Reviews, comparisons and guides on premium credit cards, banking and the US credit system. Newest first.
A Skywards mile is worth between 0.65 and more than 2 cents depending on how you spend it. The catch comes earlier: since August 2025 it costs German Amex cardholders two Membership Rewards points. The maths on when the transfer still works, and when it burns points.
From January 2027 banks from third countries need an EU branch to offer accounts to EU residents. What the rule actually says, which accounts are grandfathered, and the four routes to an account outside the EU that remain open.
Query, inquiry, entry — three different things that get mixed up in almost every discussion about Amex applications in Germany. What Amex transmits under its own Schufa clause, what Schufa does with it, and what a rejection actually means.
The German Amex Membership Rewards Turbo costs 15 euros a year and adds 50 percent more points on the first 40,000 euros of spend. The break-even maths, and the conditions Amex doesn't spell out.
Every German-issued Amex charges a 2% foreign currency fee — from the free Blue Card to the Centurion. On top of that sits an exchange rate markup almost nobody checks. And at the terminal, a second layer of fees is waiting.
Any card in Apple Wallet can look like a Centurion and still pay as usual. How to swap the card image via Mac, Windows or directly on the iPhone with iOS 27, and how to get the original back.
Every Centurion Lounge open at the end of September 2026: 16 in the US plus the Sidecar, eleven airports in the rest of the world, what has closed, what is coming, and the access rules that changed in July.
The Centurion brings ALL Accor Diamond, and Accor Diamond brings Qatar Privilege Club Gold. How the chain works and how to get the most out of it.
Lounge access, insurance, and hotel status travel with the Platinum supplementary card itself. The credits do not: they belong to the card account and are paid out once. What the second card can do, what it cannot, and when the free Gold supplementary card is enough.
Membership Rewards points have no expiry date, but they come with three conditions: an open card contract, a bill paid on time, and no trouble with Amex. What the German program terms actually say, what happens on downgrade and cancellation, and why the twelve-month grace period is worth less than it sounds.
The cancellation itself is one phone call. The expensive part comes before and after: points that are only good for vouchers, a bonus that is revoked retroactively, and an 18-month lockout from the next one. Here is the order that avoids all three.
No airport, no boarding pass: Centurion New York is a restaurant with a club feel above Midtown. What it costs, who gets in and what ends up on the plate.
