Jan 7, 2017, 4:18 pm
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. That’s a total of 30,000 Membership Rewards points.
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/
This is not an all-inclusive list, only the "good" offers, so feel free to add new offers.
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
- Earn 10k MR for each referal you make.
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. That’s 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.
- Earn 10k MR for each referal you make.
American Express Canada application and reward strategies (2017)
May 15, 2017, 7:08 pm
#616
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC
Posts: 2,167
I applied for a few over the weekend - none were instantly approved.
I called them earlier today and they were approved within 30 seconds. I'm not sure why instant approvals are not as prevalent as before.
I applied for a small business card as well - approved over the phone but no instant decision was rendered over the weekend. Agent advised that this is the new normal (that instant approvals are fewer and farther between)
I called them earlier today and they were approved within 30 seconds. I'm not sure why instant approvals are not as prevalent as before.
I applied for a small business card as well - approved over the phone but no instant decision was rendered over the weekend. Agent advised that this is the new normal (that instant approvals are fewer and farther between)
May 16, 2017, 5:58 am
#617
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Gold, Aeroplan, Hilton Honors, Le Club Accor Platinum
Posts: 268
That does seem odd.
We've seen two types of "pending" messages in our recent applications (Feb/Mar).
If she has excellent credit and is in a rush for the card then I'd suggest her to call Amex to push the application through. No need to wait. Should be easy for approval.
We've seen two types of "pending" messages in our recent applications (Feb/Mar).
- Thank you for choosing American Express. We are unable to give you an instant decision at this time. Your application will be processed within 10 days. Questions? Call 1-800-565-0288 and quote reference number: XXXXXXX
- Thank you for applying for SimplyCash Card from American Express. Your application is currently under review and will be completed within 10 days. If you have additional questions regarding the status of your application, please call the New Accounts Department at 1-800-575-2273, quoting application reference number: XXXXXXX
If she has excellent credit and is in a rush for the card then I'd suggest her to call Amex to push the application through. No need to wait. Should be easy for approval.
I'll ask her to call in.
May 16, 2017, 9:57 am
#618
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: SPG Gold, Aeroplan, Hilton Honors, Le Club Accor Platinum
Posts: 268
According to the Amex agent, if you had an application for any Amex product within the last 3 months, the application will not be instantly approved. Had to verify card applied for previously within last 3 months and then apps were approved. Never had to do this before.
Agent was very helpful.
Agent was very helpful.
May 16, 2017, 10:35 am
#619
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
According to the Amex agent, if you had an application for any Amex product within the last 3 months, the application will not be instantly approved. Had to verify card applied for previously within last 3 months and then apps were approved. Never had to do this before.
Agent was very helpful.
Agent was very helpful.
The agent's note is correct, and is why for me it's been a while since I've had an instant approval with Amex. It's not really that new, but maybe more beefed up now? So, if you're applying for Amex cards, hand over foot with less than 90 days in between the individual applications, their fraud detection systems are in place to sniff out less-than-ordinary activity. The reality is that most/ordinary people only apply for ONE CC within say a year or two, and I don't mean just Amex cards but overall for all FIs.
Anyways, it's usually nothing to be alarmed about if you don't get instant approval. If you have good credit it should be a no-brainer for them to approve you once you've called in to verify your ID (name/DOB/address/phone) and true intention to apply - i.e., "No, I didn't accidentally click on that application button for a second similar card within a few days/weeks/month of a prior application". Or "No, I'm not a crazy billionaire applying from Nigeria".
Calling in to get an application pushed through is usually harmless, but the usual caveats of late should be kept in mind. If you're a churner, and it's a repeat application for a personal card product, keep in mind that technically (ever since July 2015) you're not eligible to receive another welcome bonus if you've owned this card before, though we've seen over the past couple of years that Amex Canada, unlike in the US, are not enforcing this with great regularity, but it can happen. I always like to cite Preacher7's datapoints and advice....call about missing points for a non-qualifying signup and you risk not getting the points at all, stay mum. So, for getting applications pushed along, keep the call simple and basic, and don't enrage the rep to poke into your file's history to expose any weaknesses for your case. This includes opening 2 concurrent business card products, which in several instances/circumstance can be denied (there are some published terms), though it is usually not enforced. If it's a business product, and with no other active business card products in the profile, then you should be safe to call, as the non-eligibility on repeat applications is not mentioned in the current footnotes.
