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American Categorical has rewards bank cards with beneficiant welcome provides and worthwhile advantages. Though Amex doesn’t impose a tough rule like Chase’s 5/24, the issuer is pretty restrictive relating to utility guidelines and lifelong limitations on their playing cards.
Not solely does American Categorical restrict the variety of playing cards you may have and the way usually you may apply, nevertheless it additionally tries to make sure that candidates are solely eligible for one welcome provide per lifetime on every of their card choices. This makes it vital to rigorously select if you apply for a brand new Amex card, as doing so might disqualify you from receiving a fair greater welcome provide sooner or later.
And, for the reason that second half of 2023, Amex has rolled out new restrictions to discourage these holding extra premium playing cards from incomes welcome provides on lower-tier playing cards.
Right here’s what you could find out about Amex’s one-welcome-bonus-per-lifetime coverage.
What’s the Amex once-per-lifetime rule?
Greater than a decade in the past, American Categorical would help you earn welcome provides on the very same card a number of instances. Nonetheless, since 2014, the issuer has clamped down on purposes and restricted prospects to at least one bonus per card per lifetime, no matter how a lot time had handed since they final utilized for that card.
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In different phrases, you may apply for The Platinum Card® from American Categorical and earn a welcome provide as soon as and solely as soon as. If you happen to open the provide particulars hyperlink on the cardboard’s utility web page, you’ll see the next language:
“Welcome provide not accessible to candidates who’ve or have had this Card or earlier variations of the Platinum Card.“
The present bonus on the cardboard is a beneficiant 80,000 Membership Rewards Factors after you spend $8,000 on purchases inside the first six months of card membership. Nonetheless, you would be focused for a better welcome provide by way of the CardMatch device (provide topic to vary at any time). Because of this, in case you apply for the 80,000-point provide and obtain a better one at a later date, you’ll virtually actually be ineligible for it.
New card household restrictions
An enlargement to the once-per-lifetime rule is being rolled out throughout some households of Amex bank cards. In easy phrases, Amex will almost certainly disqualify you from receiving the welcome provide on lower-tier playing cards in case you’ve beforehand held the higher-tier playing cards inside the identical card household.
Amex appears to be progressively rolling this out to extra merchandise to forestall individuals who maintain higher-tier playing cards from making use of for lower-tier playing cards in the identical household only for the welcome provide.
“You will not be eligible to obtain a welcome provide when you have or have had this Card, the Platinum Card®, the Platinum Card® from American Categorical Completely for Morgan Stanley, the Platinum Card® from American Categorical Completely for Charles Schwab, the American Categorical® Gold Card or earlier variations of those Playing cards.”
Equally, in October 2023, American Categorical launched a restriction on the American Categorical® Gold Card. If you happen to’ve had the dearer Amex Platinum card, you gained’t be eligible for the welcome provide on the Gold card.
The knowledge for the Amex Inexperienced, Amex Platinum Completely for Morgan Stanley and Amex Platinum Completely for Charles Schwab playing cards has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Caveats
There have been stories of individuals getting permitted and incomes the welcome provide once more a number of years later. Moreover, you might be permitted for the bonus if the provide phrases don’t embrace the above language about beforehand having the cardboard.
Lastly, American Categorical provides you a warning as a part of its on-line card utility course of. If Amex deems you aren’t certified for the cardboard’s welcome provide, you’ll seemingly see a pop-up field stating so.
Normally, although, the issuer’s one-bonus-per-lifetime rule was carried out to discourage candidates from making use of for Amex playing cards solely for the welcome bonuses.
This rule covers all of Amex’s playing cards. American Categorical maintains a strict rule of 1 bonus per card for all times whatever the household of playing cards (cobranded resort and airline, enterprise, cash-back and rewards playing cards).
Though this rule covers all Amex playing cards, you may earn a welcome provide on private and enterprise playing cards of the identical sort.
THE POINTS GUY
For instance, the American Categorical® Gold Card and American Categorical® Enterprise Gold Card are from the identical card household, however one is a private card and the opposite a enterprise card. Amex means that you can earn the welcome provide for every card — so long as you’ve got by no means been a cardholder of that card up to now.
