roki

The only AMEX I've had canceled at least a year is my PRG. Worth getting again before 5/1/14? Also, this will likely kill the AMEX Hilton > Surpass > Hilton > Surpass never-ending Hilton points trick, won't it?

babycakes01

I hope you are able to get another PRG bonus. I had mine refused because I held other AMEX products. I had the PRG card in the past but it has been closed for several years.

roki

When I got it originally, it was a targeted 75K offer. I'd probably only bother fighting for it before 5/1/14 if I could get something over the 25K standard offer.

mia

See this thread for an example of the new terms:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-after-2k.html

kmcbrid2

If this is true then this would mean you couldn't get a signup bonus for you have had a specific card in the past.

So If you have not had a PLT card but you have had a PRG then you could still get the sign up bonus for the PLT card as long as you have not had the PRG card in the past 12 months correct? This would hold true for other family of cards such as the hilton cards etc where in the past you could not receive a signup bonus if you held one of the family cards within the past 12 months.

Additionally, if I have a PLT personnel card but have never had a PLT business then I could still get a signup bonus after 1 May if this program is implemented.

sdsearch

Perhaps, but it won't kill the much simpler never-ending Hilton points trick of applying for one of these cards:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...nors-visa.html

as often as every 33 days (as long as you can do the minimum spend that often) for 50k each time. (And, btw, unlike Amex, Citi won't even approve you for the card if they're not going to give you a bonus, so if you're approved at Citi, you'll get the bonus at Citi. And, btw, unlike Amex, at Citi you don't have to cancel before applying again.)

I don't know why anyone would bother (up to now) with the relatively slow Hilton > Surpass > Hilton > Surpass trick, compared to churning the Citi 50k, since I doubt the Hilton > Suprass > Hilton > Suprass trick can generate points at 50k as quickly as every 33 days.

Please note: 33 days is about the theorteical maximum, and is based on Citi rules of no more than 1 app in an 8+ day period and no more than 2 apps in a 65 days period. I don't know if anyone has done it to quite that degree on a nonstop basis. But there are certainly people who've gotten the Citi 50k bonus multiple times a year over multiple years.


... So while there are various miles/points programs in which it'll get harder to accumulate because of this Amex signup bonus change, IMHO Hilton is not one of them.

TheBOSman

Well, until May 1, I hold to the possibility of it not happening. Until people start getting declined for bonuses, it can't quite be a certainty. But, honestly, it looks pretty certain .

UA Fan

I hope this is not true. Amex is capable is enforcing this. It will be a return of the bad old days.

jaymar01

I'd consider getting another American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card, but with their current offer..it's not worth the effort.

Earn 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase on the Card and an additional 15,000 Starpoints after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months

mia

I think it's premature to speculate at this level of detail. American Express can write the rule however they choose. They could limit individuals to one bonus per rewards program per lifetime. We simply need to see the terms of the offers, and then we need to apply (knowing that we may receive nothing) and report.

The best offer (in recent years) is only 5,000 points greater. Would that have been worth the effort?

kmcbrid2

I hope they disclose this is true or not in soon and release the terms before 1 may so we decide if we want to make a run at a couple cards before 1 may.

mia

Here are the terms from the offer linked in post 19, which appears to be the first example:

They can disqualify you if you currently hold any American Express Card -or- if you have ever held a Platinum Card. There's still plenty of ambiguity, and I think this is intentional. Examples:

• The first sentence is not new, and their use of the term may allows them to evaluate individual applicants.
• A Platinum Card account enrolled in the Membership Rewards program could include personal, business, corporate, Ameriprise, Goldman-Sachs, Mercedes, Morgan Stanley, etc.

I think you will be disappointed if you're expecting American Express to unambiguously restate these terms in the next 45 days.

Dieuwer

I will only hurt AMEX.
If there are no more sign-up bonuses people will not get the card and use it.

mia

@:-) There will be sign-up bonuses for people who get the card and use it, but not for people who cancel and reapply.

Dieuwer

When people want to cancel for whatever reason, they will not return as they do not get the bonus. This mean that the AMEX user base inevitably will shrink. Eventually, this will means bankruptcy for AMEX.