TODAY is 24 months from Amex’s launch of the ’24 month’ rule – what should you do?
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On 21st March 2019, American Express unveiled major changes to its rules on who could obtain a sign-up bonus on its cards.
Our article from that day is here – it ended up getting over 72,000 page views, making it one of our biggest articles ever. Add in email and aggregator readers and it will have done close to 90,000 views.
Up to that day, the American Express bonus rules had been generous:
- travel cards were split into three families (Membership Rewards, Avios, Marriott) and you were guaranteed to get a bonus if you hadn’t had a card from the same family in the previous six months
- even inside the same ‘family’, you could get a new bonus as long as you waited six months from when you cancelled your previous card
Under this scenario, it was a doddle for a couple to pick up over 100,000 points per year from sign-up bonuses without trying too hard. People who could reach the minimum spend targets quickly and kept a closer track of their dates could do far better.
What happened in March 2019?
With no notice, Amex changed the rules to the situation we see today:
- with the exception of Platinum and BA Premium Plus, you cannot get a sign-up bonus if you have had a personal (business cards are ignored) Amex card in the previous 24 months
- you can get the Platinum bonus of 35,000 points as long as you haven’t had a Membership Rewards card in the previous 24 months (eg Green, Gold, Platinum, Amex Rewards)
- you can get the British Airways Premium Plus bonus of 26,000 Avios as long as you haven’t had either of the British Airways Amex cards in the previous 24 months
If you cancelled everything on 21st March 2019, you are ‘free’ today
There were two problems with what American Express did.
First, it was insanely complex. Spend 30 seconds reading my article on ‘what bonuses can I still get?’ if you don’t believe me. It didn’t help that the Business cards retained the six month rule. For extra confusion, having a Business card doesn’t block a personal bonus BUT having a personal Membership Rewards card DOES block a Business card bonus.
Secondly, it actually made sense to cancel all of your American Express cards. A couple who have had no Amex cards in the last 24 months can generate 186,000 points between them fairly quickly as we show below. Have you earned 186,000 points in the last 24 months from your Amex cards? Probably not. In retrospect, you may have been better off cancelling the lot back in March 2019, especially if you have a small business and could have used Business Gold or Business Platinum in the interim.
Does it make sense to cancel all my Amex cards now?
That’s up to you. You are gambling that the strategy I outline below for picking up points quickly will still be around in 24 months.
You will also need access to an Amex of some sort to pay the taxes on any British Airways 2-4-1 companion voucher you have ready to redeem.
If you have a small business, it could be worth considering due to the 100,000 points Business Platinum bonus
Remember that:
- Business Platinum currently has a bonus of 100,000 points (article here, apply here) and
- Business Gold – free for a year – has a bonus of 50,000 points (article here, apply here)
These offers run to 9th April. Cancelling your personal cards and focusing on the Business cards for two years may work, allowing you to unleash a storm of personal card bonuses in March 2023 – unless the rules change.
What is the best strategy if I have gone 24 months with no personal Amex cards?
If you approach it in the right order, a couple can earn 186,875 Avios from American Express sign-up bonuses as long as neither of you has had an American Express card in the past 24 months.
Here is the optimum Avios-earning strategy at the moment for a couple who have not had any Amex cards in the past two years.
Both you and your partner will be getting three different American Express cards. How far you spread out the applications should depends on how quickly you can hit the spend target on each card to trigger the sign-up bonus. You have up to 90 days on each card to hit the target.
To start off:
Person A applies for the Nectar American Express card (apply here)
- Sign-up bonus for Person A: 20,000 Nectar points which converts to 12,500 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months
Person A refers Person B for the Nectar American Express card
- Referral bonus for Person A: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios
Person B applies for the Nectar American Express card
- Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 21,000 Nectar points which converts to 13,125 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months
Person B refers Person A for The Platinum Card
- Referral bonus for Person B: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios
Person A applies for The Platinum Card
- Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months
Person A refers Person B for The Platinum Card
- Referral bonus for Person A: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios
Person B applies for The Platinum Card
- Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months
Person B refers Person A for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card
- Referral bonus for Person B: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios
Person A applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card
- Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months
Person A refers Person B for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card
- Referral bonus for Person A: 9,000 Avios (or 12,000 Membership Rewards points, which converts to 12,000 Avios, if they still hold The Platinum Card at this point and make the referral from that)
Person B applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card
- Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
- Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months
Person A or Person B spends £10,000 on their British Airways American Express Premium Plus card in order to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher and so maximise how far your 186,875 Avios can take you!
