Can You Get an Amex Bonus If You Get Pop-Up?
American Express has a tool that lets you know whether you are eligible for a welcome offer when you apply. This was introduced back in 2018. A pop-up will give you a reason why you are not eligible for a bonus, before your application is processed.
The message usually says that “based on your history with credit card balance transfers, American Express welcome offers, introductory APR offers, or the number of Cards you have opened and closed, you are not eligible to receive the welcome offer.”
Just because you are not eligible for a bonus, it does not mean that you will not be approved. But most people would rarely proceed if there’s no bonus. However, some people do. And recently we have seen reports of bonuses posting even after the pop-up which stated that the applicant would not be eligible.
However, as you would expect with American Express, clawbacks can always happen, even years later. And that’s what happened based on a data point from reddit. One Amex Platinum cardholder says that his welcome bonus was clawed back by American Express soon after posting.
The reason given in a chat conversation, was the pop-up during the application process for the Schwab Amex Platinum Card. The applicant actually says that he didn’t see a pop-up at all when he applied. But the Amex rep claims otherwise. Amex says that the applicant agreed to proceed, knowing he wasn’t eligible for the welcome offer. So the bonus was clawed back.
Conclusion
I have yet to see the pop-up message when applying for an American Express card. But if I did, I probably wouldn’t gamble on a welcome bonus for a card that comes with a $695 annual fee. Amex is known to claw back points and bonuses.
But it’s also possible that the clawback is a rare occurrence and more people have been able to get and enjoy their welcome bonuses.
Let us know what you think!
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I didn’t get my bonus for aspire card and called Amex. They said it was due to a pop up message. I never got the pop up and this isn’t my first Amex card so I know what pop ups are. They started an investigation, let’s see what happens. Is there anything else I can do to prove I never got pop up?
Not really. If they don’t come back with anything you could file a CFPB complaint. Since it was your first card I don’t know how you could have triggered their system. Let us know what they say.
If he didn’t get a popup, file a CFBP complaint.
Kinda slim info what with based on just one data point from someone who says they didn’t see the pop-up. Seems more like a clicky-bait thing with such little to go on. I do not like the RAT team or a lot of the AMEX shenanigans, but I am darn careful with them and would think maybe more data points would have been better before writing about one anonymous person’s story.
I agree. This one is clickbait for sure.
sounds fair to me