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American Express Canada application and reward strategies (2017)

Old Jan 7, 2017, 4:18 pm
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Last edit by: mia
Referrals and self-referrals are an important part of maximizing rewards from Canadian-issued American Express cards. It is appropriate to discuss how the referral process works in this thread. However, please do not offer or request referrals here. Use only this thread, and do read the Wikipost carefully before posting: Referral Offers (post only in this thread, no referral links, read Wiki post first).

This thread is a continuation of: Churning Amex in Canada (2016). All the listed offers below are still valid as of January 2017.

Jerry: Aug 2017 latest update, all-in-one summary



New as of Mar 23, 2017, minimum spend up to $3000 now
AMEX Platinum Rewards - $699/year, 60K MR (via referral) after $3000 spending in 3 months vs. 50K non-referral

New as of March 23 2016.
AMEX Business Platinum Rewards - $399/year, 75K MR (via referral) after $5000 spending in 3 months vs. 40K non-referral

Updated as of July 21, 2017
AMEX Gold Rewards - $150/year, FYF, 25K MR after $1500 spending + $50/$60 cashback from GCR. New as of Jan 15, 2017, on a referred signup: and an additional 5,000 Membership Rewards points for one approved Supplementary Card added to your account at time of online application. Thats a total of 30,000 Membership Rewards points.
  • July 11, 2017, Amex Gold MR will no longer earn referral points.
  • July 21, 2017, no other Amex MR card can refer to Gold MR

AMEX Business Gold Rewards - $250/year, FYF, 30K MR after $5000 spending (or 40K via referral)

AMEX Air Miles Platinum - $65/year, 2000 Air Miles after $1500 spending + $30 GCR cashback

July 18-Oct 18, 2017 - welcome offer increased 5K to 25K.
Sep 28, 2017 - Personal and Business SPG bonus drops from 10K to 5K per approved referral.
AMEX SPG - $120/year, 25K SPG after $1500 spending + $30 GCR cashback
- if you applied recently for the SPG card at the 20K welcome level, try contacting Amex by Secured Message to ask if they can match the current 25K offer. Several successful datapoints have surfaced with manual addition of 5K at next statement. YMMV.

New as of July 2016
AMEX Aeroplan Plus Platinum - $499/year, 50K Aeroplans after $1000 spending in 3 months (or 51K via referral). The 50K/51K, extra 10K promo expired on April 01, 2016, but started up again July - Sep 30th, 2016.

New card as of Sep 25 2017
AMEX Cobalt CREDIT card - $10/month ($120 annually)
Apply through GCR for $50 Rebate https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/...s/Amex-Cobalt/
  • Earn 2,500 Membership Tiered Rewards points for each month where you spend $500 (up to 30,000/year).
  • Limited Time Offer: Apply by Jan 30, 2018 and you can earn a Welcome Bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3K in 3 months.
  • See discussion thread for more details: 2017 American Express Cobalt (Canada)

This is not an all-inclusive list, only the "good" offers, so feel free to add new offers.

Referral Difference Between Cards:
Please note there is a maximum annual referral bonus you can make per card.

AMEX Platinum Rewards
- Earn 15K MR for each referral you make
(Note: from Mar 23 - Jun 29 the bonuses were 75K welcome and 25K referral points)
AMEX Business Platinum Rewards
- Earn 25K MR for each referral you make
AMEX Gold Rewards
  • July 11, 2017, Amex Gold MR will no longer earn referral points.
  • July 21, 2017, no other Amex MR card can refer to Gold MR
  • mid-May 2016, increased from $500 to $1500 required spending.
  • Jan 11 to mid-May 2016, the Gold card earned 0 referral points.
AMEX Business Gold Rewards
- Earn 10k MR for each referal you make.
Print Wikipost

American Express Canada application and reward strategies (2017)

Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:24 am
  #736  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 1
Looking for some newbie advice from the pros...

Wife and I both had the Gold cards last year, got the bonuses, and cancelled. Is it churnable if we sign up again? Will we get the points? Also, just generally would love to hear any input on strategy, only really interested in the Free cards. Do I need to have a business for the business gold card, or can I get that card without owning a business or sole proprietorship?

Thanks for any advice you offer, love reading the forums!!

Cheers,
Al
ababs is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2017, 12:02 pm
  #737  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by ababs
Looking for some newbie advice from the pros...

Wife and I both had the Gold cards last year, got the bonuses, and cancelled. Is it churnable if we sign up again? Will we get the points? Also, just generally would love to hear any input on strategy, only really interested in the Free cards. Do I need to have a business for the business gold card, or can I get that card without owning a business or sole proprietorship?

Thanks for any advice you offer, love reading the forums!!

Cheers,
Al
Welcome to FT, Canadian content!

The Canadian Amex churning scene is dynamic. It hasn't been shut down as vigorously as in the USA, yet there are some signs that they may want to enforce their one-welcome policy notes (first published in the footnotes of personal card products on July 1st, 2015). So, your success at churning can't be foreseen, but odds are still GOOD, at least IMHO.

