TODAY is 24 months from Amex’s launch of the ’24 month’ rule – what should you do?

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On 21st March 2019, American Express unveiled major changes to its rules on who could obtain a sign-up bonus on its cards.

Our article from that day is here – it ended up getting over 72,000 page views, making it one of our biggest articles ever.

Add in email and aggregator readers and it will have done close to 90,000 views.

Up to that day, the American Express bonus rules had been generous:

travel cards were split into three families (Membership Rewards, Avios, Marriott) and you were guaranteed to get a bonus if you hadn’t had a card from the same family in the previous six months

even inside the same ‘family’, you could get a new bonus as long as you waited six months from when you cancelled your previous card

Under this scenario, it was a doddle for a couple to pick up over 100,000 points per year from sign-up bonuses without trying too hard. People who could reach the minimum spend targets quickly and kept a closer track of their dates could do far better.

What happened in March 2019?

With no notice, Amex changed the rules to the situation we see today:

with the exception of Platinum and BA Premium Plus, you cannot get a sign-up bonus if you have had a personal (business cards are ignored) Amex card in the previous 24 months

you can get the Platinum bonus of 35,000 points as long as you haven’t had a Membership Rewards card in the previous 24 months (eg Green, Gold, Platinum, Amex Rewards)

you can get the British Airways Premium Plus bonus of 26,000 Avios as long as you haven’t had either of the British Airways Amex cards in the previous 24 months

This article (click here) explains in more detail ‘what Amex bonuses can you get, based on the cards you currently or recently had’.

If you cancelled everything on 21st March 2019, you are ‘free’ today

There were two problems with what American Express did.

First, it was insanely complex. Spend 30 seconds reading my article on ‘what bonuses can I still get?’ if you don’t believe me. It didn’t help that the Business cards retained the six month rule. For extra confusion, having a Business card doesn’t block a personal bonus BUT having a personal Membership Rewards card DOES block a Business card bonus.

Secondly, it actually made sense to cancel all of your American Express cards. A couple who have had no Amex cards in the last 24 months can generate 186,000 points between them fairly quickly as we show below. Have you earned 186,000 points in the last 24 months from your Amex cards? Probably not. In retrospect, you may have been better off cancelling the lot back in March 2019, especially if you have a small business and could have used Business Gold or Business Platinum in the interim.

Does it make sense to cancel all my Amex cards now?

That’s up to you. You are gambling that the strategy I outline below for picking up points quickly will still be around in 24 months.

You will also need access to an Amex of some sort to pay the taxes on any British Airways 2-4-1 companion voucher you have ready to redeem.

If you have a small business, it could be worth considering due to the 100,000 points Business Platinum bonus

Remember that:

Business Platinum currently has a bonus of 100,000 points (article here, apply here) and

Business Gold – free for a year – has a bonus of 50,000 points (article here, apply here)

These offers run to 9th April. Cancelling your personal cards and focusing on the Business cards for two years may work, allowing you to unleash a storm of personal card bonuses in March 2023 – unless the rules change.

What is the best strategy if I have gone 24 months with no personal Amex cards?

If you approach it in the right order, a couple can earn 186,875 Avios from American Express sign-up bonuses as long as neither of you has had an American Express card in the past 24 months.

Here is the optimum Avios-earning strategy at the moment for a couple who have not had any Amex cards in the past two years.

Both you and your partner will be getting three different American Express cards. How far you spread out the applications should depends on how quickly you can hit the spend target on each card to trigger the sign-up bonus. You have up to 90 days on each card to hit the target.

