Here’s which Amex cards I’m applying for and when to get triple the free cash.

I love easy ways to make some money, and one of my favourites is using a cashback card to pay for things I’m buying anyway.

Though the Chase Bank debit card or stoozing have jumped to the top of my list for everyday spending, when you factor in welcome offers it’s actually American Express which is most lucrative.

However, you can only get one sign-up bonus, and that’s as long as you’ve not had an Amex in your name in the last two years. Normally. But there are actually a handful of their cards you can get an extra welcome deal with, though it depends on which cards you already have.

If you’re brand new to Amex or at the end of two years without an Amex, I’ve got a strategy to help you can claim hundreds of pounds of free cash not once, but three times. Here’s how.

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What is an American Express welcome offer?

Let’s start with the basics. New Amex cardholders can get some form of boosted cashback or points over the first few months of using the card. But there are some conditions.

The offer will depend on the card you apply for, as will the terms. For example, you might have to reach a minimum spend to activate the bonus, often between £1,000 and £3,000. Or you might just get an increased rate up to a set limit, for example on the first £2,000 spent.

You’ll also have a fixed time to achieve this, usually between one and three months, though it can sometimes be longer.

So for example:

• 5% cashback on up to £2,500 spend in the first three months
• 20,000 Amex Reward Points on £3,000 spend in the first three months
• 20,000 Nectar points on a £2,000 spend in the first three months

And the final, and most important, condition, is you can’t have had an American Express credit card in your name in the last 24 months.

(A quick aside, but an important one, make sure you clear the balance every month. Getting charged interest on these cards wipes out the cashback earned).

So for most people, it makes sense to go for the Amex card which will give you the biggest payout. That’s usually the American Expres Preferred Rewards Gold card which can be worth £153 in Nectar points, and even more when it’s temporarily boosted, as it often is. Winning.

Getting additional American Express welcome offers

However, there are two Amex cards where you can get a extra sign-up bonuses, even if you’ve had a card in your name in the last two years. The catch? Eligibility depends on which card you already have. (I’m focusing on personal cards only here – some business card sign-up deals are also available to existing cardholders.)

Here are the cards, usual bonus and the cards you can’t have to get the welcome bonus:

New card	Standard bonus	Disqualifying cards
American Express Platinum Card (£575 a year)	30,000 Amex Reward Points	Amex Gold Preferred Rewards (£125 a year), Amex Rewards (free), American Express card (£60 a year)
British Airways Premium Plus American Express card (£250 a year)	25,000 Avios points	British Airways American Express card (free)

As you can see, there are only four Amex cards which will rule you out of getting a second sign-up bonus from both the Platinum or BA Premium Plus cards.

With this in mind, anyone keen to get multiple sign-up bonuses should avoid the following as their first card:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card
• American Express Rewards credit card
• American Express card
• British Airways American Express credit card

If you already have one of the Reward cards you can still look at a second welcome bonus with the BA Premium Plus card, as long as you don’t have the free BA Amex already, and you could get the Platinum bonus if you’ve had either BA card.

The best “first” American Express credit card

You probably spotted that list includes my recommended Preferred Rewards Gold credit card. So what’s the best alternative? The exclusions still leave a few decent options.

Card	Welcome offer	Condition	Value
Platinum American Express Cashback Everyday credit card (free)	5% cashback	On the first £2,000 spent in the first three months	Up to £100
Platinum American Express Cashback card (£25 annual fee)	5% cashback	On the first £2,500 spent in the first three months	Up to £125
Nectar American Express credit card (£25 annual fee, free in year one)	20,000 Nectar points	Spend £2,000 in the first three months	£100 in Nectar points
Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit card (£75 annual fee)	20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points	Spend £3,000 in first three months	Varies

Apply for one of these cards as your first Amex, and you’ll then be eligible for the other welcome deals at a later date.

So which is best? Well, let’s ignore the Marriott Bonvoy card – even if you use those hotels a lot I can’t see the value in comparison to the others. I’d also avoid the free Platinum Cashback Everyday card as that requires an annual spend of £3,000 to get any cashback. This might not happen if you get your second or third card within a few months.

That leaves two, and both can work. The Nectar card gives 2 points per £1 spent, which is the equivalent of 1% back, so it’s the highest-earning ongoing card. It’s also free in year one.

To get the bonus you must spend £2,000 in the first two months, so you need to be sure you can do this before you apply for the next card.

The Platinum Cashback cards is a good option too if you are worried about the initial spend. You’ll earn 5% cashback on any spending up to £2,500. Ideally you’ll manage that and get the full £125, but if it’s less you’ll still get your higher rate.

Plus, if you go via a cashback site or use a referral link you’ll get a little extra on top.

Either of these as your first card and sign-up bonus will mean you can then apply for one or both of the Platinum and BA Premium Plus cards and get the additional welcome deals.

When to apply for your second and third Amex sign up bonus

It might be tempting to get two or all three at the same time, or one after another. But it’s important you space the cards out for a couple of reasons. First, each application will impact your credit report. Second, you’ll also need to ensure there’s enough spending coming up that you will meet the bonus thresholds.

And there’s a third factor too. Boosted offers. Personally I’d wait until the sign-up deals are increased, which tends to happen once or twice a year. This will give you even more points.

For example in 2022 the Platinum card offered 60,000 Reward points rather than 30,000 for a few months, and in early 2023 the BA Premium Plus card gave 35,000 Avios instead of 25,000. I share these offers here when they happen.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that this will happen, and you might decide to just go for it, especially if you want to use it over high spending months such as Christmas or when booking a holiday to reach the bonus thresholds.

There are other dates worth considering too when it comes to the Platinum card. Each year you get two lots of £50 credit at Harvey Nicholls. The first £50 is from January to June and the second from July to December. There’s also two £150 credit to use at selected restaurants, which resets in January.

So the ideal timing to apply for this card is to cover both December and January, or failing that both June and July.

And each December the Shop Small promotion can be a decent way to save, and the more cards you have, the more you’ll be able to take part.

Should you keep all your Amex cards?

Obviously once you have a new card you need to focus all spending on that to get the welcome bonus. So logically you’d think you’d ditch the other cards.

Well, I’d certainly keep hold of the first card – either the Nectar or the Platinum Cashback – and I’d expect you to use these again once you’ve got the bonuses from the other cards.

But I think most will want to close down the other cards once the bonus is paid. This is because the annual fee on each is huge! However cancelling the card after getting the bonus will instigate a pro-rata refund.

For example, you spend £3,000 in three months with the Amex Platinum card and get your bonus. Once you’ve transferred your Reward points elsewhere (I’d recommend an Avios to Nectar conversion) to ensure you don’t lose them, you can call Amex and close down that card. That’s nine months back from the £575 fee, which works out as £431.25.

That effectively means you paid around £144, but got 33,000 points (the bonus plus one point per £1 spent, which is worth £220 in Nectar (via Avios), giving you a profit of £76, along with the other credit savings.

But if you’d carried on paying the fee that profit will very quickly disappear. And though there are other benefits with this card, they might not be worth the outlay.

The only reason you might want to keep the BA Premium Plus card is that spending £10,000 in a year on the card will get you a 2-4-1 Companion voucher for a flight. If you have enough Avios points earned to get a free flight (before taxes), this voucher could be worth more than the rest of the £250 fee. Once that’s triggered you can downgrade to the free BA Amex card.

My welcome bonus strategy