American Express launches us into the weekend with some great Friday news:
1. If you were shutdown by American Express for the Adam debacle, you’ve got a good shot at getting your cards reinstated by calling the number on the back of your card and asking for reinstatement. A few details:
- Accounts reinstated on or after November 1st have all remained open as far as I can tell (versus those reinstated before that date which were quickly closed)
- American Express will charge you $25 per card reinstated
- Offers remain attached to your reinstated accounts
- YMMV on whether your points and cash-back are auto-reinstated
- Not everyone is eligible for reinstatement
If I were shutdown and wanted to reopen cards with American Express, I’d be very selective about which cards to reopen. I may not want to reopen a card that was sitting in a sock-drawer and only open because of a sign-up bonus or retention offer, for example.
2. There are a few links for adding employee cards to your small business Green, Gold, or Platinum card, and while the offers vary, generally it looks something like 20,000 Membership Rewards for adding a new employee card and spending $4,000 in six months. You can do this with up to five employees for a total of 100,000 Membership Rewards points. You can check your offer here:
A few notes:
- You may be able to earn 100,000 points for each business card in your portfolio, just split them off into their own login
- Sometimes it’s helpful to have employees with names like yours, right junior?
- You don’t actually have to provide a SSN or date of birth for an employee card, and they arrive in the mail pre-activated, in the same way that Spirit’s seats are pre-reclined
- Always choose the no-annual fee green employee card, the offer will still work
