UPDATE: This offer is expired.
Yesterday I wrote that the Amex SimplyCash sign up offer was set to expire and that there was a chance it would be extended. Well, I am happy to announce that the offer has in fact been extended until April 27, 2016.
Sign up offer…
The SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express is giving first time applicants a $250 statement credit after spending $5,000 on qualifying purchases on the Card within the first 6 months of Card membership.
What is this card?
This is a new-ish card from American Express that came out in February 2014. The sign up offer has gone back and forth between nothing to the current offer. Up until this point we haven’t seen a better offer for this card. It is a business card that comes with no annual fee.
This card gives the following bonus points on purchases:
- 5% cash back at US office supply stores and wireless phone services purchased directly from U.S. wireless providers. Getting 5% cash back with these two spend categories is great, especially since many office supply stores (i.e., Staples, Office Depot, etc.) sell gift cards to many other merchants. So you can think of it as getting 5% cash back at a variety of merchants. In regards to wireless phone services, I know many families easily spend $400/month, so getting $240 back over the course of the year can add up. For both categories, this is up to the first $25,000 spend and then goes down to 1% cash back.
- 3% cash back at a category of your choice. You can select one out of the seven given categories to receive the 3% back, up to $25,000. I personally like the option of being able to get 3% cash back on either hotel rooms or at gas stations (airfare is good too, but I like to stick to Chase credit cards for the extra protection; restaurants also a good selection but I use my Chase Sapphire Preferred for the 2x points). You can read more about the best category here. Remember though, you can only select 1 category and cannot change it again until the following year (December 1 – January 31). These categories include:
- Airfare purchased from airlines
- Hotel rooms purchased from hotels
- Car rentals purchased from select car rental companies
- U.S gas stations
- U.S. restaurants
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases for shipping
Other card benefits:
- Access to the American Express OPEN Savings program. I wrote about this more here, but essentially you can get 5% as a statement credit at participating merchants. This includes, for example, Hertz and Hyatt Hotels. There are stipulations to each program, so make sure to look at the prior post about the certain caveats. If you were to stay at Hyatt hotels often, for example, and selected the 3% cash back at hotel rooms, this would end up giving you 8% cash back. You can read more about saving money at Hyatt with an Amex OPEN card here.
- Receive statement credits with Amex Offers. Since this is an American Express credit card, you’ll be eligible to take advantage of more American Express offers. This means you can earn statement credits at many popular merchants with a credit card that doesn’t have an annual fee! If you partake in these offers then you are already ahead!
While this card is not for everyone, there is still some value in the card as you can see from above. It is also more valuable for those that prefer cash right away. I still prefer to use my Chase Ink Plus card on the 5% cash back categories since I value every dollar spent to be closer to a 10% return, but… points can always value and having cash in the pocket now is preferable to many. Also, Chase is now limiting signing up for new cards, so this is a good alternative option. It also does not bring one of the strongest sign up bonuses, but remember it is a no annual fee card. If you cannot afford another hit on your credit report, then I’d let this one go and save it for a card with a bigger sign up bonus, but if you are in the safe zone this is a good one to consider.
Key Links:
- SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express: Limited time offer through April 27, 2016 – $250 statement credit after you spend $5,000 on qualifying purchases on the Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership; No annual fee; Earn cash back with the following rewards structure:
- 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually at US office supply stores and wireless phone providers
- 3% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually at your category of choice (select one out of seven categories)
- 1% cash back on other purchases
*Terms and limitations apply
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