New increased welcome bonus for the SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express - 10% back on all purchases (up to $400 cash back)

 It's American Express' turn to jump back into the 10% return welcome bonus market. We've seen it on many of Canada's cash back cards this year and we even did our first Clash of the Credit Cards podcast on those 10% offers back in July. 

Recommend listening: Podcast Episode 68 Clash of the Credit Cards - The Ten Percenters

As of today if you apply for and are approved for the SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express you will earn 10% cash back on all eligible purchases for the first 4 months of Cardmembership. The welcome bonus is capped at $400 cash back which is $4,000 in spending on the card or as little as $1,000 per month. The previous offer was the standard 5% for 6 months capped at $300 cash back. The card still has its $99 annual fee that you have to pay, no waiver for the first year like some of its competitors but once you earn the $400 you'll come out with $301 in cash back. Even with having to pay the annual fee this new welcome bonus puts the SimplyCash Preferred Card at the top of the list in terms of initial value as the next closest card is $250 (and that card is limited to select spend categories) while most of the other majors are at $200. So as you can see this has now become the most valuable cash back credit card welcome offer in Canada.

Recommended reading: Canada's Top Cash Back Credit Cards 2020

After months of turning down the volume knob it appears that Amex is ready to start acquiring new customers again. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit with full force in March American Express took the route of supporting existing cardholders as the market wasn't prime for new cardholders of quality - rather most people applying for cards during the first few months of the pandemic were considered high risk for default so Amex new client marketing efforts were curtailed. Then you have the other major factor seen with this pandemic and that is the virtual stop to travel. This saw a major shift for consumers looking to non-travel rewards products like cash back credit cards hence American Express' first limited time increased welcome bonus is being placed on their premium cash back product and I must say it is a welcome sight.

Learn more about and apply for The SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express here.

The latest offer for the card is listed below and may not be indicative of the article above: