I just got another amex Platinum Credit Card about the card’s auto rental coverage. Essentially, it was telling me to upgrade my car rental coverage.

As a credit card holder of American Express, you are automatically covered for the loss or damage to a rental vehicle. The basic coverage is for the following :

Standard Coverage

1. Up to 30 days of consecutive coverage

2. Secondary insurance (policy pays in excess of other insurance)

3. Up to $75k in coverage

4. Coverage for standard vehicles.

Premium Coverage

If I were to be upgraded to a premium coverage, the improvements will be as follows :

1. I will have up to 42 days of consecutive days of coverage (unless I am a Washington Resident - in which on 30 days apply).

2. The coverage will be primary - which means it will pay regardless of other insurance.

3. The coverage is increased from $75,000 to $100,000 for damage, theft or loss of the rental vehicle.

4. The coverage includes both luxury and standard vehicles.

Basically, the cost of this is $24.95 per rental, which according to Amex is a good deal because rental companies charge $20 a day for such coverage. I do not know about this because I never get any sort of premium coverage when I rent a car. But what really intrigued me is actually the definition of luxury vehicle. What is it? Guess I have to make a few calls to find out. But for now, I do not have any interest in this at all.

One of the reasons why I love my American Express credit cards is the customer service that you get that nobody really tells you about. Here are 2 contrasting stories with 2 cards I have, the Blue Cash card and the Chase Flexible Rewards Card.

About a months and a half ago (as far as I can remember), I brought our family to the Ben Franklin Institute. There was a special display for Star Wars items. I am a huge Star Wars fan and my kids have also been introduced to Star Wars. So what a better way to start our weekend with a morning journey to the Museum.

I managed to find a parking space about a block away from the museum. There was no parking attendant. Rather, there was a credit card machine for us to pay. So out came my Blue Cash card and the parking amount turned out to be $15.00 (a fixed charge). However, when everything was processed, I pushed the “receipt button” but could not find the receipt. Hence, I inserted my credit card again and went through the whole process. Then I found the slot where the receipt was supposed to be and found 2 receipts. Oops! Looks like I may have paid twice.

While walking to the museum, I gave Amex a call. The customer service representative told me that the charges are not in the system yet and it will take 2 or 3 days before they could do anything. So I was asked to call back on Monday.

On Monday, I called Amex and they asked me to raise dispute over a charge (although this was more of an accident on my part than a dispute). Amex told me to chill out and that everything will be sorted out.

Statement on next bill

To my surprise, on my next statements, they had a section that said :

Pending Investigation - No payment on the disputed amount of $15.00 is required at this time

Letters from American Express

I also got a letter from Amex on 4th March 2008 which read :

Dear Mr Credit Card

Customer Service Supervisor
Dispute Reference Number : xxxxxxx

Matter Resolved

Then on 2nd April, we got another letter from American Express.

Dear Mr Credit Card

Customer Service Supervisor
Dispute Reference Number : xxxxxx

What’s the big deal you might ask?

Well, we have another pending investigation : this time with Chase. Mrs Credit Card signed the kids up for spring baseball. But the kids did not want to play. But Mrs Credit Card had already paid online via our Chase credit card.

Mrs Credit Card called the “little league organizer” to get a refund. They agreed to our request but said they would charge us a $10.00 administration fee. This happened on 13th of March. Mrs Credit Card was expecting a credit on our next Chase statement. However, there was none.

So she called up Chase and raised a dispute (on 7th April). However, Chase told her that we have to give the vendors 30 days to act. Hence, they told us to call back on the 13th (exactly, one month from the call we made to the “little league organizer”. It turned out that the charges were not reversed.

So chase said that they will send us a form to fill and to send in all relevant supporting evidence. What a contrast this is to my Amex Experience! I shall stop now and reserve the outcome for another post.

But this is another episode that reinforces my positive feelings for American Express Credit Cards. I really think they have the best customer service compared to other credit card issuers.

In the past, one of the very little “drawback” of the Blue Cash Credit Card is the fact that you cannot check how you’ve actually earned your cash rebate.

Well, American Express have now remedied that situation by having a page where you can login and check how much cash rebates you have earned so far in your calendar year. They have even broken down your expenditure by categories so you can tell how much rebates you have earned from say, gasoline expenditure.

You will also know if you have passed the $6,500 threshold to earn the maximum rebates. I think this is a fantastic improvement and I’m pretty pleased that I can now check my expenditure breakdown. Here are some of the other neat features :

1. You can set a target on how much cash rebates you want to earn! - Like we all like to spend more on our card. Hmmm! Is this a good thing or not. But hey, if you are disciplined, why not key in your target and see how fast you reach it. I’m sure American Express wants you to set high targets.

2. Cash Back Calculator - Amex has also put a link to their cash rebate calculator so you can estimate how much you are going to earn. However, you can only use that if you already have a card a login and password. If you have not got the card and want to see if it is the best card to have, then head over to our cash back credit card comparison calculator.

3. Shows your cash rebate history and how much you have earned this year - Nice little chart to have.

4. Your year to date spending on the card - I really like this because you can simply check it at a glance on your computer rather than going through your money software or excel.

5. Tells you if you have reached your $6,500 threshold - For those of you who are not familiar with this card, once your annual spending exceeds $6,500, you can earn 5% rebates on gasoline, supermarket and drugstore and 1.5% rebates on other general purchases. There is a sign or section that tells you whether you can earn that higher rebate level. Guess, Amex wants to spur you on your spending!

6. How does your spending compare to other cardholders! - Amex says that the average blue cash card holder spends about 85% on “general purchases” and 15% on “bonus items - the stuff that lets you earn 5% rebates”. My ratio was 80% to 20%. Guess, I make better use of my card?

7.What if calculator - There is also a what-if calculator were you can play around and see the effects on your rebates.

And needless to say, there are various links to other parts of the site. It is a cool page and has a very web 2.0 look. I’ll be doing a screen cast and posting this after this in the next couple of days.

This new improvement in my opinion is great and reaffirms my view that the Blue Cash is the best consumer cash back credit card in the market today.

While clearing my desk yesterday, I came across a mail that I did not open. I opened it and realized that it was the American Express Platinum Credit Card Year End Expense Summary. It actually came in a booklet and had 11 pages.

The first page had a table that broke down the expenses by month and category. The categories were travel, restaurants, merchandise, auto, other merchants and fees and adjustments. Below that table was a graph showing the percent of each category that was charged to the card. Here was my breakdown.

Travel - 10%
Restaurants - 24%
Merchandise - 24%
Auto - <1%
Other Merchants - 61%
Fees & Adjustments - 2%

Page 4 broke down the expenses by month, category and furthermore by myself and Mrs Credit Card.

From page 5 until page 11, they showed the precise charges by category. Hence for travel, I can see all travel related expenses on one page. So here is a summary of the spending on the Amex Platinum Card last year.

Total spending : $43,179.74

Travel : $4,124.34
Restaurant : $1,412.06
Merchandise : $10,407.05
Auto : $46.83
Other Merchants : $26,322.21
Fees & Adjustments : $867.25

Bear in mind that I use this card mainly for business expenses. I use the Blue Cash as the main card for our personal expenses. I really like this booklet as it is really professional done and I can keep them for my records rather than having to keep all the statements in a file. All my business expense are now in a single booklet.

This post is written by Mrs Credit Card :

I was very excited to hear about the new exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia - Star Wars : Where Science Meets Imagination. It started on February 9 and ends on May 4. http://www2.fi.edu/

One of main attractions is a 4 minute “ride” in a reconstructed Millennium Falcon which costs $5 each, over & above the admission charges. Since the kids have a day off on President’s Day, I decided to call go online to get the tickets. It turned out to be a 2 hour quest and here’s my story.

1. I went to http://www2.fi.edu/ and found out from the ticketing link that American Express cardholders have $2 discount off the adult price but I need a promotional code. I called American Express Concierge to request for the code.

2. I explained the situation to the customer service agent - Leqina (may not be the right spelling) and she will check so I had to be on hold.

3. Minutes later, Leqina said they could not locate the discount code in their program but the box office is willing to give me the “partner deal” discount which is $2 off each adult ticket.

4. I said OK and clarified all the convenience fees. I informed her that I wanted to include the tickets for the Millennium Falcon ride and ask her to clarify if those will be charged convenience fees too. She said OK & will check.

5. Minutes later, Leqina came back on the phone and said yes, the $5 ticket charge for the Millennium Falcon ride will be subject to the convenience fees charge. I reckoned that it will be very popular, I might as well get it now in case it gets sold out when I am there.

6. We confirmed the dates that we wanted the admission and the types & number of tickets we need. The total excluded the Millenium Falcon ride and asked her why it was not included. She said it has tp be processed separately. I told her it shouldn’t be the case as the ticket window on the site allows me to purchase the option in one transaction. She nicely insisted that the system is such and even checked with the box office guy. By now, it’s been an hour already so I said OK - whatever you say. Just get me those tickets.

7. She went ahead to confirm my purchase of the admission tickets & reminding me that they are non refundable.

8. Then she said please hold on while I process the second transaction. I was on hold for so long and finally she came back with bad news. Tickets for Millenium Falcon is all sold out on President’s Day. I was furious. I reminded her of my point 6 above and insisted that they voided the transaction and rebook us on the weekend dates that have the available space for Millenium falcon. I believe that she and the box office agent made a mistake when they refuse to put them in one transaction as they would have known the problem before the transaction went through. I can only imagine my kids disappointment when we get there & they are not able to get in.

