Amex Sign-Up Bonus Qualifying Period Extended

American Express has just extended the qualifying period to earn your Amex sign-up bonus from 3 months to 6 months. The money required to meet the spend target is still the same but now you have DOUBLE the time to reach the goal!

This change is backdated to users who signed up from the 20th January onward and you should see this change reflect on your tracker in your online account. Perhaps more exciting however is the fact this applies to all NEW applications at the moment. If you signed up now you’d have until early November to meet your spend target!

If you have held or hold a personal card from American Express in the past 24 months you aren’t eligible for a sign-up bonus from an American Express card. There are two major exceptions to this:

1) British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

You cannot of held or currently hold an Avios earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

2) The Platinum Card

You cannot of held or currently hold a Membership Reward points earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. There are other credit cards which can earn you travel points including IHG credit card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for avios, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use one of my referral links to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from.

What cards are there and how much do I have to spend?

£1000 in 6 months

The following cards require a spend of £1,000 in 6 months to qualify for the sign-up bonus.

British Airways American Express^® Credit Card – 5,000 Avios bonus – no annual fee

That is £167 a month or just over £40 a week to meet the sign-up bonus

£2,000 in 6 months

Nectar Credit Card – 20,000 Nectar point bonus – £25 annual fee (first year free)

Marriott Bonvoyᵀᴹ American Express^® Card – 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy point bonus – £75 annual fee

You would need to spend just over £333 a month or approx £83 a week to meet the sign-up bonus

£3,000 in 6 months

British Airways American Express^® Premium Plus Card – 25,000 Avios bonus – £175 annual fee

American Express^® Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card – 20,000 membership reward point bonus – £140 annual fee (first year free)

If you can spend £500 a month or £125 a week on either of these cards you would meet the sign-up bonus.

£4,000 in 6 months

The Platinum Card^® – 30,000 Membership reward point bonus – annual fee £575

A spend of £667 a month or £167 a week would see you qualifying for the sign-up bonus.

You can get a referral (and increased sign-up bonus) here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/

This is great news for those who have signed up after 20th January and expected to make their sign-up target before COVID-19 hit BUT also great news for those who might otherwise struggle to hit Amex’s sign-up bonuses. Have you considered signing up with the new more generous qualifying period?