Get An Additional Bonus If American Express Doesn’t Give You A Temporary Credit Limit

Introduction

While I was posting about the 30,000 SPG deal, I found something interesting. It seems that American Express will give new cardholders an additional statement credit if they aren’t able to assign them a temporary credit limit. The statement credit you’ll receive seems to depend on the card you applied for.

Examples/Data Points

Here are some examples/data points I was able to find:

Please share any other data points/experiences you have in the comments.

Picture via awval999

How To Get This Additional Bonus

After you make finish your application, you’ll be asked if you want a temporary number and credit limit, obviously make sure you mark yes to this otherwise you won’t have a chance to receive these additional bonuses. If American Express isn’t able to assign you a temp limit (no idea what triggers this, please speculate in the comments) then you should be automatically receive some type of bonus, if you don’t then give them a call letting them know you were planning to use the card ASAP and they should offer you something.

This is the message you should see:

Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with a temporary credit limit
You have been approved for a <card name> from American Express and you will receive your new Card in the mail in 1-3 business days.
Since you were unable to use your temporary credit limit, we will be awarding you <$x> in the form of a statement credit. You will receive this statement credit within 8-12 weeks on your Credit Card.
    William Charles
  • On January 4, 2016, 12:00

View Comments (12)

  • I'd been asked on a couple of my previous American Express cards if I wanted an instant account number, but stupidly I'd always said no. Today i applied for a Hilton honors business card, luckily instantly approved, then i was asked if i wanted an instant account number, said yes, and lo and behold no number or credit limit was generated so the system apologized to me and American Express said they would give me a $110 statement credit. Thanks DoC!

    P.s. saved screenshots just in case there's any funny business down the road.

  • Applied for Gold card in early Jan 2019, instantly approved but card number failed to generate. Talked to Amex rep over chat and they couldn't give it to me. 5 minutes later received a call from Amex and said they will compensate with 2500 MR pts. Although there was a record of the conversation it took 2 phone calls and verification again two months later in order for them to post the points into the account.

  • Twice I have applied online for credit direct from airline reservation sites with promise instant access to the account in order to complete reservations and take advantage of card benefits such as free checked bag, etc. Both times I had credit approved yet the system failed to provide account access to complete my reservation. Calls to customer service were met with vague "we're sorry, but you have to wait for the card to arrive by mail". Scam?

    • My first guess would be the fine print says they may or may not decide to give you an instant credit line based on your credit history, etc., and they don't like your credit for whatever reason. Could you tell us the actual sites? DoC might be able to post some research on them if they haven't already.

  • Just for a recent dp, I got approved for PRG, selected option to receive instant card number and the page failed to load. Spoke to a CSR who said nothing could be done, HUCA and another CSR gave me 500 MR, tried to get statement credit on chat and nothing offered. So this may not work anymore or at least it didnt seem like I was getting any traction.

    • You got 500 MR. I think they always give MR points for cards that are MR cards. The statement credit is for non-MR cards. Sounds like it still is possible; you just weren't quite as lucky.

  • I've got $160 statement credit when I opened my AMEX Starwood Business Credit Card in September 2015 when the 30K SPG points offer was active. At that I googled and found a class act related to AMEX Starwood cards and though the credit was because of that. Now I know the reason for the statement credit.

  • I ordered an AMEX personal Platinum card in Mid-December, trying to take advantage of the $200 airline credit before December 31. When I didn't receive the card by December 26th, I asked them to give me the card number over the phone. The customer representative refused.
    Can I call AMEX up and ask for a statement credit now?

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