The American Express® Gold Card has long offered an attractive welcome bonus. New cardholders can earn 60,000 points and earn up to $100 back when they spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of card membership (terms apply). If you were to earn $0.01 per point, the resulting $600 value would be enough to more than double the $325 annual card fee (see Rates & Fees).
But 60,000 points + up to $100 back is just a public offer – American Express advertises it widely. If you’re lucky, you might even get a chance to earn more than 60,000 points and get up to $100 back as a new cardholder. In fact, you could get up to 100,000 points. Here’s how.
This special offer is only for selected applicants
First, the not-so-good news: There is no clean, surefire way to get a 100,000 Membership Rewards® points welcome offer on the American Express® Gold Card. While I can provide some pointers, they won’t work for everyone.
But for the lucky few, the following offer applies: Certain applicants can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of card membership (terms apply). As you can see, this is the The same Criteria like the 60,000 points + up to $100 back welcome offer, except this one offers 40,000 more points. More points, same spend.
So how do you know if you qualify for the higher welcome offer of 100,000 points?
Again, there’s no easy way to get either offer, but here’s what I’d do: First, navigate to the American Express® Gold Card page on the American Express website. Look for the blue box with a welcome offer (it should be at the top of the page). If you see a “limited time offer” for 100,000 Membership Rewards points, congratulations – you’re one of the chosen few.
If you not see an increased welcome offer, Try to go incognito. This worked for me and it might work for you too. On my normal website – with all my cookies open to the algorithms – I was presented with an increased offer of 75,000 points – not bad. But when I went incognito, the card site offered me the welcome offer of 100,000 points.
If The doesn’t work, Try using someone else’s computer. In fact, I first saw the increased $100,000 offer on my spouse’s laptop.
I received a special welcome offer, what now?
If you are interested in this credit card, apply for it. There is no guarantee that the special offer will be valid again if you leave the website and return later.
If you can’t remember the features of the American Express® Gold Card, here is a quick overview. As an American Express® Gold Card holder, you will receive
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (up to $50,000 per year in purchases)
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year in purchases)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- Conditions apply
But wait, there’s more. You also get:
- $120 annually in Uber Cash for Uber rides or Uber Eats orders in the US, paid in monthly installments of $10 (terms apply)
- $10 monthly statement credit when you use your card to order from Grubhub or select restaurants, including Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations (terms apply, registration required)
It’s the ideal card for foodies, but the special welcome offer makes it even sweeter. While there’s no guarantee you’ll get 100,000 bonus points, there don’t seem to be any known reasons why you shouldn’t get that either. Check, refresh, go incognito, use a friend’s laptop and see if you can claim this incredible welcome offer yourself.
