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Old Jan 8, 2014, 2:22 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: TheDapperDon
Bonus category spending is now capped at $50k per year for new accounts. For now, this does not apply to existing cardholders, although Amex may continue to close accounts for excessive spend in bonus categories. This card is less viable as an MS instrument. Consider factors that may have led to these closures when sharing personal experiences.

Oct 22, 2014 onwards: Many people getting cancellation email from Amex. As of Dec 13, 2014, shutdown reports continue. Shutdowns appear to be triggered by spending on the card or upon statement closure, but not always

Some who have been shutdown are reporting back that AMEX is declining new non-OBC card applications due to "unsatisfactory relationship". (However, see here for an example where reconsideration was successful.) It is unclear at this time the length/extent of this Adverse Action/Ban.

Others have succeeded in getting new cards, including new OBCs, but consider your relationship with Amex and how much you value that and this card when deciding how to use it.

There might be some impact with other issuers. If AMEX sends you a cancellation it goes on your record as a cancellation by AMEX, not a cancellation by cardholder. While FICO score does not distinguish between closed by issuer and closed by cardholder, on manual review it may raise questions. However, issuers close cards for benign reasons as well (such as non-use) so unless several cards have been closed it probably won't cause a rejection by itself.

So, if you still feel it is worth it:
Application Link: Copy & paste the following link into a incognito window in Chrome or InPrivate Browsing in IE, Private Session in Firefox. There have been reports of people who got the card in the last couple of months getting shut down because of the rush to spend the initial $6,500.

Do NOT post "Link isn't working" until you have tried it incognito/private browsing and it fails there.

Code:
https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card/blue-cash/25330


Up to 5% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations & select U.S. drugstores (Everyday Purchases). Up to 1% Cash Back on other purchases. For your first $6,500¹ spend in a reward year², you will earn 1% on Everyday Purchases³ (5% after 6500), and 0.5% on other purchases (then 1%).

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months.

Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. Additional terms and restrictions apply. (Presume these T&Cs are standard and that all credit cards state this)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
¹ First '$6,500' is spend on all purchases.

² 'Reward year' is the 12 billing periods in a row beginning with the one in which the anniversary of your Card Account occurs.

³ 'everyday purchases' refers to U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations & select U.S. drugstores, not all purchases.

* Read the fine print for 'gas' purchases! Right from AMEX T&C's:
...Everyday Purchases are: ... $400 or less of gasoline at gas stations located in the U.S. (superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations)... A >$400 purchase at a gas station will get 5% for the first $400 and 1% thereafter. E.g., for something, say, $503.95, you would earn $21.04 CB [($400*5%)+(103.95*1%)].

5% kicks in immediately after hitting $6500.(mid-statement). In fact, it will even kick in mid-purchase and a portion of the purchase will credit at the higher rate.

* Reward dollars for the previous statement period show up a day or two after the current statement period closes.

* Most cash back redemptions will be applied to your statement within 2–3 days.

* Helpful post regarding moving CL between cards. Thanks lad2

* How to Visually Distinguish the Three Types of Blue Cash Cards:
Blue Cash (old) has a "<" character to the left of the word CASH
Blue Cash Everyday has a circle to the right of the word CASH, with the "Everyday" wording at the back.
Blue Cash Preferred has the word PREFERRED printed vertically on the extreme left side.

If you get the error message "You cannot be logged in. Please contact the number on the back of your card." when trying to redeem Reward Dollars online, it may be because you have too many closed accounts still showing in your scrolling images of cards. Delete the closed ones, then try to redeem again.
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Old Amex Blue (2013-2014)

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Old Oct 20, 2014, 7:39 am
  #3856  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by mandj
Can AMEX identify line items on purchases? How would they know your purchase(s) included a gift card?
Yes they can.

My FR included them asking why I was buying GC.
ftomasze is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 7:41 am
  #3857  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Originally Posted by mandj
Can AMEX identify line items on purchases? How would they know your purchase(s) included a gift card?
I honestly don't know but am not surprise they can scrutinize receipts if they flag an account; or else, why will they ask direct questions?

It is best to be prepared with an answer if asked, and it is up to amex whether they believe one's explanation or not.
Mamibear is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 8:18 am
  #3858  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 201
So buying gift cards will get the account suspended permanently? Or is the purpose of the review to ensure that we have the ability to pay the account balance?
MSerforfun is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 8:34 am
  #3859  
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by MSerforfun
So buying gift cards will get the account suspended permanently? Or is the purpose of the review to ensure that we have the ability to pay the account balance?
No
More or less
Stoughton is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 8:35 am
  #3860  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 782
Originally Posted by ftomasze
Yes they can.

