Approval Rules Amex 1/10
One Sentence Summary
Amex allows only 1 bonus per specific card per lifetime (yours or that version of the card)
Deep Dive into the Amex 1/10 Rule
American Express won't allow you to get a sign-up bonus if you currently have -- or have had -- the exact version of that card. Fortunately, if you're logged into the Amex site, they usually will warn you if you are not eligible. It's worth noting that if they re-release a card -- as they did the Amex Gold card in 2018 -- you're immediately eligible again, even if you had the old card. Because this rule is based on having the card (and not based on receiving the bonus) we generally don't recommend card downgrades on Amex. We write and track this rule as 1/10 because there's information suggesting it might actually only be a 10-year prohibition on the sign-up bonus, and not a lifetime. Plus most Amex cards are refreshed every ten years.
Amex Popup
Important to know:
American Express does have a safeguard in place when applying for a new card. During the application process, you may get a popup with the following language:
If you receive this popup, that means you’ve had the card in the past and are not eligible for the signup bonus per this rule. This is a nice feature for someone who hasn’t kept good track of which cards they’ve gotten and when. If you enter all your cards into the Points Navigator, we will warn you of this before ever applying. But if not, this popup will prevent American Express from doing a hard pull on your credit for a card you aren’t eligible to receive the welcome offer for.
Note that this popup is different from the infamous American Express popup jail that will prevent you from getting a signup bonus on any of their cards for an unspecified amount of time. We have a separate rule that discusses this more in depth.
Eligibility for Personal and Business cards in the same Family
American Express has versions of the same cards for both personal and business use, but they are viewed as separate cards, even if they’re in the same family.
Important to know:
If you already have the personal American Express Gold card, you can also get the American Express Gold Business card, and you will be eligible for the signup bonus for each. This means you can get the welcome offer on all of the following cards even though they are in the same family of cards. One is personal, and one is business, making you eligible for each.
- American Express Blue Cash Everyday
- American Express Blue Business Cash
- American Express Green
- American Express Green Business
- American Express Gold
- American Express Gold Business
- American Express Platinum
- American Express Platinum Business
Related Rules
How Does This Affect Your Credit Card Strategy?
Awareness of this rule is important for how to get the most possible points out of American Express cards. Because you can only earn a signup bonus on each card once every decade, at best, it’s important to be on the lookout for elevated signup bonuses.
What is an elevated signup bonus?
Most credit cards have a regular signup bonus that is offered throughout most of the year. It is the standard for that specific card and is relatively consistent from year to year. But many cards offer an elevated bonus to try to entice people to apply for that card immediately. Below are some examples of elevated offers:
- Higher number of bonus points
- Free night in addition to the points bonus from co-branded hotel cards
- Companion certificate from a co-branded airline card
- Annual fee waived for the first year
- Better introductory APR’s
Important to know:
When coming up with a strategy for opening cards, particularly when it comes to American Express cards, we recommend waiting until you see an elevated bonus since you’re only eligible to get it once. If you have the flexibility to wait, you’ll be able to maximize the number of points you receive from each Amex card since you won’t be eligible to receive it again for a while.
American Express Platinum Example
For example, the regular public welcome offer on the American Express Platinum card is 80,000 points. That’s a solid amount of points for a signup bonus, and you will get great value out of that number. But this particular card comes with a $695 annual fee, and while the benefits of the card help offset that fee, it would still be good to maximize the amount of points possible through the signup bonus. Public offers have been as high as 100,000 for this card over the years. Targeted offers have been as high as 175,000.
Elevated signup bonus vs. targeted offer
Let’s stick with the Amex Platinum card example. You may have seen people talking about receiving a signup bonus of 175,000 for that card, particularly if you are a member of any points and miles social media groups. These are targeted offers that are personalized to each individual and not generally available to the public. These offers are based on numerous factors like your credit profile and history, spending habits, and past relationships with banks.
