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News
Amex announces limited-time perks for select Amex Membership Rewards, Delta, Marriott and Hilton cards
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
May 1, 2020 • 21 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.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.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
Several travel-focused cards introduced limited-time promotions starting May 2020, offering statement credits for streaming, wireless services, and increased rewards at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants.
Promotions are designed to add value for cardholders unable to use typical travel benefits, with perks like expanded statement credits, higher earning rates at supermarkets, and more flexible use of hotel credits and free night certificates.
Some cards now allow bonus points earned at supermarkets and restaurants to count toward elite status qualification and extend the validity of free night certificates.
Not all products are included in these promotions, and some offers mentioned are no longer available.
What to consider
Most promotions run from May through July or December 2020, with specific eligibility and enrollment requirements for certain benefits.
Bonus points earned during these periods may count as base points for elite status in hotel loyalty programs, and some free night certificates now have extended validity or expanded use.
Check merchant coding and terms to ensure purchases qualify for bonus categories, as exclusions may apply.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of which products receive each promotion, how to maximize temporary benefits, and specific guidance for travelers and small businesses.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offershere.
Many card benefits and earning categories aren't all that useful in the current climate. After American Express began offering double points to international customers last week, we wondered what new benefits might be coming to U.S.-issued cards.
Well, American Express just announced limited-time promotions for some of its U.S.-issued consumer and business cards. Most of these new limited-time benefits and earning rates will start on May 1, 2020. The promotions vary based on card type, but generally focus on staying connected, dining at home, working and running a business remotely and supporting small businesses. In most cases, these limited-time benefits and earning rates complement existing card features.
Let's take a look at the cards that have new limited-time promotions, as well as what these promotions may mean to cardholders.
Up to $320 in statement credits on select streaming and wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (up to $20 per month) from May through December 2020.
Relevant existing perks:
$15 in Uber credits every month, plus a $20 bonus in December, which can be used for food delivery on UberEats.
The new limited-time perks can effectively put up to $320 back in your pocket if you already incur eligible expenses on a monthly basis. Plus, your monthly Uber credits can be used for food delivery on UberEats if you have Uber Eats in your area. For cardholders who will fully use these perks -- along with the Amex Platinum's other non-travel perks -- these may provide enough value to justify keeping the card. Enrollment required for select benefits.
This being said, I would have preferred to see elevated earnings on select spending categories and/or other uses for the up to $200 airline fee credit. After all, many cardholders will struggle to use their annual airline fee credit this year and will earn just 1x Membership Rewards on all non-travel spending. Enrollment required for select benefits.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
(Photo by Wyatt Smith/The Points Guy)
New limited-time perks
Up to $320 in statement credits on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. purchases for shipping (up to $20 per month on each) from May through December 2020
Up to $200 in additional statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell: $100 in additional statement credits from May 1 through June 30, 2020, and up to $100 in additional statement credits between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
Relevant existing perks:
1.5x Membership Rewards on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more (up to 1 million additional points per calendar year)
Up to $100 in statement credits between January and June and up to $100 in statement credits between July and December for U.S. purchases with Dell
Annual fee: $595 (see rates and fees)
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
As with the personal Amex Platinum Card, I would have preferred to see elevated earnings on select spending categories and/or alternate uses for the up to $200 airline fee credit. But the new statement credits present a substantial increase, with a total of up to $400 in Dell statements credits. Enrollment required for select benefits.
It's a smart move to increase the Dell statement credits, as these are presumably already attractive and useful to Business Platinum cardholders. There are plenty of items that can be purchased using the Dell credit that can provide value to all types of cardholders. Plus, I suspect that many businesses will be able to take advantage of the monthly wireless telephone and shipping credits. So, these limited-time benefits -- combined with existing perks -- will likely be enough for many small businesses to still justify the Amex Business Platinum's annual fee.
American Express® Green Card
(Photo by Wyatt Smith/The Points Guy)
New limited-time perks:
Up to $80 in statement credits on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (up to $10 per month) from May through December 2020
Relevant existing perks:
Earn 3x Membership Rewards on restaurants, including takeout and delivery
Annual fee: $150 (see rates and fees)
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
The two statement credits normally offered by the American Express Green Card are both travel-related: up to $100 per calendar year for a Clear membership and up to $100 for lounge access through LoungeBuddy. Earning 3x on travel and transit isn't useful for most cardholders currently, so the $80 statement credit for wireless telephone services is a welcome relief.