You will actually have more than 186,875 Avios because of the points from your daily spend.
There are also opportunities to add supplementary cards to each card as you go along, for additional bonuses of up to 3,000 points each.
Conclusion
If you cancelled all of your personal American Express cards in March 2019, the day you may have thought would never come is here.
At some point in the next few days, you will pass the 24 month mark and can start taking advantage of your freedom.
One thing: I recommend ringing American Express and asking them to confirm the date you cancelled your previous cards. More accurately, you want to make sure that the date Amex says you cancelled is the same date you think you cancelled. Remember that Amex may not have processed your cancellation request until any unpaid bills were cleared.
If you get it wrong – even by 24 hours – you won’t get a bonus now and you will need to wait another two years before you can try again ….
Further credit card information
Here is the legally required interest rate information on the cards mentioned above, together with links to our reviews:
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 25,000 Avios when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
- Earn 3 Avios per £1 spent with British Airways and BA Holidays
Other information:
- Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £10,000 in a card year
- The voucher is valid for flights in any cabin
- Annual fee: £250
Representative 101.1% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £250 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 24.5% APR variable.
You will receive 25,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
To qualify for the bonus, you must not have held the British Airways Premium Plus or the free British Airways American Express cards in the previous 24 months.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways Premium Plus card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and all of the other card benefits.
When you spend £10,000 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one. This voucher is valid for two years. (Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.)
This voucher is the most valuable perk available in the UK airline and hotel credit card sector in my view. It could save you 150,000 or more Avios when used for a long-haul redemption in a premium cabin.
The voucher with the Premium Plus card is far more powerful than the voucher given with the free British Airways American Express card. You only need to spend £10,000, instead of £20,000, in a card year to receive it. More importantly, the Premium Plus voucher is valid for two years and is valid in ALL cabins. The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card is only valid for one year and can only be used for Economy flights.
You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target. You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £4,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £575
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £575.
You will receive 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £4,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
If you cancel The Platinum Card at any point, you will receive a pro-rata refund of your membership fee. You will not lose your sign-up bonus.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£10 per month of Addison Lee taxi credit
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 20,000 Nectar points when you spend £2,000 within 90 days
- Earn 2 Nectar points per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 400 : 250 into Avios
- Points are worth 0.5p each when spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay
Other information:
- From January 2021, you can convert Nectar points into Avios (and vice versa)
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £25 from Year 2
Representative 29.8% APR variable. Annual fee applies after the first year.
You will receive 20,000 Nectar points as a sign-up bonus on the Nectar American Express credit card if you spend £2,000 within 90 days of signing up.
Nectar points are worth 0.5p each if spent in Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay. From January 2021 they can also be converted to Avios at the rate of 400 : 250. 1 Nectar point gets you 0.625 Avios.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the Nectar American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
The Nectar American Express credit card comes lets you earn 2 Nectar points for every £1 you spend. This is on top of any Nectar points you would usually earn at Sainsbury’s and other Nectar partners.
Converted to Avios, you would be earning 1.25 Avios per £1. This makes the card better value than the free British Airways American Express credit card for your first year, as the Nectar American Express is ‘fee free’ for the first 12 months. There is a £25 annual fee from Year 2.
The sign-up bonus of 20,000 Nectar points is worth £100 to spend in Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay.
20,000 Nectar points can also be converted into 12,500 Avios.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 10,000 additional bonus points whenever you spend £20,000 in a quarter
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
Other information:
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £175 from Year 2
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £175 from Year 2, free in Year 1.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous six months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous six months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
You receive £100 of Dell statement credit per calendar year. This is made available in two parts. You receive a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between January and June and a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between July and December. There is no minimum spend requirement.
You can apply for supplementary Amex business cards for your employees at no extra cost.
You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the supplementary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the supplementary cards will flow into your personal account.
Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.
American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £595
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £595.
You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Platinum card if you spend £6,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous six months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous six months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Platinum card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from all of the other card features.
American Express Business Platinum comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
£150 of Dell statement credit per year – you receive £75 credit on Dell purchases betweeen January and June and £75 credit on purchases between July and December
Digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times, worth over £300
(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards? Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Card Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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