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Guide

Using Amex Offers to Save Money and Earn Bonus Points

Nick Ewen
Nick Ewen
Senior editorial director
Nick Ewen is TPG's senior editorial director and helps readers leverage credit cards (he has 23 of them) and loyalty programs to travel more for less. He's been at TPG for over 11 years.
June 14, 2017
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5 min read
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Using Amex Offers to Save Money and Earn Bonus Points
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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Many readers come to The Points Guy to learn how to leverage top travel rewards credit cards to unlock fantastic redemptions like premium-class flights or luxurious hotel rooms. However, in addition to incredible welcome bonuses and top-notch earning rates on purchases like office supplies and restaurants, some credit cards offer additional incentives for everyday purchases. Today I want to review one such program: Amex Offers.

If you're not aware, the Amex Offers program provides cardholders with discounts and other bonuses for making purchases with specific merchants. One of the best parts of the program is that it's available on virtually any American Express card, including personal cards and business cards through American Express OPEN. If you're keeping track at home, that includes popular cards like:

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
  • Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
  • The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express
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I recently took advantage of an Amex offer for $100 off a Delta flight and used a card that (gasp) didn't offer bonus points on airfare purchases!

The whole point of Amex Offers is to provide you with an added incentive to either make a purchase you normally wouldn't make or to use a credit card you normally wouldn't use. For example, I recently was targeted for an offer of $100 off a Delta purchase of $500 or more on my Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express. This purchase would only earn me 1 Starpoint per dollar spent, a somewhat uninspiring return of 2.7% (based on TPG's most recent valuations). Under normal circumstances, my Amex Platinum Card would be the better option, as it would boost my return to 9.5%. However, saving $100 outweighs the additional earning potential.

In addition, it's very easy to add these offers to your account. I typically search for them using either the American Express app or by accessing my account at www.americanexpress.com. Here's a step-by-step guide for the latter of these two methods:

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  1. Log in to your account.
  2. Click on the card for which you want to review offers at the top right.
  3. Scroll down past your account summary and recent transaction list to find the "Amex Offers and Benefits Section" toward the bottom.
  4. Review the first several offers listed, then click "Load More" to see the full list.
  5. When you find an offer you like, expand it to review the terms and conditions.
  6. When you're ready to take advantage of an offer, click the icon at the right (which could be "Add to Card" or "Shop Now" depending on the offer).

Once you've added an offer to your card, you can always review those offers at the top right by finding the "Added to Card" section:

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Be sure to check all of the American Express cards added to your account, as these offers tend to vary by cardholder and credit card. I only rarely have the same offer on two of my cards, so it's worth regularly scanning the list to see if new ones have appeared.

How much can this really save me?

With individual offers at specified merchants, you may not think that the Amex Offers program can save you a ton of money. While it won't (by itself) allow you to buy a vacation home or a new car, it can offer some solid discounts. Here's an overview of my savings with the three cards I currently have in my account:

  • Amex Platinum: $350 ($180 in discounts plus 8,500 bonus Membership Rewards points)
  • SPG Business Amex: $347.86
  • Hilton Honors Card from American Express: $135
  • TOTAL VALUE: $832.86

The vast majority of these purchases were ones I would've made anyway, but by putting them on the right American Express card, I either saved money or earned bonus points. That's a win in my book.

Bottom Line

The Amex Offers program is a great way to boost your rewards across just about any American Express credit card, and since the offers are updated regularly, I'd strongly encourage you to check each of your accounts at least once a week for any new discounts or bonuses. Just be sure to read the fine print carefully so you fully understand the offer and what it takes to earn it.

How much have you saved with Amex Offers on your American Express cards? Please share your numbers below!

Featured image by (Photo by Eric Helgas/The Points Guy)
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.