The Offer
- American Express is sending out targeted mail outs for 100,000 points after $5,000 in spend within the first three months on the Personal Platinum card. What’s significantly is the fact that the one bonus per lifetime language is absent. As always make sure your individual offer DOES NOT have the lifetime language.
Card Details
- Annual fee of $550 is not waived the first year
- Authorized Platinum cards are $175 for three user (then $175 per Platinum)
- Authorized Gold cards are free
- Full details here
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5x points per $1 spent on purchases made with airlines or with American Express Travel
- 5x points per $1 spent on hotel bookings made directly from the American Express travel website
- 1x points on all other purchases
- $200 airline incidental credit per calendar year
- $200 Uber credit ($15 per month and additional $20 in December)
- Lounge access:
- Centurion lounge access
- International American Express lounge access
- Delta SkyClub lounge access
- Priority pass select membership
- Airspace lounge access
- Internet Access:
- Unlimited Boingo internet access
- SPG gold status (this will also give you Marriott Gold status)
- Hilton gold status
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓
- No foreign transaction fees
- View these other hidden benefits
- Once per lifetime language is not included in this offer, meaning if you’ve had the card/bonus before you are eligible.
Our Verdict
I’ve never seen American Express try to value their benefits like this before (absurd valuations if you ask me) so looks like a new marketing technique by them (similar to what Chase is doing with Chase Sapphire Reserve and trying to get cardholders to hold the card year two onwards). If you weren’t targeted and haven’t held the card before remember you can get 100,000 point bonuses on both the personal and business Platinum cards. As always make sure you read through these things everybody should know about American Express credit cards.
Does anyone know where the once in a lifetime language appears in the T&C’s? I received the AMEX Plat Biz Card offer in the mail today – 60k points after $5k spend. I cannot see the once in a lifetime language anywhere. Thanks.
I have a Mercedes Benz branded Platinum Amex. When I want to cancel the card, will I be able to downgrade it to a lower (or zero) annual fee card, or am I SOL because it’s a cobranded charge card?
These mail offers have hard-coded names when trying to apply online, you can’t change the name.. Any way around it? What’s the ‘Name Trick’?
No such thing. The target offer sent by mail is exclusively for that person only.
I am really trying to get the 100k bonus points to switch from my business platinum to a personal platinum. I have not received a targeted mailer / email. Anyone know a workaround? My biz platinum renews in September and I am hoping to switch to the personal before the end of the month to avoid paying two annual fees.
I would hate to settle for the 60k bonus when the 100k is floating around.
Any suggestions, please help!!
I’m interested in knowing what other products do targeted people have. i.e.
closed/opened platinum
closed/opened PRG
closed/opened CSR or Prestige
If you got targeted please tell us! <3
What’s the verdict on actually being able to get a sign-up bonus twice even if the application on the second card doesn’t have the once in a lifetime language? I’ve seen DPs saying their second app didn’t have the once in a lifetime language, but they still got denied for the second bonus. Have a lot of people been able to get the second bonus?
I was denied the 25,000 point bonus that was offered for a 1000 spend, after receiving the offer in my Blue Cash Preferred account and receiving a snail mail offer. Neither included the once in a lifetime language, which is usually in bold black lettering. When I asked yesterday, I was told that because I already had the card I wasn’t eligible for the bonus even if the offer didn’t specify. No major harm. I can simply transfer the 1000 points, and it was spending that I would’ve done anyway. Like the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true…
I did. It worked like a clockwork as every two/three years I received targeted PRG offer with no lifetime phase in the mail. Maybe because I don’t churn or MS.
If you got the sign-up bonus more than once on a card, then you churn. That’s the very definition of it.
Other than Plat and PRG, are there any other Amex MR earning cards that continue to send out the targeted offers with no lifetime language?
Nate, it seems like it always works unless they want to deny you the bonus for other reasons (e.g using a leaked link that caused your account to get frozen) and in that case they will look for any reason to deny you.
I have been having an issue with these targeted offers. The code never works when I enter my social. It has happened twice already. Not sure whether this is isolated or not, but it only happens with Amex.
I know it is useful for a lot of people…but the Uber credit is just completely worthless to me on these cards and $350 effective AF per year is a pretty big cost to deal with.
The credits work with Uber EATS as well.
Too true. If Amex is adamant about keeping the credit as part of their “benefits” – and they are – it’d be great to be able to use the credit on other rideshare companies.
Is the AF $350 or $550?
$550 AF, but there is a $200 annual airline credit. So, $350 effective AF given no consideration for the value of other benefits.
Those valuations are more evidence that Amex considers itself more of a benefits-based card service instead of a rewards-based service. 1cpp is a rather tame valuation of MRs, where the $399 PP valuation is completely mental.
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