Introduction to Amex Cards
Amex (like Chase) has one of the best ecosystems for credit card rewards. Some people even prefer Amex to Chase, but it really comes down to personal preference. Make no mistake, both Amex and Chase are absolute staples in anyone’s credit card portfolio. Like BTC and ETH, these are the two big players that everyone should be focusing on. Amex’s currency Membership Rewards (MR) are very easy to earn, easy to redeem/transfer, and easy to cash out if you hold the Amex Schwab Platinum, where points can be redeemed at 1.1 cents per point. Amex is generally pretty relaxed when it comes to applying for Business Cards, even with just a sole proprietorship. Amex will usually refund the annual fee up to 30 days after it hits, so it’s nice to have the option of trying to get a retention offer before canceling or downgrading your card.
2/90 Rule
Amex will only approve you for two new credit cards in a 90 day rolling period. Note that this does not apply to charge cards (which are different from credit cards).
Charge Cards vs Credit Cards
In simple terms, credit cards allow you to carry a balance (DON’T DO THIS), while charge cards require you to pay in full each month)
https://www.americanexpress.com/in/credit-know-how/how-do-credit-cards-work/
Personal Charge Cards
-Amex Gold
-Amex Platinum
-Amex Green
-Amex Platinum Schwab
-Amex Platinum Morgan Stanley
Business Charge Cards
-Amex Business Green
-Amex Business Gold
-Amex Business Platinum
-Amex Plum (terrible card)
Personal Credit Cards
-Variety of Dela, HIlton, Marriott, etc
Business Credit Cards
-Blue Business Plus
-Variety of Delta, Hilton, and Marriott
Membership Rewards
Certain (not all) Amex cards off Membership Rewards points (see list below). Membership Rewards points are flexible points that can be redeemed for cash (with Schwab Platinum), transferred to airline partners, hotels, redeemed for travel in Amex Travel Portal, and several other ways. Like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards can be pooled together, meaning you can combine your personal and business rewards into one account to maximize the value. While the flexibility of MR points is great, the two best redemptions tend to be cash back via Schwab, and transfer to airline partners for economy/first/business class flights.
Person Cards that earn MR
Amex Gold
-Current Signup Bonus: 60,000 MR after spending $4,000 in 6 months
-$250 Annual Fee
-$120 Annual Uber Credit ($10 monthly)
-$120 dining credit (grubhub, wine.com, and more)
-4X MR on restaurants (uncapped)
-4X MR on grocery stores (up to $25,000 spend each year)
Amex Green
-Current Signup Bonus: 40,000 MR after spending $2,000 in 6 months
-$150 Annual Fee
-3X on all restaurants and travel (uncapped)
Amex Platinum
-Current Signup Bonus: 80,000 MR after spending $6,000 in 6 months
-$695 Annual Fee
-$200 Annual Hotel Credit (on prepaid Fine Hotel + Resorts bookings)
-$200 Airline Credit (can redeem with United Travel Bank)
-$200 Annual Uber Cash ($15 monthly and $35 in December)
-$300 Equinox Credit
-$240 Digital Entertainment Credit (Hulu, ESPN+, Disney+ and more)
-5X MR on flights booked directly with Airlines or flights/hotels booked via Amex Travel Portal
Business Cards that earn MR
Amex Green
-Current Signup Bonus: 25,000 MR after spending $3,000 in 3 months
-$95 Annual Free (waived first year)
-2X MR on travel booked on amextravel.com
Amex Gold
-Current Signup Bonus: 70,000 MR after spending $10,000 in first 3 months
-$295 Annual Fee
-4X MR points in top two spending categories of each cycle: Airline purchases directly from Airlines, advertising online, TV, radio, gas stations, restaurants and shipping
Amex Business Platinum
-Current Signup Bonus: 120,000 MR after spending $15,000 in first 3 months
-$695 Annual Fee
-5X MR on travel booked through the Amex Travel Portal
-1.5X MR on every dollar spent
-$400 Annual Dell Technologies credit
-$360 Indeed Credit
-$150 Adobe Credit
-$120 Wireless Telephone Service Credit
-$200 Airline Credit (can redeem with United Travel Bank)
-$189 Clear Credit
Blue Business Plus
-Current Signup Bonus: 15,000 MR after spending $3,000 in first 3 months
-2X MR points on all purchases up to $50,000 spend (per calendar year).
Note: These were current offers that showed up for me, but offers can vary at any time and from person to person
No Lifetime Language (NLL) and Welcome Bonus Popup
Amex bonuses are usually one per lifetime per card. However, occasionally offers with No Lifetime Language (NLL) arise, and it’s possible to get a bonus a second time. However, just because it’s a NLL application link, you still might not be eligible for the bonus, the second time around. When you apply via these NLL links, if you’re not eligible, you should get a popup that says something like “you are not eligible to receive this welcome bonus, would you like to continue”. Obviously if you see that popup, it’s not worth applying.
Employee Card Offers
Read this post:
Amex will periodically have lucrative employee card offers, where you can get up to 99 cards for your “business”. There very well may be a play in the next few weeks for those who want to get Amex employee cards that can earn $4K+. I’ll be testing this in the next few weeks and making a post if it works. This will make your road to $10K significantly easier!
What if I don’t have a business?
Have you sold anything on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, or did you do anything in exchange for money? Congrats! You have a sole proprietorship, and are eligible for business cards. You can simply use your SSN for the EIN and your First/Last name for the name of the business.
Favorite Cards
The Schwab Platinum remains a personal favorite as I like always having the ability to cash out points at 1.1 cents per point. The Blue Business Plus is a great No-Fee business card option, and a pretty good option for daily spending at 2X MR on every purchase. The Amex Business Gold is strong if you can MS at real gas stations or “gas stations” and the Amex Personal Gold is great if you can MS at “restaurants.” For all credit cards that offer annual credits, it’s important to use as many as possible to help offset the Annual Fee.
Feel free to post any questions about Amex below.
Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.
Amex really has a great system, specially when you get into the employee cards. One problem I've been having is with the Schwab AMEX platinum. Every time I apply it says that I'm not eligible for the sign up bonuses. Same thing happens when trying to apply with a P2. Any ideas on why this happens?