American Express No Lifetime Credit Card Offer Data Point
As some of you know my old pal American Express and I are not on the best terms. When I went to apply for my last few Amex cards I received the dreaded pop up message. Even cards that I have never had before were producing the popup telling me I was ineligible for a welcome offer. Amex is probably my favorite lender overall because they have the most variety of products and the best bonus earning categories. Add a grocery bonus already Chase! Because of that I was pretty bummed about them putting me on the naughty list. Then I was targeted for a no lifetime language Delta Platinum card offer and I wondered if it would be more of the same?
My Experience
Delta and Amex recently targeted some members, as they often do, with a no lifetime language welcome offer. I was finally one of the lucky ones selected! The offer was for 75,000 miles after $3,000 in spend plus a $100 credit with any Delta purchase. I have had the card in the past and closed it less than a year ago after not getting any type of retention offer.
I had wondered if I would get the pop up saying I was not eligible for the offer once again. But I was pleasantly surprised with an instant approval. Even after the approval I was apprehensive while completing the minimum spend. I feared Amex would deny the bonus because of the recent pop ups I had received. That is an issue with Amex right now, they are kind of making up the rules as they go along.
A few days after the spend was complete the miles were deposited into my account! I was pretty excited that it all worked out and that got me to thinking that these targeted, no lifetime rule offers are kind of like getting a golden ticket.
How I Think I Avoided The Popup
There are a couple of different theories that I can throw out there but these are all just educated guesses. The one I believe is most likely is that these targeted offers are spearheaded by Delta and not Amex. When I went to apply it took me through the Delta page first and not straight to American Express. I think Delta wants these targeted offers to bypass all of Amex’s rules.
Another theory I have is that I was getting the popup for all Membership Rewards earning cards and had not tried a co-branded card. Maybe they are more lax on these offers? Although I don’t think that is the case from data points I have seen.
Lastly, I could have just finally got out of my American Express induced purgatory. Although it hasn’t been all that long since I was seeing popups so I this is less likely as well.
Conclusion
If you are on the Amex naughty list and find yourself receiving one of these targeted no lifetime offers I think it is worth applying for. It seems like these offers are unique and don’t follow the same rules as normal Amex applications. It will be interesting to see what happens on my next American Express application though.
Has anyone had a similar experience with these no lifetime language targeted offers? Let me know in the comments.
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How were you targeted for the offer? Was it via the mail, or somewhere else?
Appreciate the post!
I got a flyer in the mail for it and we often post links for the offers online which allows you to check for yourself.
Please let us know how it goes.. I’m also in pop-up purgatory…
Will do!
As an additional DP, I tried to apply for a delta card through a referral link and got the popup, but then found a targeted no language link from Delta and was approved without a popup. So I don’t think it is the MR earning card theory. Will try to follow up when I *hopefully* receive the bonus.
That would be awesome if you could let us know how it goes.
I bought $50 delta GC a month ago. I am still working on my min. spending right now. But, the $100 credit never posted. Will the delta GC trigger the $100 credit? There are a lot contradictory reports on this…
Did you buy it on a computer on or your phone? I think I have heard purchases made via a mobile device doesn’t trigger it but one on a computer does.
How long did you have to wait for your points and $100 credit to post? I have the same card but neither have posted for me. I’m only a few days after my second statement (in which I hit ms) closed/was paid though. Hilton bonus points from Amex post much faster. A little worried but don’t want to call. Thanks.
I got the points 3-4 days after I finished the spend. Got the $100 credit a day after the charge posted I think.
Was it all natural spending?
Hmm. That’s not good (for me, by comparison). That’s how my Amex Hilton points posted. Nothing posting on with this card though. All natural spend. Never any MS (on any card). Never had this card before. Going to give it a few more days before calling.
Let us know how it goes.
I’m currently trying to spend my way out of getting the popup. I’ll see if after 3-6 months of consistent spend if I can get another signup bonus.
Barry let us know if that works out at all. I am curious to see what happens the next time I go for a card. It will probably be another 3-6 months for me as well.
Did AmEx pull your credit since you were directed to the Delta page?
The only time they’ve done a hard pull after my first card was when I got the Schwab card.
I don’t show any pulls on my reporting sites.
Is there something in Amex privacy and communication preferences to opt in to targeted offers? I think I might have opted out of everything 10 years ago and don’t remember now
I am not sure if there is or not to be honest. I feel like these are more likely coming from Delta too.
Congrats and thanks for the DP. I haven’t hit my MS yet, so I was anxious, having seen some counter DP. My wife has the same NLL offer from Delta, so I will likely double down now before it expires.
Awesome – easy 150K miles if you get them both. Congrats!
Back in Dec ‘17, I received a targeted offer from Amex for their consumer Delta cobranded card and their business Delta card.
I had previously had both cards before (but had cancelled each of them when the annual fees hit). But it had probably been 3 years since either card had been active.
I got the idea to create a new Delta Skymiles account in hopes that my “new” account would somehow fool Delta or Amex into thinking I had never received a sign-up / minimum spend bonus.
Well, although AMEX can’t be fooled by simply creating a new airline frequent flyer account (because your history with AMEX is tied to your social security number and *not* your FF account number), the ruse did fool Delta.
Delta, apparently assuming that I was a new customer, sent me a targeted offer with no lifetime language. The thing is, if I were actually a new customer … there wouldnt be any need for a “no lifetime language” offer, since the presumption would be I would have never had the card to begin with.
Anyway – the point I’m making is that one way you might be able to force targeted offers from AMEX to be sent to you is by creating a new (i.e. duplicate) Skymies account – perhaps adding your middle name so that Delta doesn’t think it is an actual duplicate. Then, sign in delta.com with your new account number and search for flights (and perhaps even purchase and cancel a flight w/in 24-hours).
Then… wait for those targeted offers to come in.
Anyone ever try this besides me?
I know people do it a lot with American Airlines but I haven’t heard as many people do it for Delta – thanks for sharing