Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. Last week, I did a mini App-O-Rama for 4 new cards:
- American Express Business Platinum Charge Card – 100,000 AMEX Membership Reward Points after spending $15,000 in 3 months (instantly approved)
- Barclays JetBlue Plus Credit Card – 30,000 JetBlue TrueBlue Points after spending $1,000 in 3 months (instantly approved)
- Banco Popular Avianca LifeMiles Credit Card – 60,000 Avianca LifeMiles after making your first purchase (instantly approved)
- Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card – 30,000 Alaska Airlines miles after spending $1,000 in 3 months (declined due to too many recent inquiries)
I was approved for the AMEX Business Platinum Card on Tuesday morning and I needed to make a large purchase by today (December 12), so I needed my new card to come right away. I spoke with AMEX and asked them to expedite the card to me, but I was told that they couldn’t expedite new cards. (Insert stupid rule where new business cards cannot be expedited since they need to establish an address.)
Late on Wednesday night, I called AMEX again and asked them to expedite the card to me. I stressed how important it was that I get the card before Monday (December 12). I got the same response as before – they cannot expedite new business cards. The new card would arrive in 3-5 business days via USPS First Class Mail.
I then asked if it was possible to expedite authorized user / employee cards. Surprisingly, the AMEX rep said yes, they could expedite authorized user / employee cards. I then asked if it was possible to add myself as an authorized user, and surprisingly, the AMEX rep said yes. Sweet! The AMEX rep stated that they were not allowed to suggest that approach to cardholders, but I could add myself as an authorized user to my account and have the new card expedited to me.
I double checked with the AMEX rep that all purchases made on the authorized user card counted toward the minimum spend on the primary business card – yes, all purchases made on authorized user cards count toward the minimum spend. Since I would be at work on Thursday, Friday and Monday, I told the AMEX rep to ship the authorized user card to my work address instead of my home address.
Fun fact: when you add an authorized user card to a business account, you can select to issue the authorized user card as a Platinum, Gold, or Green card. Platinum cards are $300 each, Gold cards are $195 each (I think), and Green cards are free. Green cards do not have any bonus categories or Platinum perks (like Centurion Lounge access, elite status with hotels and rental car companies, $200 airline reimbursement credit, etc), but the AMEX rep confirmed that they do get the $100 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit.
I received the following email on Thursday afternoon that my authorized user card was processed.
If you click the Card Replacement Details button in the email, it will take you to the Card Management section of your AMEX business account.
You can also access this page by clicking on the Account Services tab at the top, then Card Management tab on the left side. Here, you will see the tracking information for your authorized user card.
FedEx Priority Overnight (aka next day delivery) is super convenient and my authorized user card was delivered before 10am on Friday morning.
I quickly opened the FedEx envelope and activated the authorized user card online. I then added the authorized user card to my online AMEX business account.
Here is the front and back of my AMEX Business Green Card (it is not as sexy as the AMEX Business Platinum Card, but at least is early to the party).
This whole process is very strange since I am still waiting for my AMEX Business Platinum Card to arrive. Lessons learned: if you need to make a purchase on a new AMEX card, try this approach to add yourself as an authorized user / employee to your main account. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
So…two cards from the same account/product, both in your name, for Amex offers? Seems like a great way to double up on those offers.
Yes, you can double up on AMEX Offers with this approach too.
Great thinking out of the box, Grant. How did you even think to ask about adding yourself as an authorized user? How did you even think to ask if you could expedite the extra card?
Hi Zippy, I’m not afraid to ask the dumb questions. You never know until you ask :)
Genius.
Thank you Nick. This goes in the same category as visiting the Centurion Lounges without having your AMEX Platinum Card and having them look you up in the system by your SSN. I spoke to a Centurion Lounge agent about that trick and they didn’t want me to share that either.
http://travelwithgrant.boardingarea.com/2014/12/24/access-centurion-lounges-without-your-american-express-platinum-card/
Hi Grant – thanks; I now know AUs can get Global Entry on the Platinum card for no annual fee with the Green card AU version!
BUT, what has been your experience, in all your years of travel hacking, with avg # of days to get an AMEX Business card? They always are expedited to me, without me asking, via UPS (not USPS) and I normally get the new card within 2 business days of applying. AMEX biz cards are the fastest delivered credit cards I have ever seen. No other bank is even close. I have / have had perhaps 5 – 10 AMEX biz cards; always sent fast!
