AMEX multiple signing bonuses - my experience

[jd352]

I know there is a lot of confusion on signing bonuses with AMEX. In fact, it seems ever their own CSR's don't know the policies that surround them. That being said, I received my 4th AMEX signing bonus last night. I will outline them below:

1. Amex Zync - 10,000 MR(E) points (10/2010)
2. Amex BCE - $100 cash back (6/2012)

3. Amex PRG - 25,000 MR points (6/2012)

4. Amex EDP - 15,000 MR points (7/2014)

I was also told by a CSR on the online chat that if I did app for the Platinum instead of converting it, I would be eligible for the 40,000 signing bonus even though I carried the PRG already. I really didn't want to app for it, although the bonus would have been nice. But, I am contemplating cancelling it anyway in a year now that our traveling plans we were looking forward to have taken another turn. For those that have had any experience closing the Platinum, were you given a retention offer to keep it open?

[milkshakes]

unfortunately, i dont think there  are enough data points out there since the May switch to lifetime bonuses to confidently say one way or another. i'd like to think that amex will be more aggressive with retention offers since they know there's less incentive for customers to boomerang back after closing the cards now.

if you decide to give it a shot, let us know what happens!

[-NewGuy-]

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@milkshakes wrote:

unfortunately, i dont think there  are enough data points out there since the May switch to lifetime bonuses to confidently say one way or another. i'd like to think that amex will be more aggressive with retention offers since they know there's less incentive for customers to boomerang back after closing the cards now.

if you decide to give it a shot, let us know what happens!

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Well, I just chatted with AMEX and they said that my account (new BCP) is eligible for the sign up bonus despite previously having a Surpass card.

[MT936]

I thought you couldn't get any charge card bonus if you held a charge card in the past

[jd352]

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@MT936 wrote:
I thought you couldn't get any charge card bonus if you held a charge card in the past

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That is one of the reasons I posted this. I've received 2 charge bonuses, and was told I could get a 3rd. I wasn't going to chance taking on another account to see if the 3rd bonus was possible. Even when I received the PRG bonus, the fine print said if I held a charge card I would not be eligible,  but I still got it even though I had the Zync still open at the time I got the PRG. If I do try to close the Platinum, I will only keep it open if they offer me 40k MRs to keep it open. Since the heavy traveling plans got tossed to the side (person we expected to visit often is actually moving back), it's just a charge card to me. 

[longtimelurker]

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@MT936 wrote:
I thought you couldn't get any charge card bonus if you held a charge card in the past

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Yes, it's certainly possible the CSR was wrong about this!   But as OP says, things are confused.   You hear various options ranging from:

1) You can't get the bonus for card X if you previously had (or perhaps got a bonus for) card X.  It's no longer good enough not to have had it for Y months.

2) You can't get the bonus for card X if you previously had (or got a bonus on) cards in the same family (such as all charge cards)

to

3) You can only get one bonus per lifetime from Amex.

The last is really not the case!

[Involver]

Yeah I've gotten bonuses on all 3 AMEX that I've opened this year.

I'm pretty sure you are only diqualified from them if you have previously had that specific card open at some point.

[milkshakes]

yeah, lurking through flyeralk is seems that the prevailing (but not absolute) policy used to be:

1) if you had charge card X, you couldn't get any signup bonuses for any cards within the same family (i.e. other charge cards) for Y months.

now it seems, through the terms now, that the policy may be:

2) one bonus per lifetime per card (so different cards of the same family are eligible for bonuses).