than $6k the Savor One, it doesn’t have a cap, so with more spend you would come out ahead using the Savor One. However that’s just my two cents on the Blue Cash Preferred.
Oh yeah for sure, just an example of earnings power, but that can be a Savor, Citi Custom cash or whatever, and that’s why I also mentioned it’s free the first year and then can downgrade the year after so no harm no foul with a 10% ROS welcome offer if you so choose to.
But yeah I agree, always a better card or strategy out there!
Thanks Calby for being here as always man!
Let me throw in a third: SavorOne allows you to convert cashback to miles
@@CalbyNg BCP is basically 4.4% back on groceries with a cap. But it has some good extras. For cash back you’ll be hard pressed to beat the AAA card @ 5% ($10k cap)
Amex cards are definitely targeted towards high spenders, but its nice that the entire annual fees CAN be justified with the credits even if you don’t spend any money on the Gold or Platinum. It just depends on whether or not you can AND want to use all of the credits
Well said. In my experience the bulk of the people who find fault with AMEX, are generally those who signed up for their charge cards without doing the math first.
I appreciate your thoughts. Everybody's situation is different, and we need to appreciate that, too. Every card isn't for everybody.
Anthony I’m new to your channel but a long time credit card TH-cam watcher. You make a AMAZINGLY compelling argument to why the platinum card isn’t as important as it once was. I really had no idea about the Mastercard elite hotel program. For most people that is a direct competitor against FHR and depending on your card… FREE. I’ve really been crunching the numbers and there are many $95 fee and below cards that make Amex almost seem crazy. Compare the citi double cash and citi strata combined your 2x base, 3x gas, groceries, and other things for $95. How can the gold be justified against that ? But anyways I think the Mastercard hotel program needs more limelight … just my 2 cents!!! Keep up showing regular folks how to maximize !!!
Hey Anthony !!!
Thanks so much for that Tip for Peacock Credit w/any World Elite MC card ... I immediately updated my Peacock acct w/my Savor One card and instantly got the Credit applied .... You Rock Man ... Big Hugs from Spanish HarLem, NYC !!! 💥
The Amex fees are out of hand. I will keep the Platinum and the Gold. The Business Gold was just canceled. It just saved me $375. Ink cards are the way to go. Thank you Papi!
I don't value lounges at all. Especially now when they cover only the card holder. I never travel alone. The Delta lounge is also complicated, so I never used it.
It is all about lifestyle and what meets your needs at the end of the day you have to ask yourself does the credits actually give me value and if so does that value outweighs the AF? As far income levels goes you can always make more money as long as you have a willingness to do so and do what makes you happy. Reality is you can only cut cost but so much but when it comes to making more money there is endless possibilities.
Cancel for now, such a great concept.
I canceled when it went from 0 in year 1 for gold, to $195-250 change.
Will I come back to gold? Maybe? But for now team no gold
Great points to consider Anthony!
25k grocery dining spend is manageable but 32k a year I'm good on that so glad I got declined for the gold card and got the savor instead
I love the amex cards and the fee's dont matter to me at this point in my life. I would rather have the life experiences that comes with traveling.
Thanks for the video
I built a new trifecta. Downgraded to platinum to green, BCP, and Delta Research business. Problem solved.
I like that setup.
In the future i might go:
Green + BCP + delta platinum + Marriott biz
@@docsaysI have Hilton biz. The refresh works w/the $60 quarterly credit.
*reserve
@@docsayslast thing, the reserve enhanced cert + lounge access pays for itself.
I get it if some experience overcrowding or long waits to get into lounges.
I’ve come across crowding at Centurion Lounges and Sky Clubs on a few occasions at JFK and LHR, the new Sky Club at LAX I’ve had to wait about 5 minutes once since it opened and I fly Delta out of LAX 7-10x annually.
Platinum card might just have to go tbh. It’s nice to have, but we are still waiting for that AF to rise as well. The Gold card can work depending on the person, but the Platinum card is the glaring option to cut.
Plat is the only Amex card worth having, as long as traveling
The Platinum card AF increase will shake the foundation of all Amex fanboys. It's time to be practical folks. I doubt many are jetsetting travelers who use the Platinum as an essential part of their lives.
Savor one codes butchers as grocery stores..3x baby!!! Gotta get rid of those seed oils. I also use the 10x Uber earn rate to get grassfed beef bricks delivered from grocery store
Right now with the blue business plus I'm getting 4x at gas stations due to " offers " ( it has to be 76 or Conoco ) but that's what I use anyway . Its super useful
It seems as if Amex is having you spend more and more for benefits. Amex is more of a benefit if your income/career allows for it.
Since you are shopping mostly at the “meat locker” 😂 do think you would ever pick up the USBAR to get a better multiplier if they have tap to pay or just ride it out on a 2x card?
Crazy expensive and it doesn't even cover the 3x categories provided by the Green card (which the CSR covers)!
With the platinum, I can’t stomach the annual fee. Another thing I would have to try to force myself to use enough credits to justify the annual fee, and I don’t live neither an airport that has any centurion lounges nor let alone at all. It’s a very small airport so it would be useless to me. The very most I went to is gold and stopped. I do have the blue business plus to keep my points safe should I cancel the gold card. And of course that’s after getting coupon fatigue and don’t get a good retention offer. I wasn’t spending at this place, but I can use the GrubHub, Uber eats and Dunkin credits and That’s $324 with a credit my effective annual fee only a dollar. The rest would come out of my grocery and dining. I have no use for resy and The hotel credit.
What I did to hit the bonus for the business plus well first I pay taxes whatever but I also paid my phone bill like one year ahead And it has no ideal fee for like 12 months
I'm a New subscriber 🎉
Might go for a retention offer on the gold next month ... BUT I have other alternatives since I'm churning. The cash back route seems better though now that we have a baby.
The problem is the AF is very high for a mid range card so normies like me can't really justify it but the high spenders are also having the issue where the earnings are capped so if you aren't a high spender then it probably won't suit your lifestyle and if you are a high spender you have a limit on what you can earn so it doesn't make sense in that regard if those limits effect your potential earnings
What’s a “high spender”? $25k+? $75k+?
Instructions unclear, now adopting a position of loving to hate.
PEOPLE LISTEN TO ANTHONY CANCEL YOUR PLATINUM CARDS!!! ok now that there's more room in this lounge, I'll have another drink.
Also Anthony say butcher shop one more time
I NEVER SAID CANCEL PHIL - GO BACK TO SLEEP!
Also BUTCHER 👏 SHOP 👏
😂😂😂, thanks Phil MO !!
@@AnthonyVenture I guess PhilMo78 thinks he is impressing people! Lol
Just got the gold card 🤷♂️. I don’t care for the lounge access but I do eat a lot as a college student!
Bruh. Talk about (grossly) overpaying for 4x on dining and groceries. 😮
@@newagain9964 if you use the credits you easily make your money back plus some
Don't get the blue cash preferred. You need 30 purchases per month and the AAA card has 5% back in groceries.
You are confusing the Everyday Preferred with the Blue Cash Preferred. No minimum transactions for the BCP.
@@coreycicci oops my bad. Thanks for the correction.
Yes