I’m not sure why this card was so difficult to get expedited. I think I’ve had other AMEX cards automatically expedited to me, without asking. Maybe it’s me or maybe it’s the 100,000 AMEX Business Platinum Card. I’m not sure.
does adding yourself as authorized user count against chase 5/24? it will go on your credit report, wont it?
I’m not sure. I’m way over 5/24, so that didn’t cross my mind. This is a business card which shouldn’t show up on your personal credit report. Again, I’m not sure what happens.
AU is not hard pulled, and business card doesn’t report to credit bureaus, so you’re safe with Chase 5/24. But personal card will report.
Thank you Tan. Good to know :)
hard pull is irrelevant.
Very interesting and clever trick. I just want to be sure that I understand a few things before I pull the trigger:
1. Will a new Green card count as a business card on my credit record? I’m already over Chase 5/24, so I’m holding off on new apps because I’d like to pick up a Sapphire Reserve some time in 2017. But if I get a no-fee AmEx Green card on my wife’s AmEx Plat Business account, this should NOT go on my credit report, correct? (I don’t want to mess up getting a Sapphire Reserve.)
2. As mentioned above, this would give us another card that might bring us some additional AmEx offers. I’ve already got a separate AmEx login for my AU card on my wife’s SPG Business card (and I do pick up occasional extra AmEx offers this way). Will I be able to add the new Green card onto that existing AmEx AU login?
3. Any MR points earned on this new Green card will go into my wife’s AmEx Business Plat account, correct?
Hi Ed, I am not 100% sure if this will count / not count toward your 5/24 limit – to be safe, I would stay away. You can add this authorized user card to any AMEX login that you have access to. With that said, any points earned on the AMEX Business Green Card will post to your wife’s AMEX Business Platinum Card.
I applied for the SPG Business card on Thursday evening and it went to pending. When I called in they wanted to verify the address. I gave the woman the information and it was approved. She then said she expedited my card, it’ll ship tomorrow (Friday) and it should arrive in 2 business days. I didn’t ask for the tracking number, but I’ll see if it arrives tomorrow.
That’s great news, congrats on your approval. I’m glad your card is getting expedited automatically. I’m not sure why I have so much trouble.
Thanks! Card came on Tuesday, 2 days after the approval. Quite odd and puzzling that they have a double standard for expediting cards.
That is very strange. Was it the AMEX Business Platinum Charge Card? Is this your first business charge card? Thank you for the data point.
It was the SPG Business card, so it wasn’t even one of the more “prestigious” products where you’d expect better service from AMEX. It’s my 3rd AMEX credit card – EveryDay, SPG Personal, SPG Business. I have 2 charge cards – BGR, PRG
Good to know, thank you Chris. Maybe AMEX wants people to use the SPG Business Credit Card soon before they get converted to Marriott credit cards.
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is it possible to add primary account holder as AU for personal amex cards as well like SPG ??!!
I’m not sure. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Happy holidays!
I had the same problem a few weeks ago. I needed the card for roughly $8k in spend over the weekend when I applied and was approved on a Tuesday night. Figured it would be easy to expedite. Phone, Amex.com chat, FB, Twitter, all agents said they couldn’t “modify the application” to expedite the card. I received the card after the weekend of course and too late for missed spend. They paid $4 via USPS. On a $450 card they should be overnighting all cards like other banks automatically do already.
AMEX is very strange, I’m sorry they couldn’t expedite the card to you.
I swear I’ve seen you posting in the Front Range FB group. Is that you or someone else?
That’s me. I started the group with Nigel and Bill (close friends of mine out in Denver/Boulder). I was even at a meetup this year.
I’m in Denver by the airport. Are you still in the area or have you moved?
I’m in SF, but I visit Denver often. I’ve never lived in CO, but it is a great state to visit.
Haha, funny how that works out. We’re actually moving soon. We want a house and it’s just too expensive for us here. SF is even pricier! We’ve visited for 2 days but would love to return for more time. It was the last stop on our ATW 4 week trip and we were too pooped to enjoy anything. Rented a Silvercar and went down to Monterey but weather was terrible.
