American Express is promoting a new charge card called the AmEx Premier Rewards Gold Card, which is different from their other Gold/Gold Rewards/Platinum/Precious Metal cards.
Since this is the new card being pushed, it has the best sign-up incentives for new cardholders:
* Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership. MR points are very versatile, and can be converted to 15,000 frequent flier miles in a number of programs (or 10 Southwest credits), or you can simply get $150 in gift cards at several stores like Home Depot, Crate & Barrel, or Macy’s. I think you can also get cash equivalents at a reduced ratio.
* Offers 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else. The traditional versions only offer 1 point per $ spent, so the double points on gas and groceries are an extra perk, although the annual fee is much higher at $175.
* Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $30,000 per calendar year. This means that if you spend $30,000 in a year ($2,500 per month) that you’ll get at least 15,000 for sign-up + 30,000 on spending + 15,000 bonus = 60,000 points total, plus any extra for gas/groceries/airfare. That’s enough for 60,000 frequent flier miles or 2.5 free flights on Southwest (40 credits).
* No annual fee for your first year. Another important feature, you can get the bonus and try out this card for free for a year.
