American Express Gold Card – 5X Reward Points!

UPDATE! 31st Jan 2011 – I just got my Citibank Platinum Cash Back card!!

Just arrived by courier… 😉

I got a few credit cards and I’m wondering which I should be cutting up this year.

I recently got a Standard Chartered Platinum too. So now that makes 4 CC. Not a good idea right?

As I have mentioned in my post, I’m looking for a credit cards that gives me the most out of my credit terms.

The AMEX gold credit card seems best at the moment, with my planned purchase of the year the GF1 (post HERE ), being taken care of by using the Balance Transfer option, I’m only paying for the whole amount at the end of this year.

Just the other day, one of my friends who read my 2nd post on Amex gold credit card called me to explain the other benefits, namely the additional savings that he gets when he uses his AMEX.

He sent me this:

Now you may think guys aren’t crazy abt collecting points, and it’s a feminine thing to go gaga over credit card catalogue that they sent to you every year with the items that you may redeem for your points but I assure this dude friend of mine (you know who you are!) is as manly as a guy can get, but absolutely calculative to a fault when it comes to money!

So this is how it works for the Amex gold credit card:

Earn 5x Membership Rewards points for every Ringgit spend at Groceries, Petrol, Cathay Cineplexes, participating bookstores – Borders, Kinokuniya, MPH, Times – and Telecommunication charges via Express AutoPay – Maxis, Celcom, DiGi, Telekom.

Ok, lets see. Over cakes & coffee, both of us poured over the options that I can use to maximise my reward points.

Groceries:

Oh yes, a weekly affair. Minimum of 30 eggs, milk, imported cereal (cos I only eat imported cereal, mind you), bread, household items.
Min damage? RM100/week. That’s RM400/mth.
So that’s 5X RM400 = 2000 reward points.

Next:

Phone bills. I would need to pay via Express Autopay. No problem, my friend got me on the system.
Phone bills are a min of RM400/mth. Sometimes higher.

So lets say an average of RM400 x 5X reward points.
That’s another 2000 points a month.

I’m not much of a book buyer, as I tend to borrow from the libraries or I read them online, but I do patronise cinemas pretty often.

But the most is petrol. With the escalating cost of petrol, one can’t run away from paying a premium for the fuel nowadays.
Min damage? RM500/mth. For my food hunts, which sometimes involves driving out of the state, going for events, work meetings, gym, etc.
So that’s 5X 500 = 2500 reward points.

Let me not get started on shopping. Or retail therapy.
Just on the basic necessities alone, I’m earning a total of 6500 reward points per month. Minimum.

So for normal points system, it will be 400 + 400 + 500 = 1300 points every month. But for Amex Gold Credit Card, it is 6500 reward points EVERY MONTH! Amazing isn’t it?
So based on this table again:
Points in a year = 6500 points X 12mths = 78,000 points = Value of MR points = RM390, which is (78,000 /200).

In a year, I earn up to RM390 in ringgit value based on the points I accumulated.

And because my points don’t expire (don’t you hate it when your points approaches expiry date just as you have accumulated enough for that particular item that you want, or you can’t get enough points, cos most good items like ovens, watches, are only redeemable with very high points) I can slowly accumulate till it matches the number of points for the item I want!
So I can accumulate and redeem my rewards at my leisure. Spend and get rewarded, why not?

And oh, my GF1 at RM3000 will earn me 2X rewards points for every ringgit. (2X reward points cos it is under “Retail purchases”. But it’s still better than 1X point for RM1 with other credit card!

You want a American Express Gold Credit Card? Info here:

http://www.americanexpress.com.my/cms_upload/WebBank/Online%20Appl%20Form%20BT.pdf