[Expired] [Targeted] American Express High Yield Savings Account 25,000 Membership Rewards Point Bonus

Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: 25,000 Membership Rewards
  • Availability: Nationwide but targeted
  • Deposit required: $25,000 for 90 days
  • APY: 1.15%
  • Hard/soft pull: Soft pull AFAIK, but not confirmed
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: None
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee:
  • Household limit: None listed
  • Expiration date: July 18th, 2020

The Offer

Targeted offer sent out via e-mail with subject line ‘Starting to look ahead? We are here to help with an exclusive offer.’

  • American Express is offering some existing cardholders 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you deposit $25,000 or more into an American Express Personal Savings account by July 18th and maintain that balance for at least 90 days

The Fine Print

  • Offer not available to non-American Express customers or to American Express customers who did not receive this email from American Express directly.
  • 25,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited to your account within 8-12 weeks after you, as the primary account holder, deposit a total of $25,000 (the “Threshold Amount”) or more of new money (not transferred from an existing Personal Savings account) into your American Express Personal Savings account by July 18, 2020 and hold those funds in your account through October 16, 2020. Our obligation to credit your account is also contingent on you not engaging in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with this offer in any way, as described below.
  • The following deposits do NOT count towards the Threshold Amount: earned interest.
  • We may consider the number of Personal Savings accounts you have opened and closed as well as other factors in deciding on your offer eligibility. We may not credit Membership Rewards points, we may freeze Membership Rewards points already credited, or we may take away Membership Rewards points from your account, if we determine in our sole discretion that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the offer in any way or that you intend to do so. For example, if you cancel your Personal Savings account within 12 months after acquiring it; or cancel or downgrade your card account within 12 months. We may also cancel this account and other accounts you may have with us. NOTE: The value of the bonus may be taxable income to you and may be reported on IRS Form 1099. You are responsible for any federal or state taxes resulting from the bonus. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the tax treatment of the bonus.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has no monthly fees to worry about

Early Account Termination Fee

I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee.

Our Verdict

Very good deal, especially if you value Membership Rewards at 1¢+. The account itself is competitive at 1.15% when compared to other basic savings rates and even if you value MR at 1¢ it works out to be an extra 4% APY. If this wasn’t targeted we’d be adding it to the best savings bonus page. As far as I know this is the first time American Express has offered a sign up bonus on this account.

Hat tip to readers Chris R, Michael, Brijesh N & @seriouslyrick

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On June 14, 2020, 21:56
Tags: american expressnationwide bank bonusesnationwide savings bonus

View Comments (97)

  • DP: I was one of those people who signed up for a AMEX new savings account on July 17 2020 (1 day prior to offer end date). Initiated linking my other savings account to ACH pull from. The process naturally took a couple days and resulted in the funds transfer initiating on July 20th.

    I was assured by representatives that I would NOT be receiving the bonus points since the funds didn't transfer by the offer expiration date of July 18th and there was nothing they could do (multiple HUCA). This was okay since I had my procrastination to blame and took ownership.

    Fast forward to March 16 2021, I SUCCESFULLY RECIEVED the 25000 bonus MR points marked as "AMEX Savings MR Promotion 2020". Much later than many other people as I can see below me, but still pumped that I received them. FYI, I did not call AMEX again since July 2020 in regards to this.

    Thanks AMEX for the fairness shown by your systems, since I did at least open the account in time!

  • Lol, I got 1099 with exactly 250.00 US,D from amex.. I think for this offer
    (points posted months ago)

    • Woo boy, this was fun. I got a 1099-INT from Amex Bank for $25,000 earlier this year. Called in and they said it would be corrected. Got a corrected $250 1099-INT last week. I was still confused because it didn't actually have my savings account interest reported on the form. Called in again and the agent was trying to tell me that this MR-related 1099 wasn't being reported to the IRS. Turns out he meant that the original $25,000 1099 wasn't going to be reported.

      Long story short - for me at least - I need to download a 1099-INT for the actual accrued interest from the bank website. And report this second paper 1099-INT separately.

    • Mine still hasn’t posted either. Keep getting told to try back every 2-3 days for over a month now. No one seems to know how to correct the issue.

  • I regret participating in this offer. I met the requirements and was told the points would post by midnight on 1/9/21. Still no points and now getting the runaround. Being told it has to be reviewed by a different department and the points are not guaranteed. I’m within the 30 day timeframe of my AF posting and am considering canceling both the savings account and my Plat card. Frustrating and a waste of time. Based on the terms language, are my existing MR points at risk of being taken if I cancel either or both? I also have the Gold card.

    • UPDATE: Called Amex Personal Savings again today and have been informed this is a known issue with many customer accounts being affected. The rep confirmed it was likely a glitch or bug in the system that needs to be fixed by Amex. They did not have a timeframe of when it will be resolved. Recommend waiting a week then following back up if points haven’t posted.

  • I still have not got my bonus points. So I called and was assured that I fulfilled the requirements and should receive my points with 5-7 business days.

    • I haven't received my points either. I guess I'll wait until the end of this week, too

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