Check your accounts — Amex offering elevated referral bonuses of up to 45,000 points for select cardmembers
If you're a current holder of the American Express Platinum Card® or the American Express® Gold Card, you may want to check your accounts. Some of us here at TPG are seeing elevated referral bonuses — as high as 45,000 points.
This can let you take home a large chunk of Membership Rewards points just by referring others to your card.
Here's what you need to know about these offers.
Elevated Amex referral offers we're seeing
In case you're not aware, American Express allows you to share referral links with your friends and family members. If they apply and are approved through those links, they can receive their own welcome bonuses (after satisfying the minimum spending requirements), while you'll receive your own one-time bonus.
While these usually fall into the range of 10,000 to 15,000 points or miles, select cardholders may see significantly higher bonus amounts right now.
For example, I have an offer to earn 45,000 points on my Amex Platinum for each eligible referral.
I also have an offer to earn 40,000 points on my Amex Gold for each eligible referral.
Applicants using those links may be eligible for the following welcome offers on those cards:
- Amex Platinum: Find out your offer and see if you're eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $12,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
- Amex Gold: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership.
Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Your referral can apply for a different Amex card
Each card allows you to earn a referral bonus up to five times per calendar year.
Even better? Your friend or family member doesn't even need to get the card that you sent them a referral for.
Here's the relevant FAQ from American Express' referral page:
Do I have to refer my friend to the same card I have?
No. A referred friend will typically be taken to a product page for the same American Express card associated with the referral link. However, they can explore other available American Express cards and choose the card that best fits their needs by navigating to the personal cards or business cards tab.
As long as the referred friend remains within the referral link and gets an available American Express card, the referring card member could earn a referral bonus. The available American Express cards presented through a referral link may vary based on the referring card member's account and other eligibility considerations.
For example, let's say I send my Amex Platinum referral link to a friend, but he's actually interested in a Delta cobranded card — especially since those just launched limited-time welcome offers, available now through Nov. 4. If he clicks my referral link, he'll likely land on this page:
However, if he clicks on Personal Cards at the top of the page, he can now select the Delta card he wants. If he applies and is approved for that card, he'd be eligible for the Delta offer, while I would still receive the 45,000 Membership Rewards points as a referral bonus.
Related: American Express Membership Rewards: How to earn, redeem and transfer points
How to check your offer and generate a referral link
There are two ways to generate a referral link. The easiest option is to use this link, log in to your American Express account and then navigate to the relevant card. You'll see the offer on your account, and at the right-hand side, there's the option to email a potential applicant directly or generate a link that can be copied and pasted elsewhere.
Alternatively, you can log into your American Express account, navigate to the relevant card, and look for either the Refer a Friend section or the "Refer a Friend. Earn Rewards." link at the right-hand side of the page.
Share your links in the comments below
If you're an existing cardholder and see these elevated bonuses in your account(s), we'd love to help share the love with our audience. Please feel free to post your Gold or Platinum referral links in the comments below, but only if you're eligible for a higher-than-normal referral bonus.
Then, for anyone who applies using someone's link, please give that comment a thumbs up. If you see comments with five of those, move on to someone else, as those readers have maxed out their referral bonuses.
Bottom line
Referring your friends and family to your existing cards can be a great way to earn extra points or miles, and right now, we're seeing elevated offers for select Amex Platinum and Amex Gold cardmembers.
If you're targeted, remember that the person you refer may be able to select another eligible Amex card through your referral link while you still earn the referral bonus associated with your card.
However, there's no telling how long these will be around — so if you're hoping to share these links, we strongly recommend doing so now before it's too late.
To learn more, check out our full review of the Amex Platinum and full review of the Amex Gold.