The scourge of Amex family language continues to spread. The latest casualty is the Amex Everyday card: as per the new offer terms, you may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer on the Amex Everyday Credit Card if you have or have had that card, the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card or previous versions of those Cards.
Tim has previously reported on Amex family language being added first to various flavors of the Platinum cards and then to the Delta credit cards and more recently to the consumer Gold card. We also saw this language added on cash back cards. Unfortunately, things are continuing to trend in an unfriendly direction.
What’s changed
The offer terms on the new cardmember application for an Amex Everyday Credit Card have now been updated to say the following:
You may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees if you have or have had this Card, the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
Essentially, if you have or have had the Amex Everyday Preferred card or the Everyday card, you are no longer eligible for a welcome bonus on the Everyday card.
Quick Thoughts
Frankly, it has never made much sense to apply for this card outright given its very low welcome bonus (often around just 10,000 Membership Rewards points after meeting minimum purchase requirements). Neither my wife nor I had ever applied for this card.
It is nonetheless discouraging to see the spread of family language since it means that those who take advantage of a solid offer on a higher-level card risk locking themselves out of earning a bonus on a lower-tier card like the Everyday card (we’ve seen the same type of thing play out with the Platinum/Gold cards and the Delta cards). Given the spread here, I think there is cause for concern for cards like the Amex Green card, the Hilton Honors no-fee card, and the Marriott cards.
That said, I’m going to take this move as a personal favor. This is ridiculous, but I’ve been hesitant to have my wife downgrade her Everyday Preferred card to an Everyday card since she’d never gotten a new cardmember bonus on the Everyday card. Even though the offer on the everyday card has been paltry for years, I held out some sort of hope that a really good offer might eventually come along that made it worth applying as a new cardmember. Now Amex will save me from the $95 annual fee in perpetuity on the Everyday Preferred since we have no reason not to downgrade (and the chance at an upgrade offer in the future!).
However, this spread of family language does have me reconsidering which other cards we need to consider before this virus spreads further . . .
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Started from the bottom up with Hilton, from the middle up with Delta, and the top down with Platinum. Platinum, Gold, then Green is impossible now, and the Delta Blue isn’t much of a loss. Delta Reserve and Hilton Aspire are still on the board for the future, and I’m keeping the EDP & Surpass long-term. This horse already fled the barn with most of the enthusiast community for Amex to be implementing these changes now.
Heh! Slid under the wire this time. Just got my 25k bonus for upgrading from the Everyday to the Everyday Preferred and spending 2k. Third time around to do this too, over the last few years. Been a relatively easy ride to some easily gained points. Sooo… next year I’ll downgrade again and just wait to see what they offer me….eventually.
Meanwhile, there are other opportunities in the MR universe. Many of them, but one must keep a wary eye out.
The Everyday was never on my radar and won’t be said with this LL update.
We already got the personal Platinum, Gold, and Green cards and now working our way through the Biz cards starting with the Biz Gold.
Inevitably we will all have to move on from Amex once all the deals are gone.
No need to be so fatalistic (except in the very long run): If you are just now starting up with Business Gold, you may soon find yourself in a virtuous cycle of NLL offers from Amex for more Business Gold cards (not to mention Business Platinum cards).
Absolutely! No one really knows what the future holds, and I’m readying myself by starting with the Biz Gold card. There’s no telling if and or when they’ll bring that family rule to the Biz side and if one started with the Biz Platinum one could lock themselves out from the Biz Gold. With this in mind, I am aware of the Biz NLL cycle and I’m preemptively putting our strategy in motion.
With this obvious move by Amex, outside of Biz cards or upgrade offers from Amex, it seems to me that Amex is clearly putting their foot down on card churning.
So if one has had the Surpass, and this virus spreads, does that mean one could not get the Aspire’s bonus?
Other way around (assuming the same pattern holds true).
Have the Surpass and tried to get the Aspire this week, but landed in Amex Jail. Wanted one for the Priority Pass and the other for the airline fees credit.
Similar problem for P2 on the Aspire (Amex Jail). But, you know, what with the benefits of the card, a potential 25,000 MR points for P1 for referral, and the fact that 150,000 (or whatever) Hilton points are not such a big thing, we’re looking to go for the card early December even without the SUB.
Same here. I started with the vanilla Hilton, then got the Surpass in 2022. Saw how the wind was blowing, made a pass on the Aspire, told I was in Amex jail. Punted and went for the Altitude Reserve instead, it’s being delivered today. LOL
I have had the Aspire but have since downgraded to the no-fee Hilton card . I have never had the Surpass, but I am debating if I should do a proactive application to snag it before I get locked out of the bonus due to my prior Aspire (downgraded a year or two ago). I am not in need of Hilton points right now, but I would hate to think of missing the opportunity for 130K points that might get locked up in the future. I am at 3/24 right now and will drop back to 2/24 in December if I do not do anything other than biz cards.
Considering the same for my wife (and more similar decisions in our household).