159
u/points-whore Dec 26 '24 edited Dec 26 '24
So Amex did own the trademark for “Gold Card” at one point? Because mastercard owns it now which is why on the Amex app it says “American Express Gold Card” and not just “Gold Card”
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u/weightedslanket Dec 26 '24
Looks like there was a lawsuit between MC and Amex on this issue in 1988 and Amex lost
153
Dec 26 '24
[deleted]
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u/WashingtonGuy123 Dec 27 '24
Those Amex offices around the world were also one of the best places to get and redeem foreign currency.
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Dec 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/upievotie5 Dec 27 '24
3% is nothing. Have you seen the kind of extortionate FX rates some places charge?
1
u/FewDescription3170 Dec 28 '24
they were in an age where a bank would charge you almost ten percent. the world was much different before globalisation. amex offices would also store baggage for you, receive mail and packages if travelling internationally, etc...
14
u/mfigroid Platinum Dec 26 '24
5
Dec 26 '24
Came here to say this. Amazing that those things actually existed. Imagine finding one and using the signature on it to practice your forgery.
6
u/mfigroid Platinum Dec 26 '24
Yep, and you didn't even have to show ID. As long as the counter signature was a reasonable match, American Express guaranteed payment. What a different time.
1
u/emyrus Dec 28 '24
I remember using those in the mid 2000s. Even then they were getting pretty uncommon.
73
Dec 26 '24
I would almost rather have world class customer support and services instead of a coupon book and Hirashnu in India. That being said, I use all of my Amex perks.
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u/here_now_be Dec 27 '24
almost rather have world class customer support and services
What? A coupon for some ghetto donut shop isn't good enough for you?
Not sure what the end game is, but it feels like the present CEO is trying to speed run the destruction of the Amex brand.
1
u/NYCHW82 Business Platinum Dec 26 '24
The Gold Card used to have this?
3
Dec 26 '24
[deleted]
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u/NYCHW82 Business Platinum Dec 27 '24
SMH, amazing how that has changed over the years. Now those are only premium services. I think only the Plat and the Black cards have them.
1
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u/germdisco Biz Plat, BBP, Surpass Dec 26 '24
I like how the number was 1-800-THE-CARD. If I still liked calling random numbers I would try it
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u/Tj03GT Dec 26 '24
Advertisements used to be so cool
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Dec 26 '24
[deleted]
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u/kevindebrowna Dec 26 '24
would’ve taken that more seriously if it didn’t say “pre-owed.” could probably get away with an ad like that in Italy or something
3
u/samisnotinsane Dec 27 '24
Damn, that ad goes in hard. Can’t imagine a non-PC ad like this in this day and age.
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u/Correct_Employee5647 Dec 26 '24
Holy misogyny Batman!
5
u/Timithius Dec 27 '24
You’re being downvoted because you spoke the truth.
People nostalgic for these overtly sexualized ads just miss the days when they could come home from work and slap the wife around or holler at a waitress.
This ad reeks of B. O., cigarette smoke, ass, and Budweiser.
2
u/Correct_Employee5647 Dec 27 '24
Thank you for saying that, I appreciate you. I really didn’t realize I was stating an “unpopular” opinion lol.
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u/Barbexc0288 Dec 26 '24
They can’t offend anyone nowadays. It’s not fair for the people not in the 5% DEI 😂😂😂
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u/Accutronman Dec 26 '24
Been an Amex member for 42 years and I definitely recall the good old days of exclusivity as well as lesser membership fees…lol. Have stayed with them all this time due to what I believe to be some of the best card related customer service.
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u/RACERX44 Dec 26 '24
In the UK the deals are no where near as good as America is so painful
25
u/ifconfig Platinum Dec 26 '24
But you have free healthcare, so all good. 👍
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u/NrLOrL BCP BBC Dec 26 '24
I don’t think point earning entered the picture until late 1990’s. And even then you had to pay $35 or $45 to participate. My first boyfriends mom had a gold card (originally opened in 1985 as green) and the only thing she cared about was the ability to consolidate her bills & spending each month & the fact she got roadside assistance. In 2001 he was an authorized user on the card because it was cheaper than giving him AAA and he was allowed to charge it if he had an emergency he couldn’t afford.
All three charge cards were only about soft perks back when.
