Is Amex permitting a fifth credit card now?
Is American Express now permitting members to carry five credit cards?
Via Reddit, by way of Million Mile Secrets, there are unconfirmed reports that American Express is now permitting cardholders to carry five American Express credit cards. This is up from the previous max of four cards. Note, the limit does not apply to the company's charge cards. The distinction is that credit cards allow you to carry a balance while charge cards must be paid in full each month. From the Reddit post:
“More than 7 recent data points from our private chat group show that, you can get 5 AmEx credit cards (also see this post), but not 6. When two of us applied for our 6th AmEx credit cards, we both received a phone call that explicitly says we ‘reached the maximum number of credit cards,’ and we have to close one of the credit cards to get the new application approved. So it means that the AmEx 4 credit cards limit has now become 5 credit cards limit.”
This is great news for me! I already have four Amex personal credit cards. The Amex Everyday Preferred Credit Card is my main card so I won’t be getting rid of that. I also have the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card that dates to before I got serious about points and miles. Living in Atlanta, Delta is my main airline and the free checked bag, early boarding, etc. benefits make it worth keeping the card. I have the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card that I may eventually cancel as I am not sure I will stick with Starwood post-merger. I will wait and see, but while I have already deemphasized accumulating Starpoints, I don’t want to cut the cord on this card just yet. That leaves the Hilton HHonors Card. I don’t use this card but I just acquired it earlier this year for the signup bonus, so I want to wait until I have held it nearly a year before I cancel.
Get 50,000 SkyMiles when you signup for the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card
I have been considering getting a Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card card to top off my SkyMiles account. Right now, American Express is offering 50,000 SkyMiles after spending $2,000 during the first three months of card membership. In addition, you can receive a $50 statement credit with this offer. This enhanced signup bonus runs through July 6, so having the ability to get a fifth card would allow me to do this now rather than wait for the next time 50,000 mile promotion! If I decide to apply, I will post whether I was able to be approved for a fifth credit card.
I have been actively collecting points and miles via new credit card signup bonuses for four years. In that time, I have opened and closed nearly two dozen accounts. That may not sound like many compared to other bloggers, but I never open cards when I can’t meet the spending requirement for the bonus with my normal purchases. However, I have reached the point where I currently hold or have recently closed most of the cards that interest me. The solution: begin applying for cards in my wife’s name! And, this week, I have an “opportunity” to earn the signup bonus on her latest card with a single purchase!