Any time you sign up for a new card it is important to hit the spend required to earn the welcome sign-up bonus. Most consumers have pulled back on their spending with the spread of the coronavirus and the almost certain recession that the lockdown has created.
Since most cards require that you hit your spend in three months of account opening to earn a welcome bonus this could be troublesome for some consumers. Luckily some card issuers have extended the timeline for cardholders to reach the minimum spend.
AMEX Offers an Extension
American Express announced an extension several days ago saying, “Due to the impact of COVID-19, for eligible card accounts approved from December 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020 for which you are eligible for a welcome offer, the period to make eligible purchases to earn your welcome bonus will be extended for an additional 3 months. Eligible cards are U.S. consumer and business cards issued by American Express National Bank to a basic card member.” This was a welcome announcement for new AMEX cardholders.
Chase Follows Suit!
I signed up for the Chase Ink Business Preferred in February and was thinking that this would be a nice concession for Chase to offer as well. I sent a secure message to Chase earlier this week. Then today I read a snippet on Doctor of Credit about Chase extending the minimum spend period to keep up with AMEX.
I received an email confirming as such. The email stated, “As we all adjust to the impacts of COVID-19, we want to make sure you have enough time to earn the new account bonus on your Chase Ink Business Preferred that you opened on February 5, 2020. That’s why we’re extending the time for you to earn your bonus by 3 months- so you now have a total of 6 months from your account opening date to earn your new account bonus. There’s nothing you need to do to activate this extension-it’s automatic.” The email did make it clear that the extension was only available for accounts opened between 1/1/2020 and 3/31/2020.
The extension is not showing yet but I’m confident it will
This was welcome news and although it has not updated on my spending tracker yet, I feel confident that if I don’t hit the spend by the original deadline then I will still be able to earn the 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points that this great card offers before the six-month window has elapsed.
Will the AMEX or Chase extensions help you hit a welcome offer that may have been tough to achieve otherwise? Let us know in the comments below!