Anyways, sorry for the tangent :)
Monterey is awesome. I used to go there every year for Thanksgiving. Come back and visit SF anytime.
I may shoot you an email for suggestions when we make it back to SF.
Deal, I look forward to seeing your email soon. Happy holidays!
This only works with Amex business cards? What about Amex personal ?
It’s YMMV on business and personal cards from AMEX.
Would you still get the 1.5X bonus for spending over $5,000 if it is not on the platinum card? And hope your purchase is for a small business and that you get even more points!
I did get the 1.5x multiplier with my large purchase that was over $5000, unfortunately, it was not a small business.
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Please remove this… When people start abusing this, we are going to lose the ability to have cards expedited free… No good can come from this post…
Hi CJ, I understand your concern, but until American Express automatically or willfully expedites new credit cards, this post is a good resource to the community.
Grant what’s the best way to get the $200 credit before end of the year
It depends which airlines you care about. I am just buying 4 x $50 SWA eGCs. I just bought my first one last night and am waiting for the statement credit to post before purchasing the 3 other SWA eGCs.
Hi Grant, thank you for your insightful and helpful post! Did you use your “green” card to purchase the eGCs for airline credit? I’m wondering if the $200 airline credit will post to the primary account if using employee card…
I used my AMEX Business Platinum Charge Card to buy the SWA eGC, but I was told by the AMEX rep that any qualifying airline purchase made on AU cards would count toward the $200 limit on the primary business card.
Thank you for your super prompt response! I proceeded to order an employee card for my platinum account (before the card has arrived), but I’ve had many failed attempts over the phone and chat forum because all the reps need the 4 digit code on the primary card in order for them to be able to issue the card. Plus, they said they’re not able to mail the employee card to an alternate address if the card is new. How did you manage to make this happen (ie: get the employee card AND have it mailed to an alternate address before your platinum card arrived) if it wasn’t already covered in your post? I’m at a loss for what to do since I won’t be able to see the primary card till the new year.
Hmm, I wasn’t asked for the four digit code on the card. You just have to keep trying until you get a representative who can issue you an employee card.
Is it possible to add a child as an authorized user to get them the Global Entry credit? Or is that against the rules?
I’m not sure if there is an age limit for authorized users, but I think 18 years old or older is fine. You can also pay for Glibal Entry for someone else using your card.
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thx grant! worked for us; my son applied & got approved online for a prg yday; reps assured my son that no any way to rush deliver; saw ur post earlier today whereby my son just called in to add himself as an AU whose additional card can be rush delivered within 48-72 hrs; that way he can possibly use the $100 airlines credit 3 times before paying the AF
Awesome, I’m glad my post could help your son expedite his new AMEX card. Happy holidays!
To add a data point: My wife apped the Biz Plat yesterday & was instantly approved. Approval message said the card would be delivered in 2 business days. To get a 2fer, she apped an Everyday Preferred as well (also instantly approved). These are the first two Amex cards in her name (she has an employee card on my Business Platinum). I chatted today and they said the card couldn’t be expedited and an employee card couldn’t be added until the Biz Plat comes in 7-10 days. A little while later I got the UPS shipping notification on a next day air package coming from Amex tomorrow. Seems like Amex auto expedited it as the approval message suggested.
When I opened my Biz Plat, they also overnighted it. They also expedited the card when I upgraded a Gold to Plat for 50k. Weird that they didn’t for you.
Still, thanks for this article. I didn’t realize how cheap a gold employee card was. That comes with a 3x category, right? Well worth the price of admission!
Thank you for the data points. Yes, if you get a gold authorized user / employee card, you will get all the usual credit card benefits, including 3x.
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I know this is a really old thread, but in case anyone was looking for this in modern days. I just added myself as an AU with my personal AMEX Platinum and it seemed to have worked. I got the confirmation screen that says I should be getting a Gold card (which is free) in 3-6 days.
Might be a useful hack!
Hey Andy, thanks for sharing your data point, I am glad you were able to get the Gold card for free.
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Came here from a DoC post and decided to give this a try on a recently opened Blue Business Plus. They can’t expedite an Employee/AU card without first confirming the 3 digit security code on the back of the primary card. Looks like this is likely dead.
Ya, I wrote this post in 2016, so it seems that this is dead now. That’s a bummer.