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My wife received this targeted offer to upgrade her American Express Business Gold Rewards card (that she applied for in May) to the American Express Business Platinum card. The offer was for 30,000 Membership Reward points after spending $10,000 in 5 months.
My current affiliate offer on the American Express Business Platinum card is for 25,000 Membership Reward points after spending $5,000 in 3 months. The largest differences between these two offers are:
- She is not eligible to open an American Express Business charge card (Platinum or Green) and receive the bonus because she currently holds the Business Gold Rewards card (you must not have had that card for a period of 12 months prior to applying for the Business Platinum card)
- The offer to open an Amex Business Platinum card is for 5,000 fewer Membership Reward points and requires $5,000 less spending to receive the bonus (the difference per month actually breaks down to $1,000 per month for 5 months) – this equates to an overall difference of 10,000 fewer Membership Reward points if you open a new account vs upgrading the current account (counting the bonus and spending amount)
I received a similar offer last year when my Business Gold Rewards card came up for renewal (though mine was for 25,000 Membership Reward points). If you are about to pay the $175 annual fee for the Business Gold Rewards card anyway, you are looking at a difference in $275 to upgrade. With that upgrade, the card holder will receive the $200 airline reimbursement amount per calendar year (so, $400 for the first card member year) and the $100 Global Entry reimbursement, as well as lounge access and elite status with SPG, National Car, and other perks. So, without the bonus offer, a card member who received such an offer (and was planning on holding on to his/her Business Gold card) would receive $225 back in card reimbursements. Add in the Membership Reward points and it turns into something special!
The biggest point of interest to me in this offer is that Amex seems to be going back on their rule that you cannot change a credit card within the first 12 months of card membership (that typically includes upgrading it, transferring lines of credit, etc). She has only held this card for 6 months and they are already giving her this offer.
Check your e-mail and postal mail to see if you have been targeted for this or other offers! The Weekly Flyer wrote this morning about a targeted offer of 100,000 Membership Reward points for the American Express Business Platinum card! If you already hold the Business Gold Rewards card, you are ineligible to apply for a Business Platinum at this time, so look instead for any upgrade offer. It is always nice to be chased by the credit card companies – to open more cards, that is. 🙂
