Lain
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2014
- Messages
- 9,372
Tagging @Artygal90 too.
I agree that the 100k MR Platinum is still the unicorn, and if you can catch it you’re golden.
Alternatively, you can do as @Albort suggested and try to call in for the 100k MR Biz Platinum, but that carries a higher $10k MSR/3 months even if the offer is available (vs. the personal Platinum’s lower $5k MSR/3 months).
(Not to mention you’d have to decide whether the $450 Biz Plat AF or $550 personal Plat AF is worth it.)
The Biz Plat and vanilla/plain Plat also earn 15k MR/referral (the co-branded Platinums can’t refer and can’t be referred to) up to 55k MR/year, so those cards are what you’ll want to use
for their valuable 15k MR bonus to generate a self-referal link to almost all of Amex’s other cards.
However, if you’re not having any luck getting targeted for, calling in for, or pulling a 100k MR Platinum, and you want to start earning MRs ASAP, the BBP is not a bad place to start.
The BBP is already a solid card with 2x MR everywhere and no AF. But the fact that it earns 15k MR/referral (the same as the Plats) makes it a valuable springboard from which to generate self-referrals/referrals to other Amex cards.
Take for example @striker1064 ’s post from last week, where he was able to generate a referral link worth 15k MR to refer P2, posted that link into an incognito window, and was able to pull up the enhanced incognito offer on the personal Plat for 75k MR after $5k MSR in 3 months. Now, if you aren’t having any luck getting the 100k MR personal Plat offer, you could use a BBP to generate a referral link worth 15k MR for yourself to use, open that link in an incognito window under different browsers/settings repeatedly until you come upon the 75k MR enhanced offer, then apply for the enhanced offer using your own referral. You’d get a 75k MR welcome bonus and 15k MR referral bonus, netting you 90k combined MRs, which is just 10k MR shy of the elusive 100k MR offer. Not bad! And if this trick sticks around til the latter half of November, you can even time it to do a triple dip on the Plat’s airline fee credit.
ETA: We had some discussion about two weeks ago whether the conventional wisdom that getting an Amex card, particularly a MR-earning card, will decrease your chances of being targeted for the 100k MR Plat holds true anymore. Several members here have gotten Amex MR-earning biz cards and co-branded card’s, and have still gotten targeted for the 100k MR Plat.
One last thought for @Artygal90, since you’re looking at the SPG Biz. The current offer on the SPG Biz is solid — 100k Marriott points will get you about two nights at the Swan or Dolphin. The Swolphin hotels are Category 6 hotels that cost 50k Marriott points/night, or 40k off peak and 60k peak. I’m not as familiar with Marriott’s offsite options. The SPG Biz also includes an anniversary free night certificate redeemable at hotels that cost up to 35k Marriott points/night if you keep the card into its second year, and every year after that. However, the 100k Marriott points offers on the SPG Biz (and Lux) will expire on 10/31/18, after which the welcome bonus may drop down to 75k Marriott points (the same as the SPG Personal currently).
Note Marriott points ≠ Membership Rewards (MR) points.
The SPG Biz has the same MSR as the public offer for the BBP: $3k in 3 months. The 100k Marriott points offer on the SPG Biz has an expiration date, but the BBP has had the same 10k Membership Rewards points public offer for a long time.
However, if you go with the SPG Biz, you’ll be able to generate referral links for yourself and others only to the SPG family of cards (SPG Biz, Personal, and Lux), not to any Amex self-branded or other co-branded (e.g., Hilton and Delta) cards; and your referral bonus on approvals from a link generated on the SPG Biz will be in the form of 20k Marriott points/referral, not Membership Reward points.
From the BBP, you can earn for yourself 15k MR/referral of yourself or others to almost all of Amex’s other cards, including Amex-only branded personal and business charge cards and credit cards (but not co-branded stuff like the Charles Schwab or Ameriprise), and co-branded credit cards like the SPG, Hilton, and Delta cards.
If you have the spend available, you could apply for the BBP first, then set up your Amex online account for the BBP in the next 2-3 days while waiting for the actual BBP card to arrive; generate a referral link from your BBP account, and use that link to apply for the SPG Biz before the 100k Marriott points offer expires on 10/31. (You may have to wait 5 days between the BBP and SPG Biz applications because Amex has an inconsistent 1/5 rule — 1 approval in 5 days.) That’s a combined $6k worth of MSR in the next 90 days. If you can’t jump on the SPG Biz now, that card’s still sticking around even with all the Marriott changes, and Amex offers bounce down and up again all the time.
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My first half was the Inaugural W&D, when it was at night. I'm in the middle of my training for Marathon weekend, we are suckers for Disney races 
It was more of a joke since my friends know I am not a grits girl and teased me royally about it. And, luckily, there were plenty that were not contaminated.
That was depressing BUT educational. I did it to myself, though, I read it for fun. I think everyone should read it, just maybe not at 11/12-ish)