You don't need a legitimate business registration number to apply for their business card products. For years we have been applying as sole proprietors, using our NAMES as our business names. Amex are fine with this.

You mentioned you're only interested in the Free (FYF) cards, but have a look at the post(s) I've put up in the past (links in my signature) about why the Business Platinum card is still a smart choice.

JJJ

Last edited by JJonahJ; Jul 5, 2017 at 3:23 pm
JJonahJ is offline  
Old Jul 5, 2017, 3:23 pm
  #738  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Information sharing on behalf of a friend, who self-referred from Biz Plat MR to Personal Plat MR. It's the 2nd or 3rd time churning the Plat MR card (honestly can't remember). Met the minimum spend requirement, but did NOT see the 60K welcome points. Did not know that the general rule nowadays is to NOT call Amex to enquire about missing points on a personal card's churn attempt, so was met with "you won't get the welcome points because you've opened this card before". Fast forward a few weeks/month, the 60K posted anyways. So, it's still alive, but as always, YMMV, and please don't call Amex to discuss this type of scenario!

Last edited by JJonahJ; Jul 5, 2017 at 8:22 pm
JJonahJ is offline  
Old Jul 6, 2017, 3:27 pm
  #739  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,163
delete

Last edited by agjil; Jul 6, 2017 at 10:57 pm Reason: mistake
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Old Jul 8, 2017, 7:37 pm
  #740  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YYZ (YUL/LHR)
Programs: AC - E50, CX - G, Accor Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 903
I note the language on the Amex Gold Rewards referral now has a deadline of July 10th to apply. Seems they are withdrawing or mixing up the referral programme on that card only after that date. I hope above all that we do not lose the chance to refer from the other MR cards to the Gold Rewards - that would be a tough loss.
markandrew is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 8:07 pm
  #741  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Prince Edward Island
Programs: Air Canada P25K, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, MGM Gold
Posts: 1,581
Originally Posted by markandrew
I note the language on the Amex Gold Rewards referral now has a deadline of July 10th to apply. Seems they are withdrawing or mixing up the referral programme on that card only after that date. I hope above all that we do not lose the chance to refer from the other MR cards to the Gold Rewards - that would be a tough loss.
Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking of self referring to a new gold card this summer, so I think I'll expedite the application
Low Roller is offline  
Old Jul 8, 2017, 11:33 pm
  #742  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Canadia
Programs: A loyal Amerisuites customer... oh wait
Posts: 2,033
Originally Posted by markandrew
I note the language on the Amex Gold Rewards referral now has a deadline of July 10th to apply. Seems they are withdrawing or mixing up the referral programme on that card only after that date. I hope above all that we do not lose the chance to refer from the other MR cards to the Gold Rewards - that would be a tough loss.
Yikes.
Thank you!

"To be eligible for this referral bonus, your friend must apply for the Card by July 10th , 2017. We can still accept applications after this date but you may or may not be eligible for a bonus. See Referral Program Terms for details."


That language is only for
The American Express Gold Rewards Card
jerry305 is offline  
Old Jul 10, 2017, 9:04 am
  #743  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PHL, NYC, DC
Posts: 9,707
is amex denying people that have recently closed their accounts and reapplied (i.e. 2-3 months range). 4 wks now and still no reply from AMEX
global happy traveller is offline  
Old Jul 10, 2017, 9:23 am
  #744  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by markandrew
I note the language on the Amex Gold Rewards referral now has a deadline of July 10th to apply. Seems they are withdrawing or mixing up the referral programme on that card only after that date. I hope above all that we do not lose the chance to refer from the other MR cards to the Gold Rewards - that would be a tough loss.
Thanks for your always well-timed posts, Mark.

Well, this is yet another indicator that Amex may want to do something about the Personal Gold's referred signup, but whether it's to stop other cards from referring to Gold, or whether it's to stop giving out the 5K to Gold cardholders for being the source referring card, I don't know.

For eg., in the past few months they had already sort of hid away the Personal Gold MR card from the initial Personal Plat's referred signup landing page, forcing you to click on say the Business Gold from the "Not the right Card for you? Take a look at our other Cards..." section, and THEN clicking on say the Business Plat or Business Gold card icons, so that you could THEN see and click on the Personal Gold card icon. Two hops to get to the card.

So, we'll see after today if it's:
  • stopping all referrals to the Personal Gold from earning 5K/10K/15K/25K bonus points into the source referring card (Gold/BizGold/Plat/BizPlat)
  • stopping just the 5K bonus from a referring Personal Gold

If the reason is for the first point, this would stop a lot of people from doing easy churns to collect say 25K into a referring Biz Plat card, as the Personal Gold is always an "easy sell" to convince your friends to signup, or even on a self-referral since you would get the 25K anyways regardless of whether a churned Personal sees the repeated 25K welcome points.

But if the reason is the second point, this means it it would end the 5K bonus for Gold cards as the referring source, and thus bring it back to 0 again, which they already had trialed, from Jan to Mar 2016 (it was earning 10K prior to this, and then 5K after this). Personally, I think there is another deeper reason behind this decision, if indeed it proves to be the case. We'll see.

