AmEx Explorer 100k Signup Bonus

knobbs on 03/01/2017 - 16:04

Hey Bargainers,

So I am in a situation where I am trying to make the best of the 100k signup bonus.

My situation currently:

Getting married later this year (August/September) and honeymoon after to Europe.
About to get a Homeloan
No other CCs apart from a 28Degree card

If we were both to signup (late Jan) for the explorer and get the 110k bonus with referral (after home loan approval). Would we have any issue in using those points to book say business class trips to Europe in August? I have never used FF points so not sure how far 110k will take us. I am concerned around availability and if there is a min time to book before the flight like 6months? Then use the $400 travel credit on both cards over there.

After the trip I could then cancel the partners card and get her a supp card on my account?

Need any further relevant details let me know.

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Comments

  • CyberMurning on 03/01/2017 - 16:06

    damn i signed up for essensial therefore no bonus points

    • nickomac on 03/01/2017 - 16:36

      you can hold 2 Amex issued credit cards at any one time!

    • brainactive on 03/01/2017 - 20:24
      +3

      The solution to this is: Cancel Essentials card, then apply for the Explorer. This will guarantee you the 110k bonus points (since bonus points are only awarded when a new Gateway account is created. Cancelling the Essentials removes your old Gateway account and opening the Explorer creates a new one). Doing this leaves you no worse off (since the Explorer card has all the benefits of Essentials and more).

      If you are confident you will be approved for the Explorer and have a good credit rating, this is an option to consider.

      • roseXivy on 07/07/2017 - 09:19

        If I cancel my Essentials card, will I need to wait 18 months before I can apply for the Explorer in order to get the bonus points?
        Thanks

  • nickomac on 03/01/2017 - 16:34
    +1

    The 110k Explorer points with a referral transfer across to programs in a 4:3 ratio, so you'll be getting 82,500 frequent flyer points once transferred. You'll also need to pick the right partner and whether you're willing to pay a larger co-payment. Comparing Singapore Airlines to Velocity, you need more Velocity points but have a lower payment for taxes on top of points, where Singapore Airlines Krisflyer can cost ~$400-600 depending on the flight (but you save 15% on points when booking online, not to mention lower points required for flights).

    From what I've read there's better award availability on Singapore Airlines for international redemptions, and as they're part of Star Alliance, you can use your points to redeem on a heap of other airlines.

    Hopefully that helps a bit! :)

    • RMM on 16/01/2017 - 15:37

      Am I getting something wrong?
      based on below link, transfer rate is 1:1 for majority of the airlines including Singapore and Virgin.
      http://catalogue.membershiprewards.com.au/en/viewPartnerOver…

      • The Champagne Mile on 16/01/2017 - 16:14

        Those transfer rates are only for Ascent / Ascent Premium Membership Rewards. The Gateway program transfers at a rate of 1 to 0.75 to airline partners, as specified above. AMEX should probably clarify it in that page, or take it down.

      • nickomac on 16/01/2017 - 16:55

        If you hold a card that's in the Ascent/Ascent Premium program, there have been reports over at Australian Frequent Flyer that allow you to link the Explorer to the higher award program, which'll net you a true 2ppd :)

  • Holysmoke on 03/01/2017 - 19:30
    +1

    As mentioned above the 110k points translate to 82.5k Velocity/Krisflyer. Have a look at this post on what you can do with that:
    http://www.pointhacks.com.au/100k-krisflyer-miles/
    http://www.pointhacks.com.au/best-uses-of-velocity-points/

    Shouldn't me much of an issue if you book 6 months in advance.
    Same goes for cancelling, just call and and cancel.

  • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 11:09

    Thanks for the replies so far guys. Does anyone have any further info on when you receive the points after signup and if there is any leeway time you need to book the flights in advance?

    • nickomac on 04/01/2017 - 12:27
      +1

      You'll receive the bonus points as soon as you've reached the $1,500 spend requirement and the transactions are no longer pending (normally 2-3 days after the purchase, dependant on retailer).

      Points transfers to velocity can take up to a week to get into your account so keep that in mind. If you go the velocity route there's normally a 15% bonus for points transfers in May and November each year, which'll turn your 110k points into ~95000 (plus points you'll earn for spending etc). I'm not too sure how long it takes for Krisflyer points to post from amex.

      The only leeway to book flights in advance is the availability of reward flights, other than that you could wait a few days out from your flight to book using points (but obviously not ideal!)

      • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 13:34

        Thanks for the info, should be ok with a $1500 spend as we need new stuff for the house when we move in.

        Good to know about the 15% bonus hopefully coming up too

  • The Champagne Mile on 04/01/2017 - 13:08
    +2

    Hi Knobbs

    You mention that both you and your partner will apply for the card in late January (I'm assuming this is because you don't want a hit on your credit score before home loan approval). Obviously, if one of you has the capacity to sign up earlier, you'll then have time to generate a referral link and refer the other (netting you a combined total of 240,000 Gateway MR points - 110k + 110k +20k referral). If you are in a position to do this, would suggest person one applying no later than mid Jan (to allow time for approval and receipt of card) before person two then signs up by 30 Jan.

