Some great news on the Amex front today.
Last May, Amex changed their internal application rules to limit the total number of cards you could have to be 4 credit card products and 10 Charge / Pay Over Time products. That was a decrease from 5 to 4 credit cards and, to be clear, that includes both personal and small business American Express credit cards.
Doctor of Credit reports today that Amex has reverted to the 5 credit card limit, so if you have 4 and therefore were ineligible for a new Amex credit card, you would appear to be able to grab one more as of today.
However, holders of the Amex Green Card may be in a slightly murkier situation.
When I applied for the American Express Green Card last month to grab 50,000 Membership Rewards points plus a $200 home furnishings credit, I did so because I already had 4 credit cards. I was approved no problem. However those with 3 credit cards plus a Green Card (which is not technically a credit card product, though it defaults to Pay Over Time to function as a credit card) were getting turned down for a 4th credit card and were being told specifically that the Green Card was being counted against the credit card limit.
With this change, in theory, it should work as follows:
- You can have 10 charge-style Amex cards – meaning the Gold, Platinum, and Centurion cards.
- You can have 5 Amex credit cards (everything that is not Gold/Platinum/Centurion).
- If you currently hold a personal Amex Green Card, that is likely to count against the 5 credit card limit if you were to try to apply for another credit card product.
- If you have 5 credit cards now, you should still be able to get approved for a Green card (and certainly for any charge-style card product)
Also see: All current American Express cards and bonus offers.
Get 60,000 Bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 6 months on an American Express® Gold Card or Rose Gold Card. Earn 4X points on dining and U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually, then 1X) plus get $10 monthly dining statement credits and $10 in monthly Uber Cash. Terms apply. | How to apply for this offer. | Read our Review of the American Express Rose Gold Card
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