Feb 26, 2016, 9:28 am
Last edit by: beltway
For earlier discussion of the restriction's application to personal cards, see Put a fork in it 5.1.2014: One bonus per personal card per person "lifetime" [USA].
It is essential to read the terms of the specific offer, but in general:
This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had this product.
If we identify you as currently having an American Express® Card account, you may not be eligible for this welcome bonus offer.
Points will be credited to your Membership Rewards account within 6 - 8 weeks after the spend requirement has been reached.
It is essential to read the terms of the specific offer, but in general:
This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had this product.
- You can only earn one new account bonus for each card issued by American Express in the USA. We do not know precisely how far back American Express looks to see if you have previously held the same card, but there is anecdotal evidence that the Customer Service database looks back only seven years. This means that if you cancelled a card in 2007 or earlier, and have not held it since, you will probably qualify for a new account bonus in 2015.
- Holding a related card does not disqualify earning a new account bonus. Examples: Green, Gold, and Platinum are each separate products. Delta Gold, Platinum and Reserve are each separate products. The Hilton credit card is a different product than Hilton Surpass.
- Holding a Supplementary Card (authorized user) on someone else's account does not disqualify you from earning a new acount bonus if you open the same card type in your own name.
- As of mid-February 2016, Amex appears to be adding the same restriction to its business card products.
- If you receive a targeted offer, online or through the USPS, for a card which you have previously held you may, or may not, actually receive the bonus. Be certain to save a copy of the offer, and to read and save every screen which appears during the application process.
- Upgrade offers are different from new account offers. You may be offered a bonus to upgrade (for example) a Gold Card to a Platinum Card, and you may be eligible for that bonus even if you previously held a Platinum card. It is still essential to read and save the terms of the offer.
If we identify you as currently having an American Express® Card account, you may not be eligible for this welcome bonus offer.
- This language appeared in the Spring of 2013, a year before the once-in-a lifetime policy was announced. The key term is "may", which gives American Express discretion to award or withhold the bonus.
- To reduce the risk that the automated system will deny a new account bonus, RIGHT click the application link and open the application in a Private or Incognito browser window. American Express will still know that you are a current cardholder, but the system will not flag your application.
Points will be credited to your Membership Rewards account within 6 - 8 weeks after the spend requirement has been reached.
- In practice it is not possible to know when American Express's system will credit a bonus to your rewards account. It may happen immediately after you meet the target spend, or it may happen when the next statement (or the following statement) is generated, or it may take the full eight weeks.
Once-in-a-lifetime bonus policy now applies to both personal & BUSINESS cards [USA].
Mar 8, 2017, 9:57 pm
#226
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,556
If you had opened the card in 2005 and then closed it a year or two later there's a high chance that a record of that card would no longer be in their system. In this scenario you could very likely get the card and bonus again.
Mar 12, 2017, 12:31 pm
#228
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,556
Mar 12, 2017, 12:47 pm
#229
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 138
Same thing for the personal. If you get the Personal Gold, can't get a bonus for the Platinum?
Now what about the Personal Gold to the Business Gold? Are there restrictions across those two products?
Mar 12, 2017, 5:06 pm
#230
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Mar 13, 2017, 7:47 pm
#231
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,934
That's what I'm trying to understand. So if you get a bonus for the Business Gold, you can't get the bonus for the Business Platinum, right?
Same thing for the personal. If you get the Personal Gold, can't get a bonus for the Platinum?
Now what about the Personal Gold to the Business Gold? Are there restrictions across those two products?
Same thing for the personal. If you get the Personal Gold, can't get a bonus for the Platinum?
Now what about the Personal Gold to the Business Gold? Are there restrictions across those two products?
Sometimes, though, two cards which are "too similar" get locked out if you apply for them too quickly one after the other: People who tried applying for Everyday and Everyday Preferred weeks or a month or two apart tended to get denied, while people who waited a year or so between ED and EDP (in either order) tended to get approved and get a bonus for each of those two cards.
