Amex Popup Jail

Understanding the Amex Popup Jail rule:

This isn’t a rule, per se, as it’s more of a warning of something that can happen with American Express cards. Popup Jail is different from the safeguard they put in place to prevent you from applying for a card you’ve already owned.

That popup looks like this:

The other warning also appears when applying for a new card, but the language is much different. If you receive this message, chances are it will show up for any American Express card you apply for. It is what users call Amex Popup Jail.

It will look something like this:

Fortunately this does happen before Amex does a hard pull on your credit, so it won’t impact your credit score. Unfortunately, once you land in popup jail, that usually means it will show up when you apply for any American Express card, essentially locking you out of all cards, even co-branded and business cards. How long it lasts seems to depend on each person’s unique situation, so unfortunately there’s no consistent timeline of when you’ll be eligible again.

Some people have reported being locked out of certain card families but not all cards. Again, this is a case by case basis that has been anecdotally collected. There are no documented rules on why this happens, who it happens to, how long it lasts, or if it will impact every single American Express card you apply for. But we do have a pretty good idea of certain actions that cause it, how you can get out of it, or how you can avoid it altogether.

Why does this happen?

American Express doesn’t want people opening cards solely for the welcome offer then not using their cards again. If you don’t spend on their cards, they don’t make money. So it makes sense they want to protect their business model. American Express, and all credit card issuers for that matter, prefer loyal customers who use their cards long-term. People who apply for cards for the signup bonus then move onto the next card lose the company money. This is a way for American Express to police people who do that.

Important to know:

If you’ve received the dreaded popup, it’s probably because you have several Amex cards open. If you have opened cards, then spent the required amount to receive the signup bonus, then stopped spending on it because you moved on to the next card and bonus, then this is most likely the reason you’ve ended up in jail. Even if you’ve continued to spend on cards but have applied for multiple American Express cards in a short amount of time, that could trigger the popup as well. Unfortunately while American Express warns you and gives you several potential reasons it does this, there’s no way to truly know for sure why you’re in jail.

How to get out of jail

The good news is that most people who have reported being in Amex popup jail have eventually gotten out. There are several strategies to employ to try to get yourself out:

• Wait before reapplying: Don’t just wait a few days or a week - wait a few months before trying again for the same card
• Don’t apply for any new Amex cards: Just like above, we recommend waiting to apply for any other Amex cards for the time being, not just the one you first saw the popup on. The longer you wait, the better your chances of getting out of jail are. There are plenty of other cards to get in the meantime
• Spend on the Amex cards you do have: If you stopped spending on your card(s) after receiving the signup bonus, now’s the time to start spending again
• Close cards you don’t use: If you have multiple American Express cards, it might be time to close ones you are not using

About Approval Rules

Collecting credit card points is largely driven by understanding and abiding by bank rules regarding approval (or disapproval) of cards.  So here’s what you need to know:

• Approval rules are rarely fully publicized by the banks
• We use our own research and data points from other users in creating the rules listing
• Our goal in sharing/using the rule listings is to provide you guidance to avoid getting declined
• There can sometimes be exceptions to the rules, but we try to take a more cautious approach in advising you.