Introduction

AMEX credit cards have long had a reputation for excellent customer service, generous benefits, and relatively easy approvals. But lately, the product lineup has become less clear, with some cards overlapping and even competing with each other. On top of that, AMEX has been cracking down more and more on credit card hobbyists, and it is not unusual for rewards to be clawed back. This article covers some key things to know about AMEX credit cards.

Applying

Most of these application restrictions have workarounds, but the details are not suitable for public posting. You can find them in our Knowledge Planet.

1. In general, the public welcome bonus on the same AMEX credit card can only be earned once per lifetime. For example, if you previously received the welcome bonus on the Blue Cash Everyday, then even if you later close the card, you still will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you apply again for the Blue Cash Eveyday. So it is generally best to wait until a card is offering its highest-ever bonus before applying. However, sometimes there are special links or targeted offers that do not include the “once per lifetime” language. Based on readers’ testing, it is indeed possible to receive the welcome bonus a second time in those cases. Detailed guide

2. Family restrictions: If you have applied for the AMEX Platinum, then applying for another card in the same family, such as the AMEX Platinum Schwab, will not earn a welcome bonus either (you will get a pop-up). If you have applied for the AMEX Delta Platinum, then applying for the AMEX Delta Gold also will not earn a welcome bonus, though the reverse order does work. Detailed guide to family restrictions

3. AMEX pop-up restrictions: After you submit an application, you may get a pop-up telling you that you are not eligible for the bonus this time. The reason for the pop-up may be item 1 or 2 above, or it may be because you have very little spending on your AMEX cards but have received many welcome bonuses, causing AMEX to view you as a less desirable customer. For details and possible workarounds, see: AMEX pop-up guide

4. AMEX limits the total number of cards you can hold: 4 credit cards (sometimes 5). Charge cards are capped at 10. Charge cards include Platinum, Gold, Green, etc. You can hold multiple copies of the same charge card at the same time, but starting with the second one, you will not receive a welcome bonus. The official AMEX Twitter account confirmed the limit of 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards per person (personal and business cards combined). That said, some people are still able to get approved for 5 personal cards, so results vary by person. If you already hold 5 cards, applying for a new one may require closing two cards in a row.

5. You can apply for a total of two AMEX credit cards every 90 days, excluding charge cards. You can apply for the same card at most once within 90 days. If you apply for two AMEX cards on the same day, the second one may be treated as a duplicate application, and you may need to call in to get it approved. There are also some special techniques that can get around this restriction.

6. AMEX credit card applications usually pull Experian (EX) or TransUnion (TU), and multiple HPs on the same day may be combined. Once you become an existing customer, AMEX may first do a soft pull when you apply; if you qualify, it can turn into a Hard Pull, and if you do not qualify, there may be no pull at all. It is even possible to be approved without any HP. AMEX is relatively friendly to existing customers. For example, if you already have the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday and then apply for the AMEX Gold Card, AMEX may first use a Soft Pull to review your credit report and see whether you can be approved (this does not affect your credit score). If it determines that you will not be approved, it will not proceed to a hard pull. Even if you are approved, there may still be no hard pull, which means less credit-score impact compared with applying with many other banks.

7. After applying for an AMEX card, you can call the reconsideration line to speed up approval or ask a specialist to review a denied application again. When you call, they will need to verify your identity and address. The specialist may review your application on the spot and ask about certain items on your credit report. Detailed analysis: Guide to reconsideration for credit card applications

8. AMEX welcome bonuses are a bit unusual: different channels can show different offers, and you can sometimes find the highest available bonus. AMEX does not match welcome bonuses, and the offer attached to your application is tied to your account and cannot be changed. In general, from highest to lowest, the offers tend to be: Prequalify or targeted mail-in offers, application links found in incognito mode, Refer a friend links, and then the public link on the official website. Incognito-mode application links refer to using a browser’s incognito mode or changing your IP, then repeatedly refreshing AMEX’s application page or someone else’s refer link in order to find a better offer. See also: How to find the best AMEX welcome bonus

Using the cards

8. There are two types of AMEX cards: Charge cards and regular credit cards. Charge cards include the personal versions of the Platinum family, Gold, Green, as well as the corresponding business versions. Regular credit cards work like those from most other banks. The biggest feature of a charge card is that once each statement closes, you must pay the balance in full by the due date, or the interest will be very high. In addition, charge cards generally do not have a stated credit limit, so in theory you can spend freely. In practice, however, there is a hidden maximum, which you can check using AMEX check spending limit.

9. After an AMEX application is approved, you may be able to get the card number immediately. You can then use it right away for online purchases or add it to Apple Pay. If you cannot get the card number on the spot, you may receive some credit. If there is an error while trying to get the card number, you can contact customer service and ask for points compensation.

10. When working on minimum spending for an AMEX welcome bonus, it is best not to buy gift cards. In addition, annual fees, interest, cash advance fees, etc. do not count toward the spending requirement, and they also do not earn points or cash back. Be sure to exclude these charges when calculating your spending. Also, it is best not to count various reimbursed charges either.

11. After completing the spending requirement, the time it takes to receive the bonus may be 1-2 days / when the statement credit posts / 1-2 months. The first time you earn an MR welcome bonus, after meeting the spending requirement, it may take 1-2 months. But the second time a bonus posts to the same MR account, after meeting the spending requirement, it may take only 1-2 days. For co-branded cards such as Hilton and Delta, the welcome bonus is generally issued with the following month’s statement and deposited into the corresponding frequent traveler account.

