If you’ve been following the news in our hobby, you’ve probably already heard of the “enhancements” recently added to The Platinum Card® from American Express: 

Annual fee is now $695 (Rates & Fees) for new accounts opened on or after July 1, 2021 

For existing cardmembers, the new annual fee will take effect on the annual renewal date on or after Jan.

The American Express® Gold Card, with its high reward rate in certain spending categories, is one of the best rewards cards to hold for dining and travel lovers.

The card’s elevated welcome bonus is enough to book a flight in business class on multiple airlines.

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card

Reminder: The 100k sign-up bonus offer for the Amex Business Platinum ends tomorrow. 

Through August 8, 2018, the American Express Business Platinum Card is offering 100,000 total bonus Membership Rewards after spending $25,000 in the first three months:

50,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 in the first three months
50,000 more bonus points after spending another $15,000 in the first three months

Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Credit Cards.

This is a big

The Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card, which will be the latest addition to the Marriott family credit card portfolio, is actually scheduled to launch August 23, 2018.

Despite the fact that Marriott and the Starwood Preferred Guest programs are merging into one unified loyalty program on August 18, both Marriott and SPG credit cards will continue to be issued for the time being, by Chase and Amex respectively. Both banks have published new terms for all current (and future) Marriott-family credit cards that define who is and isn't eligible for sign up bonuses, as of August 26.
Why These New Rules are Different
Sign up bonus rules are not new to the miles and points community.

The miles world received some unsettling news recently. I've been mulling it over myself since I read about it, waiting to see if any further information was published or insight gained from others' experiences. And now we have some.

American Express is offering some lucrative incentives to spend on their cards right now. Not everyone will have these Amex Offers available as they are targeted.

*I am bumping this up to the top of the blog roll as I added a section towards the bottom of this post regarding a new benefit coming August 1 that could be a largely influential factor in whether or not you keep your SPG Amex Card open. Thanks to Reader Jon for reminding me.*

I hold both the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express.

Until May 17, 2018, using your Membership Reward earning Amex card to pay for specific online purchases through Amex Express Checkout will you earn 2 bonus Membership Rewards per dollar spent (on top of whatever category bonus your card may also earn for the card, or on top of the at least one point you'd earn for non-bonused spend).