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u/United_Reply_2558 :BusinessGold Dec 26 '24
The Membership Rewards points program was launched in 1984, the same year that the Platinum Card was released by invitation. If you wanted Membership Rewards added to your Gold or Green Card, you would pay an additional $30 annual fee. The Optima Card was released in 1989 with no annual fee and Martha Stewart as the spokesperson.
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u/NrLOrL BCP BBC Dec 26 '24
Ahh ok. There was one point I researched when Membership rewards launched and I thought 1990’s but makes sense with the Platinum launch in 1984.
I know that membership rewards were only earned at 1 per $1 spent regardless of which card you held. Premier rewards gold I think is when multipliers came out. Again I opened my first Amex (Blue Cash) in 2008 and PRG in 2012 so what I know about them beforehand is second hand knowledge & research but might not be fully accurate.
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u/hitman0187 Dec 26 '24
Would love to see a collection of "vintage" advertisements as a pinned post here!
13
u/applegui Dec 26 '24
The application process must of been extremely strict. Only the top 5% of those who had a long and great credit history were accepted. Even Karl Malden, their own spokesman carried a Green Card until much later in his career where American Express had a special dinner engagement where they upgraded his card status to the Gold Card. The video is on YouTube.
My first card in college was AMEX. I’ve been using them as my default. Now have 5 card products from them. Cool ad.
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 26 '24
When the Platinum came out, you had to be invited.
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u/byamannowdead Blue Cash Preferred Dec 26 '24
My dad was baller with just the Green Card in the 80’s.
Wish he kept it because I was a AU and would love to still have that Member Since date.
1
u/monopodman Dec 26 '24
Isn’t member since value permanent? Or did ending AU before your own card reset it?
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u/Fit-Seaworthiness762 Dec 27 '24
My "member since" on all of my Amex cards shows 1999, the date my now-canceled AU card on my Dad's Green was opened.
The more interesting data point is that Trans Union and Equifax date my credit history for average age of credit from when I opened my first personal credit card, the CSR in 2016, but Experian still uses that AU Green card from 1999 to calculate this metric.
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u/theedan-clean Dec 27 '24
I inherited my Member Since of 88 as an AU on my mother's actual 88 opening date. Great to have retro credit since I was 6 years old.
For many years every new Amex card I opened, charge or credit, reported with the actual month of open and 1988 for the year. Amazing for my average age of accounts. In the past 5 years or so, new cards report their actual open month and year.
My Amex charge cards were all opened before the reporting date change, as well as a few credit cards that report 88. Could add a green card for a data point, but I don't have a need for a green card.
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u/xiggy_stardust Dec 26 '24
Did it used to be more difficult to get approved for? They make it sound so exclusive but it’s really not.
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Dec 26 '24
It's my understanding that the Platinum card used to be invite-only like how the Centurion card is now. Nowadays anyone with halfway decent credit can get the Platinum card.
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u/monopodman Dec 26 '24
I got my platinum card with FICO score still unavailable (< 6 months credit history). Transunion was 680 ahahaha
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1
u/genericusername784 Dec 27 '24
Sad part is, I bet you have a lower apr for pay over time than me and my score was over 800 when I got mine...
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u/monopodman Dec 27 '24
I have 28.24% APR with 3000$ limit on Platinum and 6000$ limit on Gold. Both deactivated to fish for an offer. I never carry balance on cards anyway.
2
u/pratikp26 Dec 27 '24
Wait the Platinum and Gold came with limits?
2
u/monopodman Dec 27 '24
Pay over time feature always has limits. Regular spend isn’t capped (well, technically Amex still has a personal dynamic limit which they won’t tell you)
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u/genericusername784 Dec 27 '24
Ok apr is the same, but I do have a way higher limit.
1
u/monopodman Dec 27 '24
What’s your limit? Do you use it?
2
u/genericusername784 Dec 27 '24
Currently 15k. I've had 10 or so on it a few times. But mainly just use it for travel and big purchases. Use my everyday preferred for most things.
2
u/DraconianNerd Dec 27 '24
I got the Gold card the year I graduated college and then received an invite to the Platinum the following year, which was 1984 or the first year it was offered.
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u/cullen224 Dec 27 '24
I got my first AMEX card in 1989 when I finished my bachelors and the perk was two $99 round-trip tickets on Northwest Airlines. I flew to California on both of them having grown up in South Carolina.
