Amex Blue Cash Family Card Rule
Well, this is a trend we didn't want to see. It appears that American Express is hell bent on cutting us off at the knees across the board. Maybe they want us to break up with them permanently? Don't worry American Express, it is you, not me. First they rolled out the Amex Platinum family card rule, then the Delta family card rule and now the Amex Blue Cash family card rule. I have to imagine this is not going to end any time soon either. At least American Express usually leaves the door open to still get the welcome offer on all of their cards with these rules, you just have to play your cards right (pun intended). The new Blue Cash family card rule is no different. Let's take a look at the new terms.
Blue Cash Preferred & Blue Cash Welcome Offer Rules
In the past both versions of the Blue Cash card, the no fee and annual fee versions, had the same rules. Heck, all Amex cards had basically the same rule. The rules were that you could get the welcome offer once per lifetime. Well, that is unless you had a no lifetime language offer. And … it wasn't really about if you earned the welcome offer or not in your “lifetime”, but just if you had ever carried the card. Plus, lifetime really meant like 5 years to Amex. Are you properly confused yet? Buckle up, cause we are about to add some more junk to the ToP of that pile. Check out our application rules by bank for more information.
New Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express Terms
You may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees if you have or have had this Card, the Cash Magnet® Card, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card, the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card or previous versions of these Cards….
New Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Terms
Some offers have the old verbiage:
You may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.
And Danny the Deal Guru is reporting that some have this verbiage now:
You may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees if you have or have had this Card, the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card, or previous versions of these Cards.
What About The Cash Magnet & Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred?
Both the Cash Magnet & Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred were mentioned in the terms above so it is natural to think they have the Amex Blue Cash family card rule too. As of now their terms have not changed, and it has the standard you can not get this offer if you have had this card before. There were no other cards listed on their terms pages that I could find.
Playing Your Cards Right When Putting In Applications
While having a new Amex Blue Cash family card rule is annoying, at least American Express left the door open to still scoop up every offer. That is the same thing they did with the Delta family card rule. Unfortunately for some, if you grabbed these cards out of order before the rules went into place you are up the creek without a paddle.
Here is how you should progress through your Amex cash back applications now (these are all over Chase 5/24 cards by the way):
- Start with Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- Then grab Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Next grab the Cash Magnet or Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred cards
Going in this order would allow you to get the offer on all 4 cards if you wanted too. Some of these may not be worth an application to you though. I would hold the no fee Blue Cash Everyday for a little bit and hope for an upgrade offer to the Preferred. The key is to not take the upgrade until you have already received a welcome offer on the Blue Cash Preferred though, since simply holding the card would negate you from getting the bonus. Amex doesn't make it easy, do they?
Amex Blue Cash Family Card Rule: ToP Thoughts
I hate seeing these family card rules spreading. My fear is that Hilton gets poisoned by it sooner or later, which would be the biggest loss of the bunch. Marriott has their own web of craziness as it is, so I don't know that they need it. While the Amex Blue Cash family card rule could have been worse, it is more about continuing this trend that upsets me. It is nice that you can still get all of the cash back cards if you play it right. Well, as long as you didn't already shoot yourself in the foot without even knowing it with a previous application.
Let me know what you think about these family card rule developments over in the ToP Facebook Group.
HT: DDG