-----
Edit: wanted to point out the two different sources for seeing the same/similar message about this topic.

At the Personal Gold's Refer A Friend page:
As the Basic Cardmember, refer a friend and you could earn a bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards* points for each approved referral up to a maximum annual referral bonus of 75,000 Membership Rewards points.
To be eligible for this referral bonus, your friend must apply for the Card by July 10th , 2017. We can still accept applications after this date but you may or may not be eligible for a bonus.
Versus when you refer from any other MR card to the Personal Gold, at the landing page for the Personal Gold (after 2 hops) you see:
If your application is approved as part of this referral program, your friend could earn 5,000 bonus points. Your friend will be eligible for this referral bonus amount if you apply for the Card by July 10th , 2017, and your application is approved. We can still accept your application after this date but your friend may or may not be eligible for a bonus.

Last edited by JJonahJ; Jul 10, 2017 at 9:47 am
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Old Jul 10, 2017, 9:38 am
  #745  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by global_happy_traveller
Here we go again................ after Mrs GHT was screwed with AMEX's late card delivery and refusal to honor the bonus points after $5000 in spending within 3 months she got the card..... we are into week 3 waiting for her new AMEX card................. is anyone else having to wait such a long time for a new AMEX card?
Did she actually get approved (online instant, congratulatory email, phone-in pushed through)?
JJonahJ is offline  
Old Jul 10, 2017, 7:51 pm
  #746  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PHL, NYC, DC
Posts: 9,707
Originally Posted by JJonahJ
Did she actually get approved (online instant, congratulatory email, phone-in pushed through)?
No instant approval (standard message we are reviewing your application). Never heard back.... following FT rule 101 try not to call in cause she had her card cancelled back in Apr

her Biz card last year went through similar disaster where Amex couldn't budget to comp her the miles.... I wonder if they blacklisted her
global happy traveller is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2017, 7:55 am
  #747  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YYZ (YUL/LHR)
Programs: AC - E50, CX - G, Accor Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 903
Gold card certainly cannot refer anymore. Old terms have returned saying that your friend can apply but the Gold cardholder will not receive a bonus. Interestingly, it is still better for the friend to take the referral as the gateway to 30k instead of 25k remains open.

Gold biz, Plat and Plat biz still appear to allow referral to the Gold card.
markandrew is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2017, 8:48 am
  #748  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by markandrew
Gold card certainly cannot refer anymore. Old terms have returned saying that your friend can apply but the Gold cardholder will not receive a bonus. Interestingly, it is still better for the friend to take the referral as the gateway to 30k instead of 25k remains open.

Gold biz, Plat and Plat biz still appear to allow referral to the Gold card.
Thanks Mark. The Refer a Friend page when clicking on the Gold card now says:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Effective July 11th, 2017, this Card is no longer eligible for a referral bonus. You can still refer the Card to your friends and family but you will not earn a referral bonus for any approved referral.


And as per my post from yesterday, the referred signup landing page from OTHER (BizGold, Plat, Biz Plat) MR cards would display the following, when you click to refer to the Gold card:
If your application is approved as part of this referral program, your friend could earn 5,000 bonus points. Your friend will be eligible for this referral bonus amount if you apply for the Card by July 10th , 2017, and your application is approved. We can still accept your application after this date but your friend may or may not be eligible for a bonus.

The above no longer appears there, so does indeed appear to still allow referral to the Gold card.
JJonahJ is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2017, 9:04 am
  #749  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by global_happy_traveller
No instant approval (standard message we are reviewing your application). Never heard back.... following FT rule 101 try not to call in cause she had her card cancelled back in Apr

her Biz card last year went through similar disaster where Amex couldn't budget to comp her the miles.... I wonder if they blacklisted her
The Don't Call Amex rule is more specifically for enquiring about missing points on repeated churns, but in general you just don't want to have to call Amex if possible in other situations such as self-referrals, opening a second Business card product for welcome points. But in the case of approvals, I would relax that rule, especially if I haven't seen an email within a week after applying. Most front line Amex reps will simply want you to provide ID info and then push the application along, but of course there could also be a manual review by a credit analyst who at that time 'might' notice if it's a repeated churn of a Personal card product and offer to abort the application citing the one-welcome rules. For Business products there aren't published ineligibility wording, but they might still cite it anyways, be it correct or not. I think after 2 weeks of silence I would have just called anyways, and taken the chance. She might as well call now, as it's unlikely still "in progress" after so many weeks after applying.
JJonahJ is offline  
Old Jul 12, 2017, 9:40 am
  #750  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PHL, NYC, DC
Posts: 9,707
Originally Posted by JJonahJ
Most front line Amex reps will simply want you to provide ID info and then push the application along, but of course there could also be a manual review by a credit analyst who at that time 'might' notice if it's a repeated churn of a Personal card product and offer to abort the application citing the one-welcome rules.
That is my concern
global happy traveller is offline  

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