Applied For The SPG Cards Before The 30k Bonus? Ask To Be “Matched”

In case you didn’t know, American Express has increased the sign up bonus on both the Personal & Business versions of the Starwoods Preferred Guest credit card to 30,000 points. This is great because the bonus is usually only 25,000 points (30,000 usually being offered once a year around August), they’ve also added some new benefits and increased the annual fee. It’s not so great if you recently applied under the 25,000 point bonus. I had a number of people ask if American Express would match the 30,000 offer and give them the extra 5,000 points, I said that American Express usually don’t match but it’s always worth a try anyway.

Reader, David let me know that he was able to successfully get an additional 5,000 points as a courtesy:

FYI, there are multiple reports of AMEX “matching” recent SPG apps to the new 30K offer. I use “” because AMEX doesn’t call it a match, they just call it a courtesy 5K SPG points. I called in last night for my business SPG application 2 weeks ago, and they gave me the 5K. I then had my wife call in; she applied for personal SPG in late April/early May, and they gave her 5K as well. I think AMEX must have changed their policy. I got the personal SPG in 2012, about 2 weeks before the 30K offer, and they wouldn’t do anything about it.

I don’t really care what American Express calls it, I’m just happy to hear that readers were able to get the extra 5,000 points. There is no guarantee that this will work for you and I’d recommend you doing it sooner rather than later (agents are much more likely to approve a request when they haven’t approved 300 similar requests earlier in the day).

spg 30,000 bonus

 

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Rafael
Rafael (@guest_230237)
March 3, 2016 03:07

I saw the highest offer on March 2. But I have signed up on the night of Feb 29. Perhaps just several hours’ difference will lead to a difference of 10k points. So what should I do now? I called but they said they cannot match the better offer. So if I would like to ask for 10k courtesy points, do I have to do so after I complete the welcome bonus (spend $3,000)? Or is it possible to ask for a “promise” that I will receive 10k courtesy points as long as I spend $3,000 in the first three months?

Calzona
Calzona (@guest_230891)
March 5, 2016 02:52

I’m in the same boat. Just called them and they said they would escalate the request and told me to call back in 2 weeks. I actually applied on March 1st,, but did not get approved until the morning of March 2nd so i’m hoping they match given their promotion came out the same day.

fr33b13
fr33b13 (@guest_193187)
November 3, 2015 11:06

Does anyone know if it’s possible to refer someone to the Business SPG Amex?

allen
allen (@guest_164243)
August 26, 2015 21:11

am i the only one who got $50 statement credit?

Kevin
Kevin (@guest_161692)
August 19, 2015 14:23

First, I call to ask for 5k… The CSR was not friendly at all and rejected offering anything.
The other day, I did an online chat with AmEx and obtained 3k courtesy points.

Larry
Larry (@guest_161461)
August 18, 2015 20:44

Still a little new to churning/MS. Got my first Amex card, well actually 2! The business one approved like a week later (I never called). I hear about FR’s and the such. I mostly use VGCs and BB for my other cards…is there anything different about Amex I should worry about? Thanks

Gerald
Gerald (@guest_161299)
August 18, 2015 11:47

I’ve had this card for nearly two years and my AF is coming due next month. Is the revamped card considered a “new” product…based upon Amexs new app rules for personal cards could I close the card and reapply for the new offer?

Knowledge
Knowledge (@guest_160886)
August 17, 2015 13:22

Just another data point here about the HILTON Amex not the SPG. After seeing this I decided to try the same. Back in May I missed the 60k offer by a week and ended up with the 40k Hilton offer :(. No one would match the 20k. Today I decided to call because of all these reports. While they couldn’t match the 20k difference, they were able to give me a 3k courtesy credit. While not much given the Hilton valuation 3k is still free points! Looks like it is a standard thing now as “courtesy”?

Will
Will (@guest_160782)
August 17, 2015 09:09

I obtained my SPG card in 2014 – called up and asked about match and was offered the 3k courtesy points and accepted.

Barrett
Barrett (@guest_160669)
August 16, 2015 22:28

I got the personal SPG back in June with the 25k offer. After reading this post, I clled the number on the back of the card. CSR said they understood the issue and after a minute offered me 3k points. I said that’s a nice offer, but it is not equitable with the difference in the new bonus. After another minute of “effort” they offered me 5k. Not sure what changed their ability to make a larger offer, but it wound up being a great way to spend 5 minutes.

Love to Fly
Love to Fly (@guest_160218)
August 15, 2015 16:42

My experience was a bit different to the others here. I applied for this card on Sunday and the promotion showed up on Tuesday. This is what happened:

1. On Tuesday, when I saw the new offer, I called into my Amex Platinum number, got the operator and mentioned I had applied for the SPG Card and was looking to get the 30k offer matched. They said no. The offer is the offer you applied for can’t change it.
2. On the same call as 1, I asked to inquire about the status of my Amex Everyday Preferred application because it was pending (another story) and I noticed the agent was particularly chipper and being very nice. I mentioned to him the 25k vs. 30k problem on the SPG card and he advised me to wait until after I get the card and activate it. He said it’s because customer service can’t help you until the card has actually been activated.
3. After reading this thread today, I called the number on the back of the card first and got an agent who told me that it wasn’t possible to match the offer even though I had received the new offer email less than 36 hours after I applied! I shamelessy asked to be given 5k in addition as a courtesy if they can’t match. I realized this wasn’t going anywhere, so I curtly ended the call.
4. This time I tried the number Shan posted and got a very nice agent. I explained the whole 25k>30k and my email offer. The agent said they are going to track it from their side and post the 5k when I hit the 30k. Agent assured me that they check their notes daily and will post the 5k to the statement when I hit 5k and will note the promise on the account.
5. I came back to this post to share my experiences with everyone. As I typed the first sentence, the agent from #4 called me back. He said he didn’t like the way the call ended and as he we was looking at my account noticed that I was a longtime member and that I do “a lot of business” with Amex. I guess there might be a High Value flag somewhere. (I do spend on my card for business but pay in full – my monthly bill is upwards of 5k – no MS). He said he escalated it and they will give me the 5k as a courtesy… nothing for me to do.

So I’ll see how this pans out, but it looks like I may end up with 10k by a stroke of luck.

Love to Fly
Love to Fly (@guest_160219)
August 15, 2015 16:44

Clarifications: I received the card between #2 & #3. Also in #5 I meant the agent from #3 called me back.