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Amex Offers are one of the best benefits available to American Express cardmembers. If you like saving money on things you might already be buying, it's time to take a closer look at how these promotions can put extra cash in your pocket and supercharge your Membership Rewards-earning and cash savings strategy.
Unlike Chase Offers, which only provide discounts at select merchants, Amex Offers are split between cash rebates and opportunities to earn extra Membership Rewards points. Today, we’re going to cover the basics of Amex Offers to help you build a strategy for saving money and earning more points.
Related: Current Travel-Related Amex Offers
Page Contents
What Are Amex Offers?
Amex Offers are promotions that are tied to the purchases you make with your Amex cards. Just activate the ones you might use, then your rebates or bonus points will post automatically after you meet the purchase requirements. Amex Offers are personalized, so you won't necessarily get the same options as other cardholders.
These offers are separate from any other cash back benefits you might get from your Amex card, like monthly statement credits for streaming services with The Platinum Card® from American Express.
And notice the word “activate.” You need to add offers to your card before using them; otherwise, you won't receive the rebate or bonus points tied to the offer.
Which Cards Qualify for Amex Offers?
According to Amex’s FAQs, “any valid U.S. American Express Consumer Card issued by American Express, Business Card from American Express OPEN® or registered American Express Serve® Card or Bluebird® Card is eligible to participate in Amex Offers using an americanexpress.com account.” American Express Corporate Cards, Gift Cards, and Prepaid Cards are not considered eligible.
It’s worth noting that the best Amex Offers tend to be associated with American Express Membership Rewards-earning cards, as opposed to co-branded cards. So you may find the highest bonuses and most lucrative cash-back offers on cards like the Amex Platinum, the American Express® Gold Card, or The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express.
With that said, you'll still find some lucrative promotions on co-branded cards, especially if you're trying to collect a different currency than Membership Rewards. For instance, an Amex Offer on a Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card may be more valuable to you if you are collecting Hilton Honors points with a specific redemption in mind. It's also true that co-branded cards often have great deals for purchases with the co-brand partner that might not be available on other cards.
Where Do You Find Your Amex Offers?
There are two places where you can find and activate your Amex Offers:
When looking at your online American Express account, scroll to the bottom of your account summary page. There, you will find all the Amex Offers currently available for whichever card you’re viewing.
In the American Express mobile app, your Amex Offers can be found by clicking the “Offers” tab at the bottom right of your home screen. Again, make sure to note which card is selected; you won’t be able to activate an offer for one card and then redeem it on another.
How Do I Use My Amex Offers?
Using your Amex Offers is pretty simple. Here are the steps:
- Activate the offer.
- Complete the necessary purchase requirement using the card on which the offer was activated.
- Receive the cash back or bonus points in your account within 90 days after the end of the offer period.
It’s that easy. Amex has this system down to a science, so even if your offer doesn’t track like it’s supposed to (this is rare), Amex makes it easy to rectify it by contacting a representative. You can always chat with someone at Amex through the chat function in the mobile app or website, as well.
Types of Amex Offers
There are three types of Amex Offers. Statement credits for purchases with a specific merchant or merchant category are the most common. You'll see these on both co-branded and Membership Rewards-earning cards.
You might also earn additional Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at a specific merchant. This is only available on Membership Rewards-earning cards.
It's also possible to receive bonus Membership Rewards for meeting a minimum spending requirement with a merchant. This, too, is only available on Membership Rewards-earning cards.
Each Amex Offer will have an arrow on the lefthand side; clicking on that shows the offer details and terms. These include the maximum possible savings, the total possible transaction limit, and the offer expiration date. Make sure you read all of the terms and conditions for each offer before you try to redeem it. That way, you avoid any unpleasant surprises, like the item purchased being excluded from the offer.
Some offers will require purchases made on a specific website; others indicate whether you can spread the spending across multiple purchases or must do it all in one transaction. These are essential to pay attention to to take full advantage of Amex Offers.
