Amex Platinum 50,000 points sign-up bonus launched – but with new criteria

Breaking news.  American Express has changed the sign-up bonuses and the T&C’s for receiving them on its charge cards.  The net result is to make the bonuses harder for existing customers to receive, which will reduce our opportunities for card churning.

From today, the bonus on the American Express Platinum charge card is increased to 50,000 Membership Rewards points (worth 50,000 Avios points) for a direct application.

The fee is now £450 per year but if you cancel the card you receive a pro-rata refund, so if you cancel after three months you are only £100 out.  You now need to spend £2,000 (was £1,500) in three months to trigger the bonus.

Note this strict new rule though – existing American Express customers do NOT qualify for the 50,000 points:

The 50,000 Membership Rewards bonus points will be awarded onto your account once you have been approved and you have spent and charged £2000 within the first 3 months of Cardmembership. All introductory offers are subject to change, can be withdrawn at any time and are not available to existing American Express customers. Please note that it can take up to one month for bonus points to be awarded to your account.

This means that if you have a British Airways, SPG, Nectar or Amex charge card, there is no point applying.  This is a real tightening up of the rules and is not welcome.  They are also suggesting that a £40,000 income will be required to be accepted, up from £30,000.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card also has new rules, although the terms are the same:

The annual fee is £125. With this offer you will receive the first year of Cardmembership with £0 annual fee. From year two of your membership, a £125 annual fee will automatically be charged to your account on or after the anniversary of your account opening date. The first year fee waiver is only available to new American Express Charge Cardmembers.

The 20,000 Membership Rewards bonus points will be awarded onto your account once you have been approved and you have spent and charged £1,000 within the first 3 months of Cardmembership.All introductory offers are subject to change, can be withdrawn at any time and are not available to existing American Express customers. Please note that it can take up to 60 days after the three month introductory period for bonus points to be awarded to your account.

To qualify for the fee-free first year, you need to be a new charge card customer.  If you have a BA, SPG or Nectar card you are still OK, but not a Centurion, Platinum or Green.  However, as with the Platinum, you will not receive the 20,000 bonus Membership Rewards points if you have ANY Amex-issued card.  Again, this is not good and will really reduce the card-churning opportunities.  Target income requirement remains £20,000.

Given these new rules, I think future card churning will involve getting our wifes, partners etc to apply for cards rather than getting multiple American Express cards ourselves for multiple sign-up bonuses.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review