Amex SimplyCash Offer Extended

THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. 

Originally the Amex SimplyCash offer was set to expire TODAY, however, I am happy to announce that the offer has in fact been extended until April 27, 2016. I am not sure why, but this particular credit card has a history of ending there offer quite often, so if you are not read for the card within the next few months, there is a good chance the offer will go through the summer (although no guarantees).  I also recently wrote about this card as you only have until January 31, 2016 to select your cash back category for this calendar year (for existing cardholders).

Welcome 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 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
• 1% cash back on all other purchases. You’ll receive 1% cash back on all other purchases plus any purchases above the $25,000 threshold for selected categories.

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, i.e., Hertz. There are stipulations to each program, so make sure to look at the prior post about the certain caveats. If you were to rent Hertz cards often, for example, and selected the 3% cash back on car rentals, this would end up giving you 8% cash back.
• 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 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 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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