American Express launches a generous spend bonus for Gold and Platinum cardholders

American Express has launched a generous spend bonus on its Gold and Platinum cards.

If you have an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or Platinum card, check the ‘Offers’ currently showing on your online statement page.

Tucked away down the bottom should be a generous spend bonus running from 15th November to 15th December.  You MUST ‘save to card’ in order to activate this.

There seem to be many different permutations.  In our house we got:

• Spend £400, get 500 bonus Membership Rewards points, and
• Spend £1,300, get 1,000 bonus Membership Rewards points

Readers also reported:

• Spend £4,100, get 4,000 points
• Spend £2,500, get 2,000 points
• Spend £2,200, get 1,500 points
• Spend £1,300, get 500 points
• Spend £1,100, get 500 points
• Spend £1,000, get 1,000 points
• Spend £700, get 500 points
• Spend £400, get 1,000 points

There seems to be no real logic to it.  Note the 15th November start date.  Any spend you make today will not count.

Why is Amex doing this?  Simple

As we have covered before on HfP, in one of the more bizarre court interpretations of a piece of legislation I have seen, Amex has been forced to cut the fees it charges to retailers who accept its co-brand cards (eg BA, SPG, Nectar).  It has NOT been forced to cut the fees retailers pay to accept Gold, Platinum, Green and Amex Rewards cards.

The company wants to quietly convince you to drop your co-brand card in favour of a non-co-brand card, where they make substantially more per transaction.  This is why cardmember offers have virtually disappeared from the BA and SPG American Express cards and why Amex is running generous offers like this.

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