My FR included them asking why I was buying GC.
So what did you say and what was the outcome?
gw14 is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 9:24 am
  #3861  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Originally Posted by gw14
So what did you say and what was the outcome?
If you're doing S&S/Giant gift cards, which I was, I told them that my local grocer was doing a gas points promotion during that time. However, for the record, this wasn't during the context of a FR but rather a follow-up phone call to verify some large spending activity on the card. At no point did I get a fraud alert or accounts suspended message online. However, based on what I've read here, some of these calls are precursor to a FR, so I proactively disclosed what I was buying when the rep called.

It's still not as bad as a CVS manager calling AmEx with my driver's license to verify I was the cardholder and announcing multiple times, "Yes, Mr. Majuki is trying to purchase $5,000 in prepaid Vanilla Reload gift cards."

Neither case resulted in a FR.
Majuki is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 12:46 pm
  #3862  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 349
Originally Posted by Majuki

It's still not as bad as a CVS manager calling AmEx with my driver's license to verify I was the cardholder and announcing multiple times, "Yes, Mr. Majuki is trying to purchase $5,000 in prepaid Vanilla Reload gift cards."
That Manager is a true warrior in the fight against international terrorism.
aGeist is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 12:50 pm
  #3863  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 877
Originally Posted by aGeist
Quote:





Originally Posted by Majuki



It's still not as bad as a CVS manager calling AmEx with my driver's license to verify I was the cardholder and announcing multiple times, &quot;Yes, Mr. Majuki is trying to purchase $5,000 in prepaid Vanilla Reload gift cards.&quot;




That Manager is a true warrior in the fight against international terrorism.
An MURIKAN hero

Last edited by coltonatx; Oct 20, 2014 at 1:58 pm
coltonatx is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 2:48 pm
  #3864  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Originally Posted by aGeist
That Manager is a true warrior in the fight against international terrorism.
I seriously thought I had just earned my one way ticket to an AmEx FR with that call. Fortunately the rep just asked if I authorized her to disclose my account information to the store manager - yes - and if I wanted her to remain on the line to make sure the charge went through properly - yes, please - since the last thing I needed was a fraud alert to pop up.
Majuki is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 4:49 pm
  #3865  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 378
Originally Posted by aGeist
That Manager is a true warrior in the fight against international first class tickets.
I fixed it for you.
Frindle is offline  
Old Oct 20, 2014, 4:58 pm
  #3866  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Originally Posted by Frindle
I fixed it for you.
I'm going to come off as soundly overly FlyerTalk pedantic, but considering this is the Old Amex Blue thread I didn't get any miles for that particular purchase.
Majuki is offline  
Old Oct 21, 2014, 11:01 am
  #3867  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,944
Originally Posted by Majuki
I'm going to come off as soundly overly FlyerTalk pedantic, but considering this is the Old Amex Blue thread I didn't get any miles for that particular purchase.
Can you be "just the right amount" pedantic, or is it always "overly"?
silver6054 is offline  
Old Oct 21, 2014, 11:10 am
  #3868  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by Majuki
I'm going to come off as soundly overly FlyerTalk pedantic, but considering this is the Old Amex Blue thread I didn't get any miles for that particular purchase.
Odd as it may sound, but rumor is that some people actually pay $ for tickets.

Probably just crazy talk, but one never knows......
Stoughton is offline  
Old Oct 21, 2014, 11:28 am
  #3869  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SJC
Programs: AA, AS, Marriott
Posts: 6,061
Originally Posted by Stoughton
Odd as it may sound, but rumor is that some people actually pay $ for tickets.

Probably just crazy talk, but one never knows......
That's possible?

I always reinvest the cash back to fund further MS activities.
Majuki is offline  
Old Oct 21, 2014, 2:34 pm
  #3870  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by mandj
Can AMEX identify line items on purchases? How would they know your purchase(s) included a gift card?
Yes Amex can see what you bought depending on the store. Example: I bought a MasterCard GC at Staples for the latest Amex Offer. In my activity it says:


Doing Business As
STAPLES
Category
Business Services - Office Supplies

$200 MASTERCARD
$6.95 MC GIFT CARD FEE
cdancer20 is offline  


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