May 17, 2017, 5:10 am
#620
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NB, Canada
Programs: Fairmont, Amex MR, Marriott
Posts: 2,531
To answer the first question, I was told that Air Canada will consider all kinds of partnerships going forward, and hasn’t decided on any particular ones yet. So only time will tell if Amex Membership Rewards will be an Air Canada transfer partner.
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...yalty-program/
I think Aeroplan can do a huge devaluation very soon to reduce their liability
and AMEX can reduce their transfer rate to "new" programe to reduce their liability too
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...yalty-program/
I think Aeroplan can do a huge devaluation very soon to reduce their liability
and AMEX can reduce their transfer rate to "new" programe to reduce their liability too
May 17, 2017, 6:28 pm
#621
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC
Posts: 2,167
Interesting
Had the Plat card 5 years ago. Applied through referral a few days ago and when I asked them they said I wouldn't qualify for the 60k MR miles. As a result I cancelled it prior to the annual fee hitting.
Should I believe them or not and give it a shot anyways?
Had the Plat card 5 years ago. Applied through referral a few days ago and when I asked them they said I wouldn't qualify for the 60k MR miles. As a result I cancelled it prior to the annual fee hitting.
Should I believe them or not and give it a shot anyways?
May 17, 2017, 7:39 pm
#622
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: yyz
Posts: 1,611
Interesting
Had the Plat card 5 years ago. Applied through referral a few days ago and when I asked them they said I wouldn't qualify for the 60k MR miles. As a result I cancelled it prior to the annual fee hitting.
Should I believe them or not and give it a shot anyways?
Had the Plat card 5 years ago. Applied through referral a few days ago and when I asked them they said I wouldn't qualify for the 60k MR miles. As a result I cancelled it prior to the annual fee hitting.
Should I believe them or not and give it a shot anyways?
Give it a shot. Phone staff don't give the bonuses, a computer does.
May 17, 2017, 9:04 pm
#623
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London / Los Angeles
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, BA Silver
Posts: 1,631
I applied for business platinum charge and I have the personal platinum charge card too. After spending $5000 I have only been awarded 15k points instead of the 75k points(I was referred). Is this a mistake? I assume they don't say "you had the 60k bonus for the personal card, so we are only going to give you the extra 15k"?
May 17, 2017, 10:10 pm
#624
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,408
I applied for business platinum charge and I have the personal platinum charge card too. After spending $5000 I have only been awarded 15k points instead of the 75k points(I was referred). Is this a mistake? I assume they don't say "you had the 60k bonus for the personal card, so we are only going to give you the extra 15k"?
May 17, 2017, 10:37 pm
#625
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London / Los Angeles
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, BA Silver
Posts: 1,631
No just the personal card. I reached the threshold about a month ago. I dont mind waiting, I just dont know what the 15k bonus points that have added to my account is and wanted to make sure it wasnt the signup bonus.
May 17, 2017, 10:54 pm
#626
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,408
Could it be a self-referral bonus? I wouldn't worry if I were you if you haven't held the card before.
May 18, 2017, 4:18 am
#627
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YYZish
Posts: 300
I had to wait right to the end of the 'ten weeks to post' for my Platinum Business welcome bonus points to post. But they did show up automatically. That 15k does seem more like a referral bonus, perhaps for an older card?
May 18, 2017, 5:51 am
#628
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
I applied for business platinum charge and I have the personal platinum charge card too. After spending $5000 I have only been awarded 15k points instead of the 75k points(I was referred). Is this a mistake? I assume they don't say "you had the 60k bonus for the personal card, so we are only going to give you the extra 15k"?
May 18, 2017, 3:26 pm
#630
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,408
I'm a bit spooked. Applied for another personal gold and Amex called me to do the credit check-verification questions.
Is that a thing that happens? Should I be worried? They told me my info and knew I'd just applied and the number was definitely Amex's (I know that can be faked, but still). They asked me to confirm my personal info and then did the three multiple choice questions you usually do online to verify your identity.
Is that a thing that happens? Should I be worried? They told me my info and knew I'd just applied and the number was definitely Amex's (I know that can be faked, but still). They asked me to confirm my personal info and then did the three multiple choice questions you usually do online to verify your identity.