There are a lot of credit card application rules for American Express cards and they require you to keep tabs on a lot of different things at once and to be familiar with the policies that differ between charge cards and credit cards. In this article, I will give you a comprehensive look at all of the American Express Application rules.

What are the American Express application rules?

There are a handful of American Express application rules that you need to know about and they include the following:

1/5 Rule: “You are allowed one Amex credit card every five day period.”
2/90 Rule: “You are allowed two Amex credit cards every 90 day period.”
4 or 5 Card Limit: “You may concurrently hold 4 or 5 credit cards from Amex.”
Once Per Lifetime Rule: “You will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the card before.”
Platinum 90 Day Rule: “You cannot get more than one Platinum card in a 90 day period.”
Marriott rules (see below)
Hilton Ascend Rule: “You will not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the Hilton Honors Ascend.”

In the future, you won’t have to worry about finding these rules and keeping up with them because WalletFlo will do all of that for you but in case you are in need of a refresher, keep reading below!

1/5 Rule

American Express application rules typically (though not always) limit you to one Amex credit card approval per 5 business days.

This is an automated fraud-prevention feature that Amex uses and it will usually apply whether you’re applying for personal or business credit cards.

As far as I know, there’s no way around this besides getting lucky. Typically, your second application will go to pending for 3 to 5 business days and then you might be automatically approved or receive a rejection and need to call into reconsideration.

Note: the week-long processing period for a pending application can sometimes result in two separate hard pulls.

Multiple charge cards

You can apply and be approved for multiple charge cards at the same time. The maximum number of charge cards that I would ever apply for at once is two, because it’s not uncommon for Amex to hit you with financial reviews if you quickly open many new accounts.

And in case you are wondering, Amex charge cards aren’t “credit cards” in the typical sense. With charge cards, you need to pay off the balance each month in order to avoid fees. The great thing about charge cards is that there are no set spending limits like a traditional credit card.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll have an unlimited credit limit. Typically, Amex will require you to work your way up to a higher credit limit by showing them your spending habits for a couple of months. At some point, it’s likely that they will offer you the Pay Over Time option which essentially converts the charge card into a normal credit card that can carry a balance.

They often provide you with an incentive like extra points for enrolling in Pay Over Time, too!

2/90 Rule

The Amex 90 day rule does not allow for you to be approved for more than two credit cards within any 90 day period. Remember, this rule applies to credit cards, not charge cards. Some people are lucky enough to get around this rule and get 3 credit cards in 90 days, but I think those people are outliers.

There’s actually no strict limitation on charge cards, although I’d probably try to limit charge card applications to 2 per 90 day period. Just my personal recommendation.

Amex application strategy tip

In my experience, charge cards tend to be easier to get approved for than credit cards. If I were new to American Express, I would consider going for the Green Card or the Gold Card and then building up my relationship with American Express. Of course, if you are looking for a premium card, the Platinum Card would be a much better option for you.

Four or five Amex credit cards total

American Express will limit you to a total of four or five credit cards at any given time. This rule applies to both personal and business credit cards so there’s no getting around it that way. However, the good news is that if you are an authorized user on an Amex card, that will NOT count against you for purposes of this rule.

Unlimited charge cards?

It’s a tad unclear if Amex has any limits on charge cards. Some state that the rule is four total charge cards but there are several data points showing others getting approved for more than four Amex charge cards. I would personally try to keep it at four or five and only apply for additional cards with the expectation that you may very well be denied.

And again, I’m only talking about charge cards right there. That means that you could have a total of at least 9 Amex cards (5 credit cards and 4 charge cards).

Once Per Lifetime Rule

One of the most important American Express application rules to know about is the once per lifetime rule.

This means that once you open a specific card, you can never earn the bonus again. You can still get approved for the card, but you just can’t get the bonus.

This rule applies even if you don’t receive the bonus when you open up the card. So let’s say that you signed up for the Platinum Card but never met the minimum spend requirement to earn the welcome bonus. Well, that does not matter — you still will not get the welcome bonus. It is a bit harsh but that is just how American Express rolls.

There’s also no distinction between charge cards and credit cards with this rule, either.

Another thing, if you upgrade to a card, that also counts toward the once per lifetime rule. This is why you want to seek out upgrade offers if you are ever thinking about upgrading a card.

There are only two potential ways around the the once per lifetime rule.

