Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  My wife and I have a $6,000 bill that is coming up in the next few weeks, so we (mostly me) are trying to figure out which new credit card to get to pay the bill (and earn a new sign up bonus along the way).  Traditionally in December, this is the time of the year that most travel hackers focus on spending the holidays with their friends and family setting themselves up for a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass in early January or getting a new American Express Platinum Card for the opportunity to go for the “Triple Dip” – where you can use the new card benefits at the end of 2023, again in 2024, and one more time in early 2025 before the annual fee is due.

My wife currently has a Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card and I am over Chase 5/24, so the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is off the table for us.  My wife has never had *any* American Express cards as the primary account holder, but she is an authorized user on a few of my AMEX cards.  The “Triple Dip” on the AMEX Platinum seems like a no brainer, but AMEX has messed up our plans by adding a “Family Rule” on the American Express Gold Card that says:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Premier Rewards Gold Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express Platinum Card® by Charles Schwab, The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards.

Basically, if she gets the AMEX Platinum, she will not be eligible for the AMEX Gold sign up bonus in the future.  So this is where the dilemma comes in.  Should she go for the “Triple Dip” on the AMEX Platinum and forgo ever getting a sign up bonus on the AMEX Gold?  Or should she get the AMEX Gold now and then apply for the AMEX Platinum in the future (maybe in December 2024)?

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