synergistic

My player two just got the 125k in incognito mode. His first Amex. Instant approval. I think we'll be able to do the $5k in just gas and groceries, but not sure how much more. Still a heck of an offer, looking forward to being able to use it in the not so distant future.

LAX

That's a bummer. Just out of curiosity, have you ever churned any Amex card in the past?

LAX

M60_to_LGA

I had a gold card many years ago (I would guess close to a decade ago), which I got for the bonus and then cancelled before the fee came due. I guess that was before they put in the language about clawing back the rewards - at any rate, my points are still there. Currently I have the everyday card and cash magnet. However, I got a flyer in the mail last week telling me I was preapproved for a welcome bonus if I upgraded my CM card (with payment of an annual fee, of course).

I barely use my everyday card and probably haven't used the CM at all this year. But they're both no fee, and I'm entirely within the terms of my card agreements. Maybe they're pissy because I'm not using my existing cards regularly - but I have better reward programs on other cards.

danhouston

is purchase @ WMNM counted as grocery for the Platinum like the Gold card? Thx

eponymous_coward

Right, but well, someone who churned for a bonus + doesn't use existing cards = not really AMEX's targeted customer. They like you to use their cards once you get past the bonus, they're very spend-centric (one reason they'll say you're ineligible for a signup is that you haven't used existing cards). It sounds like AMEX is a poor fit for your spend patterns outside the bonuses so no huge loss if you ditch them for greener pastures, I suppose.

LAX

I did a small trial purchase recently. It does appear to count for 10X grocery bonus. However, the way the bonus is posted with this promo, it's kind of confusing (at least to me). Thus, you might want to do a small trial of your own just in case unless others can chime in to confirm.

LAX

M60_to_LGA

It's not a huge loss for me; the Chase Sapphire Reserve ticks most of the right boxes, and I already have and use the Freedom and use Chase as my main bank anyway. Ironically for Amex, with my travel picking up (hopefully) next year, I would have definitely made the platinum my go-to card. Whatever, I guess.

eponymous_coward

That was what i was saying- it sounds like you have something good working for you at Chase. You might get a different answer if you start using your existing AMEX cards. They don't like extending signup bonuses to people who have a history of little spend on their existing AMEX cards- essentially this is their way of doing 5/24 anti-churning measures.

But if it doesn't make sense to use AMEX and Chase is a better fit for you, by all means do so, just realize that sock drawered AMEX cards that aren't used for spend will hurt you if you want future AMEX signup bonuses.

danhouston

what part is 'kind of confusing'? Thx

LAX

The charges at supermarkets are posted just like any charges, which are tagged with 1X MR. Then, in a separate entry, which is almost always on a different day, you get the 9X bonus. When you do multiple charges on successive days, it's hard to keep track of the bonus points. Not only that, I have found that when you make multiple separate purchases at the same supermarket on the same day, they sometimes lump the bonus together into one entry. Thus, you end up guessing which bonus corresponds to which purchase(s).

LAX

pillcounter

Maybe someone can help out. I tried doing the incognito mode even with a vpn….no luck only the 75k. What other tricks are you guys using? Does the browser matter or time of day?

SanDiego1K

I believe that AMEX doesn't want us buying gift cards. I've got the minimum spend done and the points are in my account. It would be part of our natural spend to buy gift cards for Christmas gifts at the grocery store. Currently that gives 10x bonus which would be a nice perk. Is this a no no with the AMEX card?

session404

Not sure about time of day, but I had good success using my VPN changing location (Texas for some reason gave me 100k half the time). Of course, incognito mode.

LAX

I suspect most people on FT won't respond to this question, as I asked a similar one in a different thread and got one response, which was essentially an accusatory post claiming my question would draw attention to Amex and subsequently lead to further clamp down. I think there is more than enough evidence that purchasing GCs of any kind for meeting minimum spend is a definite no. However, I can't imagine Amex would give you a hard time about buying an occasion $25/$50 third party GC as a small gift along with your regular grocery purchase (preferably more than the value of GC). I personally would stay away from prepaid Visa/MC as those are likely prime targets for MS (thus more likely to draw Amex's attention to the transaction). Lastly, proceed with caution and at your own risk as someone did point out the T&C does mention that GCs are not supposed to qualify for the bonus (even though many loopholes discussed here & on other blogs are supposed to be excluded per T&Cs).

LAX

Sabine H

Amex sent me a sign up bonus of 100k and 10x miles on gas & groceries. Can you buy amazon gift cards , etc while buying other groceries at the grocery store?