6 months to earn an American Express Card Welcome Bonus!
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6 months instead of 3 to earn a Welcome Bonus
American Express is extending the welcome bonus offer period to 6 months for several cards.
If the minimum amount to spend in 3 months was an obstacle for you, this may not be the case anymore, now that this limit has increased to 6 months! There’s never been a better time to apply for an American Express Card.
You’ll find below all the cards involved, and the equivalent in monthly expenses over 6 months to earn their welcome bonuses! But first, some important notes.
Plan your expenses
As always, the first reminder is to plan your monthly expenses over the next 6 months.
It’s not about getting into debt to earn points; it’s about managing your finances properly.
For example, here are expenses that many of us have:
- Grocery stores
- Monthly subscriptions
- Online shopping
- Municipal or School taxes
- Taxes
- Home Improvement
- And many more
For each expense item, define how much you spend monthly. That way, you’ll know which credit cards to apply for to get many points as a welcome bonus!
And we have some tips to unlock welcome bonuses, by finding expenses you don’t currently pay for with a credit card.
Simultaneous application of multiple cards
When you apply for a credit card, a request is made to your credit file (Transunion and Equifax).
If you plan to apply for multiple cards, it is recommended to do so the same day to reduce the impact on your applications.
While we suggest you to apply for different issuers cards, it is possible to get multiple cards from the same issuer such as American Express. The condition is to choose different types of products.
Here are 4 different types of American Express products:
- Consumer Credit Card
- Consumer Charge Card
- Small Business Credit Card
- Small Business Charge Card
For example, you will avoid applying for two consumer CREDIT cards at the same time. On the other hand, you can apply for:
- 1 Consumer Credit Card and 1 Consumer Charge Card
- 1 Consumer Credit Card and 1 Small Business Credit Card
The possible combinations are, therefore, multiple.
As a reminder: with a CREDIT card, you are given the choice to repay your balance or to break it up and pay it over time, at the cost of interest fees. A CHARGE card must be fully paid each month.
For more explanations of the differences, check out this article.
Cards for the self-employed, professionals and small businesses
American Express offers many small business cards. These cards are intended for several categories of customers:
- Self-employed
- Professionals
- Small businesses
If it is advisable to be registered in the Register of Companies, but any individual « in business » can apply for these cards. For example, self-employed people reporting their income on their individual tax returns are therefore eligible.
And you can apply for a Small Business Card and a Consumer Card from American Express on the same day. It’s an excellent way to benefit from their substantial welcome bonuses.
To learn more about the application process of a Small Business Card from American Express, check out this article.
Eligible American Express Cards for he extension
Not all American Express Cards are eligible for a Welcome Bonus Extension Offer.
Cards Excluded:
- American Express Cobalt™ Card: This Credit-Card requires a $500 monthly spending for 12 months to get the 2,500 points monthly welcome bonus.
- SimplyCash™ Preferred from American Express: This Card offers a 5% cashback for the first 6 months
This does not prevent you from applying for one of these two cards. But let’s look at the eligible cards for the welcome bonus extension:
- Eligible Consumer Credit Cards
- Eligible Consumer Charge Cards
- Eligible Small Business Charge Cards
- Eligible Small Business Charge Cards
Eligible Consumer Credit Cards
Several attractive offers for Consumer Credit Cards.
For example, by applying for the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card before June 30, you’ll only have to charge $250 per month for 6 months to the Card to get the 50,000 points Welcome Bonus.
This can represent many free hotel nights.
If you prefer to get AIR MILES bonus miles, by applying for American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card before June 30, you’ll only have to charge $250 per month for 6 months to the Card to get the 2,000 AIR MILES Welcome Bonus miles.
Finally, if you are planning to make many purchases (such as in renovation or furniture stores), by applying for the SimplyCash™ from American Express by June 30 – one of the only no-annual-fee American Express credit cards – you can get a 2.5% cashback on all your purchases for 6 months instead of 3 (up to $6,000 in card purchases)!
| Card | Link | Bonus |
 | Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card | 50,000 points after $1,500 in Card purchases or $250 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card | 2,000 bonus miles after $1,500 in Card purchases$250 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve Credit Card | 2,400 bonus miles after $3,000 in Card purchases or $500 per month for 6 months |
 | SimplyCash™ from American Express | 2.5% cashback up to $6,000 in Card purchases$1,000 per month for 6 months |
Eligible Consumer Charge Cards
Several attractive offers for Consumer Charge Cards.
For example, by applying for the American Express® Gold Rewards Card before June 30, you’ll only have to charge $250 per month for 6 months to the Card to get the 25,000 points Welcome Bonus.
This is a $250 value, or more if you transfer your points in Aeroplan points or even $500 to book some specific flights.
| Card | Link | Bonus |
 | American Express® Gold Rewards Card | 25,000 points after $1,500 in Card purchases or $250 per month for 6 months |
 | Platinum Card® | 25,000 points after $2,000 in Card purchases$333 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Gold Card | 15,000 Aeroplan miles after $1,500 in Card purchases or $250 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card | 40,000 Aeroplan Miles after $3,000 in Card purchases$500 per month for 6 months |
Small Business Credit Cards
Several attractive offers for Small Business Credit Cards.
For example, by applying for the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card before June 30, you’ll only have to charge $250 per month for 6 months to the Card to get the 50,000 points Welcome Bonus.
By applying for the Consumer version at the same time, the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card, you could earn more than 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points within 6 months!
The other offer is by applying for the American Express Business Edge™ Card by June 30, you will need to charge $833 per month to the Card for 6 months to get the 30,000 points Welcome Bonus (a $300 value in statement credit for any purchase). Or 36,000 Marriott Bonvoy points if converted.
For a presentation of this card check out this article.
| Card | Link | Bonus |
 | Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card | 50,000 points after $1,500 in Card purchases or $250 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express Business Edge™ Card | 30,000 points after $5,000 in Card purchases or $833 per month for 6 months |
Small Business Charge Cards
Several attractive offers for Small Business Charge Cards.
For example, by applying for the American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card® before June 30, you will need to charge $833 per month to the Card for 6 months to get the 30,000 points Welcome Bonus (a $300 value in statement credit for any purchase).
Finally, if you prefer AIR MILES bonus miles, by applying for the American Express® AIR MILES®* for Business Card before June 30, you’ll need to charge $833 per month to the Card for 6 months to get the 2,000 AIR MILES Welcome Bonus miles.
| Card | Link | Bonus |
 | American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card® | 30,000 points after $5,000 in Card purchases or $833 per month for 6 months |
 | Business Platinum Card® from American Express | 35,000 points after $7,000 in Card purchases $1,167 per month for 6 months |
 | American Express® AIR MILES®* for Business Card | 2,000 miles after $5,000 in Card purchases or $833 per month for 6 months |
Some application strategies
As we said above, it is possible to apply for several cards at the same time, if you choose different products.
For example, if you want to get more than 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points within 6 months, you could apply for both Marriott Bonvoy consumer and small business credit cards by June 30!
Combined, these offers require a $500 monthly spending for 6 months.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $120 | |||
| $150 |
Or, if you want to get more than 4,000 AIR MILES bonus miles in six months, you could apply for a Consumer credit card and a Small Business charge card by June 30.Finally, if you want to get more than 55,000 Membership Rewards Points in 6 months – points you can convert to 66,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points, you could apply for these two cards by June 30:
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250 |
Conclusion
As you can see, the combinations are multiple!
It’s up to you to choose the good one according to:
- your monthly spending in the next 6 months
- your miles and points preferences
But act quickly, the Welcome Bonus Extension Offer is only available for new customers applying for a Card before June 30, 2020!
