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Four big Amex sign-up bonuses launched!

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The good news is that American Express has launched FOUR big sign up bonuses with one worth 120,000 Membership Rewards points (=120,000 Avios).

The bad news is that four sign up bonuses in one day is too many for us to cover in our usual ‘compare and contrast’ way.

This article is therefore a very short summary of the four bonuses. Separate articles will look at the four deals in more detail.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold special bonus

The four special bonuses launched today

Remember that 1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Avios amongst other things. This article looks at the best ways of spending Membership Rewards points.

As usual, annual fees and T&C apply, 18+, subject to status.

All offers will run to 14th October 2025.

You may see a higher bonus on the application forms when you click through than we say. If you do, this is because Amex is testing geotargetting in some areas. You will receive the (even) higher bonus.

Personal cards:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card

40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £5,000 within six months of being approved

The card is free for the first year.

Do you qualify for the bonus? You must have had NO personal American Express cards in the last 24 months. This will be tricky for many HfP readers, but you may have a family member who qualifies.

Click here for our full HfP review.

Click here for a full HfP article on the card, its benefits and how the bonus offer works.

Click here to apply.

The representative APR is 86.8% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases, and in the first year which has no fee, is 29.7% variable.

American Express Platinum special sign up bonus

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £10,000 within six months of being approved

The annual fee is £650, refundable pro-rata if you cancel.

Do you qualify for the bonus? You must have had NO personal American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points in the last 24 months. You DO qualify if you have only held British Airways, Marriott, Nectar or cashback American Express cards in the last 24 months.

Click here for our full HfP card review.

Click here for a full HfP article on the card, its benefits and how the bonus offer works.

Click here to apply.

The representative APR is 691.7% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 29.7% variable.

American Express Business Gold special bonus

Small business cards:

Remember that there is no defined rule for what American Express treats as a ‘small business’. You do NOT need to be a Limited Company. You do NOT need to be VAT registered. There are no turnover requirements. You do NOT need a business bank account. Operating a buy to let property may qualify. if the card is used to pay maintenance bills etc.

The American Express Business Gold Card

60,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within three months of being approved

The card is free for the first year.

Do you qualify for the bonus? Yes. There are NO restrictions, at all, on receiving the sign-up bonus. If you are accepted and reach the spend target, you receive the points.

Click here for our full HfP review.

Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum special bonus

The American Express Business Platinum Card

120,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £12,000 within three months of being approved

The annual fee is £650, refundable pro-rata if you cancel. The fee should be tax deductible as a business expense. You will also receive £200 to spend at American Express Travel, which is an annual benefit for all cardholders.

Do you qualify for the bonus? Yes. There are NO restrictions, at all, on receiving the sign-up bonus. If you are accepted and reach the spend target, you receive the points.

Click here for our full HfP review.

Click here to apply.

Further in-depth coverage of these cards will appear across today and tomorrow.

Comments (82)

  • NorthernLass says:

    I’ve got a new offer on my gold MR this morning – 14k for a referral plus 100k SUB for the platinum.

  • idontfly says:

    Just to confirm please – if i get amex gold personal it wont stop me getting bonus points on a ba amex card

  • Ak says:

    How much time would you leave between cancelling and then applying for a new card? Cancelled Amex Platinum Business in June

  • Peter says:

    @Rob – regarding upgrade enhanced bonus, do you know if they will update the page soon?

  • Eric says:

    Hi team, I applied for the platinum card through a referral on Monday this week, do Amex usually give any day’s leeway for the unlucky timing here?

    Thank you,
    Eric

  • Sam says:

    @Rob

    Im pleased to tell you I got approved for another Gold on a second business and my wife already received the 20k referral bonus.
    I will let you know if my SUB comes through once I spend the required amount

  • Benjamin G says:

    Rob, I just got back from a bucket list trip to San Diego/Hawaii using my 2-4-1 Avios Voucher on BA Basic AMEX, and I now am ~£200 spend away from another 2-4-1 voucher. Would it make sense to now move to the Gold Preferred card? Does the basic BA card “count” as having a personal AMEX?

    • Rob says:

      Yes, it counts, so no Gold bonus. You CAN get the bonus on The Platinum Card though, assuming you’ve only had the BA card in the last 2 years.

  • Nath says:

    Rob whilst I can imagine Amex advertising spend partner, I think we need some honest on there current state of affairs. Im not just saying that as a unhappy customer of theirs of over 15 years £650 a year platinum spend + multiple others, 4 cards now cancelled today but over 6000 1 star reviews globally on trustpilot, 1500 on the UK amex trustpilot? How can a brand once esteemed as a global great, the pinnacle of global consumer finance, get to this level?

    Perhaps the automatically closing of any chargeback without even an ounce of consideration of uploaded evidence, consistently on every chargeback for the past few years then a template letter some 3-4 weeks later through the post? and Im on business, I hate chargebacks against us so I have to be really cheesed off to raise one against another business.

    Or perhaps without any basis whatsoever, 15 years monthly DD payments in full without fail to then limit the ‘unlimited, no spending restrictions platinum card’ thats now restricted to 2k a momht on a £650 PA card fee? What logic and maths stack up. And before any quotes on T&Cs risk. 15 years payment history is first hand credit risk analysis on top of a good credit score and 30% credit utilisation only.

    Top that off with robotic AI CS responses and you get to 7500 global 1 star trust pilot reviews.

    Im not a centurion card holder by anymeans but 15 years of cira £1000 a year membership/card fees + cira £200-300k spend across the cards per annum, im sure I wont be missed. Love the site and everything you do, but I will not be subscribing to or reading anything Amex related or branded furthermore.

    Who knows with that nosedive for a global brand, I may even take a punt and consider shorting the stock, Im sure from here it can only keep going 1 way! Customers vote with their feet. Cost of living crisis and a large feeling of entitlement in western consumers, how long are people going to stand for such tripe.

    • Rob says:

      I had a chargeback sorted this week with no bother. (Hyatt Leeds bizarrely charged me again for a stay in June, two months after I checked out!)

      I’ve not heard of anyone else getting a spend limit imposed on a Platinum card. I suggest you pull your credit report to see what is going on.

      • Freddy says:

        Amex pulled my limit on my plat business amex. Paid it all off in full as normal in good time but for whatever reason their system didn’t note the payment. They cut all my limits, apologised for the system error but have since refused to rectify the limit. They’ve said it won’t be noted on my credit report but I will be checking

        • Nath says:

          I had the same, 5-6 years £20k per month spend on a CHARGE card which has no option but to clear in full by DD every month, then out of the blue one day they decided to cap the unlimited, no preset spending limit at something like £4k per month. I honestly dont know they are are intentionally crashing the business into the ground! There is no logic there.

          • Rob says:

            Let’s think this through. Amex makes 2% margin on every £1 spent on a business card, give or take, so by cutting you off they are deliberately giving up £320 per month of revenue. Since they are not stupid, you have to suspect that it is down to you somewhere.

            Some people put seven figures a month through Platinum cards with no issues.

    • BBbetter says:

      Lots of issues seem to be related to DDs?
      Guessing here – maybe current account switches going wrong? Or DDs missing deadlines due to delays or holidays?

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