Mar 17, 2017, 1:29 pm
#232
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 544
How long does it typically take between when you hit the spend for a bonus and when the points show up? We applied recently for my wife on a PRG for 50k points for $2k spend. She hit the spend and the statement just closed, but the points haven't shown up. Is there a lag, or should I worry? She has had other AMEX products and gotten bonuses, but not the PRG, so I thought we should be safe. Thanks for any input!
Mar 17, 2017, 1:33 pm
#233
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Mar 18, 2017, 7:41 pm
#234
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: AA PLT/2MM, SWA A+, SPG Titanium, Avis Chairman
Posts: 1,024
Did you end up trying this? I am in similar boat, with my card being closer to 10 years old, and recently cancelled. I would love to get the 35k bonus, but I realize it's pretty unlikely so I need to decide if it's too much of a long shot to waste an application on.
Mar 18, 2017, 10:01 pm
#235
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had this product.
If you closed your card 7 years or longer, then AMEX would have no record of your having had the product before.
The language is very clear why there is still confusion?
Mar 19, 2017, 1:02 pm
#236
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,536
Amex Delta Skymiles Lifetime limit - upgrades as well?
Not sure about this, but here goes.
Somewhere in a galaxy far away, it seems that around 1991 I upgraded my Gold Delta Skymiles to the Platinum one.
Now with the lifetime "ban", I'm wondering:
1) Can I re-apply for the Gold card and get the bonus (I'm guessing a big fat no).
2) Can I downgrade to the Gold, and then apply for the Platinum to get the bonus?
I think at the time I upgraded, I got 10k miles.
Somewhere in a galaxy far away, it seems that around 1991 I upgraded my Gold Delta Skymiles to the Platinum one.
Now with the lifetime "ban", I'm wondering:
1) Can I re-apply for the Gold card and get the bonus (I'm guessing a big fat no).
2) Can I downgrade to the Gold, and then apply for the Platinum to get the bonus?
I think at the time I upgraded, I got 10k miles.
Mar 19, 2017, 1:08 pm
#237
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
Chances are that American Express's live system no longer shows that you ever held a Skymiles Gold card. The "lifetime" lookback period appears to be about seven years. I suggest that you call American Express and ask the CSR to list all of the cards you have held. If Skymiles Gold isn't mentioned, ask specifically.
The other consideration is that the 90's version may not be considered to be the same product as the current Skymiles Gold card.
The other consideration is that the 90's version may not be considered to be the same product as the current Skymiles Gold card.
Mar 19, 2017, 1:10 pm
#238
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,536
Chances are that American Express's live system no longer shows that you ever held a Skymiles Gold card. The "lifetime" lookback period appears to be about seven years. I suggest that you call American Express and ask the CSR to list all of the cards you have held. If Skymiles Gold isn't mentioned, ask specifically.
The other consideration is that the 90's version may not be considered to be the same product as the current Skymiles Gold card.
The other consideration is that the 90's version may not be considered to be the same product as the current Skymiles Gold card.
I'll try the "chat" with the CSR and see what happens.
Mar 20, 2017, 9:39 pm
#239
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: UA, AA, BA
Posts: 162
2nd BRG in 2 months?
My wife just opened her first BRG on 3/4/17 and completed spend. She just got an email today for exact same offer 75K/5000$ with a new expiration date. Only exclusions seen are "Limit one offer per Card Account. Offer may not be combined with any other special offer. " I assume it would be a new card account. Any clarity if this will be honored or YMMV? No firm data points could I find searching.
Mar 21, 2017, 1:27 pm
#240
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,934
My wife just opened her first BRG on 3/4/17 and completed spend. She just got an email today for exact same offer 75K/5000$ with a new expiration date. Only exclusions seen are "Limit one offer per Card Account. Offer may not be combined with any other special offer. " I assume it would be a new card account. Any clarity if this will be honored or YMMV? No firm data points could I find searching.
(Why offers lag weeks behind, when physical mailing takes less than a week and emailing takes seconds, I don't know, but they routinely do, that's just the way such offers work.)