9. Leqina went back to box office and I was on hold again. I have been on the phone for an hour and a half already. while I was on the phone with her, I keep going to the internet to try to book the tickets through the ticketing link but there was 2 error messages after I selected the Millennium Falcon option. The first error message was I provided the wrong discount code and the second error message said the the Millennium Falcon Ride was no longer available.

10. She came back and said the box office manager agreed to cancel the transaction. She asked if we want to continue to find another date. I said yes.

11. Leqina came back on the phone to say that they finally found a date that can accommodate the Millenium Falcon Ride - March 15. I said OK, please proceed. Leqina said thank you and please hold while we process the transaction.

12. Then she came back to say she has completed the transaction for the admission and to give her a few moments to complete the second part of my transaction.

13. Many “moments” later, she came back and said there has been a problem. They have a problem booking for the Millennium falcon Ride and needs more time to work on it. I said OK but I have to go and pick up my kids now and ask her to call me back an hour later.

14. One hour later, she told me that in fact ALL the Millenium Falcon tickets are SOLD OUT ! I cannot believe my ears. Al the way to May 4 ! I wasted 2 hours plus for this !

I am so exhausted just retelling this experience. It is ridiculous to think that Franklin Institute allowed that to happen. I will try my bext to alert the local media.

While it’s nice to have the platinum card, sometimes I wonder if the concierge service is overated? Am I being too demanding? Care to share your amex concierge experience?

Well, I just got a mail from American Express telling me that my credit limit for my Blue Cash card has been increased from $10,000 to $15,000! That is a very pleasant surprise indeed. I did not ask for a credit limit from them at all. And I’ve never had this experience below. Our credit card bills are normally about $2,500 on the card and we’ve always paid up the bills fully on time. Aside from that, I also have the Amex Platinum Card.

So I guess if there are few tips to give to get a credit card limit increase without asking, here it is :

1. Pay your bills on time every month. In fact, I’ve set up automatic bill pay.

2. Never carry a balance - This may not be a hard and fast rule, but by not carrying a balance, you avoid paying high interest charges.

3. Pay your other bills on time (not just your credit card bills) - Your credit card issuer not only watches your payment on the card they issue you, but also on your other bills, debts and loans. If there is a negative report in your credit report, they will know about it.

4. Having a good credit score helps - If you follow the tips above and don’t carry too much debt, you will have good credit scores.

5. Have a long history with the credit card issuer - I’ve been with American Express for over fourteen years. I started with their charge cards and only three years ago did I get the Blue Cash. I’m not too sure if that helps at all, but it certainly cannot hurt.

Given that lenders are becoming strict in credit approval due to the sub prime crisis, this credit increase was certainly a pleasant surprise. Have you got your credit limits increased recently?

I was going to visit a new client today, but ended up at the wrong address. After clarifying the correct address, I agreed to meet them in about 45 minutes. As I was about to take off, I realized that I had left my car keys in my car!

Now what? I did not carry my wife’s AAA card with me. I did not know what to do. Then an idea came to my mind. I shall call my American Express Card. After going through the usual verifications, I was put through to the Global Assist Call center.

I told them my problem. I had left my car keys in the car and need help to unlock my car doors. Global Assist said that should be no problem. However, I said I was in a hurry. But they said that it usually takes 45 minutes to an hour. After a few minutes of holding, the “dispatch” team told me that they have arranged for a dispatch company to get to my location and that they will call me soon to confirm everything. I was told to leave my cell phone number so that I can be contacted. I made my call to Amex at 2:30pm.

By 3pm, I still had not received any call. So I called Global Assist to check what was going on. They said that dispatch should be at my location at about 3:30pm and that they probably forgot to call me to confirm. So I waited until 3:30pm, still no call and no sight of the dispatch.

I made another call back to Amex. This time, they got the driver of the dispatch service on the line. He asked me exactly where I was and how to get there. I gave him directions and asked him when he will arrive. He said about twenty minutes. Just after I hung up the phone, Amex called to check how were things. This was an automated phone call made to me by customer service center to check in on me. I told them what transpired and they asked if I wanted to call for another service. I said that I’d wait for twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes went by and still there was no sight of the dispatch service. I called Amex again. I was quite agitated this time. However, Amex said they were about two minutes away. True enough, the guys soon arrived in a white pickup. Using what looked like a little spade to create an opening in the door, they used a long wire and after about three minutes managed to unlock to my car door. It was now 4:00pm and it took one and a half hours since my call to Amex for dispatch service to arrive (when I was told it would normally take one hour).

Despite the fact that it took a little longer, I was quite pleased with Amex. They politely answered my call and were most helpful in trying to get this done as quickly as possible. Whatever happens, I will always carry my Amex in my wallet.