Waiting around seven years

If you close your card and then wait a long period of time such as seven years, it is possible that American Express will allow you to receive the sign-up bonus for a second time. This is one of those unofficial policies that might work for you or might not so I would not necessarily count on it working.

Targeted offers

Another way around the this rule, which is the only true exception, is to jump on targeted offers. This method is still YMMV, but it’s a way to get a bonus for a card for a second time. I would suggest checking the terms and conditions of the targeted offer first to see if the sign-up bonus is limited to new cardholders. If it’s not, then you at least have a basis for making an argument with Amex that you deserve the bonus.

This is the language that you don’t want to see:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card

Platinum 90 Day Rule

This is one of the newest rules and it states that you cannot get more than one Platinum card in a 90 day period. The Platinum Rule only applies to:

Platinum Card
Schwab Platinum
Morgan Stanley Platinum
Goldman Sachs Platinum

This rule is not that damaging since it only takes about three months to wait it out.

Amex Marriott rules

The credit card rules for the Marriott cards are straight up ridiculous. They are extremely lengthy and a little bit confusing with all of the many different varieties of Marriott cards. They also crossover with Chase cards which makes them even more confusing. WalletFlo will really come in handy for these rules.

Below are the Amex Marriott rules that currently apply.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card Rule

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who:

Have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card.
Have or have had the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card (from Chase) in the last 30 days
Have acquired the any of the following cards in the last 90 days:
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase)

Have received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer in the last 24 months for the:
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase)
- Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase)
- Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase)

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who:

Have or have had this product or the Starwood Preferred Guest Business (from American Express).

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have had the following in the last 30 days:

Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business (from Chase)
Marriott Bonvoy Business (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Business (from Chase)

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have acquired the following in the last 90 days:

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase)
Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase)
Marriott Bonvoy Premier (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase)

The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card welcome bonus is not available to applicants who have received a new Card Member bonus offer in the last 24 months on the:

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Premier Plus (from Chase)
Marriott Bonvoy Bold (from Chase)
Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus (from Chase)
Marriott Rewards Premier (from Chase)

Hilton Ascend Rule

You will not be eligible for the Surpass welcome bonus if you’ve opened up the Hilton Honors Ascend.

Will Amex combine hard pulls?

Amex (or more accurately the credit bureaus) can definitely combine hard pulls for multiple applications.

The only issue with this is that it doesn’t always happen. I’ve applied for multiple Amex cards on numerous occasions and each time the hard pulls were combined. However, there are data points out there where applicants were hit with two hard pulls. If I had to guess, applying for two charge cards probably makes it more likely for a combined hard pull than applying for two credit cards, but I can’t tell you what Amex will do for sure.

As an interesting aside, existing Amex cardholders will usually not incur a hard pull upon an application rejection. Unless Amex detects a significant change in your credit report, they will usually only conduct a credit check using their own internal credit check system and deny you.

And in some cases, existing Amex cardholders may not even incur a hard pull upon being approved.

Anti-gaming rules

American Express also has pretty strong anti-gaming language. For example, when you apply for one of their cards you might see the following language in the terms and conditions:

We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

There is also this language as well:

If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so (for example, if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer (s) that we did not intend for you; if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it; or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount), we may not credit bonus points to your account.

In practice, what this means is that if you have applied for a ton of American Express cards, especially in a shorter amount of time, you will have issues getting approved for the card and earning the bonus.

Also, if you have downgraded or canceled cards before the annual fee posts or done anything shady or semi-shady to achieve a welcome bonus, that can come back to bite you pretty bad.

Luckily, there is a pop-up window that usually shows up when you go to apply that will let you know that you have exceeded the limit of acceptable gaming activity by American Express to get a welcome bonus so you don’t have to waste an application.

Final word

So, in conclusion, you should ask yourself the following three questions to make sure you’re not violating any Amex application rules:

Do you have a total of five Amex credit cards? If so, you cannot apply for another credit card (but you can still apply for a charge card)
Have you opened up more than two credit cards in the past 90 yes? If so, you cannot apply for another credit card (but you can still apply for a charge card)
Have you ever had this card before? If so, you probably will not be given the sign-up bonus again (subject to the above exceptions).

Or you can just sign up for WalletFlo and have these questions and calculations ordered for you.

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the digital smart wallet, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. His content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.

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