7/13/20: Doctor of Credit reports a new round of people targeted for this offer. It’s worth taking a second to see if you are targeted if you have this card in mind. Keep in mind this year’s Platinum card enhancements.
5/6/20: A reader has also confirmed that they had success getting this offer.
1/27/20: A new round of people are seeing this targeted offer according to Doctor of Credit. It’s worth checking to see if you are targeted.
11/14/19: Some people are seeing a targeted Amex pre-qualified offer for the American Express Platinum Card at the Amex website that is good for 125,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. That’s a fantastic offer if you find it available, though note of course that you’ll be on the hook for the Platinum card’s $550 annual fee.
The Deal
- Some people are reporting a targeted offer to earn 125,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months with a new Platinum Card from American Express account
- Check for pre-qualified offers here
Key Card Details
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: This card is absolutely loaded with high end perks. Depending upon your situation, those perks may be worth the annual fee or much more. $695 Annual Fee Earning rate: 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel ✦ 5X points for prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Up to $200 a year in statement credits for incidental fees at one qualifying airline per calendar year ✦ $200 prepaid hotel credit per calendar year valid on Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings ✦ Up to $20 per month rebate for Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and/or The Wall Street Journal ✦ $15 monthly Uber or Uber Eats credit ($20 in December, use it or lose it each month) ✦ $189 CLEAR fee reimbursement per calendar year ✦ $12.95 (+tax) monthly credit for Walmart+ monthly membership subscription credit when you pay with Platinum card ✦ Up to $100 in credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue (up to $50 in credits semi-annually) ✦ Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests and other airport lounge benefits (Centurion and Delta) ✦ Rental car elite status ✦ Marriott Gold status ✦ Hilton Honors Gold status Enrollement required for some benefits. Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
Quick Thoughts
While this offer is unlikely to be widely available, it’s worth checking your pre-qualified offers to see if you have it. I don’t recall seeing a better offer on the personal Platinum card (there are occasionally targeted offers on the business version for 150K that require a lot more spend and we have recently reported some being targeted for a 100K offer on the personal Platinum, but this offer is the best return on spend I recall seeing). If you’re eligible and targeted, this is an offer that is well worth considering as it could make for a meaningful infusion of Membership Rewards points without overwhelming spend. If the spending requirement is a concern, keep in mind that you can pay your taxes with an Amex.
It’s also worth noting that you will need to pay the $550 annual fee for this card in the first year. Still, by applying now, you will at the very least have a $200 airline incidental credit that is valid until December 31st and then a fressh $200 credit beginning in January, up to $200 in Uber credits over the next year, a $50 Sak’s credit that is valid until December 31, 2019 and then the ability to get two more credits next year (one from January to June and the other from July to December), and all of the other Platinum benefits (like Hilton and Marriott Gold status, Enterprise Executive status, Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta, etc. There is a lot of value to be had there.
Keep in mind that this offer will have lifetime language. That means you will be ineligible for the bonus if you have or have ever had the card (doesn’t matter whether or not you received a welcome bonus — just having had the card precludes you from the bonus). This offer is for the “vanilla” Platinum card (the one that is just branded from American Express). If you have previously had the Schwab Platinum or Ameriprise Platinum, you should still be eligible for this bonus if you haven’t had the “vanilla” Platinum card before (Amex pop-up notwithstanding).
For more details on the Platinum cards, see Which is the best Amex Platinum card?.
For those interested in best uses of these points, see: Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots and our Amex Membership Rewards complete guide.
H/T: Doctor of Credit & Reader Mauro
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Hilton AMEX Surpass card. Make a $15K payment, get one free night plus 45K Hilton points (worth around $200) at a cost of $280 in fees (@1.87% fee rate). Even if you add the $95 yearly fee (assuming this is the only thing you use the card for all year), I think you still come out ahead. Using Nick’s standard “if a guy knocked on your door and offered to sell you a free Hilton weekend night plus 45K Hilton points for $210 (2.65% cash back on the BofA Cashback minus [1.87% fee + $95 annual fee on the card]), would you do it?” I think the answer is still “yes.”
Any way to get this on one of the other plat cards or on the biz version? I already blew my regular plat lifetime bonus
I’ve never heard of a targeted higher offer on the other personal Platinum cards.
As for the business version, Amex sometimes sends mailers for a 125K or 150K offer, but I haven’t heard of a set of mailers going out recently. This post has some ideas:
https://frequentmiler.com/best-amex-welcome-bonuses/
That said, I honestly wouldn’t expect a bumped up bonus on the business card at the moment. With the economy in the precarious state it is, I don’t think any issuer is pushing hard to attract new small business customers at the moment.
What about the Schwabb or ____ I forget the 3rd Amex consumer plat? PS thanks for the reply. IMO the current “benfits” plus a 100k or better offer would be a no brainer for me to acquire a plat again…
No. When I say that “I’ve never heard of a targeted higher offer on the other personal Platinum cards.”, that’s exactly what I mean — the Schwab and Morgan Stanley ones. I’ve never seen anything other than the standard offer on those.
OK 🙁 TY for clearing that up. I can’t complain I got INCREDIBLE value out of my 100k sign up the first time around, just thought I might luck into another.
Biz offer was only 75k for 15k in spend and that’s a pass for now…..
if you currently have both green and gold cards but never platinum, can you still get the bonus?
Yep
great thx!
[…] If targeted for the 125K offer on the Amex Platinum card, one could even score enough miles to fly round trip in first class if transferring points to Virgin Atlantic to fly on ANA. See this post to check and see if you are targeted. […]
Thank you guys SO much for this alert! I wasn’t targeted but my wife was. That was definitely worth a 5/24 slot (which we’ve been protecting hard for her), and I’ll get all the benefits of being an AU!
Awesome! Glad it worked for you.
My online offer is 60K. However I did get a mailer in December offering 100K for $5K spend but i unfortunately trashed it!
I see an offer for 70,000 points.
Offer to upgrade my Gold Card to Platinum for a bonus of . . . wait for it . . .nothing.
Same….. lame…
Got the same. >_<
I’ve had a Blue Cash Everyday since 2016 (while it does get used throughout the year, it’s definitely not a primary card for me), does this totally mess up my chance of getting a targeted Platinum offer of 100k or more?
Example of lifetime language?
Only the 60K offer comes up!
Same. >_<
Same.