Nice invitation....but I say no

I received an envelope from American Express (AMEX) in the post today. The words "Your Invitation" appear on the front. Inside the envelope is a letter with the CA logo at the top left & a picture of an AMEX Platinum card at the top right. The letter is an invitation by AMEX to me to apply for a CA AMEX Platinum Credit Card. The invitation is pre-approved, i.e. simply meet the income & credit criteria, & my application for the Platinum card (should I decide to apply) will be approved.

I received the AMEX invitation by virtue of holding a CA AMEX Gold Credit Card. The letter, apparently, is an invitation to take my AMEX up to the platinum level. The letter harped on about the benefits of holding the Platinum Credit Card:

• 1 Qantas domestic economy return flight every year - together with domestic & international travel insurance; plus complimentary annual subscription to Travel & Leisure Australia magazine.
• Earn rewards at a faster rate - 1.5 Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent up to $100,000 per year, & 1 point for each $1 thereafter. The cardholder will continue to be enrolled in the rewards program for no additonal cost, saving $80.
• A higher level of financial benefits (without specifically outlining what the benefits are), for a preferential annual fee of $295 for CA members - a saving of $100 per year, as the standard fee is $395.
• Having a generous credit limit, & "enjoy" a competitive interest rate.
• Yada yada yada....

I looked again at the image of the Platinum Credit Card at the top right side of the page. It looked good & very glossy. I'm impressed! Then I looked at the enclosed AMEX application form, which also contained an image of the Platinum Credit Card (albeit smaller than the one on the letter). I remain impressed! An image then crossed my head, of myself complete with suit & tie, holding a shiny Platinum card.

I read the letter again - & then decided not to pursue the thing. Call it what u want - a fad, a marketing exercise, consumerism, materialism, moneyism etc. I am no expert at these phrases (perhaps in mentioning them, I'm misusing them), but u might get the idea what I'm on about. You see, AMEX is a business partner of the Institute of CA (other professions have similar arrangement with AMEX, too). CA members get special offers from business partners of the Institute. In the case of AMEX, CA members (such as myself) are offered AMEX cards, with special offers in the form of reduced/nil annual fees, faster rewards points, whatever. The Institute gets money from AMEX for offering AMEX products to CA members. The more CA members sign up for AMEX cards, the more money the Institute gets. And of course, the more people sign up for AMEX cards, the more money AMEX will make, especially if people get slogged with interest charges when they pay their credit card balances after the interest-free period. It's a win-win for both the Institute & AMEX when CA members sign up for AMEX cards - & they do make it seem attractive for people to sign up.

So, if I were to sign up for the AMEX Platinum Credit Card, it would mean that AMEX gets $295 from me each year for the privilege of using the card. If I were to pay the AMEX balances after the interest-free period, AMEX would get more money from me through interest charges. Do I want to hand AMEX $295 each year? Hmmm, no. Yes, I'm aware of all the rewards points & all that niceties & razzamatazz that come with the platinum plastic. But I don't really need them & it's probably not advisable to go for them - I don't spend $100,000 a year, I don't even earn anything like that each year.

Hence, I won't be taking up this particular platinum card offer. Who knows, I might consider the Platinum card in the future, depending on future circumstances. But for the moment, I'll stick with the AMEX CA Gold Card - no annual fees ever. Asians just love anything that's free - that's why I signed up for the Gold Card a couple of years ago. Plus, I already got the Virgin Mastercard & JBWere Visa Gold. So, that's enough credit cards already.....perhaps more than enough.