Originally Posted by
beltway
That was certainly the case last year, when I (as a long-time holder of the no-fee Hilton Amex) signed up for the Surpass & earned the bonus.
Is there the possibility that he has too many Amex cards? Limit used to be 4 but recently I've seen people can now get 5, though that might not be universal. Maybe he was ineligible for another card so they offered him an upgrade?