Originally Posted by
RobertHanson
I'm not sure if you HAVE to do it that way. Maybe you don't. But AMEX can be somewhat sticky with it's app bonuses. I always err on the side of caution with them.
However, if your regular AMEX HH card is less than a year old, you probably do have to do it that way. Due to the Card Act regulations that preclude "upgrades within a year of applying". I know when I tried to apply for a Surpass within that first year, the app wouldn't even load for me if I was signed in. Instead it took me to a page to apply for a AU card on my current HH card. When I applied being signed out, and using in-private the app loaded just fine.
That is precisely my point - why would you need to sign in first then sign out if you are going to apply it anew?! This step is totally unnecessary.
What you should do is do NOT sign in at all. Clear any cookie / cache of AMEX site if you visited it before you apply. Then to be safe, do the application in incognito or private browsing mode.
The goal is not to have any trace to show you are an AMEX existing customer, hence you DONT sign in at all.
Finally, you are confused the new application with upgrade. C.A.R.D. does not prevent you to apply a new card, but it prevents you to upgrade from a no fee card to a fee card in less than 12 months. When you apply a new card which has fee, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with your existing no fee card. Hence nothing to do with C.A.R.D. restriction.