Getting the Most Out of Amex Offers
Whenever it comes to lists of promotions, we always like to take a moment to talk about overspending. When so many deals and promotions are displayed in front of you, it's easy to experience what I call the “buffet syndrome” — a feeling that you have to take advantage of everything. Don't fall for this!
Overspending in pursuit of a deal is still overspending. It's not good for your overall financial health, not to mention it completely cancels out any benefit you may have enjoyed from spending normally. We suggest following a simple rule with credit card promotions:
Unless you already have a plan for a purchase with a particular vendor, don't go out of your way to make one because of an Amex Offer.
The simplest way to make the most of Amex Offers is to regularly go through them, activate ALL of the offers you could see yourself potentially using, and then move on with your day. That way, if you manage to earn some cash back or additional points, they'll be genuine savings or earnings. They're activated and ready for you to use at this point.
This is especially true for travel offers. For example, JetBlue might have a new Amex Offer available, but you don't have a JetBlue flight in mind quite yet. A few weeks later, while the offer is still active, a new trip opportunity may pop up, and JetBlue makes the most sense for your travels. This is an excellent use case for Amex Offers, as it's money you were already planning on spending, making this true savings.
Pro Tips for Using Amex Offers
There are a few things to keep in mind if you'd like to take your savings to the next level.
Don't hesitate when adding new offers
Amex Offers sometimes have a limit on the number of people who can add them to their accounts. That means that if you don't check and activate an offer immediately, the offer may “run out” before you have a second chance.
There is no downside to adding an offer and not using it. Feel free to add all of the offers if you think there is any chance you may use them.
Carefully choose the card on which you activate an offer
It's normal for the same Amex Offer to show up on multiple accounts. The terms and conditions state, “limit one enrolled offer per cardmember across all accounts.”
Until late 2018, the rule wasn't enforced; you could get the same offer on multiple cards. Unfortunately, Amex has closed that loophole. Even if you manage to activate the same offer on multiple cards, you'll only receive the reward for one redemption.
That means it's particularly important to choose the right card for activating an offer. Always try to keep the earning structures of each card in mind. For instance, if an offer is for spending on groceries, it's probably more lucrative to activate it on a card that earns extra rewards at supermarkets, such as the Amex Gold or the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. Or, if the same offer is available on multiple cards, as I often find, the Amex Offer on my Membership Rewards-earning cards is sometimes more lucrative than the co-brand or cash-back cards.
Check out our post on the best cards for each spending category or use the AwardWallet Merchant Lookup Tool to find earning rates with a specific vendor.
Amex Offers are stackable
You can easily stack Amex Offers with other bonuses. For instance, the Disney+ offer pictured below can also be stacked with a shopping portal, like Rakuten, to earn extra cashback (or earn Membership Rewards!).
Plus, if you're lucky enough to find this offer on your Amex Platinum, it will trigger in tandem with your up-to-$20 monthly digital entertainment credit!
It's also important to evaluate each offer to maximize your savings. Cashbackmonitor.com is a great place to look for cash back or bonus points opportunities when shopping online. Using shopping portals can also increase your earnings and discounts.
Related: Beginner's Guide to Shopping Portals
Use your annual savings from Amex Offers when evaluating a card's annual fee
You can evaluate if the annual fees on your American Express cards are worth it to you by including the annual savings from your Amex Offers in your calculation. American Express makes this pretty simple to do.
In the same “Amex Offers and Benefits” tab, on the far right, you'll see a tab titled “Savings.” This will show your total savings from Amex Offers over the previous cardmember year. Assuming your average savings will be similar next year, you can subtract this amount from the annual fee in your calculation.
You might be surprised by how many “expensive” Amex cards pay for themselves year after year through Amex Offers alone!
Final Thoughts
I've loved earning easy points and cash back through Amex Offers since they launched over a decade ago, in 2012. The savings I've enjoyed have eclipsed $1,000 in pure cash back, and even more in Membership Rewards points. We hope this guide opens your eyes to savings you could be leaving on the table with Amex Offers.
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