cfabar1

It's not a huge mistake for the churned argument I agree. Personally I don't play that game and admittedly am missing out on a lot of benefits, but that's my choice. I have had the same primary card for the past three years a PRG and also have a Delta card I use for discounted skyclub, free bag, etc. I may actually drop the delta card this year because of some other factors.

But in a world where the cards are always being hawked, it's like when you go into macys and they ask you do you have a. Store card. People often don't remember if they did or not, and suddenly if they ever did, the gift as it were for getting the card is now being taken away. You already have a new customer who will be disgruntled with the product.

sdsearch

Well, keep in mind that this used to be (with a slight variation) the AMEX policy for many years before.

I remember when I started reading about Amex churning on FT many years ago, you could only get an Amex bonus if you repeated the card while a higher bonus was available than the bonus you had previously had, and then you would get only the difference between the new higher bonus and the previous bonus you'd gotten.

It was only for the last few years that Amex shifted to giving all the bonus if you had cancelled more than a year previously.

But that, of course, invited a bunch of repeat churners, and Amex got tired of that, so they went back to something close to what they had several years before.

LowFlyOver

I think that this more likely. I once had the same Chase United MileagePlus card twice in less than a year and got the bonus both times. Applied at the same time I was holding the old Continental card. Got bonus. Cancelled after 7 months and had cancelled Continental card prior. Somehow, the MileagePlus account, which was always a MileagePlus account, dropped off my record very quickly, though the former Continental account remained (under the then "new" MileagePlus name). About 10 months after getting the actual MileagePlus account (again, 3 months after closing), I received an attractive targeted offer from within my MileagePlus account at the United website. I thought, "What the heck?", and I applied. I was automatically approved and got full bonus. Either Chase's programs were blatantly ignoring their policies at the time, or the system was reading me as never having applied for the MileagePlus card bonus (i.e., viewing the old Continental card as a separate bonus and not seeing the MileagePlus card which I had cancelled just 3 months prior). "Once in a lifetime" limits are only as good as the coding which enforces them, and I would be shocked if Amex is actually as heavy handed as they sound on this. Of course, I have been denied AA Visas as late as 21 months after cancelling, so I'm not always lucky.

michael_v

Chase United card changed names from MileagePlus to MileagePlus Explorer. It could be that you had one of each. And of course CO card was different product than both.

wise2u

so proof they want to limit bonus to once in a lifetime?!?

Just another reason many people will dump their Amex cards.

it used to be because the annual fees were the highest in the industry, then it was because of limited acceptance with businesses, now it will be no good reason to go back to their products after a couple of years.

they are cutting their own throats, and after people start cancelling when their overpriced AF kicks in, they will leave Amex for the many other cards with incentives out there, and never come back.

I bet this policy changes when they see what a dumb idea it really is.

drwilliams

Why would this cause people to dump their Amex card? Would it not cause them to consider keeping it, since they cannot churn it?

And if they cannot churn it, is that not better for Amex, as churners could very well cost them money.

We have no idea whether this is a dumb idea or not. Only Amex will know if it made the correct decision, and that is a ways down the road.

UA Fan

While I am very disappointed at this development, I don't think it is a bad idea from Amex's perspective. I doubt they are making any money giving these bonuses in exchange for some spending requirement. They are looking for people who will use their card for things other than meeting spend requirements. As an example, I was looking for a card that I would always keep in my wallet as a backup. I did not go around looking for the card that gave the biggest bonus, instead I went for a card that was either Visa/MC, no annual fee and gave the most points per $. This is BOA's Travelreward card. Gives 1.6/$ for BOA checking acct customers.

Kay_nyc

I'm wonder if this will affect me. I just got a plat card in May. I had an Amex PRG (can't recall if it was biz or personal) in 2011-12. Under this new policy, should I expect to get the bonus points from the plat card? Different product, but same rewards scheme. Also, I ws thinking of applying for the Amex Everyday card to add a few more MR points... does that plan make sense now?

Happy

The CapOne Quick Silver is 1.5% on any spend, a Visa Signature and 0% forex fee. The rebate is earned whenever the charge is posted. You can redeem at any amount, no need to wait for the $25 threshold. Despite CapOne seemingly has a bad rap due to its root, I have nothing but good customer services from them. All their reps are based in US so much easier to deal with.

jacped

Has there been a similar rebranding of the standard Delta Amex? I had one about 4-5 years ago; it's hard to recall if the current Gold Delta Skymiles card is the same that I previously had.

Brugge

And that didn't turn out to be you, did it? Likewise, when my AMEX card AFs come due, I'm dumping them for cards that will give me sign up bonuses. And I won't be getting them again, since I can't get a bonus again. Normally, I would put some significant spend, way beyond the required minimum, so that AMEX would be likely to give me more cards in the future. No need to bother with that now, so the AMEX ccs I currently have go in the sock drawer. With the one exception of the Everyday Preferred, which gets all of my grocery and gas spend. But nothing else. Easy for me to meet the 30 uses per month on bonused spend alone, so no motivation to put anything else on it. I am downgrading my Surpass to the no fee HHonors, just in case I feel the need for 5X grocery spend for HH points, beyond the Everyday $6K per year max. But keeping AF AMEX cards, or reapplying for ones I've had before? Nope, not unless they find a way to make it worth my while. Which right now they are absolutely not doing.

UA Fan

It did. When not meeting spend requirements, I use the Sapphire card with BOA as a backup. I am waiting for the Everyday card to target me with more than 10K points and then I intend to keep it around for quite some time.

You might spend a little more than the required spending, but I'm not sure how many churners do. I spend maybe $100 more than required and then dump it. Chase has shown that they don't like churners and this action from Amex might make them follow suit. With a reduction in carriers the number of airline cards will come down and so it's easy for all the banks to stop churning.

UA Fan

The BOA also has no forex fee and it has the Chip. The only downside to it is that I have to wait till I get 2500 points (although I can use it to redeem smaller charges). Having to wait in not a big issue to me, so I think BOA works for me.

waingro

It's the same card as 4 years ago, and they can see that far back. The CSR could see my old card from 2010. But I got my 2nd card right before the 5/1 cutoff

Happy

You obviously do not know the new T&C languages now showing up on ALL Chase own cards and some affinity cards - check that out - and interpret it yourself. Essentially, as long as your last bonus was received 24 months ago, you are good to go again. Note: Very importantly, the clock is from when the bonus is received... That could mean the statement closing date of the cycle the bonus was awarded. I can envision this would trip quite some people who dont do good record keeping.