American Express Membership Rewards - Am I stupid not to sign up? Gold with 50k points

I really, really don't need another credit card. I have been tossing amex offers in the trash for months. Now I am sitting squarely on the fence. Received a gold card offer with 50,000 membership rewards points and the $150 annual fee waived for the first year.

But now the points are really tempting...but i ask you all... is there anything really compelling about the Gold Amex that is more interesitng than the regular Signature Cards like the ones issued by Marriott, United or the BofA WorldPoints card. Great customer service? High value redemptions? Bonuses for select transfers?

Thank you all!

Your profile indicates that you fly AA, UA, and US. None of these participate in Membership Rewards. It doesn't appear that any Membership Rewards card would be a good fit for your travel pattern.

On the other hand, the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, also issued by American Express may be better than the cards you mentioned, even if you never set foot in a Starwood hotel. $20,000 = 25,000 miles on most airlines (excluding CO and UA).

Do the offer! To me, $500 (at a conservative 1c/pt valuation) for an easy credit card deal is a no-brainer. Even if you can't transfer MR points to your preferred program, you can use them to pay for travel, or for gift cards, and get that 1c/pt.

Additionally, you'll probably receive an offer for MR points when you add additional cardholders (first year fee waived), giving you ~10k more points (or $100).

I really, really don't need another credit card. I have been tossing amex offers in the trash for months. Now I am sitting squarely on the fence. Received a gold card offer with 50,000 membership rewards points and the $150 annual fee waived for the first year.

But now the points are really tempting...but i ask you all... is there anything really compelling about the Gold Amex that is more interesitng than the regular Signature Cards like the ones issued by Marriott, United or the BofA WorldPoints card. Great customer service? High value redemptions? Bonuses for select transfers?

Thank you all!

Is this offer available to all of us? Is there a link?

Thanks.

Is this offer available to all of us? Is there a link?

Thanks.

I don't think the offers are public since (s)he mentions (s)he's been tossing offers in the trash for months so I assume these are targeted snail mail type... Correct me if I'm wrong as I would love to be wrong and take advantage of the 50,000 MR point offer!

50,000 I think is about as good as it gets for the Gold card. Do it!

I sat on the same offer till the last day, and then figured I might as well go for it. I did get the offer of add'l points to add a name when I called to activate. Put through a charge right away, and all the points now appear. I don't need or expect to use the card, but would consider going to plat in a bit due to them adding the AA AC entry. We used to have a plat but cancelled it in favor of other cards at the time.

I sat on the same offer till the last day, and then figured I might as well go for it. I did get the offer of add'l points to add a name when I called to activate. Put through a charge right away, and all the points now appear. I don't need or expect to use the card, but would consider going to plat in a bit due to them adding the AA AC entry. We used to have a plat but cancelled it in favor of other cards at the time.
care to share the RSVP code with us?TIA
:D

Did you do it? Did AMEX say that code is only for you?

Your profile indicates that you fly AA, UA, and US. None of these participate in Membership Rewards. It doesn't appear that any Membership Rewards card would be a good fit for your travel pattern.

On the other hand, the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, also issued by American Express may be better than the cards you mentioned, even if you never set foot in a Starwood hotel. $20,000 = 25,000 miles on most airlines (excluding CO and UA).

He/she could take the 50k MR from AMEX link to and transfer into SPG then transfer those points into AA at a 1:1, plus get the bonus off the 20k transfered.

Slam dunk to do it. If you don't want to use the 50k points for travel directly, you can use them to pay for travel booked through Amex's website at $0.01/point. Unless you never buy tickets using your own money, this is, in effect, $500 in cash. Unless you don't care about that kind of money, I'd do it.

no brainer. do it even to just convert to gift cards and then cancel

I have a gold card. Do you think I could cancel it and sign up for another one and get the 50K bonus points?

I called to inquire about the 50k promo but the agent said it is by invite only and I needed the RSVP #.
Anyways, he offered me the following:
25k bonus points after first purchase
5k bonus points after spending 20k
20k bonus points after spending 50k
==========================
45k bonus points(if i reach 50K in spending)
Seemed like a decent deal to me and I signed up and got approved immediately. :D
He also mentioned he'll be sending the card via UPS next day and I should be getting the package in 2-3 days :cool:

I called to inquire about the 50k promo but the agent said it is by invite only and I needed the RSVP #.
Anyways, he offered me the following:
25k bonus points after first purchase
5k bonus points after spending 20k
20k bonus points after spending 50k
==========================
45k bonus points(if i reach 50K in spending)
Seemed like a decent deal to me and I signed up and got approved immediately. :D
He also mentioned he'll be sending the card via UPS next day and I should be getting the package in 2-3 days :cool:


I think this is the standard offer right now, right?

I think this is the standard offer right now, right?
I'm pretty sure the "standard" offer was 25k MR bonus points on first purchase and thats it.
There is another "standard" offer where you get 40k bonus points:
5k bonus upon first purchase
5k bonus when you spend 20k
20k bonus when you spend 50k
10k when you renew your card

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :)

50k for free on signup is a great deal...
50k for 50k in spending isn't so great.

50k for free on signup is a great deal...
50k for 50k in spending isn't so great.

depends on your spending patter. For me this is roghly the same.

depends on your spending patter. For me this is roghly the same.

