American Express - Updates You Need to Know
With the pandemic in full swing, the spending habits among consumers across the board have changed, and American Express has also updated some of their requirements as well as benefits. In this post we’ll provide some updates that impacts you and me for various Amex cards.
American Express Gold
Not much has changed for the Amex Gold Card but as of writing this article, the new sign up bonus has been bumped up to 60,000 which is a huge bump from the 35,000 that we were used to seeing. We’ve seen it as high as 50,000 bonus points but on the flip-side it only required a $2000 spend in the first 3 months, whereas the 60,000 offer now requires a $4000 spend in the first 6 months. Granted, the per-month spending is the same and you’ll most likely spend more than $667 a month anyways, along with this card being your main “workhorse” card, it should be relatively easy. Even if you spend the bare minimum requirement per month for the first 6 months, that will net you 76,000 in the first 6 months (if you only spent on grocery and restaurants with the 4x multiplier).
The other signup bonus is 35,000 points and 10% statement credits up to $250, but also requires you to spend $4000 in the first 6 months so I’d take a pass on that for more points.
As for the rest of the benefits, they appear to remain the same - the travel credit of $100 may be also extended until December 2021 like the Amex Plat Card but we have not been able to confirm it as of writing this post.
American Express Platinum
The welcome bonuses remain the same for the most part - there is a new targeted offer for 60,000 bonus points (which is the same as the regular bonus) plus 20% in statement credits at restaurants in the first 12 months up to $300. Not a bad offer but I would stick with the Amex Gold Card for the 4x points at restaurants if you have one. If not, then definitely look for that 100k offer or at least a 75k offer for the sign up bonuses.
There are new statement credits available to Platinum Card holders as well - you can now earn up to $40 per month in statement credits when you use your Plat Card to pay for select streaming services and wireless services until 12/31/2020. This credit is split in to $20 for streaming and $20 for wireless services, so you can have a potential savings up to $160 from 09/01/2020 to 12/31/2020.
As for the airline credit of $200, you can now save it up to December 2021 as Amex realizes that most people probably won’t be traveling, so keep that in mind as well.
Good Support from American Express
There have been some credits that expire at the end of this month, Hilton Aspire and Marriott Bonvoy cards’ statement credits towards restaurants, but there will be some new benefits as American Express seems to be on top of the situation to keep their cardholders happy. We’ll be sure to look out for new offers as they come so stay tuned.
