The scourge of Amex family language continues to spread. The latest casualty is the Amex Everyday card: as per the new offer terms, you may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer on the Amex Everyday Credit Card if you have or have had that card, the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card or previous versions of those Cards.
Tim has previously reported on Amex family language being added first to various flavors of the Platinum cards and then to the Delta credit cards and more recently to the consumer Gold card. We also saw this language added on cash back cards. Unfortunately, things are continuing to trend in an unfriendly direction.
What’s changed
The offer terms on the new cardmember application for an Amex Everyday Credit Card have now been updated to say the following:
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 Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for the welcome offer, intro APRs, and intro plan fees we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
Essentially, if you have or have had the Amex Everyday Preferred card or the Everyday card, you are no longer eligible for a welcome bonus on the Everyday card.
Quick Thoughts
Frankly, it has never made much sense to apply for this card outright given its very low welcome bonus (often around just 10,000 Membership Rewards points after meeting minimum purchase requirements). Neither my wife nor I had ever applied for this card.
It is nonetheless discouraging to see the spread of family language since it means that those who take advantage of a solid offer on a higher-level card risk locking themselves out of earning a bonus on a lower-tier card like the Everyday card (we’ve seen the same type of thing play out with the Platinum/Gold cards and the Delta cards). Given the spread here, I think there is cause for concern for cards like the Amex Green card, the Hilton Honors no-fee card, and the Marriott cards.
That said, I’m going to take this move as a personal favor. This is ridiculous, but I’ve been hesitant to have my wife downgrade her Everyday Preferred card to an Everyday card since she’d never gotten a new cardmember bonus on the Everyday card. Even though the offer on the everyday card has been paltry for years, I held out some sort of hope that a really good offer might eventually come along that made it worth applying as a new cardmember. Now Amex will save me from the $95 annual fee in perpetuity on the Everyday Preferred since we have no reason not to downgrade (and the chance at an upgrade offer in the future!).
However, this spread of family language does have me reconsidering which other cards we need to consider before this virus spreads further . . .
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