Exactly! I totally agree with you..:)

I just recently signed up the AMEX Gold Business card. I thought I was going to recieve 25,000 bonus points but when I recieved the card, it only said "5,000", so when I went back to the website that I signed up on, it said the "25,000 points offer had expired", is that true? What should I do with this card now that I may only have 5,000 points after I spend $50 to activate the points? Or will I be getting the 25,000 in 6-8 weeks? Thanks!

I just recently signed up the AMEX Gold Business card. I thought I was going to recieve 25,000 bonus points but when I recieved the card, it only said "5,000", so when I went back to the website that I signed up on, it said the "25,000 points offer had expired", is that true? What should I do with this card now that I may only have 5,000 points after I spend $50 to activate the points? Or will I be getting the 25,000 in 6-8 weeks? Thanks!

call the helpdesk and tell them you were assured of the 25000 not 5000.

I got the 50K offer for charging $500 on the card by August 31st. Did that but are still waiting for the bonus miles. I check once a week but no bonus miles yet. How long should I wait?

call the helpdesk and tell them you were assured of the 25000 not 5000.

exactly-I'm in the same situation as you. I called them and told them that I was offered 25k bonus points after first purchase and if they can't give me that then I'm not interested in this and will not be activating the card. She promptly corrected the mistake and said the points will be credited 6-8 weeks after the first purchase.

exactly-I'm in the same situation as you. I called them and told them that I was offered 25k bonus points after first purchase and if they can't give me that then I'm not interested in this and will not be activating the card. She promptly corrected the mistake and said the points will be credited 6-8 weeks after the first purchase.

i have found that the amex helpdesk is *generally* good with things like this....

I got the 50K offer for charging $500 on the card by August 31st. Did that but are still waiting for the bonus miles. I check once a week but no bonus miles yet. How long should I wait?

I am currently on that offer as well. I have heard that it can take about 6 months. Wouldn't hurt to ask though.

Save your offer letters for proof!

I signed for a card with the 50K offer; after spending the required $500 called Amex inquiring about the 50K points and was told it took 12 to 14 weeks after the qualifying purchase. I will wait to see if it was all worth the effort.

I called to inquire about the 50k promo but the agent said it is by invite only and I needed the RSVP #.
Anyways, he offered me the following:
25k bonus points after first purchase
5k bonus points after spending 20k
20k bonus points after spending 50k
==========================
45k bonus points(if i reach 50K in spending)
Seemed like a decent deal to me and I signed up and got approved immediately. :D
He also mentioned he'll be sending the card via UPS next day and I should be getting the package in 2-3 days :cool:

This is a very nice deal to be offered unsolicited.

Did any promotional code come with it? Anyone else able to receive this in the last few weeks?

Hey guys, I wish I had read this thread before I completed the application!! I was in the same boat as the OP - I've gotten AmEx offers in the mail frequently, but nothing has made me want to stop getting cash back on my Blue card until now. My snail mail offer was for 50,000 MR points after spending $2,000 on the card by the end of February 2009.

I got my wife a card, too, but I filled it out online and wasn't offered the extra 10K points :mad:

CLG

What's the best travel use for the 50,000 points?

Is there a link for the 25K point offer? I have some stranded MR points that I cannot convert to Delta miles, and I am trying to get a card which I can attach my existing MR points to and convert to Delta during the 30% bonus promotion. Thanks.

What's the best travel use for the 50,000 points?

Wait until you have 100,000 points and then fly BusinessFirst to Europe on Continental. The same reward flight in Economy will just about break even during the off-season.

my dad just got this offer in the mail. debating if i should make him sign up for it just so i can use the points.....30k on my plat + 50k from his gold. get alot of nice gift cards for xmas with that

my dad just got this offer in the mail. debating if i should make him sign up for it just so i can use the points.....30k on my plat + 50k from his gold. get alot of nice gift cards for xmas with that

Xolinevh - Please read your post. Are you making a statement or asking a question?

Xolinevh - Please read your post. Are you making a statement or asking a question?

More thinking outloud

Sign! its worth it!

I've been getting these Amex offers forever and have always just thrown them out but this one looks to be a pretty decent offer. It's for the Rewards Plus Gold Card and if I spend 500 dollars by February 28th I'll get 50,000 bonus points. Right now I've got an Amex platinum card (on dads account and for emergencies so very little spending on it), a BofA student visa, and the Citi AA World Mastercard which I do most of my spending on.

I can't see myself keeping this card past the first year with the annual fee but those 50,000 bonus points are a really nice offer and could certainly be used toward some trips I plan on taking next year. Do Amex rewards points expire at all?

I've been getting these Amex offers forever and have always just thrown them out but this one looks to be a pretty decent offer. It's for the Rewards Plus Gold Card and if I spend 500 dollars by February 28th I'll get 50,000 bonus points. Right now I've got an Amex platinum card (on dads account and for emergencies so very little spending on it), a BofA student visa, and the Citi AA World Mastercard which I do most of my spending on.

I can't see myself keeping this card past the first year with the annual fee but those 50,000 bonus points are a really nice offer and could certainly be used toward some trips I plan on taking next year. Do Amex rewards points expire at all?

As long as you have your account active, the points are good. Transfer them out, then close your account. Yours to keep.

I received this offer twice! Once for a personal Gold card, which I happily accepted. Two weeks later I got an offer for a Business Gold card, which I also accepted. In total I received 100,000 MR points from the 2 cards, I just had to spend $500 on each card to get the points, which was not hard at all. I plan to use the MR points primarily for Hawaiian Air Miles.