To start off:

Person A applies for the Nectar American Express card (apply here)

Sign-up bonus for Person A: 20,000 Nectar points which converts to 12,500 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for the Nectar American Express card

Referral bonus for Person A: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios

Person B applies for the Nectar American Express card

Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 21,000 Nectar points which converts to 13,125 Avios, £2000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person B refers Person A for The Platinum Card

Referral bonus for Person B: 5,000 Nectar points which converts to 3,125 Avios

Person A applies for The Platinum Card

Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for The Platinum Card

Referral bonus for Person A: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios

Person B applies for The Platinum Card

Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 35,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 35,000 Avios, £4000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points in the previous 24 months

Person B refers Person A for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

Referral bonus for Person B: 12,000 Membership Rewards points which converts to 12,000 Avios

Person A applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

Sign-up bonus when referred for Person A: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A refers Person B for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

Referral bonus for Person A: 9,000 Avios (or 12,000 Membership Rewards points, which converts to 12,000 Avios, if they still hold The Platinum Card at this point and make the referral from that)

Person B applies for the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card

Sign-up bonus when referred for Person B: 26,000 Avios, £3000 spend in three months required
Rule: You cannot have held a personal British Airways American Express card in the previous 24 months

Person A or Person B spends £10,000 on their British Airways American Express Premium Plus card in order to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher and so maximise how far your 186,875 Avios can take you!

You will actually have more than 186,875 Avios because of the points from your daily spend.

There are also opportunities to add supplementary cards to each card as you go along, for additional bonuses of up to 3,000 points each.

Conclusion

If you cancelled all of your personal American Express cards in March 2019, the day you may have thought would never come is here.

At some point in the next few days, you will pass the 24 month mark and can start taking advantage of your freedom.

One thing: I recommend ringing American Express and asking them to confirm the date you cancelled your previous cards. More accurately, you want to make sure that the date Amex says you cancelled is the same date you think you cancelled. Remember that Amex may not have processed your cancellation request until any unpaid bills were cleared.

If you get it wrong – even by 24 hours – you won’t get a bonus now and you will need to wait another two years before you can try again ….

Further credit card information

Here is the legally required interest rate information on the cards mentioned above, together with links to our reviews:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

Bonus: 30,000 Avios

Read our full review

Other information:

Receive a companion voucher, letting you book two flights for the Avios of one, when you spend £15,000 in a card year
A solo traveller can use it for a 50% discount on the Avios for one ticket
The voucher is valid in any cabin
It can be used on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus
Annual fee: £300

Representative 137.8% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £300 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.0% APR variable.

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus +

You will receive 30,000 Avios as a sign-up bonus on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card if you spend £6,000 within 90 days of signing up.

To qualify for the bonus, you must not have held the British Airways Premium Plus or the free British Airways American Express cards in the previous 24 months.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s British Airways American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the British Airways Premium Plus card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the companion voucher and all of the other card benefits.

Learn more about the card benefits +

When you spend £15,000 on the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card, you receive a companion voucher entitling you to book two Avios redemption flights for the miles of one.

Alternatively, a solo traveller can use the voucher for a 50% reduction on the Avios required for one ticket.

This voucher is valid for two years. Full taxes and charges need to be paid on both tickets.

This voucher is the most valuable perk available in the UK airline and hotel credit card sector in my view. It could save you 150,000 or more Avios when used for a long-haul redemption in a premium cabin.

The voucher with the Premium Plus card is far more powerful than the voucher given with the free British Airways American Express card. You need to spend the same £15,000 to receive it. More importantly, the Premium Plus voucher is valid for two years and is valid in ALL cabins. The voucher on the free British Airways American Express card is only valid for one year and can only be used for Economy flights.

You receive your voucher within a few days of reaching the spending target. You need to fly the outbound leg of your 2-4-1 flight before the expiry date of the voucher.

The voucher can be used for flights on British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Bonus: 80,000 points

SPECIAL OFFER

Read our full review

Sign-up bonus and earn rate:

Get 80,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £10,000 within six months
This is a special offer which runs to 27th May 2025
Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes

Other information:

Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
Comprehensive travel insurance
£400 per year of restaurant credit (T&C apply)
£50 per half year of Harvey Nichols credit (ends June 2025)
Annual fee: £650

Representative 694.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.0% APR variable.