The American Express Membership Rewards now have APPLE Products in their catalog. Previously, only Citi’s ThankYou Rewards have the complete set of Apple iPods. Now, Membership Rewards now only have the complete set of Apply iPods, but also the iPhone and even Mac computers. Here is the line up.

iPod Shuffle - 14,000 points
Apple TV 40GB Digital Media Extender - 55,000 points
iPod Touch - 69,000 points
iPod Nano 8GB - 34,500 points
iPod Nano 4GB - 26,000 points
iPod Classic 160GB - 58,000 points
iPod Classic 80GB - 42,000 points
iPhone 8GB - 71,000 points
MacBook 2.0 GHZ Core 2 Duo Notebook - 186,000 points
iMac 2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo Processor Desktop - 207,500 points
iTunes 50 songs - 5,500 points
iTunes 25 songs - 3,000 points

The inclusion of these Apple products in their catalog is an icing on the cake because Membership Rewards already has the most number of merchant partners in their catalog. Best way to earn points for these merchandise is via the no annual fee Blue from American Express®.

Alright, time to spill the beans on my annual cash rebates with my American Express Blue Cash Credit Card. But before that, here is a quick background on my history with the Blue Cash.

I started using the Blue Cash in August 2005 and hence, this is my second year with the card. All I can say is that I have been more than happy with the customer service. On a couple of early occasions, I missed my payment and my late fee and additional finance charges were waived. A bit part of this had to do with my ten year record with the Amex Gold Card.

So here are the statistics : My annual cash rebate at the end of August 2007 was $401.51. For the calendar year, I charged $20,003.89. Hence, I earned 2% cash rebates. With the Blue Cash, I got my rebates through a statement credit - not a check unlike some other cards like the Citi Dividend Card for example. The only peeve I have with the Blue Cash is that I still cannot see the breakdown of my expenses for the items that I am supposed to earn 5% rebates - gas, supermarkets and drugstores.

This year, I charged less to the card than last year. The reason is because I upgrade my Gold Card to the Platinum Charge Card. So at present, I am absolutely not optimizing my expense to earn the most cash rebates. And because I am contantly looking to check out new cards, I probably will never earn the most rebates!

If you are looking for a cash back credit card, I have no hestitation recommending the Blue Cash® from American Express . But before you do so, you might just want to check out our Cash Back Credit Card Calculator to find the card that will give you the most rebates.

We’ve seen fees increase late fees, over the limit fees for credit cards. But the SPG Starwood Preferrred Guest Credit Card has just increased their credit card annual fee from $30 to $45! This follows the increase in the fees for the Platinum Charge Card.

It appears to me that credit card issuers have changed their strategy from one of acquiring customers at any cost to one of “profitability”. This, I think, follows the trend we are seeing in balance transfer credit cards where issuers are slapping on their usual fees and in some cases, removing any maximum balance transfer fees.

However, in the case of the SPG card, I think that American Express will not lose many cardholders at all. Why do I say that? Here are some reasons why I think the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card is one of the best travel rewards credit card.

No Blackout Dates - The SPG program was the first that introduced the concept of no blackout dates. That means that as long they have a room, you can use your reward points to get a free night stay.

Requires less points for different categories - Frequent guest members of hotels will know that hotel and hotel rooms are classified differently depending on their status and whether they are two, three, four or five stars. There are seven categories - 1 to 7. The SPG program requires relatively fewer points for each category compared to other programs to get a free night stay.

Transfer points to airmiles plus 5,000 bonus miles for transferring 20,000 points - While most programs allow members to transfer points into airmiles, the SPG program allows you to transfer points to airmiles on a one point for one mile basis for most airlines. Furthermore, when you transfer 20,000 points into 20,000 airmiles, SPG will give you a bonus of 5,000 miles. That means that after earning 20,000 points, you can typically get a free airline ticket on most domestic airlines rather than having to earn 25,000 points.

More Freddie Awards - The Starwood Preferred Guest program has won more Freddie Awards progam than other programs.

Used by frequent travellers - Many American Express Platinum and Centurion Card holders also carry the . Hence Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express , the card has a pretty good customer base. Frequent travellers who use the Centurion Card tend to also stay at Starwood Hotels.

Tip : Starwood busines card is a better deal - For those of you looking to get the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card, I would suggest getting the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express instead. It has the same features, but the business card allows you to get discounts with OPENSAVINGs merchants like Fedex, Delta Airlines, Marriott Courtyard etc. (You do not actually need a business to get a business card. You will be treated as a sole proprietor).

As an incentive, new cardholders get a waiver for the first year annual fee.

I honestly think that Starwood will be unaffected by this annual fee increase. Do you have a SPG card? Any thoughts on this?

Related Post

Review of the SPG Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card