I thought my ego was worth $450, but it's not. It's worth only the $125 AF Amex Gold at best

I think Gold is the best overall. For the extra $30 over Green you get the extra status and special events. The Platinum annual fee is excessive. Everytime I log into my Blue account they say I am pre-approved for Platinum.

That's what I'm debating, the AF. Travel maybe 3 times a year and my Gold Card would do the same thing the Platinum would with the exception of the Airport Lounges, etc.. Then there is the ego thing for me, but is my ego worth $450 a year

I thought my ego was worth $450, but it's not. It's worth only the $125 AF Amex Gold at best:innocent:! I think the Platinum is really meant for high spenders, the Golds are meant for the moderate spenders, the Green is meant for low spenders. It's just boils down to how much are you willing to spend on an annual fee?

That's what I'm debating, the AF. Travel maybe 3 times a year and my Gold Card would do the same thing the Platinum would with the exception of the Airport Lounges, etc.. Then there is the ego thing for me, but is my ego worth $450 a year ?

I am about to downgrade my Platinum because the annual fee is just not worth it. What I love about my Amex cards is that I went to Hawaii before Christmas and didn't let Amex know that I was going out of state and every time I used Blue Cash or Platinum, charges went through.

Long time no hear from Eldarwen ! Don't know if I told you or not but upgraded to the Premier Rewards Gold Card. Nice Card ( $175 AF) and it has been a very good card. What I like about it over my Visa Signature is I don't have to let AMEX know beforehand if I go out of town and will be using my card, where BOA will shut me down in a heartbeat for possible Fraud. Had to have some Dental work done and the AMEX went through without an issue.

Still waffling about the Platinum Card, at first I was preapproved and now I guess they want to see my spending/payment history with this card before moving on !

Two weeks? That is weird, and they are able to continue to do this after the CARD Act? I still like their charge cards though. They are classic.

I have not seen any changes as of yet with my Platinum. The charge cards are classic but I wonder at why the annual fee is needed.

Using Google makes the Zync card easy to find. I think Amex figured out that charge cards were not really the way to go so much any more along with their travelers checks. When I worked as a cashier (almost 5 years ago), an Amex charge card was pretty rare but the Amex credit cards were pretty common. Even an Amex Green card was rare. I find that I like my Amex Blue Cash better than my Platinum. Probably because I have 3 1/2 weeks before I have to pay my bill with Blue Cash. With the Platinum, it's only 2 weeks before your due date. I really don't get it though, why not have a standard 3 weeks before you have to pay. It can throw a kink in my budget because I might not be getting a lot of hours at work and I have other bills popping up.

Two weeks? That is weird, and they are able to continue to do this after the CARD Act? I still like their charge cards though. They are classic.

Most of us are out of Zync's demographic LOL. They hide it pretty well on their website too. I think that it is mostly a test and it will probably fold and the cardholder's will be offered to upgrade to Green.

Using Google makes the Zync card easy to find. I think Amex figured out that charge cards were not really the way to go so much any more along with their travelers checks. When I worked as a cashier (almost 5 years ago), an Amex charge card was pretty rare but the Amex credit cards were pretty common. Even an Amex Green card was rare. I find that I like my Amex Blue Cash better than my Platinum. Probably because I have 3 1/2 weeks before I have to pay my bill with Blue Cash. With the Platinum, it's only 2 weeks before your due date. I really don't get it though, why not have a standard 3 weeks before you have to pay. It can throw a kink in my budget because I might not be getting a lot of hours at work and I have other bills popping up.

I think that the only two Amex cards that are worth having or at least some serious consideration is the Blue Cash and the Amex Green. The Amex Clear and regular Blue and really not that impressive. The Amex Zync wouldn't cut it for me in terms of rewards. I am planning to use my Amex charge card points for Christmas shopping.

Most of us are out of Zync's demographic LOL. They hide it pretty well on their website too. I think that it is mostly a test and it will probably fold and the cardholder's will be offered to upgrade to Green.

I've never really been a hater of Amex because after many years of working at the airport I knew who they catered to, but in recent years created credit cards to tap into more mainstream markets in competition with VISA and MasterCard and now pretty much have a big following with certain cards.

I think that the only two Amex cards that are worth having or at least some serious consideration is the Blue Cash and the Amex Green. The Amex Clear and regular Blue and really not that impressive. The Amex Zync wouldn't cut it for me in terms of rewards. I am planning to use my Amex charge card points for Christmas shopping.

I just received an invitation to apply for the Zync card from American Express,whom I noticed did a soft on Experian last month,and did the basic Google search and found the card interesting the least. It is a beta card catering to young adults and has some good perks for them but I'll pass and keep on using my Discover:cool:

It may take a few months for Amex to send you an invite to upgrade to the Platinum. You can always call them up or send them an e-mail to see if you can upgrade. I noticed when I upgraded that the AF is pro-rated. I would only recommend that you upgrade to the Platinum if you travel quite often or are a big spender. Right now, I am thinking about downgrading to an Amex Gold or Green because I just can't justify a $450 AF with the possibility of a increase of the AF going up. It would throw a kink into my budget!

I understand that banks are being questionable about credit cards, i.e. issuing new cards, CLD's, etc.. I upgraded to the Preferred Rewards Gold Card and got my card the first of December 09. When I got the card, the offer for an upgrade to a platinum card was taken down from my online login. Now between the first and today (New Year's Eve) I have spent about $1K on the card. Do you know today the offer to the upgrade to the Platinum card has reappeared ?

I know many will think, the increase in Annual Fee is a reason, but would AMEX make such an offer realizing that I have only had this upgraded card (Preferred Rewards Gold Card) less than 30 days and have shown no long term usage/payment with this new card ?

Yes, I did. I am not going to be applying for anything at the moment, I am going to wait until next year.