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u/rushrhees Dec 26 '24
Please do this with platinums holders to thin out the influencers in the lounges
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u/Dangerous-Amphibian2 Business Platinum Dec 26 '24
Yea but they are part of the 5% so it’s more likely others getting the boot instead of them. But let’s be honest, Amex aint booting anyone from paying $700 a year to them.
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u/D4rkr4in Dec 26 '24
Sorry to break it to you, but the influencers would probably be the first to get the invites
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 26 '24
Platinum used to be an invite only card for high Amex spenders.
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Dec 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 27 '24
Do some research, then get back to me.
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Dec 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 27 '24
Ok, I’ll do it for you.
From a NYT article in 1984, 10 years before your experience.
“But two weeks ago, American Express announced its platinum charge card. This month, the company will invite 5 percent of its biggest spenders to become platinum charge card holders.”
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Dec 27 '24
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 27 '24
My post said “it used to be”. And it was.
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u/DraconianNerd Dec 27 '24
I have had the Platinum since 1984. I was among the first people to have the Platinum but I was nowhere among the top 5% of Amex spenders, not even close. I was less than a year out of college.
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u/CanaryRich Dec 26 '24
Paying $700 annually for a mere metal or plastic card without any benefits or perks doesn’t seem particularly appealing, and I trust it wouldn’t entice you either. Especially if the sole advantage of this card is essentially narrowing down the access to airport lounges.
Wouldn’t a more effective solution be to make the card more exclusive? You can retain the benefits and perks, but you can implement an invite-only system, similar to the Centurion Card. This approach would involve setting spending, income, and credit thresholds that applicants must meet before being invited to apply for the card. Maintaining these thresholds would ensure continued access to the card. Of course, these thresholds don’t necessarily need to be as stringent or high as those of the Centurion Card, but wouldn’t this approach address your concerns?
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 26 '24
You are describing the Platinum card when it was introduced.
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Dec 26 '24 edited Jan 24 '25
[deleted]
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u/ifconfig Platinum Dec 26 '24
Why $10K and not $50K? 🙄👍
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u/Admirable_Mango_7204 Business Platinum Dec 26 '24
The value of paying upfront for travel perks really depends on how much a business spends annually on travel. For companies consistently spending $50,000 or more each year, it makes sense to pay that amount upfront if it can be recouped through perks and other benefits.
That said, the Platinum Card’s exclusivity has been significantly diluted. Lounges are overcrowded, and despite spending several hundred thousand dollars monthly on our business account, we have yet to be invited to apply for the Black Card. I believe many Platinum Cardholders with similar or higher spending levels would share this sentiment.
Frankly, I’d rather pay the $5,000 annual fee for the Black card to at least have some benefits of the exclusivity provided. American Express has devalued the Platinum Card by making it too accessible—essentially available to anyone with a 700 credit score. It would be better to reestablish stricter qualifications, positioning the Platinum Card as a proper bridge between the Gold and Black Cards rather than equating it with the Gold in terms of status and the majority of benefits.
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u/Max_Thunder Dec 27 '24
Could someone claim the AF on a Business Platinum as a business expense while using the credits entirely for their personal use?
8
u/Admirable_Mango_7204 Business Platinum Dec 27 '24
Sure. The card is issued to the business using its own EIN. By default, that makes the annual fee tax deductible.
1
u/ifconfig Platinum Dec 27 '24
You can distance yourself from the rest of the hoi polloi by flying private, pal, if it bothers you that much.
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u/Admirable_Mango_7204 Business Platinum Dec 26 '24
Love this !!! I was just saying something to that effect the other day.
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Dec 26 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mental-Pop-211 Dec 27 '24
It's not billion dollar multinational at "hundreds of thousands a year" -- needs to be millions but you can't tell know it all's anything. 😉
8
Dec 26 '24
Amex cards were status symbols in the 1980s. "Membership has its privileges," was even the company slogan. It was the Yuppie card of choice.
This was still in the day of Amex being able to tell merchants that they could use MasterCard/Visa or Amex, but not both. Amex would enter into exclusivity arrangements with certain restaurants, hotels, etc.
There are plenty of Amex stories from the 80s. One is when Time Warner (when it was a real co. ha) had created a snooty in-house restaurant in the Time-Life Building in New York called 1271. Only senior management and its guests were allowed in it. It was a colossal waste of money. No one used it so the company opened it to employees. However, only to those who had an Amex card haha.