Targeted offers can come in many forms:
- Email from a bank you have an existing relationship with
- Online banking dashboard of a bank you have an account or card with
- Mobile app of a bank you have an account or card with
- Mail offers from a bank you have an account or card with
- Affiliate promotions from websites or blogs that specialize in credit card points and miles
- By using a tool like Card Match
- By googling the same card multiple times in a day or week
- By googling in an incognito tab
Regarding the last two, we have seen people have luck by simply googling the card you are interested in. Search American Express Platinum and open the link to the card. You may see the regular offer of an 80,000 mile welcome offer the first time you do it. But do it an hour later and it may be 100,000. Wait a couple days or open an incognito tab and it could be 150,000 next. Credit card issuers track your online behavior, so your ip address, browsing history, and whether you’re in incognito mode or searching from different devices all have an impact on what you see when you go to that card’s page.
Important to know:
None of the above are fool proof methods of receiving a high targeted offer. If you have been in the hobby for a while and have multiple cards with multiple banks, your chances are higher of receiving a targeted offer (provided you are in good standing with each bank). But nothing guarantees you will see a high targeted offer, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t see one immediately. There are plenty of other cards to get, so have a backup plan in place if you want to wait for an elevated signup bonus for an American Express card. On the flip side, having flexibility in your card strategy is important because if you see a targeted offer and are flexible in your plan, you may be able to jump on that offer.
Importance of this Rule
* * * *
This is an important rule to be aware of, but it won’t drive your entire card strategy. Awareness and knowledge that this rule exists is most important. It’s always important to both have a plan but also be flexible in this hobby. You can’t have a rigid plan on which cards you’re going to get in which order. You can and should have an idea, but you also need to be able to pivot if necessary. While we recommend waiting for an elevated offer on most American Express cards, sometimes it makes sense to just get the card. Only you can decide what is best for you in each specific scenario.
Banks That Use This Rule
Cards Subject to This Rule
FAQs
Are there exceptions to this rule?
Yes. This rule is often referenced as a lifetime rule, meaning that you are only eligible for a signup bonus for this card once in your lifetime. Historically American Express has re-released cards. For example, in 2018 the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card became the American Express Gold Card. When this product change happened, anyone who had the Premier Rewards Gold Card became eligible for the welcome offer on the new card, even though it was essentially the same card. American Express is said to product change their cards every 7-10 years, which is why we’ve named this rule Amex 1/10 instead of using lifetime language.
There are also incidents of an existing American Express customer receiving a targeted offer from Amex for a card they already own or have owned in the past. American Express might send an offer through email, mail, or through their mobile app or when logged in to your account. They may offer the chance to apply for the same card and receive a signup bonus. If you get an offer like this directly from American Express, it is legitimate and you will be eligible for the welcome offer. This can even happen multiple times! There are reports of people having three or four separate cards for the same product because they've been targeted. Note that this typically happens with business cards.
How do I check my status?
You can enter all your cards into the Points Navigator and we’ll keep track of this rule, and all other rules, for you. We’ll notify you if you’re about to trip a rule. Also, if you apply for a specific American Express card that you already have/had, there will be a popup on their site that lets you know you aren’t eligible for the signup bonus because you’ve already had this card. This happens before they do a hard pull on your credit.
Do business cards count for this rule?
Yes, all American Express cards count for this rule, both personal and business. However, cards in the same family that are business vs. personal do not count. For example, you are eligible to receive signup bonuses on both the American Express Gold Card and the American Express Business Gold card since one is a personal card and one is a business card.
Do product changes on existing cards count for this rule?
Yes. If you downgrade a card, let’s say from an American Express Gold to an American Express Green card (because the annual fee is less). You would then be ineligible for the signup bonus on the Green card in the future since you’ve already had that card.
American Express has another rule, the Family Rule, that says you can’t get a signup bonus for the Green card if you’ve already had the Gold and/or Platinum cards. You have to get them in order of Green, Gold, Platinum to be eligible for all, so both rules apply in this scenario. You can read more about this rule here.
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.