This deal appears to be dead per the appropriate FlyerTalk thread and some comments in this post. If you can still access this offer, please let me know. Congrats to everyone that got in on it!
Note that I had to heavily edit this post for various reasons. Sorry for the removal of the images and some other minor info!
Via user jimmicka on FlyerTalk (thread was locked, now shut down) (update: new FT thread here) and chatter on Twitter today, there’s a possible offer for 100,000 MR points after just $3,000 spend in 3 months. This is an EXCELLENT offer that I recommend you take advantage of if you can handle the credit. To put 100K points in perspective, it’s enough for a round trip Business Class ticket from the US to Europe or a one-way from LAX-NRT-SIN in Singapore Airlines’ famed First Class Suites!
Also remember that this card has a $450 annual fee, not waived the first year. This amount is nearly paid for with a $200 airline credit per calendar year, so your real payment is $50 if you work it correctly ($200 this year, $200 January 1, 2014). I’ll follow up on the details of this in another post.
Here’s how to see if you’re eligible for the offer.
- Go to creditcards.com.
- The first option on the left menu says “Offers Matched for You.” Click it.
- Enter all your info and submit.
- The top offer should be the one you’re looking for! (and note the PRG offer for 50K points is pretty good also)
UPDATE: Some FT members are reporting being approved for BOTH cards. YMMV on if you get both bonuses!
UPDATE 2: Reader Darrell notes in the comment section that clearing your browser’s cookies may help if you have previously logged in to your existing account.
If you have any doubts, just know that I applied for this offer myself! I took screenshots the entire way through just in case there are any issues down the road (better to be safe than sorry). I recommend you take screenshots as well. When I finished applying I received the screen everyone loves to see: Approved!
So go ahead and take advantage of this offer if you can!
The 50K offer for the Premier Rewards Gold after $1K of spend and no fee is also worth a look.
Yeah totally agree. I know several people that would be interested in this!
Is there a link for this 50K offer?
The deal is expired. There are no working links at the moment.
I am missing something. How does a $200 credit only fall $50 short of a $450 fee?
The $200 is per calendar year, so you can get it now and again on January 1, 2014 before the next annual fee is due. You can simply cancel your card after you get that credit, and will effectively be down only $50!
Ok, thanks. That clears it up.
Ok, I thought I understood but am confused again. So I sign up today, Jan 7. Then I get $200 for this year, which I need to spend by Dec 31. I am also hit with a $450 fee.
So I spend my $200. But I don’t get the next $200 until Jan 1. But I need to cancel before Jan 7 to avoid the second $450 fee, right? So I have 7 days to spend the $200?
The platinum card gives you a $200 annual “credit” for airline incidentals. It just so happens you can buy e-gift cards and still get reimbursed for them. You can buy them and use them whenever you’re ready to.
You’d have to buy $200 worth (either in $50 or $100 denominations) by 12/31/13 and then another by 1/7/14, at which point you can cancel. If you cancel after they will reimburse you on a prorated basis.
I see. I have seen mixed results on gift card redemptions. Have you as well?
I just received the Platinum. Where can i get e-gift cards that they will reimburse as airline incidentals?
Mile Value did an excellent, comprehensive post on what is and is not reimbursable. you can see his post here:
http://milevalue.com/master-thread-of-which-airline-gift-cards-american-express-reimburses/
Is it possible to apply for both and get both sign up bonuses?
I don’t recommend applying for two personal cards at once. In fact, I’ve heard people have trouble with one personal and one business app done in the same day. I’d recommend picking just one, but if you’re feeling adventurous then I’d love to know the outcome!
Does not seem to come up for everyone. I don’t see any offers from AMEX. All CapOne cards, actually.
Unfortunately it does seem to be targeted to some degree, which is why I wrote “possible” in the post. Bummer you weren’t picked!
Open it in a new browser with you cookies cleared incase you have an amex account.
Got the offer for my wife, love it thanks
Good tip, will add to the post. Congrats on the approval.
If you currently have a Gold Premier Rewards card you cannot get the Platinum card, as per T&C? I thought these were two completely different products.
Go ahead an apply. Most people say Amex isn’t the best in enforcing certain T&Cs, especially the 90 day rule. Some say it’s 90 since you applied, others say 90 since you held the card.
Both wife and I are showing the 100K Plat and 50K PRG offers. Decisions, Decisions!
