Charles Schwab Offers American Express Cards 2021 Updates

If you’re on the market for a new American Express card, Charles Schwab Amex cards might be one of the cards you might want to take a look at. It offers its clients rewards and 15%. Keep reading if you want to know more!

To apply for either of these cards, you must have a Schwab One Account or Schwab General Brokerage Account.

If you’ve opened a Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account to avoid international ATM fees in the past, you may already have an eligible brokerage account (even if you don’t use it!).

You can open a brokerage account online.  But keep in mind, it requires a hard credit pull, so it might not be worth it for many folks.

Schwab Investor Credit Card From American Express

With the Schwab Investor AMEX, you’ll earn a sign-up bonus of $100 (as a statement credit). That is after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

And you’ll earn unlimited 1.5% cashback on all purchases.  Your cashback is automatically deposited into your eligible Charles Schwab brokerage account.

There’s no annual fee.

This could be a good card for folks looking for simplicity because there are no bonus categories to worry about. Also the card earns 1.5% cashback everywhere.

It’s automatically deposited into your eligible Schwab brokerage account.

But there are other cards I’d recommend instead of this one!

There Are Better Cash Back Cards

The $100 welcome bonus after spending $1,000 in the 1st 3 months of opening the Schwab Investor AMEX isn’t very exciting.  There are other no-annual-fee cash back cards with better bonuses and lower spending requirements.

For example, the new Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per $1 (1.5% cash back) on all purchases, and has a sign-up bonus of $150 (15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

The information for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Plus, if you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer offered) card, you can combine your Chase Ultimate Rewards points. And you also transfer them to terrific hotel and airline partners like Hyatt and United Airlines!

Alternately:

The Capital One Quicksilver also earns an unlimited 1.5% cashback on everything.  This card also has a $100 bonus, but you’ll only have to spend $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months to earn it.

Keep in mind, some folks avoid applying for Capital One cards because they pull your credit report from all 3 credit bureaus (so 1 application = 3 hard pulls).

And there are other no-annual-fee cards which earn more on purchases!  For example, the Citi Double Cash Card earns 1% back when you make a purchase, and another 1% back when you pay it off.

The Discover it® Miles earns 1.5 miles per $1 you spend (1.5% back) – and your miles are matched at the end of your 1st 12 billing cycles.  So it’s effectively a 3% back card for the 1st year.

Read: Best American Express Cards: Best for Travelers, Business & Cash Backs

American Express Platinum Card for Schwab

You’ll earn 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening an American Express Platinum Card for Schwab account.

That’s the same welcome bonus as the regular Platinum Card from American Express.  Like that card, you’ll also get:

• $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc)
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass Select, Airspace, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• No foreign transaction fees
• Terms & limitations apply

The $450 annual fee is NOT waived for the 1st year.  But you can offset much of the fee with the yearly $200 airline incidental credit, airport lounge access, and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit.

And if you’re a big Charles Schwab investor, you’ll earn an additional $100 statement credit after account approval if your qualifying Schwab holdings are $250,000 or more.

Or a $200 credit if you’ve invested over $1,000,000.  And you’ll earn the credit each year afterwards if you meet the same thresholds.

Here’s What Makes This Card Different.  

You can redeem American Express Membership Rewards points for deposits into your eligible Schwab brokerage accounts at a rate of 1.25 cents each.

That’s a better deal than redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points toward paid travel, statement credits, or gift cards.

But you’ll still usually get the most value from your AMEX Membership Rewards points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners like British Airways, Delta, or Singapore Airlines.

This card might be a good option for folks who’ve already earned the welcome bonuses on other American Express Platinum cards. Cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum, or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN.

Remember, American Express now restricts folks to 1 welcome bonus per person, per lifetime on all its personal and small business cards.

Bottom Line

You can now apply for the new Schwab Investor Credit Card From American Express and American Express Platinum Card for Schwab cards.

To apply, you must have an eligible Schwab investment account.  You can apply online, but the extra work (and hard credit pull required) might be a turn-off for many folks.

The Schwab Investor Credit Card From American Express has a welcome bonus of $100 after meeting minimum spending requirements.  It earns an unlimited 1.5% back on all purchases.  That said, there are better no-annual-fee cash back cards available.

And the American Express Platinum Card for Schwab has the same welcome bonus as the regular American Express Platinum card.  You’ll earn 40,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after meeting minimum spending.

This could be a good choice if you bank with Charles Schwab. Also have already earned the welcome bonus on other AMEX Platinum cards.  Or if you want the option to invest your Membership Rewards points at 1.25 cents per point.