We all know that as of May 1, 2014 it’s only possible to get an Amex signup bonus once per lifetime. This limit shows clearly in the Offer Terms:
Because of that, we’ve always careful to only apply for an Amex card when it’s at the absolute highest signup bonus offered.
[READ: List of Churnable Credit Cards]
It’s been pointed out on Reddit that TARGETED Amex signup offers don’t always show this caveat and would seemingly mean that the targeted offer recipient would be eligible for the signup bonus, despite having received the bonus in the past. We haven’t found any confirmed reports of getting the bonus, but it appears likely that it will work.
Of course we realize that Amex isn’t likely to send such targeted offers out to those who already had the card and they may have input into their system specifically not to do so. That said, there has been at least one report of a targeted offer despite having previously received that same bonus, so it does appear possible.
I was curious to see if odd-ball public offers from Amex show clearly the once-per-lifetime limit and I checked the (currently available) Amex Blue/Universal sign up offer.  The Terms there do clearly state the once-per-lifetime limit so that won’t work.  But, Hey, I had to try!
detailed offer terms here:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/personal-card-application/member/terms/starwood-preferred-credit-card/36182-11-0/#offerBenefitTermsDisclosures
no mention of previous cardholders being ineligible for 30K bonus
Ha…that link has the disclaimer.
But this one does not
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/starwood-preferred-guest?nc=yes&linknav=us-ccsg-cardshop-cm-viewallcards-learnmore
When I click apply now I see the disclaimer?
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/personal-card-application/starwood-preferred-credit-card/25330-10-0
I clicked through a banner ad on Flyertalk for a 30K offer for the SPG Amex. Usually the new Amex T&Cs always mention that the bonus is not available if you have had the product before…but this time I read through all of it and did not see this disclaimer. Is the SPG Amex churnable?
T&Cs:
30,000 Starpoints®
To be eligible to earn 30,000 bonus Starpoints, you must use The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card to complete $3,000 of eligible spending by the end of your first 3 months of Card Membership, based on the date of your Card approval. Bonus points will appear on your Starwood Preferred Guest statement 8-12 weeks after you reach the spend threshold. Eligible purchases can be made by the Basic Card Member and any Additional Card Members on a single Card account. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. Additional Card Members on your account are not eligible for this offer. In rare instances, your period to spend $3,000 may be shorter than 3 months if there is a delay in receiving your Card. Also, purchases may fall outside of the 3 month period in some cases, such as a delay in merchants submitting transactions to us or if the purchase date differs from the date you made the transaction. (For example, if you buy goods online, the purchase date may be the date the goods are shipped). For questions regarding your Card account, please call the number on the back of your Card. If your application is not approved by 09/14/2015 because it is incomplete or in pending status, you will not be eligible for the 30,000 bonus Starpoints offer even if your application is subsequently approved. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke offer at any time.
Got a link to this?
Any other data point folks on receiving multiple bonuses on business gold with in few months ?
Not sure. I think it’s mainly dependent on the wording of the targeted offers.
sorry for the mispelling . first to report
and im targeted for the business platinum too (via the special link that you post here lately) and im gonna apply for it today
yup i thing im the fort to report it……..
i got a targeted offer in the mail with no 12month rule on it
i had this business gold 2 months ago
AND I GOT THE BONUS . ITS ALREADY IN………..
Awesome! Thanks for the data point!
You’re talking about a “business” CC with a once in 24 months bonus restriction. I think the big issue here is the personal card’s with once in a lifetime bonus. And I don’t think that cause you were targeted for a business CC after having it in the passed, that the same thing applies to personal cards .
Good point. It’s really a different issue we have here.
Hi Yanky,
you mean you applied for 2 busimess gold cards in 2 months and approved for both and got the bonus?
Did you called customer care for the points or every thingie was automated?
Who knows if the once in a lifetime restriction is even enforced. We all know so many things that aren’t supposed to be allowed are allowed or are not enforced. Where are the folks who have tried to reapply again. Would be curious is Amex is really enforcing this rule.
I’ve been wondering about that. Don’t have any data points though.
isnt it common knowledge that the marketing dept and the rewards dept dont necessarily talk to each other. I mean just because you get a targeted offer to apply for a card you’ve previously gotten a bonus for in the past and have since closed (even for a while,) doesnt mean you’ll get the bonus again.
it is an interesting Q and I hope I’m wrong — it’d be great if folks who do get repeated targeted offers can check the T&Cs of that offer to see if it has any conditional language in terms of bonus eligibility. that’d also be a good data point to have for those folks experimenting.
Yeah, but they should have it in the Terms if it wasn’t eligible. Thankfully, we now have one data point from Yanky (below) that you can get the bonus twice if it’s not excluded in the Terms.