This being said, I would have liked to see Amex roll over unused LoungeBuddy credits to 2021 and either temporarily bump restaurant earning to 4x or add bonus earning on grocery purchases or meal prep kits. Even assuming you'll fully use the $80 statement credit for wireless telephone services, that still leaves an effective $70 annual fee for travel benefits you're not using. Some cardholders who got the card primarily for travel earning and benefits still may struggle to justify paying the annual fee.
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card are eligible.
New limited-time perks:
Earn 4x miles at U.S. supermarkets from May through July 2020
Relevant existing perks:
2x miles on restaurants, including takeout and delivery for Delta Platinum Amex, Delta Gold Amex and Delta Blue Amex cardholders.
Annual fee: Delta Reserve Amex $550 (see rates and fees), Delta Platinum Amex $250 (see rates and fees), Delta Gold Amex $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 (see rates and fees) and Delta Blue Amex $0 (see rates and fees)
Non-essential air travel will restart for different cardholders at different times. If you don't expect to fly much this year and have one of the higher-annual-fee Delta cobranded cards, this three-month promotion may not be enough to keep you from downgrading or canceling your card. However, it's worth considering the impact on your ability to earn future welcome bonuses, the shopping benefits offered by these cards, and when you believe you'll start traveling again before canceling or downgrading.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
(Photo by Eden Batki/The Points Guy)
New limited-time perks:
Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points on up to $7,500 spent at U.S. supermarkets from May through July 2020
Eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will now qualify toward the $300 Marriott Bonvoy statement credit benefit from June through August 2020
Relevant existing perks:
Earn 3x points at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery
Regardless of when your cardmember year ends, it's worth making sure to use whatever credit remains during this promotion. If you have a cardmember year that ends during the three-month promotion, it will make sense to ensure you finish the first year's credit before the end of your cardmember year and then go ahead and use the next year's credit between when your next cardmember year begins and the end of August.
St. Regis Langkawi (Photo by Ethan Steinberg/The Points Guy)
New limited-time perks:
Earn 6x Marriott Bonvoy points at U.S. supermarkets from May through July 2020. Amex cardholders earn 6x on up to $7,500 and Chase cardholders earn it on up to $5,000 spent.
All co-branded Marriott credit cards (except the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card) are eligible. This includes cards that are no longer marketed, such as Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards.
Relevant existing perks: Perks vary by card, but nothing notable
Annual fee: Varies by card
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
The 6x Marriott Bonvoy earning at U.S. supermarkets for three months is a nice touch, as you'll be able to get an effective 4.8% return based on TPG's valuations. If you don't have a credit card that earns better than 4.8% at grocery stores, your Marriott cobranded card may provide some useful value here.
But most cobranded Marriott cards offer an annual free night certificate that can more than justify the card's annual fee. All of the free night certificates from cobranded Marriott credit cards that were set to expire in 2020 now have an expiration date of Jan. 31, 2021. So the improved earning at U.S. supermarkets is a nice perk for cardholders who planned to keep their card anyway for the annual free night certificate -- and may encourage cardholders who were considering nixing their card to keep it.
Earn 12x Hilton Honors points at U.S. supermarkets from May through July 2020
Eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will now qualify toward the up to $250 Hilton resort credit benefit from June through August 2020
Bonus points earned through eligible purchases, if they post to the card member’s Hilton Honors account between May 1 and December 31, will be considered base points and will count towards elite tier qualification and lifetime Diamond status
Unexpired free weekend night certificates — plus those issued through Dec. 31, 2020 — can now be used on any night of the week, and those issued between May 1 and Dec. 31, 2020 will be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance (rather than the usual 12 months).
Annual fee: $450 (see rates and fees)
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
Yes, these limited-time perks will be enough for most Hilton Aspire cardholders. It is huge that eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants will qualify toward the $250 Hilton resort credit benefit. This benefit normally provides up to $250 in statement credits each year of card membership for eligible purchases at participating Hilton Resorts. If your cardmember year ends in June, July or August, you may be able to finish off last year's credit as well as this year's credit with purchases at U.S. restaurants.
Some cardholders may enjoy the promotion that allows bonus points earned through spending on your card that post to your account between May 1 and December 31 to be considered base points that count towards elite tier qualification and lifetime Diamond status. If you're looking to earn lifetime Diamond status, this is a great opportunity to boost your lifetime base points.
Plus, the updates to the annual weekend night reward provide significant value. Hilton announced changes to these certificates back in March, but now you have even more flexibility. It's great to see these certificates now valid for any night of the week, and if you're cardmember anniversary is coming up, new certificates issued by the end of the year will give you plenty of time to use them.
This is a card that most cardholders will want to keep -- especially since these limited-time promotions provide significant value.
