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.
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 $6,500ą spend in a reward year˛, you will earn 1% on Everyday Purchasesł (5% after 6500⁴), 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)
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
ą First '$6,500' is spend on all purchases.
˛ 'Reward year' is the 12 billing periods in a row beginning with the one in which the anniversary of your Card Account occurs.
ł '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%)].
⁴ 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.
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 $6,500ą spend in a reward year˛, you will earn 1% on Everyday Purchasesł (5% after 6500⁴), 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)
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
ą First '$6,500' is spend on all purchases.
˛ 'Reward year' is the 12 billing periods in a row beginning with the one in which the anniversary of your Card Account occurs.
ł '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%)].
⁴ 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.
Old Amex Blue (2013-2014)
#4162
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 12
Anyone found out what's going to happen with 2 months of cb ? Pm if required
#4164
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,207
Its possibly a trigger, but it is clearly not the only trigger. At least one or two reported being shut down without having made a purchase in the past week. I have made two real purchases yesterday and no issues. While we all want to know why, and how to avoid it, the answer is just that if you want to MS on the card, you cant avoid potentially being shut down. There will be no one answer on this matter and you will not find a single common denominator between everyone.
#4165
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 175
I called in to verify that my BB bill pays will post today even though the card was cancelled.
The hold music was playing a lovely acoustic guitar version of "Cry Me a River." I LOLd.
Customer service was shocked that my card was closed "because we don't usually just cancel accounts." She then forwarded me to the Responsible Lending department who cited awards abuse as the reason for canceling the card. If only I hadn't bought breakfast this morning... perhaps my rewards would have posted on Monday!
The hold music was playing a lovely acoustic guitar version of "Cry Me a River." I LOLd.
Customer service was shocked that my card was closed "because we don't usually just cancel accounts." She then forwarded me to the Responsible Lending department who cited awards abuse as the reason for canceling the card. If only I hadn't bought breakfast this morning... perhaps my rewards would have posted on Monday!
#4167
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: KWI
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 806
Not shutdown yet... Will it come today?
Had this card since 2005 and have been hitting it pretty heavy for a couple years. I made a few regular non-MS purchases yesterday without issue.
Had this card since 2005 and have been hitting it pretty heavy for a couple years. I made a few regular non-MS purchases yesterday without issue.
Last edited by LoneTree; Oct 23, 2014 at 2:55 pm
#4168
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: PHL based
Programs: USAir, UA, AA, BA, Hyatt, HHonors, SPG, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 356
Any reports of cards closed overnight, or just the wave from yesterday afternoon? I'm alive and kicking on 2 accounts still... fingers crossed.
#4169
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 217
Strikes me as odd that there are no reports of this on any other forum like at myfico or slickdeals. Hmmm
#4170
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
THE BEATLES
"Yesterday"
Yesterday, all my cash back troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though until I apply for TD again or WF, they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the marathon man I used to be
There's a shadow of a GC hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came in that email at 12:24pm so suddenly
Why AMEX had to blow I don't know, the CSR wouldn't say
I charged up something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, MS was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide my remaining miles away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why AMEX had to blow I don't know, Account Services wouldn't say
The circle/arrow blogs said something wrong too long, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, cashback was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide my other blue away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
"Yesterday"
Yesterday, all my cash back troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though until I apply for TD again or WF, they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I'm not half the marathon man I used to be
There's a shadow of a GC hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came in that email at 12:24pm so suddenly
Why AMEX had to blow I don't know, the CSR wouldn't say
I charged up something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, MS was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide my remaining miles away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why AMEX had to blow I don't know, Account Services wouldn't say
The circle/arrow blogs said something wrong too long, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, cashback was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide my other blue away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm