From 19 October to 2 November 2020, American Express is running a (very early) “Pre-Black Friday Offer”, where card applicants can receive an additional S$150 in Agoda or CapitaVouchers, on top of the usual sign-up bonuses and gifts.
This offer is only available to new to American Express Card members (i.e those who do not currently hold a principal AMEX consumer card at the point of application, or in the 12 month period prior).
| The restriction is on consumer cards, if you only hold an AMEX Singapore Airlines Business Card, for example, you’ll be eligible for this offer |
AMEX Pre-Black Friday Offer
For applications submitted between 19 October to 2 November 2020 and approved between 19 October to 30 November 2020, new to American Express Card members will receive a further S$150 in Agoda or CapitaVouchers when they spend at least S$1,000 in the first month of approval.
This is on top of the usual sign-up bonuses and gifts, as summarized below:
| Usual Offer | Pre-Black Friday Offer | |
 AMEX CapitaCard |
Spend S$3K in 3 months, get Sennheiser earphones | Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
 AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend* |
Spend S$5K in 3 months, get B&O E8 earbuds and 10K miles | Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
 AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card |
Spend S$3K in 3 months, get Acer monitor and 5K miles | Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
 AMEX Platinum Charge* |
-75K MR points -Spend $20K in 6 months, get 75K MR points |
Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
 AMEX Platinum Credit Card* |
-S$150 Lazada voucher -Spend S$5K in 3 months, get Samsung monitor and j5 webcam |
Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
 AMEX True Cashback Card |
Spend S$500 in 1 month, get $80 Capita Vouchers | Spend S$1K in 1 month, get S$150 Agoda/Capita Vouchers |
| *First year’s annual fee must be paid | ||
All applications must be made through the following landing page to be eligible.
In case you were wondering, the S$1,000 spending will double count towards the spending requirements for other gifts. For example, if I’m approved for the AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend and spend S$5,000 in the first 3 months, I’ll receive:
- S$150 Agoda/CapitaVouchers
- B&O E8 Earbuds
- 10,000 bonus miles (in addition to the regular miles)
Do note that if you sign up for the Pre-Black Friday Offer, you will not be eligible for the MGM gifts, i.e:
- AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend: Spend S$2K, get 7.5K miles
- AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card: Spend S$2K, get 3K miles
- AMEX Platinum Credit Card: Spend S$2K, get 12K MR points
- AMEX Platinum Charge: Spend S$5K, get 40K MR points
While I think most people would be willing to accept the trade-off for the first three, I wouldn’t do it for the AMEX Platinum Charge. 40,000 MR points are worth 25,000 miles, and it’s not worth trading that for a S$150 voucher.
The S$150 Agoda or CapitaVouchers will be issued within 10 weeks of meeting the qualifying criteria. The T&C for the Pre-Black Friday offer can be found here.
What counts as eligible spending?
American Express has a rather broad range of eligible transactions, and includes many categories that other banks don’t (such as education, charitable donations, and utilities).
The full exclusions list can be found here. Key exclusions to note are:
- GrabPay top-ups
- Insurance
- SPC transactions
Conclusion
Between Agoda vouchers or CapitaVouchers, I’d probably go for the latter. Most hotels typically offer their best staycation packages directly on their website, which reduces the utility of Agoda.
Once again, do remember that this Pre-Black Friday gift replaces the MGM gift, and if you’re eyeing the AMEX Platinum Charge in particular, you’d better off with the MGM offer instead.
For the AMEX True Cashback Card – Do I need to spend $1,000 or $1,500 to get all the offers please?
each offer has its own spending requirement. the capitavoucher/agoda one is $1,000.
Do you know how strict Amex is with the income requirements for the Platinum Charge card?
$150k minimum in general, although exceptions can be made if you have other substantial assets
Hi Aaron, awesome post again. To sense check as a new to AMEX KF CC, in addition to Acer monitor, it is either 10,000 bonus miles via Milelion vs. $150 voucher via Pre-Black Friday offer. If I read that right, then definitely looks more worth it (miles wise) to support you via your link instead lol.
correct, it’s one or the other. in the case of KFCC, you’re probably better off with the 10k miles: https://milelion.com/2020/08/31/milelion-exclusive-sign-up-for-amex-krisflyer-credit-card-and-get-15000-bonus-miles-with-1-5k-spend/
Just to check, 10K miles is more worth than $150 voucher?
Aaron, would be great if you could share with us the sign up bonus between the $150 Black Friday and the 10K bonus which is more valuable.
all this depends on your personal valuation of a mile.