12. You can move credit limits between cards without a Hard Pull, but across all cards you can only transfer credit once every 30 days. Usually you can do this directly through online chat. You can also use AMEX’s dedicated online credit-limit transfer link, but both cards must be under the same AMEX login account. See also: Ten questions about credit limits

13. After using a card for 2-3 months, you may be able to increase that card’s credit limit by 3x, with no Hard Pull. This is especially helpful when your starting credit limit is only $2,000. A little spending can already use up a large percentage of your available credit, forcing you to make payments quickly, which is inconvenient. If you can raise it to $6,000, the card becomes much easier to use.

14. After holding an AMEX card for 12 months, you can generally upgrade or downgrade freely within the same card family. There are often targeted upgrade offers with extra rewards, so it’s best to wait until there’s a bonus before upgrading. For example, holders of the no-annual-fee Hilton card may receive an offer to upgrade to the Supass card and earn 150,000 Hilton points. See also: Introduction to Product Changes

15. You may also be able to earn a bonus by adding an authorized user to an AMEX card. For example, if you add an authorized user to your Gold card and that card spends $500, you may receive a 5,000 MR bonus. These offers usually appear in targeted emails or after you log in, and you typically need to add the authorized user through a specific link. There are also DPs suggesting you may be able to get such an offer through online chat or by calling in. Note that some AMEX cards charge an annual fee for authorized users, such as charge cards, while authorized users on regular credit cards are generally free. See also: What You Need to Know About Authorized Users

16. AMEX’s in-house points system is called Membership Rewards (MR). All MR earned from eligible cards is pooled into one account, and you can transfer points at the specified ratio to airline miles in your own name or an authorized user’s name. Starting September 1, 2019, you must wait 90 days after adding an authorized user before transferring points to that person’s loyalty account. Previously, transfers were possible immediately after adding an authorized user. This restriction was likely added to limit the buying and selling of points. See also: Membership Rewards Guide

17. AMEX is known for its Financial Review (FR): an FR means AMEX reviews your financial situation, usually your income. If your financial profile does not support the spending on your existing cards, AMEX may reduce your credit limit or even shut down all of your cards. During an FR, all of your AMEX credit cards may be unusable (showing as charging suspended) until you pass the review. Although an FR may last only 10-20 days, it can still be stressful for cardholders. If all of your cards are shut down, any cash back and Membership Rewards in your AMEX accounts may be forfeited. (That said, AMEX tends to be fairly tolerant of some other behavior; for example, using an AMEX card for Bill Pay is often considered a good option.) See also: Introduction to AMEX Financial Review

18. Every card has AMEX Offers. You need to clip an offer before using it, and it may provide either cash back or bonus points. Offers are not independent across cards; a given offer can usually be added to only one card. In general, you should add it to the card you’re using to meet a welcome bonus spending requirement, or to the card with the highest rebate. The more you use your cards, the more offers you may see. See also: AMEX Offers Guide

19. AMEX has a refer-a-friend program. An AMEX card can be used to refer friends to many other AMEX cards, but do not self-refer. Referral bonuses may be reported on Form 1099-MISC and may be taxable. For example, if you hold the Blue Cash Everyday, you may be able to use its referral link to view all AMEX cards. If your friend applies for any one of them, you can still receive the reward associated with Blue Cash Everyday. So it’s best to generate your referral link from the card offering the highest referral bonus. Most importantly, do not apply through your own referral link, or the referral bonus may be clawed back. At the beginning of the year, AMEX may mail you a 1099-MISC for referral rewards, and you should report it based on your own tax situation. See also: Introduction to Credit Card Referrals

Closing Cards

20. After opening or upgrading an AMEX card, you should keep it for at least one year before closing it or product changing it, otherwise the welcome bonus may be clawed back. See also: AMEX Welcome Bonus Clawbacks

21. If you close an AMEX card within 30 days after the annual fee posts, you can get a full refund; after that, you get nothing back. If you close a card within 30 days, you can also change your mind and reopen it. If you miss the 30-day window, it’s generally better to downgrade first to a no-annual-fee or lower-annual-fee version. In that case, the annual fee will usually be refunded on a prorated basis, and then you can close the card. If AMEX forcibly closes your card, the annual fee will usually be refunded automatically, and customer service may be able to help you request an annual fee refund.

22. Closing one MR-earning card does not affect your MR points, but if you close all of them, your MR points will disappear. After closing a co-branded credit card, airline miles or hotel points will remain in the corresponding loyalty program account. Keeping just one MR card open is enough to preserve your points; holding the no-annual-fee Everyday is sufficient. Miles and points from airline and hotel co-branded cards are already stored in the loyalty program account, so they are not affected by whether the credit card is open or closed. However, keep in mind that after closing the card, you may no longer be able to extend the expiration date through the card. Having an AMEX personal checking account or business checking account also works.

23. To close a card, you can call customer service, and there’s a good chance they will offer a retention bonus. The offer often varies based on how much you spend. To persuade you to keep the card, they may offer a waived annual fee for the year, extra miles, bonus rewards for additional spending, and so on. Of course, if you do not want any retention offer, the easiest way to close the card is usually through online chat. See also: Analysis of Credit Card Retention Offers

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