- American Express had several big waves of shutdowns yesterday in addition to the its ongoing, nearly daily smaller batch of shutdowns at least partially related to foreign buyer’s group behavior. Based on discussion with and datapoints from those affected, yesterday’s reasons appear to be:
– Round two of floosies missed in the the first American Express Big Axe, even if they cut out their floosie lifestyle in February
– Accounts with big spend at international merchants and or with charges in multiple states simultaneously
– Holders with multiple large, missed payments
It feels to me like American Express is trying to de-risk its accountholder portfolio and extraneous, abnormal behaviors aren’t as safe as they have been historically. I know nothing about anything, but assuming that’s true, lowering your balances with American Express every single day probably can’t hurt. - The American Express Platinum brokerage cards have increased sign-up bonuses, and you can have both provided you have the right underlying brokerage accounts:
– Schwab: 125,000 Membership Rewards after $8,000 spend in six months
– Morgan Stanley: 150,000 Membership Rewards after $8,000 spend in six months
The Schwab’s best use is cashing out Membership Rewards at 1.1 cents per point, and Morgan Stanley’s is cashing out at 1.0 cents per point and giving the cardholder a free Platinum authorized user card with lounge access. - Starting on June 7, Hyatt will only allow 10 incoming awards (like Guest of Honor, Club Access, Suite Upgrade Awards, etc.) from another member per year.
Apropos of nothing, last I heard it was still possible to have more than one email address. - AA has a limited time heightened status match for JetBlue elites through June 30:
– JetBlue Mosaic 1 matches to AA Platinum
– JetBlue Mosaic 2 matches to AA Platinum Pro
– JetBlue Mosaic 3 and 4 match to AA Executive Platinum
These are instant matches that last four months, and you can retain the matches with flight activity. How much activity? In the most AA way possible, you won’t know until they email details on the successful match 🙄.
Have a nice weekend!
Lowering your American Express risk profile comes in many forms.