We’ve talked before about getting out of the various American Express penalty boxes, which is when AmEx won’t give you referral links or gives you a pop-up telling you that you’re not eligible for a welcome bonus on new applications. Despite some noise to the contrary that keeps surfacing, the main way out still exists and it remains the same:
Spend a lot on your existing AmEx cards
What’s missing seems to be what “a lot” means, so let’s clarify based on what we know:
- $30,000 – $40,000 a month for three months on a co-brand card almost always gets you out
- $40,000 – $50,000 a month for three months on a Membership Rewards or cash-back earning card will probably get you out
Of course neither of these are fool-proof but based on data-points I’ve worked with, this volume of spend will work about 80% of the time. It’s also even worked even after a past bankruptcy write-off with AmEx.
What if you don’t have a co-brand card? Apply for one even if you get the pop-up with no bonus, then start spending. There are a few no-annual fee co-brand cards like the Delta Blue and the Hilton Honors card so you’ve got options.
Good luck!
![](https://milesearnandburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-10.png)
Now we just need to have AmEx send these when someone spends their way out.
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