Amex APRs, American Miles, and MR Points to BA
by Jason SteeleAmex Raises APRs Ahead of Credit Card Bill of Rights
I received several letters in the mail last week from Amex indicating that they will be raising my APR on each of my cards. I don’t care at all, since I never pay interest on my credit cards. The folks at the Consumerist had a different take on the situation; “AMEX Blue Raises Rates, Also On Past Balances, And Won’t Let You Leave”.
I like the Consumerist, however they really have a knack for attention grabbing, but misleading headlines. Where do I begin. First, these rate hikes are across the board, they do not just affect their American Express Blue product. Secondly, I have no idea what they mean by claiming that they “won’t let you leave.” Amex, like any company, has it’s flaws (see financial reviews and foreign transaction fees), but they are not the mafia or some super secret espionage agency. If you want out, just cancel your card and pay off your balance. It is that simple.
Should they be raising rates on previous purchases? No, of course they should not. That is why Congress passed, and President Obama signed the Credit Card Bill of Rights, so that they and every other bank will no longer be allowed to do that. In the mean time, they are still able to do it legally, if not ethically. As I wrote recently, I feel that higher APRs are more honest than all sorts of hidden tricks and traps that result in fees. People should be aware of a higher APR when they choose to carry a balance, rather than be barraged with tricky fees. I would rather have the credit card companies charge a higher APR, then go after customers with dishonest practices like double cycle billing and payment due dates on holidays. If I were carrying a balance, at least I could easily compare APRs among my cards.
All American Miles Count Towards Lifetime Status
American Airlines practically invented the frequent flier program, although Wikipedia gives credit to long defunct Braniff Airlines. For most frequent fliers, the most coveted award is “status”. Each airline has several tiers of status that can only be gained through earning elite qualifying miles (EQMs). Get so many EQMs in one calendar year and you are awarded free upgrades, priority call numbers, and other intangible benefits to set yourself apart from the unwashed masses.
At the beginning of the year, the race starts all over to re-qualify for status. Above everyone else is a super tier called Million Mile (MM). These travelers have accumulated a million miles or more. Most airlines even have a level of two million and more. Typically one receives some sort of welcome gift, and is granted lifetime status; the traveler’s holy grail!
At first, most airlines looked at total lifetime miles from all sources, however most airlines started only counting actual flown miles soon after their co-branded credit cards started proliferating. American Airlines, as far as I know, is the only hold out. Every mile you earn with their credit cards or from other sources, counts towards Million Miler status. For Richard Ingersoll, AKA The Frugal Travel Guy, he is on a trajectory to be a two million miler, largely through his churning of American Airlines/ CitiBank credit cards. He can do this as CitiBank, coincidentally, is one of the only credit card companies that will offer you a sign up bonus even if you have previously had the card before. He is currently lifetime Gold status as a result of his first million miles. When he reaches 2 million miles, he will be lifetime Platinum. Not bad for a guy who rarely, if ever, pays for his flights.
Finally, Membership Rewards Points to British Airways
The American Express Membership Rewards program became more valuable recently, when members gained the ability to convert points to miles in British Airways Executive Club frequent flier program. The One Mile At a Time Blog has the details. British, for all it’s faults, still has a very impressive network, especially to the United States. Unfortunately, BA is also very bad at charging huge “fuel surcharges” on award tickets that somehow don’t go down when fuel prices are low.
This is another great benefit of Membership Rewards miles, is that American Airlines miles are currently not redeemable for travel on BA originating in the United States. This is due to some anti-trust agreement.