How can I get Amex to honor creditcards.com offer?

[mongstradamus]

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@CreditDunce wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

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@CreditDunce wrote:

I think what is different this time is you are a current AE member.   AE no longer gives sign up bonuses for current members.

To get a new sign up bonus, you will need to cancel all of your existing AE cards for 3 months.  Then you will be eligible for sign up bonuses for cards you have not received a sign up bonus for in the past.  Or at least that is what I recall from reading the fine print when I applied for a card last month.

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I thought i read somewhere with amex you only get one signup bonus for your whole life!! I don't know how true that is, since i havent signed up for any new amex cards since my BCP last year. 

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I believe I read the same here on myfico. But I don't think that is what AE exactly said.  I think the actaul statement was you would never be able to get the signup bonus for the same card.   A quick search found the following quote:

“In order to ensure fairness and clarity with our Card Members, we will be making a change to our acquisition incentive control rules for American Express Consumer Cards. Beginning May 2, 2014, welcome bonus offers will not be available to applicants who have or have had the Card they’re applying for. For example, if a Card Member once had or has a Platinum Card, they will not be eligible to receive a welcome bonus offer on a new Platinum Card application.”

In the fine print when I applied, I think it just said something like you currently have any other AE card or have ever had the card you are applying for.  I am just guessing about needing 3 months since canceling your last AE card and applying for a new card.   But it seems reasonable that you will need to wait 90 days or so before applying again.

Please don't take my word as gospel.   Since I plan on keeping the AE card "forever",  I didn't do extensive research in their new policy.  I just noted that I wouldn't qualify for any more signup bonuses.

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I see one of the reason i was thinking of the no signup bonus rule is i was looking at applying for PRG hoping to maybe get the 50k bonus i see floating around. I know standard offer is 25k , but if i log in thru my amex account i get no signup bonus at all. 

[7PM789]

This happened to me, I called on a few occasions and it was never resolved.

The C.S.R. behaved as if I made the offer up and just wanted something for "free"

I'll never apply through a 3rd party website again because I feel that it cost me $100

[wHiTeSoL]

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@CreditDunce wrote:

I think what is different this time is you are a current AE member.   AE no longer gives sign up bonuses for current members.

To get a new sign up bonus, you will need to cancel all of your existing AE cards for 3 months.  Then you will be eligible for sign up bonuses for cards you have not received a sign up bonus for in the past.  Or at least that is what I recall from reading the fine print when I applied for a card last month.

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Please do not follow any of this advice, it is way off base

1. American Express will only give you one sign up bonus per card in your lifetime, not across all cards.

2. Sign up bonuses may differ from customers who presently own any American Express cards vs those who dont

2a. The best way of increasing your odds of receiving a sign up bonus is to clear your cookies, use a private browser, and don't sign in. Check the bonus fine print during every step and page

3. Cancelling your American Express cards will not help you get a sign up bonus. 

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Good luck transferring the line.
I have been trying to xfer over most of my $10k delta to my $24.5k bce since it turned one year old (12 months old), and Ive had no luck. I tried three days exactly after 13 months and they are now telling me it has to be 13 STATEMENTS of an acct before you can move over the credit.
They got their annual fee! Just move over the daggum credit line!!!!

They are really making me angry! Delta really is a pretty useless card. I need to finish up using my last 5k skymiles! Lol

[CreditDunce]

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@wHiTeSoL wrote:

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Please do not follow any of this advice, it is way off base

1. American Express will only give you one sign up bonus per card in your lifetime, not across all cards.

2. Sign up bonuses may differ from customers who presently own any American Express cards vs those who dont

2a. The best way of increasing your odds of receiving a sign up bonus is to clear your cookies, use a private browser, and don't sign in. Check the bonus fine print during every step and page

3. Cancelling your American Express cards will not help you get a sign up bonus. 

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I agree with #1.

I agree with #2.   But i read different as there are no sign up bonuses for those who currently own any AE

I am not so sure about 2a.  It seems like you might be able to get the offer.  But I am not sure you will ever get the sign up bonus.   Best of luck if you try this route.

I will not be testing #3.  But that is how I read their disclaimer.   If you are are current card holder, you don't qualify for any sign up bonuses.  That doesn't mean I won't try to get a bonus if I apply for another AE card.  I just don't expect to be able to get one.  Hopefully, I am wrong.