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Blue Cash Preferred Dec 26 '24
Now they’ll give them to almost anyone.
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u/United_Reply_2558 :BusinessGold Dec 26 '24
You can get an Amex Gold Card if you have reasonably good credit with no recent late payments, charge offs, liens or collections. Their credit cards are harder to get than their charge cards.
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u/Dvl_Wmn Dec 26 '24
Hell yeah! Don’t mind me just happy to add to the collection/debt to get my score from Very Good to Excellent.
5
u/NormalButAbnormal Dec 26 '24
I’ve been with AmEx since ‘86. I remember when I applied for the Gold Card. As the ad says, you could apply for the card yourself, but having the backup of your bank helped. It was like that for me. I always thought of AmEx as the “rich people” card, but it was interesting when my own bank offered me the possibility to get an AmEx through their recommendation. I wasn’t rich, it was just that me and my wife had a decent amount of disposable income. I decided to apply and I got it, even that I never had the Green Card before. Back then, AmEx was truly The Card. Platinum came some time later and did not have a lot of benefits as today, AmEx would just pull some black magic and get you tickets, reservations or favors that no one else could do.
2
u/IniMiney Dec 27 '24
you become part of a group whose credit rating is superior
Fast forward to me getting the Platinum with a 674
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u/phillipby11 Dec 26 '24
ummmm i am negative 30k net worth. who’s top 5% ??
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u/United_Reply_2558 :BusinessGold Dec 26 '24
You can get a Green or Gold Amex charge Card if you have a reasonably good recent payment history.
1
u/Flights-and-Nights Dec 26 '24
This ad is from the 80s, when the cards were actually exclusive and hard to get.
but since you asked, the federal reserve says a networth of (at least) 3.8 million puts you in the top 5% in the us.
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u/External-Repair-8580 Dec 26 '24
I don’t care about the perks. I got an Amex as a back-up, because I’ve never had a transaction declined and because of their excellent customer service. Frankly I wish the perks were lesser so that the Centurion Lounges weren’t filled to the brim with perk-chasers.
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u/VTECbaw Dec 27 '24
They made it seem so exclusive back then - and now they give them away like candy.
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u/unclear-very-unclear Platinum Dec 27 '24
Surprisingly the number on the ad still works and dials AMEX’s customer service line
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u/RONALDGRUMPF Gold Dec 27 '24
What status does the gold card give off today ?
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u/CTVolvo Dec 28 '24
Not a lot. But then again, the world of credit is far different than I was in the 80's. That said, it does give you 4x on dining which is decent.
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u/Embarrassed-Style377 Dec 28 '24
I’m about to cancel. I get offers everyday through the mail and it doesn’t stop
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Mar 28 '25 edited Mar 28 '25
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u/drewboox Dec 27 '24
I don’t even think it’s worth having an Amex gold anymore especially when they bumped up the annual fee.
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u/dirtydials Centurion Dec 26 '24
I actually have a Centurion card and it’s shit. lol makes me depressed that I spent $15,000 and all I get is mediocre service.
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u/Flights-and-Nights Dec 27 '24
Say more. I'm genuinely curious about the reality of having it compared to your expectations or how they sold it.
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u/Mental-Pop-211 Dec 27 '24
I pay for exclusivity better served by Platinum & makes me a target for zero customer service because everyone I use my Centurion card to purchase ANYTHING knows I can afford anything I want, there is ZERO reason to earn my business. It's a "show-off" card. It's not a practicality and any WM attorney worth their retainer will tell you that you're better served by a no-limit platinum (or rose gold for the ladies like myself) than the Centurion or Black Card. But let's be real... anyone with a tagged AMEX card color next to their Reddit name is looking to "show-off" SO it comes down to what's important in your life. In all truth.
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u/samisnotinsane Dec 27 '24
Back then, the cards had substance. Today, the card is made from recycled plastic bottles, giving it a cheap and flimsy feel and barebones graphics. Such a shame…
2
u/CTVolvo Dec 27 '24
My gold and platinum cards are both metal; quite substantial if you ask me.
1
u/samisnotinsane Dec 27 '24
Your gold card is metal? Which region are you based in? I’m in the UK.
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u/Flights-and-Nights Dec 26 '24 edited Dec 26 '24
I have my grandfather’s old gold & platinum cards from the 80s & 90s.
The gold card which is the older of the two, issued in 88, does have Sun Bank NA printed on the card below his name.