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 80,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £10,000 within six months of signing up.

This is a special offer which runs to 27th May 2025. The standard bonus is 50,000 Membership Rewards points.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (usually at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.

For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.

Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:

Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment

Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges

Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)

Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class

£200 per year to spend in over 170 UK restaurants (£100 per half year)

£200 per year to spend in over 1,500 international restaurants (£100 per half year)

£50 to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (£50 per half year, this benefit ends on 30th June 2025)

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

Nectar American Express

Bonus: 20,000 points

Read our full review

Other information:

You can convert Nectar points into Avios, and vice versa
Annual fee: Free for the first year, £30 from Year 2

Representative 36.8% APR variable. Annual fee applies after the first year.

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive 20,000 Nectar points as a sign-up bonus on the Nectar American Express credit card if you spend £2,000 within 90 days of signing up.

Nectar points are worth 0.5p each if spent in Sainsbury’s, Argos etc. They can also be converted to Avios at the rate of 400 : 250. 1 Nectar point gets you 0.625 Avios.

To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.

You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.

You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.

For clarity, you can still apply for the Nectar American Express card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.

Learn more about the card benefits +

The Nectar American Express credit card comes lets you earn 2 Nectar points for every £1 you spend. This is on top of any Nectar points you would usually earn at Sainsbury’s and other Nectar partners.

Converted to Avios, you would be earning 1.25 Avios per £1. This makes the card better value than the free British Airways American Express credit card for your first year, as the Nectar American Express is ‘fee free’ for the first 12 months. There is a £30 annual fee from Year 2.

The sign-up bonus of 20,000 Nectar points is worth £100 to spend in Sainsbury’s, Argos etc.

20,000 Nectar points can also be converted into 12,500 Avios.

You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.

American Express Business Gold

Bonus: 20,000 Membership Rewards points

Read our full review

Other information:

Annual fee: Free for the first year
£195 annual fee from Year 2
Get £100 per year to spend at Dell
Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes
T&C apply, 18+, subject to status

This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £195 from Year 2, free in Year 1.

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 20,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive a sign-up bonus of 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points if you spend £3,000 in your first three months.

Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.

There are no longer any rules on qualifying for the sign-up offer on this card, subject to hitting the spend target. If you are accepted and spend the required amount you will receive the bonus, irrespective of what other cards you hold or have recently held.

Learn more about the card benefits +

You receive £100 of Dell statement credit per calendar year. This is made available in two parts. You receive a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between January and June and a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between July and December. There is no minimum spend requirement.

You can apply for complimentary Amex business cards for your employees.

You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the complimentary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the complimentary cards will flow into your personal account.

Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.

American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.

You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.

Terms and conditions apply to all card benefits.

American Express Business Platinum

Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points

Read our full review

Sign-up bonus and earn rate:

Get 50,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within three months
Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
Earn 10,000 bonus points in every month you spend £10,000+
Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes

Other information:

Get £200 per year to spend at Amex Travel
Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
Get £150 per year to spend at Dell
Get £300 per year to spend at job ads site Indeed
Comprehensive travel insurance
Annual fee: £650
T&C apply, 18+, subject to status

This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £650.

Apply here

See if you qualify for the 50,000 points sign-up bonus +

You will receive a sign-up bonus of 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points if you spend £6,000 in your first three months.

Learn more about the card benefits +

American Express Business Platinum comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.

Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:

£200 of Amex Travel credit per membership year

Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five complimentary cardholders, subject to enrolment

Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges

Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)

Other benefits include:

£150 of Dell statement credit per year – you receive £75 credit on Dell purchases betweeen January and June and £75 credit on purchases between July and December

£300 of credit to run job advertisements at indeed.com (£75 per quarter)

Digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times, worth over £300

You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.

Terms and conditions apply to all card benefits.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review