Amex business cards now once per lifetime

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In 2014, Amex added this restriction to their personal card offers:

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

Suddenly, it had become impossible to sign up for the same Amex cards over and over for additional bonuses.  However, their business cards kept the old language:

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product within the last 12 months

So, it was possible to signup for business cards over and over, as long as you waited 12 months after cancelling.  Now, though, As reported by Miles To Memories, Amex has changed the terms on most of their business card offers to match the personal card restrictions:

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

Amex business once per lifetime

I checked a number of business card offers found on my Best Offers page and found the new language on all of the business cards except the SPG Business card which still has the old 12 month language.  The SPG business card shows the old 12 month language on the offer terms on the landing page, but on the application page the SPG business card also has the lifetime language (HT: FYI via comments below)

What to do

  1. If eligible, based on the 12 month language, consider signing up for the SPG business card right away.  Chances are good that it will be updated very soon.
  2. Look for targeted offers (for both personal and business cards) and examine the fine print.  If the fine print does not have the language stating “Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product,” then you can get the bonus by signing up again.
  3. Wait for the best of the best offers for cards you haven’t had before.  You may only one chance to get a signup bonus with each card, so make the most of it.

Is this forever?

Not necessarily.  My understanding is that Amex had similar terms in the past but reversed them.  Will that happen again?

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