Notice that this additionally applies to rebranded or up to date playing cards. For a few years, the Amex Gold was referred to as the Premier Rewards Gold Card, and the present provide — 60,000 factors after you spend $6,000 on purchases in your new card in your first six months of card membership — explicitly references that older product:
“Welcome provide not accessible to candidates who’ve or have had this Card or the Premier Rewards Gold Card.“
Formally, American Categorical doesn’t have a cap on the variety of playing cards you may have. Nonetheless, the unofficial coverage from Amex says that the majority cardmembers will likely be restricted to at most 5 Amex client and enterprise bank cards. They’ll even be restricted to 10 Amex playing cards with no preset spending restrict (previously referred to as cost playing cards). This latter class contains the Amex Gold and Amex Platinum.
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For instance, TPG director of content material Nick Ewen has the next American Categorical playing cards at the moment open:
The knowledge for the Hilton Honors Aspire has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Since 5 of the seven are bank cards, he has reached his cap on bank cards with Amex.
How do I do know if I qualify for an Amex welcome provide?
Monitoring which Amex playing cards you’ve got utilized for up to now gives you a greater thought in case you are eligible for a sure card’s welcome bonus or not. In case your organizational expertise aren’t as much as par, don’t fret — American Categorical has a welcome bonus qualification device to warn candidates if they’re ineligible for one. Right here’s the way it works:
Whenever you apply for an American Categorical card that you simply’ve already had up to now, you’ll obtain the next message earlier than your credit score is pulled:
As a result of you’ve got or have had The Platinum Card, you aren’t eligible to obtain the welcome provide.
We have now not but carried out a credit score test. Would you continue to wish to proceed?
In essence, in case you suppose you had a card earlier than and thus aren’t positive in case you’re eligible for the welcome provide, Amex ought to provide you with a warning with a pop-up message if you apply.
There’s a attainable exception to the rule for Amex welcome provides. Sometimes, you’ll see the verbiage famous above on the touchdown web page of an utility:
Welcome provide not accessible to candidates who’ve or have had this Card.
AMERICAN EXPRESS
In case your card utility doesn’t embrace this restrictive language, however you’ve got had the cardboard up to now, this might imply that you simply’ve been focused for the cardboard by American Categorical and are eligible for the provide. Examine your electronic mail for focused provides or log into your American Categorical account and search for pre-approved provides with no lifetime language.
Simply double-check earlier than submitting your utility for the pop-up message by Amex alerting you in case you are ineligible for the welcome bonus. Taking a screenshot simply earlier than clicking apply can also be a good suggestion. That might assist in case you run into points receiving the bonus after you meet relevant spending necessities.
Nonetheless, it’s additionally value declaring the extra verbiage from the above screenshot:
“We might also think about the variety of American Categorical Playing cards you’ve got opened and closed in addition to different components in making a call in your welcome provide eligibility.”
This overly broad assertion retains Amex’s potential to make use of further components out of your credit score report and historical past with the issuer to find out in case you qualify for a proposal. This shouldn’t impression most candidates — however in case you’ve proven a sample of opening playing cards, incomes welcome bonuses after which canceling these playing cards after only one 12 months, that may very well be a crimson flag.
Given the wide selection of American Categorical card choices and once-per-lifetime restrictions, it’s best to time your purposes strategically to make sure you get the best attainable welcome bonus. Don’t neglect to test the CardMatch device to know in case you qualify for a attainable focused as much as 150,000 Membership Reward factors on the private model of the Amex Platinum and a 75,000-point focused provide on the Amex Gold (provides topic to vary at any time).
American Categorical has a powerful portfolio of playing cards with beneficiant welcome provides for first-time candidates. Their once-per-lifetime rule, though restrictive, has sure exceptions that will permit prospects to earn a welcome provide once more after a while. Together with the welcome bonus qualification device, Amex makes it simple for candidates to trace and perceive their eligibility for welcome bonuses on American Categorical playing cards.
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