American Express launches a generous spend bonus for Gold and Platinum cardholders
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
American Express has launched a generous spend bonus on its Gold and Platinum cards.
If you have an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or Platinum card, check the ‘Offers’ currently showing on your online statement page.
Tucked away down the bottom should be a generous spend bonus running from 15th November to 15th December. You MUST ‘save to card’ in order to activate this.
There seem to be many different permutations. In our house we got:
- Spend £400, get 500 bonus Membership Rewards points, and
- Spend £1,300, get 1,000 bonus Membership Rewards points
Readers also reported:
- Spend £4,100, get 4,000 points
- Spend £2,500, get 2,000 points
- Spend £2,200, get 1,500 points
- Spend £1,300, get 500 points
- Spend £1,100, get 500 points
- Spend £1,000, get 1,000 points
- Spend £700, get 500 points
- Spend £400, get 1,000 points
There seems to be no real logic to it. Note the 15th November start date. Any spend you make today will not count.
Why is Amex doing this? Simple
As we have covered before on HfP, in one of the more bizarre court interpretations of a piece of legislation I have seen, Amex has been forced to cut the fees it charges to retailers who accept its co-brand cards (eg BA, SPG, Nectar).
It has NOT been forced to cut the fees retailers pay to accept Gold, Platinum, Green and Amex Rewards cards.
The company wants to quietly convince you to drop your co-brand card in favour of a non-co-brand card, where they make substantially more per transaction. This is why cardmember offers have virtually disappeared from the BA and SPG American Express cards and why Amex is running generous offers like this.
PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
