Amex Platinum 50,000 points sign-up bonus launched – but with new criteria
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Breaking news. American Express has changed the sign-up bonuses and the T&C’s for receiving them on its charge cards. The net result is to make the bonuses harder for existing customers to receive, which will reduce our opportunities for card churning.
From today, the bonus on the American Express Platinum charge card is increased to 50,000 Membership Rewards points (worth 50,000 Avios points) for a direct application.
The fee is now £450 per year but if you cancel the card you receive a pro-rata refund, so if you cancel after three months you are only £100 out. You now need to spend £2,000 (was £1,500) in three months to trigger the bonus.
Note this strict new rule though – existing American Express customers do NOT qualify for the 50,000 points:
The 50,000 Membership Rewards bonus points will be awarded onto your account once you have been approved and you have spent and charged £2000 within the first 3 months of Cardmembership. All introductory offers are subject to change, can be withdrawn at any time and are not available to existing American Express customers. Please note that it can take up to one month for bonus points to be awarded to your account.
This means that if you have a British Airways, SPG, Nectar or Amex charge card, there is no point applying. This is a real tightening up of the rules and is not welcome. They are also suggesting that a £40,000 income will be required to be accepted, up from £30,000.
The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card also has new rules, although the terms are the same:
The annual fee is £125. With this offer you will receive the first year of Cardmembership with £0 annual fee. From year two of your membership, a £125 annual fee will automatically be charged to your account on or after the anniversary of your account opening date. The first year fee waiver is only available to new American Express Charge Cardmembers.
The 20,000 Membership Rewards bonus points will be awarded onto your account once you have been approved and you have spent and charged £1,000 within the first 3 months of Cardmembership.All introductory offers are subject to change, can be withdrawn at any time and are not available to existing American Express customers. Please note that it can take up to 60 days after the three month introductory period for bonus points to be awarded to your account.
To qualify for the fee-free first year, you need to be a new charge card customer. If you have a BA, SPG or Nectar card you are still OK, but not a Centurion, Platinum or Green. However, as with the Platinum, you will not receive the 20,000 bonus Membership Rewards points if you have ANY Amex-issued card. Again, this is not good and will really reduce the card-churning opportunities. Target income requirement remains £20,000.
Given these new rules, I think future card churning will involve getting our wifes, partners etc to apply for cards rather than getting multiple American Express cards ourselves for multiple sign-up bonuses.
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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – February 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review