EasternTraveler

My son applied for the Delta Platinum by referral link today. He got the pop up even though he has never cancelled any credit card, never had the plat card before. He currently has the Delta Gold and the Personal Gold along with a Bonvoy business card. He is neither a churner nor a manuf spender. Just old fashion spend to earn. Of course he cancelled the application. Any thoughts?

mia

Has he continued to spend on each of these after earning the new account bonus? How recently did he open the newest?

EasternTraveler

I just checked, he spends on both of his gold cards, delta and charge.

Occasionally he spends on the Hilton and Marriott, but only when staying at those hotels. The most recent was a Marriott card in April and before that a Gold card in January, before that was early 2018 for the Hilton card.

mia

I do not think we have sufficient data to know if the algorithm simply looks for activity -or- counts transactions or dollars. I would try putting a small amount of spend on each card , and apply for something after all four (?) statements have been generated.

EasternTraveler

Interestingly enough, went into incognito mode and reapplied 30 minutes later with no popup. That is odd.
Since there was no popup, is it a glitch? Is it because of incognito mode? Is it that he is going to get a hit on his CB and not receive the bonus?
It is in PENDING status though. Thoughts?

champstar9669

ET, your son didn't do anything wrong. It's just how Amex operates. They, at their sole discretion.....can be jerks whenever they wish, and they don't have to explain anything to you, the customer. Amex runs on algorithms that their own employees don't even understand or comprehend. So literally no one you speak to will be able to EXPLAIN the exact reason(s) for the decline. It is maddeningly frustrating beyond words. All your son can do is take a 6mon break from Amex, and then apply again later in the future. It's wrong. Arbitrary. Unfair. All of the above. It is what it is.

Going through my own current battle on a different issue. Lied to by a rep. Spoke to his supervisor. Asked the supervisor if he directly instructs the people under him to lie to customers. After a long period of awkward silence on the phone, all I got was an, "Umm...uh..." So that shows you what kind of company culture Amex has. Very sobering reality. I reported each of them to the Executive Office. But we all know where that will lead.

The financial industry is famous for fraud and deception -- not customer service.

mia

American Express tries to do some fancy things with browser cookies, which often do not work well, and Incognito mode blocks them. If the application is approved, and there is no mention of a bonus, he should ask customer service to "remind" him of the bonus and requirements.

EasternTraveler

And if they say there is no welcome bonus?
That could mean that if he cancels right away, he is on a worse crap list as a churner.

EasternTraveler

Note to self, always apply for everything in incognito mode.

EasternTraveler

They called him on the phone. He had 5 credit cards and 2 charge cards. He closed a business Marriott card and it was then approved. Now for that bonus, she claimed he would get whatever was offered with the deal, but that he would have to call customer service.

JFKLAX321

I agree with mia, the algorithm likely looks for a mix of spend and transactions. I have several AMEX cards I don't use often but keep for benefits--e.g., Bonvoy Brilliant, Platinum, Hilton (the one that gets your Diamond)--but others that I put substantial spend on (>$50,000). I have never had a pop-up nor any difficulty getting bonuses. That is true even in instances where I am lucky enough to find targeted offers that lack the "have or have had this card" limitation. I can think of at least three situations where I've applied and received the bonus with no need for follow-up. The only other time I simply had to tell the CSR that the terms lacked any limitation and he/she spoke with a manager and the points were posted within a couple days. It's interesting to me how individualized the approach seems to be.

linaseta

I just tried to apply for Amex Delta Gold and got the dreaded message saying I wasnt eligible for the sign up bonus.
I've only ever opened ONE amex card, the Hilton Aspire, this August. No previous history with amex other than that.
I also used the card 2 weeks ago to pre-paid for a week of stay at the Hilton during December.

Any ideas of why I am not eligible for the Delta signup bonus? What have been the data points for declined bonuses? Does Chase applications affect Amex?
How can you work around this or stop this from happening in the future?

jags86

No clue. Use your Hilton card more often. I’ve been lucky enough to have applied for dozens of AMEX cards, including multiple upgrades and downgrades and always have received bonuses. My wife has 2 cards and gets the pop up.

sdsearch

There's already a thread all about this:

Amex (USA) restricts bonus based on number of accounts opened/closed (June 2018)

and the title of that thread explains the main reason for it. But another contributing reason can be "sock drawering" of some of your Amex cards, which Amex hates with a passion.

It's only based on your Amex history, not on other banks' cards.

linaseta

oh i see, thanks for uneartching that thread. Still learning to use the search function!
Although i think i figured out what it would have been. Amex 2/90.