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Amex has sent out an offer to earn 30,000 Membership Rewards points after you enroll in their FX International Payments program and send 4 eligible wire payments of at least $500 within 90 days of enrollment. This could be targeted, but I don’t see language indicating that in the offer and the link seems to be publicly available, so I’m including it below. You’ll need to have legitimate foreign business expenses to enroll, but if you do this looks like a good offer.
The Deal
- 30,000 Membership Rewards points after you send 4 eligible wire payments of at least $500 within 90 days of enrollment in the Amex FX International Payments program
- Direct link to offer
Key Terms
- Same currency transactions are not eligible (this means you can’t be sending US dollars to US dollars — it must be US dollars to a foreign currency)
- Bonus points will post within 12-15 business days after the 90-day period ends
Quick Thoughts
Greg has written about this offer in the past (See: A different kind of signup bonus). See that post for full details, but the synopsis is that a lot of detailed business information is required in the application process. Greg ultimately wasn’t approved. That said, a few readers in the comments confirmed having taken advantage of the offer at various times and been happy with the service. Business Platinum cardholders receive a waiver on Amex transaction fees on eligible foreign currency wire transfers (and all Amex business card holders receive a waiver for the first six months). Transfers earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $30 sent (up to a limit of 4K points per transaction), so it could potentially be a decent deal if you have a business that regularly sends wire transfers in foreign currencies.
Based on Greg’s experience and the readers who commented last time, it looks like this is geared toward individuals regularly doing some volume in foreign payments. If you’re in a business to which that applies, this seems like a net win. If you’re not in a business where you regularly send foreign payments, this probably won’t work out for you.
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[…] (EXPIRED) 30K Membership Rewards with FX payments […]
I wire funds to an Italian firm 4-8 times a year. I know the ins and outs of wire transfers. Been getting offers from Amex forever. Decided to apply, was accepted. In a nutshell, Amex FX looks like it’s going to work.. Went to local bank, (they wire through Mellon) got real-time quote for 54,0000 euro wire, at the same time punched the info Amex FX on my phone. Amex was marginally better- maybe $400 savings. Plus my bank charges $50 wire transfer fee, Amex FX charges zero. Amex FX has excellent interface, very easy to keep refreshing to see if rate has changed. Plus, my bank doesn’t allow me to fax over a wire transfer request anymore so using Amex FX avoids the schlepping to bank and wasting upwards of a hour as they fiddle with IBANs etc. Plus I get MMs. Will continue to spot check rates but for me Amex FX works.
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It’s not a bad deal but for those looking at this for long-term volume payments, just keep in mind that much like discount stock brokerages who charge low or no commissions to trade, Amex FXIP (as they are known) also makes their money in the spreads, so the exchange rate you may get is likely not great and frequently a lot worse than through other channels (bank wire, for example).
Also, one thing to note is that it is 15K MR for the first payment, and then 15K after 3 more payments. You also get MR for the transfer amount (1 MR per $30) but for smaller payments that is negligible relative to the bonus.
When I used it several years ago for my business, the 15K MR on the first payment was easily worth it for a small payment (minimum $500) but after that, it was hit and miss on the real time exch rates it was giving me, so after doing one additional payment at a decent exchange rate, and not getting anywhere with the next few payments, I decided to forego the remaining 15K MR (which required 3 more payments for a total of 4).
Not saying this won’t work for businesses with legitimate need for small denomination foreign payments (since an international wire fee is sometimes much worse than losing some cents per $ on small amounts) but just a note of caution to be very careful as to what exchange rate is being given. To their credit, they are very transparent about the exchange rate and it is locked in when you submit the payment not when they process it later.
Do you need $500 per payment? Does it only apply to MR-earning cards? SPG is not eligible?
Yes, $500 min per payment to qualify for the initial bonus. There is no minimum for the payments if the bonus was not involved.
The actual text reads: “After you make your first foreign currency wire payment of at least $500 within 30 days of enrollment and earn 15,000 points on your Membership Rewards program enrolled American Express Card. After you make 3 additional foreign currency wire payments of at least $500 each within 90 days of your first foreign currency wire payment and earn an additional 15,000 points.”.
From the description it seems to apply to other MR-earning cards too (not SPG). I have Amex Business Plat, so I can’t really speak to the specifics of other cards, this is just my guess based on the language of the offer: “Membership Rewards program enrolled American Express Card” above, Further, the fees are waived only for Amex Plat (“”Business Platinum Card® Members receive a waiver on American Express® transaction fees on eligible foreign currency wire payments”). I am not sure how worthwhile it would be if there were fees involved on top of the exchange rate spread loss.
Hope that helps…
Greg wasn’t able to convince amex that he wasn’t a potential terrorist. Haha!
Thanks Nick! I have a need for regular foreign payments and was trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. I have an AMEX Platinum so this might end up being my go to if the exchange rates are good. The points are a nice bonus!