I had to make the same decision, but for me it’s
Platinum — $50 for 100K MR
PRG – $0 for 50K MR … with spending I would probably get an extra 15K MR. So is 35K MR worth $50 to me? YOU BET!
Damn, I just got Amex Plat MB in early December, so doubt this deal will work for me ..
Tough life!
That math has me scratching my head Amol. 100K+50K+15K = 165k?
Love your blog by the way 🙂
Haha, I mean you can only apply for either the Platinum OR the PRG, not both. The Platinum is 103K MR (100K MR + spend), while I foresee using the PRG for things like airfare/grocery/etc, but would only hit maybe 68K MR (50K MR + 3x airfare spend, etc). So to me, the difference is the annual fee outlay. Like TravelSummary said, over 2 calendar years, this is easily a $50 fee for the Platinum card, which I’ll gladly pay for about 35K more MR than the fee-waived PRG!
Why not both? I will give it a try. Been waiting for this since last May. No INQs since then and my credit sesame is 825.
You could try, though I would apply for the “better one” first.
Approved for both 😀 Thanks.
Found it on FT but glad to be able to use your link! I’m surprised no other CC-heavy blogs have picked it up! I took screenshots and it says 100K for $3K all the way!
Appreciate you using my link! Strange that no one else picked it up…I even tweeted it to them!
” I understand that my credit report records at the consumer reporting agency will indicate that CreditCards.com has made a credit inquiry.” Is that a free credit pull?
Never mind; it’s a soft pull.
How does Amex work with gc’s or vanilla beans?
It works wonderfully! But be wary of a Financial Review. They may start to wonder how someone with your income can spend so much money.
Did you get approved Amol?
Yes! I did 5 cards 50 days ago, but still got it!
I wonder how long these deals will remain? I literally just applied for another AMEX last week (starwood), and I need to start spending on that to reach the spend limit.
So I want to wait a few months to apply for another card.
No idea how long this deal will last. With all the prepaid options and other methods I wrote about in the link below, it’s easy to meet minimum spend!
http://travelsummary.com/beginners-guide-part-5-there-are-lots-of-ways-to-earn-points/
is this a CJ.com thing while all the readers of Flex Offers get the shaft?
If yes, it is SWEET.
Interested to find out what was your score, u can email me. I LIKE this way. Amazing offer to readers, fully disclosed, you earned the trust of others with great content. Enjoy and invest well:-)
Thanks TBB! Full disclosure, just like I wrote about a few days ago 🙂
And I honestly don’t know if I’ll get paid from this haha. It’s all too new to me!
100,000 approved moments after I typed. Looks like I’ll be selling my AA gift cards to my Flyertalk and other travel friends.
Thanks TS.
Thanks! Approved for Platinum.
Wife got approved for Platinum 100k – thanks for the post! (too bad other bloggers’ “HT” don’t also use your affiliate link. 😉
Congrats! It’s all good, half of the bloggers don’t even give a HT at all!
If I applied for the AE Business Gold in Nov. am I still eligible?
Technically no, but YMMV as its sometimes works.
YES, since Business and Personal are different products. It is definitely worth the shot to apply for the 100K!
T&C’s say “Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have had this product within the last 12 months or any other Consumer ZYNC®, Green or Gold Card or Platinum Card® account within the last 90 days.” So technically not eligible, right?
I did some sleuthing on FT … recent reports of getting the bonus on the same flavor of card with 1 being business and the other being personal. If Zoey has a BUSINESS card, she can still apply for a PERSONAL card, even if it’s a gold as well.
Thanks for this man. Brings warm and fuzzy memories from 2010. Only this one is even better, no need to call and beg:)
Let’s hope it’s honored! Seems like a 99.9% approval rate, which kind of scares me…
got 6 cards this past weekend, one the SPG. scores about 730-750. i get the the plat and gold offers, what’s my chances of being approved? i’d prefer the plat. thanks !
FYI, just got auto approved for Plat. used your link. THanks!
Congrats and thanks for your support!
@Travel-Summary
You WON the internet yesterday!!!
Is there a way to find out number of page hits you got yesterday? This got plastered all over the place.
Believe me, I’m still a very small blogger compared to the rest. While my page views still went up 5000% and will be more today, it’s still likely nothing compared to the BA blogs!
