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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 Nov 4, 2014, 9:33 pm
  #5326  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,944
Originally Posted by howyalivin
Chase did send out reward checks for those of us who had the AARP card closed.
I thought that was after several suits, but didn't realize that all got them.
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Old Nov 4, 2014, 9:51 pm
  #5327  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,756
Originally Posted by silver6054
I thought that was after several suits, but didn't realize that all got them.
I can assure you not everyone got it.
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Old Nov 4, 2014, 10:40 pm
  #5328  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 241
+1. I was owed about $2000 in rewards from my AARP upon shutdown that I never received. Seriously considered small claims court but eventually decided to just move on. To this day I'm still blacklisted by Chase Reason given on credit card denials is previous unsatisfactory relationship with bank.

Hope all gets the money owed to them. The chain of action I would take in your position would be American Express Executive Office first, then Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, then Small Claims Court. Stress the bait and switch about how they advertise great cash back on this card and when you take advantage they close account.

Originally Posted by yoyo
I can assure you not everyone got it.

Last edited by Ctrix65513; Nov 4, 2014 at 10:47 pm
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Old Nov 5, 2014, 8:52 am
  #5329  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 226
Originally Posted by Ctrix65513
+1. I was owed about $2000 in rewards from my AARP upon shutdown that I never received. Seriously considered small claims court but eventually decided to just move on. To this day I'm still blacklisted by Chase Reason given on credit card denials is previous unsatisfactory relationship with bank.

Hope all gets the money owed to them. The chain of action I would take in your position would be American Express Executive Office first, then Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, then Small Claims Court. Stress the bait and switch about how they advertise great cash back on this card and when you take advantage they close account.
Maybe don't state that you "took advantage" of that though
dboston1 is offline  
Old Nov 5, 2014, 12:56 pm
  #5330  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 365
Sorry for what are you experiencing guys
Just one quick off current situation question:
Wanted this card for a long time, was busy applying to the ones with bonuses. Just got today a (my first) denial on Ink Bold over the recon call (applied in the branch few days ago). Have a good credit. Want to get this card today; hope that they query different credit bureaus. Any suggestion against getting it? This is still good if I’ve never had it, right? Any other good card to get together? Have SPG, Everyday, Delta, Citi AA Exec, Citi Forward, Ink Plus.
Thanks
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Old Nov 5, 2014, 1:29 pm
  #5331  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,944
Originally Posted by avagyan
Sorry for what are you experiencing guys
Just one quick off current situation question:
Wanted this card for a long time, was busy applying to the ones with bonuses. Just got today a (my first) denial on Ink Bold over the recon call (applied in the branch few days ago). Have a good credit. Want to get this card today; hope that they query different credit bureaus. Any suggestion against getting it? This is still good if I’ve never had it, right? Any other good card to get together? Have SPG, Everyday, Delta, Citi AA Exec, Citi Forward, Ink Plus.
Thanks
Amex generally queries EX as primary (and potentially additional ones as needed).

No-one knows the future of the card: could be capped, could continue with closures from time-to-time.

The only real disadvantage (apart from credit pull) for getting the card, is the $6,500 threshold per year, during which you are getting only 0.5-1%, like an AF. Easily worth it if the card continues for you!
silver6054 is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 7:02 am
  #5332  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 113
Originally Posted by silver6054
Amex generally queries EX as primary (and potentially additional ones as needed).

No-one knows the future of the card: could be capped, could continue with closures from time-to-time.

The only real disadvantage (apart from credit pull) for getting the card, is the $6,500 threshold per year, during which you are getting only 0.5-1%, like an AF. Easily worth it if the card continues for you!
Does Amex also do a credit hit (hard inquiry) if there is already a pre-approved offer on your account ? or there is no additional inquiry on your credit report ?
recklessmax is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 7:54 am
  #5333  
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,944
Originally Posted by recklessmax
Does Amex also do a credit hit (hard inquiry) if there is already a pre-approved offer on your account ? or there is no additional inquiry on your credit report ?
The usual rule with Amex (although there have been exceptions) is that if you are an existing customer and apply for a new card, hard pull if you are accepted, soft if you are rejected. I think preapprovals aren't different.
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Old Nov 6, 2014, 11:45 am
  #5334  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: New York City
Posts: 801
I'm a bit behind on this thread, so this may have been mentioned, but I'm hearing confirmed reports that people who were shut down are being declined for new AMEX cards on account of the fact they have had an "unsatisfactorily maintained previous relationship."
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Old Nov 6, 2014, 1:29 pm
  #5335  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: I see palm trees....
Posts: 414
Now that things have calmed down, I'm slowly spending again... $1K today at WG and $500 yesterday at CVS.

Never did stop with the normal gas and grocery charges.

Last edited by Bean; Nov 6, 2014 at 1:34 pm
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Old Nov 6, 2014, 2:59 pm
  #5336  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: PHL
Posts: 930
Jeeze, are we STILL talking about these silly lawsuit ideas? People, MOVE ON! The most you lost was a few hundred dollars in gift cards fees, which you EASILY made up with the thousands of dollars that Amex has paid you over the past several months, years, whatever. If you really need money that badly, spend the time that you post on here sprucing up your resume and find a better job.
commdiver is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 3:07 pm
  #5337  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by Bean
Now that things have calmed down, I'm slowly spending again... $1K today at WG and $500 yesterday at CVS.

Never did stop with the normal gas and grocery charges.
Did your card have a statement posted in the last couple weeks? Also, what has been your historical spending per month on the card along with your credit limit?

I'm still trying to see if three is a pattern based on Spend - CL ratio and if so, have they been tracking only i the last 30 to 90 days.

My statement posts tomorrow. I haven't done any spending since the great scare beginning on 2014.10.22.
jdcbomb is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 3:19 pm
  #5338  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
Originally Posted by commdiver
Jeeze, are we STILL talking about these silly lawsuit ideas? People, MOVE ON! The most you lost was a few hundred dollars in gift cards fees, which you EASILY made up with the thousands of dollars that Amex has paid you over the past several months, years, whatever. If you really need money that badly, spend the time that you post on here sprucing up your resume and find a better job.
^ When people start making sense, I stop making popcorn.
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 3:57 pm
  #5339  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NYC
Posts: 415
Originally Posted by commdiver
Jeeze, are we STILL talking about these silly lawsuit ideas? People, MOVE ON! The most you lost was a few hundred dollars in gift cards fees, which you EASILY made up with the thousands of dollars that Amex has paid you over the past several months, years, whatever. If you really need money that badly, spend the time that you post on here sprucing up your resume and find a better job.
Wow, someone missed the boat.
mittenfingerz is offline  
Old Nov 6, 2014, 4:21 pm
  #5340  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 515
Originally Posted by commdiver
Jeeze, are we STILL talking about these silly lawsuit ideas? People, MOVE ON! The most you lost was a few hundred dollars in gift cards fees, which you EASILY made up with the thousands of dollars that Amex has paid you over the past several months, years, whatever. If you really need money that badly, spend the time that you post on here sprucing up your resume and find a better job.
A few hundred? Not quite.

We're talking about two months of potentially lost rewards. 100k would be $1-$1.2k in GC fees alone, and then the liquidation costs, so lets say $1,250. Some claim to be doing many times more than that per month. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that someone was out 5-10k over 2 months.

I think the people hurt most by this are the ones that ramped up too quickly, ie went 5k, 10k, 100k and then got shutdown, as they could have legitimately lost money. People that have been doing a constant amount the whole time won't be too hurt.

As with everything in life, never spend more than you can afford to lose. Nothing is certain.
britishcanuck is offline  


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