yoyo

I thought personal and business always show up as two pulls since they came from different entities in AMEX but you never know. Maybe only there was only one inquiry made. Please keep us posted.

FlyingTonto

My application is being reviewed and will receive a response in 8 days.

Is there a reconsideration line to call?

tinnub

Applied online, end of application, "our system is busy right now, please try again later"
Does that mean they received it?
More AMEX fun and games.

goAsia

I think you need to "try again later."

guoguo914

That's what the Million Miles Secret said at least:

Million Mile Secrets | June 21, 2012 at 6:12 pm |
@jeff – Good luck! I got approved today, so should get the card in a few days.

@Tianmu – You can apply for an AMEX personal card as well, but it will almost certainly be counted as a 2nd inquiry. For me, AMEX usually pulls from only 1 credit bureau.

bluto

This a somewhat surprising interpretation. Thanks for posting it. I have the Business Gold now. I applied over a year ago but I still have it open. Under a plain language reading, I wouldn't think I qualify as I am an "applicant[s] who ha[s] had this product or any Business Gold or Green Card account within the last 12 months."

I will call to find out and confirm.

mia

Agreed, I think the account would need to be closed for a year before you could qualify for another bonus, -and- the restriction applies to all OPEN charge cards, which means holding a Business Green, Gold or Platinum card should disqualify you from earning a bonus on all three.

If we assume parallel restrictions will be implemented for personal charge cards (Zync, Green, Gold, Platinum) it's going to require an entirely new calculus to earn periodic Membership Rewards bonuses.

TimesTwo

Just picked this up today. Thanks OP!

mromero07

That's exactly what I told the rep. on the phone. I told her she was either giving me inaccurate information or Amex had a very poorly worded sentence in the T&Cs. I told her that based on the literal wording, in order to ever qualify for this product I would have to close my current Gold Business card and stay off of it for a year, and I don't actually want to close the card. She told me she understood where I was coming from, but that the clause simply means that you can't have gotten the card within the past year. She actually got another department on the line to confirm when I had opened the account. Again, I'm just relaying what she told me, but I agree that the literal meaning on the T&C requires you to close the account, which makes absolutely no business sense for them. I think they simply screwed up the language. If it's been more than 12 months, I would just document the conversation very carefully, and even go the extra step of requiring a confirmation in writing once I have the account open before you go and spend so much money.

friedablass

Anyone know the answer to this? Thanks.

mromero07

I would have the husband apply as a sole prop. If she applies they might pick up on it if she's using the same business name.

bluto

Amex today told me a different story, unfortunately. They said that while I could get the card and enjoy the benefits and points earning capabilities, I would not be eligible for the sign-up bonus. I'm still hoping your version is the correct one, but I would not rely purely on that rep. After you do your $10k spend, I think you'd have an uphill battle to get the points if they then start saying "no, we meant what we wrote; you can't have had the card for a year." I think my next attempt will be a secure message.

mromero07

Exactly, that's what I meant by documenting the conversation and getting it in writing. In my case, I had already applied and put my wife as an additional user last year. This time, she is the one who applied and put me as an additional user.

bluto

My SM result seems to now support what mromero07 has been saying. If I am reading the below correctly then this means you're ok if you applied over 12 months ago. Anybody else have a data point?

kaigoss69

Stupid question here: Can I open the card in my business name and pay a personal expense and count this as a "distribution"? More specifically, we are getting ready to buy a house and I need to make a $10k down payment. Can I pay it with this card, knowing that the money would have to be taxed later? Is this the same as taking $10k out of your business, and then having to pay all applicable income taxes on the money?