I would love to hear about any success stories, though.   Has anyone with an existing AE card been able to get a sign on bonus since the policy went into effect?  I was able to get a bonus, but I didn't have any open AE cards either.  It is always possible that AE is not enforcing the policy or that I misread the fine print when I applied for the card.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

all in all, I think they just absolutely will NOT dole out bonuses on the same card to the same person.

i really think you can get multiple bonuses, provided you are opening different accounts.

Example: I got a 100 bonus and 12 mos 0% on bce, six months later 35k Skymiles on Delta Gold after 500 spend, and then another six months later, I got 40k miles on Hilton Surpass after first purchase

Got all bonuses, but they are all diff cards.

[LawStudentCivilis]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

all in all, I think they just absolutely will NOT dole out bonuses on the same card to the same person.

i really think you can get multiple bonuses, provided you are opening different accounts.

Example: I got a 100 bonus and 12 mos 0% on bce, six months later 35k Skymiles on Delta Gold after 500 spend, and then another six months later, I got 40k miles on Hilton Surpass after first purchase

Got all bonuses, but they are all diff cards.

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Sorry if I was not being clear! I opened my Delta Amex last year. This year I am opening a different card, the BCE.  I started this thread, because I was not sure why I did not get the sign up bonus for the BCE since I applied through creditcards.com.

To other posters: I never once stated I am trying to cancel a card for a sign up bonus. In fact, I specifically stated I did not necessarily need the sign up bonus.  I ONLY opened the BCE because I no longer have a use fo the Delta Card, once my BCE arrives I will transfer the CL from the Delta card to my BCE, then close the Delta.  I will of course be sure that the BCE is first back dated.

[LawStudentCivilis]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

all in all, I think they just absolutely will NOT dole out bonuses on the same card to the same person.

i really think you can get multiple bonuses, provided you are opening different accounts.

Example: I got a 100 bonus and 12 mos 0% on bce, six months later 35k Skymiles on Delta Gold after 500 spend, and then another six months later, I got 40k miles on Hilton Surpass after first purchase

Got all bonuses, but they are all diff cards.

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How do you think I should go about getting them to honor the bonus for the BCE?

[CreditDunce]

What I suspect happened is by the old rules, you qualified for the sign up bonus. Creditcards.com system was still using the old rules, so they thought you qualified for the signup bonus.  However, when the application was sent over to AE, they approved the application but disqualified you for the signup bonus. If so there should have been a notification or at least fine print spelling out the requirements for the signup bonus.  All I can recommend is you talk with AE again.  Maybe they can do something. 

I would still like to hear if other people have been successful getting the signup bonus in the past couple of weeks with an existing card.  I would love to be proved wrong.  I will probably be getting my second AE card next January.   I will not be canceling my first card before applying for the second card.

[wHiTeSoL]

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@CreditDunce wrote:

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@wHiTeSoL wrote:

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Please do not follow any of this advice, it is way off base

1. American Express will only give you one sign up bonus per card in your lifetime, not across all cards.

2. Sign up bonuses may differ from customers who presently own any American Express cards vs those who dont

2a. The best way of increasing your odds of receiving a sign up bonus is to clear your cookies, use a private browser, and don't sign in. Check the bonus fine print during every step and page

3. Cancelling your American Express cards will not help you get a sign up bonus. 

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I agree with #1.

I agree with #2.   But i read different as there are no sign up bonuses for those who currently own any AE

I am not so sure about 2a.  It seems like you might be able to get the offer.  But I am not sure you will ever get the sign up bonus.   Best of luck if you try this route.

I will not be testing #3.  But that is how I read their disclaimer.   If you are are current card holder, you don't qualify for any sign up bonuses.  That doesn't mean I won't try to get a bonus if I apply for another AE card.  I just don't expect to be able to get one.  Hopefully, I am wrong.

I would love to hear about any success stories, though.   Has anyone with an existing AE card been able to get a sign on bonus since the policy went into effect?  I was able to get a bonus, but I didn't have any open AE cards either.  It is always possible that AE is not enforcing the policy or that I misread the fine print when I applied for the card.

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You have to trust me on this one. If you want even a spec of chance of receiving the sign up bonus you have to take this route. As soon as you are indentified as a current american express holder (via cookies, logging in or otherwise) you will fall under the "other" sign up bonus (in many cases nothing) There have been hundreds of data points since american express started adding this verbage, I myself have 4 amex cards within the past 12 months and have never had issues with the bonus.