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Part of the current rules and best practices of signing up for credit cards says that you can only get one bonus per lifetime on any American Express cards. I did end up applying for (and receiving the bonus on) an American Express Delta card that I had previously held, but I think that was either a mistake of some sort or the fact that I had had the bonus so long ago.
[I just got a 2nd bonus on an American Express card]
Applying for a 2nd Ameriprise Platinum card despite the Amex lifetime bonus rules
I recently canceled my existing Platinum card, so with a few trips coming up, I thought I would try to get an Ameriprise Platinum card, or, as it’s formally known, The Platinum Card® from American Express for Ameriprise Financial ( Man he’d never get out of first grade if he had to write that all down!). That’s even though the maximum Amex lifetime bonus is one per person per card
After checking the rules on how many credit or charge cards you can have with American Express, I applied for the card and…
Or, as I put it in my post on our free Facebook miles and points group – Centurion lounge – here I come!
I had signed up for this card a few years ago when they were temporarily offering a signup bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards, but currently the card does NOT have a signup bonus. Again, even if it did, I wouldn’t be eligible because according to the Amex lifetime bonus rules, I’ve previously received a signup bonus on the card.
Why would I apply for a card that has no signup bonus?
The Platinum Card® from American Express for Ameriprise Financial is one of those cards that doesn’t get talked about a lot. I’d imagine that some of the reason for that is that bloggers, myself included, don’t get a commission on this card as far as I know. This card has no signup bonus (though you can earn an extra 5,000 MRs for every $20,000 that you spend), but most importantly, does NOT have an annual fee the first year (the regular fee of $550 kicks in starting in first year)
But, you still get the following benefits
- $200 (per calendar year) airline incidentals credit – How to use your Amex Platinum $200 airline credit
- $200 Uber credit ($15 / month and an extra $20 in December)
- Priority Pass membership and Delta Skyclub access (when flying Delta)
- AND, your first 3 authorized user cards are FREE (the first year – afterwards they each are $175 each too). Now my family of 8 can finally go back to the Centurion lounges! #secondkidsmatter
- $100 Global Entry / TSA credit (also the AU cards get this)
And all of the other Platinum benefits, like access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, 5x on flights / hotels booked through Amex Travel, Amex Concierge services, free American Express roadside assistance, etc.
There’s a reason that I picked this card for my portfolio in the credit card mock draft!
So even without a signup bonus, I’ll be getting quite a lot of value out of this card.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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Yeh, I am confused. Is the point of this post to discuss getting a second card without a bonus? I thought anyone could do that. It’s not like Amex would prevent you from applying/getting the card, right?
Yes – anyone can do this. The point of this post is sharing that I got an Amex Platinum card without having to pay the annual fee (the first year)
Gotcha. Thanks! It was definitely lost on me re that important point (foolish me for not reading carefully, but I was looking for the 2nd bonus success story). I had no idea you could get a first year free Platinum. Potentially great product!
Do you have an idea of how many years ago you had this card? It seems 7 or 8 years after you’ve closed the card is the amount of time generally believed to be when you can get another card and bonus again.
Well the Ameriprise card I’m talking about I had I think 2 years ago so I’m not eligible for a bonus which is okay because there isn’t a signup bonus on this card anyways!! 🙂
So that makes this either a “someone was asleep at the wheel” approval or they are loosening up their “lifetime” rule. Guess we’ll need more DP’s before going with the latter. But congrats either way.
Are you saying that, even with NO bonus, Amex usually denies a second card (after cancelling one)…because of the “lifetime” rule?
The AMEX rule is that you can only get one bonus per lifetime. Anyone can get the card again, just not the bonus.
Exactly
Does the PriorityPass that comes with this card allow free guests?
I am not 100% sure but I BELIEVE all American Express Platinum cards allow 2 free guests (but no exception for family members)
do you have any minimum required spend obligation?
No. There’s no signup bonus so no spending requirement
I had to pay the 550 a month into signing up for the Amex platinum. It was added into my first Month due.
This is the Ameriprise version of the Platinum card and does not have an annual fee the first year
Was thinking along these same lines – any idea on “churning” the annual fee? Say, opening, then canceling, then opening again, repeatedly, just to avoid the annual fee, but keep the benefits? Seems doable, no? Obviously no bonus, but if there is none, that’s a non-starter anyway.
Sounds to me that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is much better, especially if you don’t fly Delta much or use Uber
There are a lot of similarities and what works for one might not work as well for another. You’ll also be paying $450 more (the first year) for the benefits