    The 82,500 airline points you'll get via the 110,00 sign up is enough to get you business class to Europe one way on both Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Singapore Airlines charges significantly higher taxes than Cathay (but has very reasonable cancellation charges of just $30USD per booking). I am currently in the process of researching a SIA business class booking into London in August, and there is fair to good availability - just remember that the key is to be flexible when using points :) And obviously the earlier you can book, the more availability there will be.

    I have not checked Cathay Pacific (Asiamiles) for flight availability, but their business class offers a good hard product and consistent service, plus the cheaper taxes - so definitely worth considering. You can sign up for a free AsiaMiles account to search: https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/about/join - just bear in mind their website can be painful to navigate.

    Finally, if anyone is considering signing up for the Explorer, I'd recommend doing so by end of Jan. I have it on good authority that both the standard and referral bonuses will be scaled down for the card, so worth getting in asap.

    • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 13:30

      Hey Champagne,

      Thanks for the response, Getting referral points on one person would be great. However my understanding was you get 100,000 points on signup + spend. Plus you can get an additional 10k for referral. So wouldn't we end up with 110,000 points each?

      Thanks for the heads-up on taxes. ATM with home loan and all I will probably lean towards lower taxes as we are going to be in some serious debt.

      Unfortunately she works for QLD Health so getting her holidays is very difficult and not flexible in the slightest :S

      • The Champagne Mile on 04/01/2017 - 13:33
        +1

        Hi Knobbs, you each get 110k points when you sign up via a referral link, and if you refer someone you get 20k (not 10k). So 110k + 20k points for person 1, then 110k for person 2.

        • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 13:35

          Even better, good stuff!

        • The Champagne Mile on 04/01/2017 - 13:45

          @knobbs: There is sometimes a bit of confusion around this. The OzBargain guidelines state that posts need to hold merit on their own without the mention of referral bonuses - so when I submitted the original Explorer card post, it needed to be with the 'standard' 100k sign on offering (with the referral bonus mentioned as an aside).

    • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 13:59

      Just checked BNE to Rome is 110,000 on the dot for Cathay. Good thing you can get the bonus haha

      edit. It is not 1:1 point transfer so that is off the board.

      • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 15:37

        Singapore Air is 150,000. (127,500 with 15% discount)

        Am I missing something on how to get from BNE to Rome business class with 110,000 AMEX points?

        • The Champagne Mile on 04/01/2017 - 15:43

          We're talking all talking one way / one return redemption.

          SQ business class to Europe is 80,750 Krisflyer miles one way (you can do two of these) and a Cathay business class to Europe return is 175,000 Asia Miles return (you could buy one redemption with your pooled points).

        • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 15:54

          @The Champagne Mile: I am not sure how you are getting 80,750 Krisflyer miles.

          For BNE -> Rome One way business in August I got 127,500.
          http://imgur.com/umXCRpf

        • The Champagne Mile on 04/01/2017 - 16:00

          @knobbs: That's a 'standard' fare, Krisflyer's more expensive redemption option You need to find availability of a 'saver' fare, which is almost half the points cost. On your screenshot, you can see that the saver fare is listed as 'not available'. As an example, if you search BNE - FCO on 15th February, you'll find one.

        • knobbs on 04/01/2017 - 16:08

          @The Champagne Mile: I see now, hopefully I can find a saver for sometime around when she has been given time off.

          Also for Cathay, is there anyway of reducing the 110,000 miles for them? There isn't any date selector. Just from where to where on who.

  • starburstyellow on 23/01/2017 - 18:55

    OP have you considered going to Japan for example? You can get 1 person return business for about the same as 1 way business to Europe.

    • knobbs on 23/01/2017 - 19:10
      +2

      The partner wants to go to Europe, so Europe it is haha

      • starburstyellow on 23/01/2017 - 20:11

        Japan is the Europe of Asia! Ok I just made that up lol.

        • starburstyellow on 25/01/2017 - 16:14

          I got negged for my lame joke :( Tough crowd.

  • andylch on 30/01/2017 - 12:13

    How long it takes for the 100k points to show up, after reaching $1500 target? 3 biz days?

    • nickomac on 30/01/2017 - 13:18

      Once the transactions are no longer pending in your account the points should appear!

      • andylch on 30/01/2017 - 14:07

        Thanks. Just wondering if I have an un-activated Essential Card, will AMEX deny to give out the 100k points?

        • nickomac on 30/01/2017 - 14:34

          I'm not entirely sure - it all comes down to when a Gateway MR account is created for you - if it's created on card activation you should be okay as the explorer would then create the Gateway account, but it could be setup when the original card is setup - I guess the only real way of finding out is risking it.

        • andylch on 30/01/2017 - 14:42

          My last transaction was done on last Saturday and I better wait for few more days before asking AE.

  • andyhui01 on 03/07/2017 - 22:17

    Does anyone know how often the 100k sign up bonus come by? Looking to apply for one and they only have 50k at the moment.

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