American Express are offering 50,000 points when taking out a new American Express Explorer. This can be transferred as 25,000 Velocity, KrisFlyer or AsiaMiles points.
This card is designed for travellers, and comes with a range of useful benefits. This includes uncapped points earning, the ability to transfer points to eight airlines, an annual $400 travel credit, airport lounge access, complimentary insurance covers, and more.
The American Express Explorer Card
The American Express Explorer Card is a premium offering and comes with a $395 annual fee.
This is offset by its range of features, including an annual $400 travel credit that can be redeemed at American Express travel.
The following sections detail the various features of the card.
Earning Points
The card offers a simple, uncapped points earning structure.
For most eligible purchases, you will earn 2 Membership Rewards Points per dollar spend. Government charges see a lower earn rate of 1 Point per dollar.
Transfer Partners
One of the key features of the Membership Rewards Gateway program is its range of transfer partners. These include Velocity, KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Enrich, Orchard Plus, Skyward, Etihad Guest and Air New Zealand.
For all Airline programs, except Air New Zealand, the transfer rate is 2 Membership Rewards Points to 1 Airline Points. As a result, the 50,000 bonus points transfer to an airline program as 25,000 airline miles.
On an ongoing basis, the effective earn rate for these programs is 1 point per dollar, except for government spend where it is 0.5 points per dollar.
For example, for Velocity, you would get 1 Velocity Point for each dollar you spend on everyday purchases. On Government spend, this would be 0.5 Velocity Points per dollar.
The one Airline exception is Air New Zealand, which operates Airpoints. In this case 200 Membership Rewards points transfers as 1 Airpoints Dollar.
Card Perks
The American Express Explorer Credit card comes with a range of useful perks. Many of these perks are aimed at the traveller, and they are features that could easily cover the cards annual fee.
Annual $400 Travel Credit
As mentioned, the card provides for an annual travel credit of $400. This needs to be redeemed through American Express Travel and can be done online.
When you log into the American Express travel site, it will appear as a credit on your account. You can then use this as payment (or part payment) for flights, accommodation and so on.
There are a couple of limitations to be aware of. You can only apply it to one transaction, so make sure you use it all in one go. It also has an expiry date (one year after issue), so be careful not to let it expire.
Airport lounge access
If you are flying out of Sydney or Melbourne International Airports, the card provides access to the American Express lounge in the International terminal. You get two passes per year, and they can be useful if you do not otherwise have access to a lounge
Hotel Collection Benefit
As a new benefit, American Express are offering a new Hotel Collection Benefit. The Hotel Collection includes hundreds of curated properties from trusted brands like Hyatt and Hilton Hotels.
Every time you book two consecutive nights stay or more at one of these properties with your American Express Explorer Credit Card, you will receive:
- Up to US$100 hotel credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities
- Complimentary room upgrade at check-in, when available
Bookings can be made at this link: https://premiumhotelbooking.americanexpress.com/en-AU/thc/welcome
Phone Screen Insurance
The screen of modern smartphones is easily broken – just drop your phone the wrong way. It can also be expensive to fix. Phone Screen Insurance can take the pain out of repairing the screen. If you break the screen on your phone, then this will take care of fixing it (up to a value of $500, and there is a small 10% excess)
To be eligible for the Phone Screen Insurance, you will need to pay for the phone with the Explorer card, if you purchase it outright. On the other hand, if you are on a phone plan, then you need to make your monthly payments with your Explorer card.
Travel Insurance
As a premium card, the Explorer comes with a comprehensive Travel Insurance policy. This includes
- Medical Emergency Expenses Cover
- Travel Cancellation Cover
- Baggage, Money and Documentation Cover
- Travel Inconvenience Insurance
Amex Explorer Buyer’s Advantage
This feature allows you to extend the manufacturer’s warranty period by up to 12 months on eligible products.
Purchase Protection
A feature to protect you if your new items are stolen or damaged. Refund Protection is also available should a store refuse to accept the return of a recent, unused purchase
Sign up bonus Eligibility
To qualify for the 50,000 points, you will need to
- apply for the Explorer Credit Card online, be approved and
- spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of card membership.
To be eligible for the bonus, you must not have held a directly issued American Express card in the previous 18 months. This does not affect you if you have only held a bank-issued American Express companion card, such as those from ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB or Westpac.
The minimum income criteria for the card has been set at $65,000 per year.
Card feature Summary
| Card Features | |
|---|---|
| Basic Details | |
| Card Name | American Express Explorer® Credit Card |
| Annual fee | $395 |
| Interest Rate | 20.74% p.a. interest rate on purchases |
| Interest Free Period | Up to 55 days |
| Point Earning | |
| Loyalty program | Membership Rewards Gateway program |
| Points Earning |
|
| Bonus Points | |
| Points earn rate(Cap/Tier) | Uncapped |
| Other Benefits | |
| Travel benefits |
|
| Included Protections |
|
| Other Fees/Charges | |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 3% |
| Additional Card Fee | $0 |
Final Words
This is a premium card, that comes with a range of features that can easily cover the annual fee. It is a good all round card that offers a simple points earning structure.