American Express has increased the sign-up bonus Preferred Rewards Gold credit card from 20,000 to 25,000 points.
The offer is valid until August 8, with new customers needing to spend £3,000 in their first three months to claim the bonus.
Those who sign up and receive the bonus before July 18 will also be entered into a prize draw to win up to £200 in Amazon e-vouchers – with a total of 3,200 vouchers up for grabs.
Go for gold: American Express has revamped the Preferred Rewards Gold Card, with a limited-time sign-up offer for new customers
In addition, existing Amex Gold cardholders can earn additional membership reward points when they refer a friend as part of the limited-time offer.
This means that the person who referred will now earn 14,000 reward points per referral instead of 6,000.
Meanwhile, the person referred gets 30,000, up from 22,000, when they spend £3,000 in the first three months of having the card.
The referral income limit is set at 90,000 points per year. To put that in perspective, Amex says 90,000 points is enough for an off-peak return flight to Sydney.
It’s worth noting that you benefit from either the standard sign up bonus or the referral bonus – you can’t get both.
And while the gold card is free for the first year, there’s a hefty annual fee of £160 after that. Cancellation before this is charged is of course possible.
Those who don’t pay their balance each month are hit with a purchase rate of 29.4 percent.
Is the Amex Gold Bonus a Good Deal?
Rob Burgess, editor of the frequent flyer and loyalty points website, headforpoints.com, said: ‘This is the first special offer we’ve seen on this card since October 2022.
“This package is particularly generous for a card that is free for the first year.
‘Don’t forget that 25,000 points will be converted into 25,000 Avios, among other things.
Anyone who signs up during the promotional period and activates their sign-up bonus will be entered into a prize draw.
“There are a lot of prizes – the total prize pool is worth £450,000 – so your chances are pretty good.”
Are you eligible for the offer?
Anyone who has never had a personal American Express card will definitely get the bonus.
However, Amex says on its website that this new offer is only available to those who have not held a personal American Express card in the last 24 months.
If they have had an American Express card in the last 24 months, they are only entitled to the standard card benefits, but not the welcome offer.
But this also means that the sign-up bonus is available to anyone who has a business or corporate American Express card at their job, even if they receive membership rewards with it.
The offer is also open to those who are an additional cardholder on someone else’s American Express card.
Fly Away: Amex Gold members enjoy two complimentary lounge visits per year at more than 1,300 airport lounges
Burgess adds, “As far as Amex is concerned, the card belongs to the primary cardholder and you don’t create an existing cardholder yet.”
Burgess advises that people who don’t qualify should think outside the box.
He says, “Can your partner sign up?” Maybe your adult children? Your parents? With their permission, of course, and pay off the card monthly.
‘If any of these people are on your British Airways Executive Club household account, you would still benefit from them transferring the sign-up bonus to Avios on the household account.
“Don’t forget that the cardholder can give you a free top-up card on the account so that you can make the necessary expenses to activate the bonus.”
What else does the Gold card offer?
Cardholders get points every time they spend, with no limit on the number of points that can be earned and no point expiration date.
This includes 3 points for every £1 spent with American Express Travel and 2 points for every £1 spent directly with airlines, in addition to 1 point for virtually every other £1 spent on anything else.
There’s also the added benefit of getting £5 back twice a month by spending on Deliveroo.
Finally, they can take advantage of two free lounge visits per year in more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide.
Cardholders can spend their reward points in a variety of ways, from offsetting purchases made on their card to redeeming points for vouchers at a range of shopping, travel and lifestyle partners.
Says Burgess, ‘In reality there are plenty of other options, including high street gift cards.
‘It’s possible, if you’re smart, to get over £250 worth of your 25,000 Membership Reward Points sign-up bonus.
Convertible currencies are worth more to you. It is better to have 25,000 Amex membership reward points than 25,000 Avios points.
“This is because your 25,000 Amex membership reward points would earn you 25,000 Avios points if you needed them – but they can also earn you points in many other different schemes.”
He adds, “The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card is an economical way to enter into a relationship with Amex with great rewards.
If you’re thinking about signing up, it makes sense to do so now as the sign-up bonus increases to 25,000 Membership Rewards points.
Even if you ultimately decide that the hobby of miles and points isn’t for you, there are plenty of other valuable ways to use your Membership Rewards points, such as Amazon vouchers.
“The sign-up bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards converts to £166 in Nectar Points when you direct them Amex to Avios to Nectar.”
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on it, we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money and use it for free. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to compromise our editorial independence.