Earn 12x Hilton Honors at U.S. supermarkets (May through July 2020)
Bonus points earned through eligible purchases that post to the card member’s Hilton Honors account between May 1 and December 31 will be considered base points and will count towards elite tier qualification and lifetime Diamond status
Unexpired free weekend night certificates — plus those issued through Dec. 31, 2020 — can now be used on any night of the week, and those issued between May 1 and Dec. 31, 2020 will be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance (rather than the usual 12 months).
Relevant existing perks:
Earn 6x Hilton Honors points at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery
Annual fee: $95 (see rates and fees)
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
The value of the limited-time promotions for the Hilton Surpass will vary drastically for different cardholders. For example, 12x Hilton points at U.S. supermarkets equates to a 7.2% return based on TPG's valuation of Hilton points at 0.6 cents each. If you don't have a better-earning card for groceries, the three-month boost in earnings at U.S. supermarkets may provide a good bit of value. If you have a better-earning card or don't shop at eligible supermarkets, this promotion won't provide any value.
Likewise, bonus points earned through spending on your card that post to your account between May 1 and December 31 will be considered base points that count towards elite tier qualification and lifetime Diamond status. If you want to earn lifetime Diamond status, this can be a great opportunity to boost your lifetime base points. You'll still need to earn Diamond status for 10 (non-consecutive) years -- and earn two million base points or stay 1,000 nights -- to earn lifetime Diamond status.
It may be better to simply rely on the Hilton Gold status provided by the Hilton Surpass or Amex Platinum, or the Hilton Diamond status provided by the Hilton Aspire -- but there is also some appeal to having lifetime status and not needing to rely on card benefits that could eventually change.
Finally, it's great to see that the free-night certificate you'd earn after spending $15,000 in a year will be usable any night of the week, and that new certificates will have two years of validity.
DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Fiji (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
New limited-time perks:
Bonus points earned through eligible purchases that post to the card member’s Hilton Honors account between May 1 through December 31 will be considered base points and will count towards elite tier qualification and lifetime Diamond status
Relevant existing perks:
Earn 5x Hilton Honors points at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and supermarkets
Annual fee: None (see rates and fees)
Are the limited-time perks worth it?
Yes, considering the Hilton Amex has no annual fee (see rates and fees), getting access to any limited-time perks is a plus. If you're looking to top off your lifetime Hilton base points to reach lifetime Diamond status, using this card to do so while bonus points earned through eligible purchases count as base points may be a valuable perk.
American Express also announced that small business merchant partners will gain access to new offers and tools to help them manage and run their business, including:
50% off Ripl Pro, which helps businesses easily create, schedule and share professional-looking promotional social posts
$100 off a monthly Numa subscription which helps businesses by providing an answering service to catch potential missed business calls 24/7
New, free Shop Small® templates and resources at ShopSmall.com
Two American Express Membership Rewards cards are notably missing from the list of cards offering limited-time promotions: the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Business Gold Card.
These cards are less focused on travel-related earning and benefits than the other cards included in this promotion -- and both already offer significant earning on non-travel categories:
The American Express Gold Card earns 4x Membership Rewards on U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year; then 1x) and 4x Membership Rewards on restaurant spending, including takeout and delivery. Plus the Amex Gold's up to $10 monthly dining credit can be used on Grubhub ($250 annual fee; see rates and fees) Enrollment required for select benefits.
The American Express® Business Gold Card earns 4x Membership Rewards points automatically on the two categories where you spent the most in each month from a set list, including U.S. purchases for shipping, technology, advertising in select media, and at restaurants including delivery and takeout (up to $150,000 in combined eligible purchases per calendar year; then 1x). ($295 annual fee; see rates and fees)
American Express provides guidance on its website regarding what types of merchants and expenses are included and excluded from specific spending categories. The issuer breaks spending categories up as follows:
Retail categories including U.S. supermarkets, restaurants and select U.S. streaming subscriptions
Business categories including U.S. wireless telephone service providers and U.S. shipping
Before assuming a particular purchase will fall under a specific category, it's worth checking Amex's website and potentially even searching the web to see how others have seen their purchases code with the merchant. For example, online reports show that Google Fi likely won't code as a U.S. wireless telephone service provider.
American Express and some of its cobranded partners are certainly trying to retain cardholders and encourage spending on cards with these limited-time promotions. Since eligible American Express card accounts approved between Dec. 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020, will receive a three-month extension to meet card spending requirements, it seems American Express is also attempting to attract new cardholders.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, please click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum, please click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Green, please click here. For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Delta Platinum Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Delta Gold Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Delta Blue Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire, please click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Surpass, please click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Amex, please click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Gold, please click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold, click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
