American Express has been spoiling us silly as of late.
Their recent all-time high welcome bonuses on multiple products make most of their portfolio into tempting propositions. On top of this, they’ve been showing some love to current cardholders of products like the American Express Platinum Card by offering them up to 10x the points on eats and drinks purchases.
While it’s certainly a great time to be in the Miles & Points game, some good things must come to an end.
Sadly, as noted by eagle-eyed Prince of Travel reader DenB, it looks like American Express will end the “Your 3 Suppliers” program on the American Express Business Gold Card on October 6, 2021.
What is the “Your 3 Suppliers” Program?
The Your 3 Suppliers program has been a mainstay of the ageing American Express Business Gold Card for many years now, helping to significantly boost its points earning rate on select purchases.
For the majority of purchases, the Business Gold Card garners only 1 MR point per dollar spent, and possesses no category multipliers.
This earn rate and lack of multipliers could be considered a bit weak compared to other contemporary American Express products, especially given the card’s $250 annual fee.
The Your 3 Suppliers program has kept the card competitive in the stable of Amex cards by permitting you to select up to three merchants from a pool of 40 and earn 2 MR points per dollar spent at these merchants.
You’re allowed to earn up to 250,000 bonus MR points per calendar year in this fashion – a hefty sum!
Better yet, these points are the “full-blooded” Membership Rewards points, which can be easily transferred to airline partners such as Aeroplan, unlike the Membership Rewards Select points earned by the American Express Cobalt Card and American Express Business Edge Card.
What’s the Strategy with Your 3 Suppliers?
Your 3 Suppliers has been one of the main avenues that Miles & Points enthusiasts like myself offset the pain of tax season: we use it to earn bonus Membership Rewards points by paying the CRA via credit card.
Plastiq is listed as one of the program’s available vendors, meaning you will earn 2 MR points per dollar spent on the Business Gold Card via this platform – something which can be very lucrative to sole proprietors and small businesses alike. Even though Plastiq transactions come with a fee of 2.45–2.85%, earning 2x MR points on the Business Gold Card would more than outweigh the fee.
While the list of vendors is not as expansive as many of us current or aspiring cardholders may have desired, there’s still a variety of everyday merchants that make the multiplier categories much more appealing.
For example, Best Buy is a great option for gamers such as myself because it allows me to buy gear such as the Playstation 5 at a 2x multiplier – and get the protections offered by the Business Gold Card’s insurance on my big buy. On the other hand, if you’re practical and want to gas up your vehicle given surging gas prices, then Petro-Canada could be a prudent selection.
There are also some good geographical options: for Western Canadians such as myself, Shaw is an available vendor. For commuters in the Golden Horseshoe, there is the 407 ETR. Those of you in BC looking to make the $5,000 minimum spend on a new Business Gold Card might want to consider prepaying your year’s insurance via InsureBC at double the points.
While the Business Gold Card lacks category multipliers, the ability for the customer to choose their own bonuses via Your 3 Suppliers was always a nice compromise. That’s why it will be a shame to see it go.
Your 3 Suppliers Ending October 6
The end of Your 3 Suppliers has been communicated rather abruptly and without much direct contact to cardholders. A small checkbox has been included on the Your 3 Suppliers selection page indicating that the program will come to an end on October 6, 2021.
It would have been nice to receive some more notice of this, but this does mean that cardholders at least have three months to use the benefits of this program before it is abolished.
Speaking to American Express representatives on both online chat and over the phone, they were not able to provide any definitive reasons for the end of this program.
The representatives mentioned that the end of the program was for unspecified business reasons and that no replacement program was currently planned, but if this changed, it would be announced via email.
It’s also somewhat unclear what will happen to Business Gold cardholders who have already registered for Your 3 Suppliers prior to October 6 (i.e., whether the benefit will be grandfathered or discontinued entirely), but we will keep you updated as developments continue.
Should You Apply for the Business Gold Now?
It can be frustrating when the flagship incentive program of a credit card you are using or considering applying for is abruptly terminated. At present, you may feel tempted to cancel your Business Gold Card or apply for a different card from Amex’s Platinum, Bonvoy, or Aeroplan all-time-high welcome bonus lineup.
If you are considering cancelling, make sure that you don’t have any important household items that you might’ve purchased under Your 3 Suppliers under insurance, as cancelling the card could create complications when making a claim should something with the item go wrong.
For those of you who were considering applying for the Business Gold Card, it would be ideal to apply as soon as possible to pay any back taxes or other bills available via Plastiq before Your 3 Suppliers is cancelled for good.
Double Membership Rewards points on purchases for services like Plastiq may or may not return in the future, and it would be best to get the card before October 6 if you need to pay these kinds of bills in the coming months.
Keep in mind that the Business Gold Card’s signup bonus is also at an all-time high of 60,000 MR points, and that refer-a-friend bonuses from the Business Platinum Card could earn you a further 20,000 MR points if you were to apply through a friend or family member’s referral link.
Conclusion
It’s sad to see Your 3 Suppliers go. It’s a program that’s had a lot of utility for many Miles & Points enthusiasts and small business owners over the years, but American Express of course has to make business decisions it feels are correct for its company.
I hope that we will see a face-lift on the American Express Business Gold Card’s earning rate soon. If you’re looking to pay off those big tax bills or get rewarded for buying a new TV before the program is finished, then you’ll want to act now.