Amex Green Card Family Rule
I am surprised it took them this long, honestly. It is something I have been arguing with people a bit in the ToP Facebook Group about. When I would suggest starting with the Amex Green card, and not the Amex Gold, they would question why I would say that. There was no Amex Green card rule after all. I responded that there likely would be, and the only way around these rules is to start from the bottom up in each family. Well, that time is now here with the new Amex Green card family rule, which was first reported by Danny the Deal Guru.
Current American Express Family Rules
Towards the end of 2023, and now into 2024, American Express has been rolling out family rules right and left. Luckily for us, they have left the business cards mostly alone. This isn't surprising since they are likely treated like separate entities within the same company. Just look at how many no lifetime language offers the business side sends out after all.
What they have done is roll them out to most every personal card family. The lone survivor are the Hilton co-branded cards. That could be coming to an end at any point soon, or maybe Hilton is putting the kibosh to that. Who knows at this point. What we do know is that these are the current American Express family rules outside of this new Amex Green card family rule:
- Amex Platinum Family Card Rule
- Gold Card Family Rule
- Delta Family Card Rule
- Amex Blue Cash Family Card Rule
- Amex EveryDay Card Rule
- Marriott Family Rule
Terms Of The Amex Green Card Family Rule
Here are the new terms that spell out the Amex Green card family rule:
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Platinum Card®, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab, the American Express® Gold Card or previous versions of these Cards...
That means the proper order to get the colored Membership Rewards earning cards is now:
Amex Green > Amex Gold > Original Platinum OR Charles Schwab Platinum OR Morgan Stanley Platinum
Usually the offer for the original Platinum card is the best. The one I would keep long term is likely the Charles Schwab Platinum though.
Credit Card Family Rules – ToP Thoughts
Even though I expected the Amex Green family card rule to come I was hoping it wouldn't. This new rule likely makes a ton of people ineligible for the Amex Green card welcome offer since they previously grabbed an Amex Gold or Platinum card in the past.
If you are just starting out on your journey with American Express then work your way from the bottom up for all card families. It is the only way to ensure you can receive the welcome offer for each variety. I'll try to put together a follow up post breaking that all down tomorrow.
Let me know if the new family rule changes your application plans at all over in the ToP Facebook Group.
