How Long Does An Amex Bonus Take To Post?
A few weeks back I shared my timeline on how long it took for an Amex authorized user bonus to post. I figured it would be worth tracking my most recent welcome offer too. A question we see often in the ToP Facebook Group is, how long does an Amex bonus take to post? Years ago, we never saw this question come up because bonuses from American Express posted lightning quick. Heck, sometimes before the required spend was even finished. That isn't the case anymore though, and it is something you should be aware of so you don't think something is happening just with your account etc.
Updated 2/15/24: Added in some recent data points, it appears to be posting faster in the new year but still slower than in the past.
My Amex Welcome Offer Posting Timeline
This is actually the same card that I shared the authorized user timeline on, which took 7 days if you remember. This was a recent Amex Business Platinum offer, and was a no lifetime language offer.
Here is my timeline on the Amex bonus posting for my wife's Amex Business Gold:
- Purchase that pushed my wife past $10K posted on January 31st, 2024
- The bonus points posted on February 9th
- The statement cut a few days before that on February 7th
- Timeline for points to post 9 Days
Here is my timeline on the Amex bonus posting for my Amex Business Gold:
- Purchase that pushed me past $10k posted on December 27th, 2023
- The bonus points posted on January 5th but the points showed up January 6th
- The statement cut on January 9th and no payments were made before then
- Timeline for points to post 8-9 Days
Here is my timeline on the Amex bonus posting for Amex Business Platinum:
- Purchase that pushed me past $15K was on June 16th, 2023
- Statement cut on July 26th
- Payment made June 27th
- Points posted for the welcome offer on June 28th
- They actually showed in my account on June 29th though
- Timeline for points to post 12-13 Days
All in all, it took 13 days for the points to hit my account after the final purchase settled. I should note that there were two weekends involved in the timeframe. I had expected it to post at the 7 day mark, just like the authorized user bonus did. The authorized user bonuses seem to be pretty consistent right now. It looks like the welcome offer can take up to about two weeks though.
Amex Chat Gave “Interesting” Details
Out of curiosity I kept checking in with the Amex Chat team every 3-4 days and asked if I had completed the required spend. My belief is that their internal Membership Rewards system is taking longer to track charges. That is why we are seeing these delays when the points used to post the same day or the next day after the final charge settled.
Other ToP team members have done this in the past as well and the results are always wild. One had a large tax payment so the total amount was on the same bill. The Amex reps said their system showed they were short by several hundred dollars and even mentioned the balance is over $15K so they should be good, but the system needed to “catch up”.
Here is what they said to me when I reached out a few times:
- 6/22 (6 days after spending was complete) I was told I was $900 short
- 6/25 I was $400 short (even though no new spending had happened)
- 6/27 I was still $400 short
- Bonus posted with a date of 6/28
The amounts kept moving, and even the day before I received my points they showed I was still several hundred dollars short. The weird thing is none of the amounts matched up with recent charges so I couldn't tell what was taking forever to post on their system. This is what other members of the team have noticed when reaching out to Amex Chat as well.
Other Timelines
Since one data point doesn't mean much, let's take a look at some other ToP member's recent bonus posting timelines. These were both for Amex Gold Business cards with no lifetime language:
- Threshold charge posted on 6/16 and the bonus points posted on 6/24 (10 days with 2 weekends involved)
- Threshold charge posted on 6/15 and the bonus points posted on 6/22 (7 days with 1 weekend involved)
It seems like the extra weekend was the trouble with the first one, one extra day for the charge to settle cost 3 days for it to post. I am not sure if I was just unlucky or if the Business Platinum offers are taking longer to post then the Business Gold offers. Share your recent experience in the ToP Facebook Group.
How Long Does An Amex Bonus Take To Post: ToP Thoughts
If you have noticed your Amex welcome offers taking longer to post, you are not alone. I believe there is something going on with their internal tracking system these days, and that is holding up everything. Maybe it was installed to ensure points don't go out before they should, or they are being more diligent than they used to be. Or, maybe it is just that Amex IT we all know and love getting in the way.
How long does and Amex bonus take to post? It looks like somewhere in the 7 – 14 day time frame. If you are still within that spread then there is no need to panic yet, your points should post soon. That is unless you are Rick, which had all kinds of issues recently, but more on that in a future article.
