How many Amex Platinum Welcome Bonbons can you get?

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• American Express will only allow you to earn the bonus on each of your cards once in your lifetime.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
  comes with 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• You can only earn the bonus with this card once — but there are other Platinum cards that offer bonuses, too.
• Read Insider’s guide to the best American Express cards.

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American ExpressWhen it comes to opening cards and receiving welcome bonuses, there are some very specific rules. Here are some examples:

• Each card can only be awarded a once-in-a-lifetime welcome bonus.
• Only two cards can be applied for in one day
• You can only have five CreditCards at once (though cards without a spending limit are allowed). The Platinum Card® from American Express(Don’t count towards this number).

Reader John asks what happens if you decide to get more than one Amex Platinum Card. It’s no wonder, as the card currently comes with a public offer of 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.

Here’s his take:

Hi Joseph!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts holding three Amex Platinum cards. I just upgraded my American Express® Gold Card
Amex Platinum will give you 100,000 points for every $6,000 spent within six months. I originally wanted the Platinum Card.^®American Express for Charles Schwab. Are they similar? Amex offers only one welcome bonus per card per life.

We are so grateful.

John’s brain is in a steel box match with Amex’s confusing terms of eligibility for the welcome bonus. Fortunately, he WillYou are eligible for the Amex Platinum Charles Schwab card’s welcome bonus. Let’s look at the situation. Amex is an Insider partner.

We are focusing on the perks and rewards that each card offers. If you have to pay interest or late fees, these cards will not be worth the cost. It is important to pay your credit card in full each month, make timely payments, and only spend what you are able to afford.

Are you eligible for multiple bonuses if you have more than one Amex platinum card?

John already has The Platinum Card® from American Express in his wallet, and he’s thinking of adding another — the Amex Platinum for Charles Schwab. Let’s take a look at American Express’ welcome bonus rules and see if John is eligible.

Here are the verbatim terms of the Amex Platinum Charles Schwab credit card application page:

No welcome offer available to applicants who have received this Card in the past. When deciding whether you are eligible for the welcome offer, we might also consider how many American Express cards you have opened and closed.

This means that if you have already opened the card, the welcome bonus cannot be earned again.

However, American Express considers the Amex Platinum Charles Schwab card an entirely different product than the regular Amex Platinum card. Both cards are “Platinum” cards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t earn both bonuses. This holds true for all American Express cards. Take this example:

Amex’s terms & conditions state that if John opens the Amex Platinum to Charles Schwab, he will get his bonus. meeting minimum spending requirements.

Also, look out for “lifetime language” in the terms

John also mentioned that he received a bonus for upgrading his American Express® Gold Card to The Platinum Card® from American Express. Another important point is raised here.

For whatever reason, you may sometimes be targeted to apply for an American Express card you already have — or upgrade your current card — and receive a bonus. These offers can be found in your online account, via email, or sent by snail mail.

Sometimes, these offers don’t contain any “lifetime language” in the terms. The card’s terms of offer won’t contain any disclaimer. “Welcome Offer not Available to Applicants Who Have or Had This Card”This means that you can open a new card and receive a bonus Even if you have the exact card, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it anymore. It’s rare to find an application link without lifetime language — but if you do, you will qualify for the bonus again.

Bottom line

American Express states that you can only get the bonus from each card one time in your life. Keep these two things in mind.

• You can still earn the bonus on cards Sound Similar but distinct (e.g. the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and the American Express Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card)
• American Express will sometimes bend to its own rules and invites you to open a card that you already have and receive another welcome bonus

John can earn the welcome bonus by opening two different Amex Platinum Cards.