Many credit card companies have limitations when it comes to the number of accounts a customer can have at the same time. While American Express is more generous than many of its competitors when it comes to allowing customers to open several accounts, there is a limit.
In addition, Amex has rules about how many cards you can apply for at the same time, and a pretty restrictive policy about its welcome bonuses that you should know. Here's a rundown of the important American Express application rules and what they mean to you.
How many American Express cards can you have at the same time?
I won't keep you in suspense. You can have as many as five American Express cards open at the same time. This includes personal cards as well as business cards.
There's one big asterisk here. The limit of five doesn't include any Amex cards that don't have a preset credit limit, such as the flagship Platinum Card® from American Express. There are a few examples of cards in this category on both the personal and business side, so in practice, you can have more than five active Amex accounts.
Two other things to keep in mind
There's also an application rule to keep in mind. While you can have as many as five open Amex accounts (plus no-limit cards), you can only apply for one card per day. This isn't an official rule, but has been confirmed by many sources, and is in place to prevent fraud.
Also, while it's possible to apply for five Amex cards on consecutive days, that doesn't mean you'll be approved for them, even if your credit is strong. Most card issuers will limit the number of new accounts they'll approve within a short time period.
An important rule about welcome bonuses
Since you can have five Amex cards plus any no-spending-limit cards at the same time, it might seem like Amex is a good brand to churn cards with and take advantage of welcome offers. After all, Amex is well known for having some of the best welcome offers in the business.
For this reason, it's important to keep in mind that you can only earn one welcome bonus per card in your lifetime. As an example, when I first applied for and opened The Platinum Card® from American Express, I received a generous welcome bonus after meeting spend requirements. (Terms apply.) If I were to cancel the card and re-apply for it a year from now, I could certainly get approved for the card again, but I wouldn't qualify for whatever welcome bonus is being offered at the time.
Different levels of Amex cards are considered different products for the purpose of this rule. So, you could apply for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and cancel the account after a year. Then you could open the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and get two different welcome bonuses.
What it all means to you
If you have (or want to have) multiple cards to maximize your rewards, you can certainly take advantage of several different offers. But it's important to know how many different Amex cards you can have, and why you might want to think twice before closing an account to try to get another welcome bonus.