Congrats on blowing up on the internet!
lol thanks man!
thanks just got the Plat for 100,000 MR
I got approved on both platinum and gold so that is 150k points!!! Thanks
I have been approved for the platinum PERSONAL even though I have platinum business – I hope I get the bonus…
If I have both personal & business platinum do I get a distinct $200 credit on each for a total of $400 & can I choose a different airline for each?
I’m in the same boat as you. Got the 100K Business Plat offer many months ago and just signed up for this one. We should be fine. And YES, you get $200 credit on each card!
The $200 per year is called “fee credit” not “fRee credit”!
$200 Airline Fee Credit 10
Enroll and select an airline to receive up to $200 annually in statement credits for incidental fees such as checked bags, in-flight refreshments, and change fees.*
Details:
Statement Credits: Incidental air travel fees must be charged on the enrolled Card account for the benefit to apply. Incidental air travel fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges. Fees not charged by the Card member’s airline of choice (e.g. wireless internet and fees incurred with airline alliance partners) do not qualify for statement credits. Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees. The airline must submit the incidental air travel fees under the appropriate merchant code, industry code, or required service or product identifier for the charge to be identified. Purchases made by both the Basic and Additional Card members on the enrolled Card account are eligible for statement credits.
Looks like you’ll only be able to use these credit on checked bags and inflight drinks!!!
@Jean – right so is the fee credit on each platinum if I have both personal & business & can I choose a different airline? Can I use one card for incidentals on Delat & another for incidentals on Jet Blue giving me $400 in total reimbursements or is it a “platinum” benefit not specific to the card & then I only get 1 $200 reimbursement?
thanks for your help.
While it’s only intended for incidentals, it works on gift cards. I did it myself just a few weeks ago by buying $200 worth of American Airlines’ gift cards and the statement credit posted days later. Even One Mile at a Time had a similar post to that. And yes, you get the credit for each card!
& each card can be enrolled in a different airline?
Also – If we got approved do you think AMEX will honor or perhaps they will say mistaken link & only regular promtion applies? I don’t want to put the $3,000 spend & have them tell me that not to mention a wasted credit pull
Correct, each card can be enrolled in a different airline. You have to select your airline after you get your card. For a comprehensive discussion about which airlines you can get gift cards from, see this post by Mile Value: http://milevalue.com/master-thread-of-which-airline-gift-cards-american-express-reimburses/
There is always a possibility that this deal will be reneged on by Amex. The fact that 99.9% of people got approved makes me wary of this, but I’m hoping for the best. Time will tell.
also – will my business MR POINTS & NOW personal MR points post in to one MR account or it will be 2 accounts?
When I log in both Hilton personal & platinum business show up but I am curious how it works with personal & business Membership rewards?
Also if I downgrade (not close the account so I don’t lose the points after the bonus comes in) can I downgrade to personal blue with MR points or it has to be Green with the $95 fee? I know in business I go between green & platinum & the points works the same ignoring the 25% bonus but how does it work with Blue? Or maybe I can even cancel & just keep the business platinum open with MR & I will not lose the points?
Your business and personal MR points should pool into the same account. When you log in to your account, ALL accounts will show, biz and personal.
To take full advantage of this deal, I recommend you don’t close the account until you take the $200 credit in early 2014. That will minimize your annual fee cost. If you downgrade to a lower card but still have another MR card, your points will remain. However, if you only had one card and changed to the Blue card, you would have to transfer all your points before making the card switch, otherwise you’d risk losing them.
another way to minimize the annual fee cost is pay the $450 & use the $200 credit, wait for the 100k to post & then simply close the card – figure maximum 3 months but I still keep Business platinum open (& even downgrade that to green if I want but still keep the MR points) & they refund back $$337.50 9 months of the annual fee for the personal – make sense??
Yes you could definitely get the pro-rated annual fee back if you cancel early, but I’d be careful of cancelling too soon. Don’t want to risk losing any points.
Mine didn’t show up 🙁 This offer may be aleady over?
Try clearing your cookies, switching browsers, and using private browsing. Many people on FT have found this to work for them!
I tried it, did not find the offer.. has it lapsed…??
FlyerTalk comments indicate that it might be dead unfortunately.
Not showing up clearing cache, incognito, different browser here..
Apparently the deal is dead. I’ve updated the post to reflect this.
I only saw the Amex offers 25K MR for the first 2K spent within three months. Am I missing something?
This deal is now expired (dead). It only lasted for about 17 hours once it was posted here!