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)
Apr 22, 2017, 5:17 am
#511
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: fwp blood diamond, dykwia uranium
Posts: 7,251
t+c on spg amex states clearly: "For current or former Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express Cardmembers, we may approve your application, but you will not be eligible for the welcome bonus."
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
Apr 22, 2017, 9:23 am
#512
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
t+c on spg amex states clearly: "For current or former Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express Cardmembers, we may approve your application, but you will not be eligible for the welcome bonus."
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
SPG can only refer to SPG
so if you don't have one, go via GCR or someone you know
Apr 22, 2017, 9:58 am
#513
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
t+c on spg amex states clearly: "For current or former Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express Cardmembers, we may approve your application, but you will not be eligible for the welcome bonus."
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
Just go to your Refer A Friend page (I'm guessing you have the Personal SPG) and then open the application page for this card, but then look for the icon on the right or bottom left to apply for the Business SPG. Apply as a sole proprietor if you don't a legitimate business. The Business SPG is $150 and 20K welcome points after $1500 spending. Just ask margarita girl, she just went through the same routine last month.
Apr 22, 2017, 10:03 am
#514
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Does anyone have experience with adding supplementary cards for the business plat card?
I currently have the business plat card, and I need to add 2 supplementary cards to my account.
I saw a link in my AmEx online account about an offer where one can apply for supplementary cards for the personal plat card and receive 5K points for each approved supplementary card.
However, the link is only for the personal plat card, which I also have, and I can't seem to find any landing page regarding supplementary card offers for the business plat card.
Does anyone know how I should apply for business plat supplementary cards if I want to get some bonus points?
Or does such an offer simply not exist for the business plat card?
I currently have the business plat card, and I need to add 2 supplementary cards to my account.
I saw a link in my AmEx online account about an offer where one can apply for supplementary cards for the personal plat card and receive 5K points for each approved supplementary card.
However, the link is only for the personal plat card, which I also have, and I can't seem to find any landing page regarding supplementary card offers for the business plat card.
Does anyone know how I should apply for business plat supplementary cards if I want to get some bonus points?
Or does such an offer simply not exist for the business plat card?
Apr 23, 2017, 11:11 am
#515
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 822
t+c on spg amex states clearly: "For current or former Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express Cardmembers, we may approve your application, but you will not be eligible for the welcome bonus."
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
clearly the thread indicates otherwise. so if i cancel now when should i re apply? 6 months+1day?
also someone please explain to me self referral. i login to spg amex, send a referral to myself on the spg, then sign up in 6 months+1day? or what? or do i use spg amex login to refer me to a different card? i do not get this.
Don't worry,I, and many here,have done just this...with no problem getting the welcome points from the self-referred card.
Apr 23, 2017, 3:32 pm
#516
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, United Premier Silver
Posts: 205
New datapoint: last had AMEX Gold in 2015, cancelled it over a year ago
Just used a family member's AMEX biz Plat referral to refer myself to the card two weeks ago, got the new card in the mail couple days ago,
Family member said he didnt see any referral points. Now, I'm worried maybe I won't get the 25k either. I guess they are starting to clamp down in Canada too?
Just used a family member's AMEX biz Plat referral to refer myself to the card two weeks ago, got the new card in the mail couple days ago,
Family member said he didnt see any referral points. Now, I'm worried maybe I won't get the 25k either. I guess they are starting to clamp down in Canada too?
Apr 23, 2017, 9:11 pm
#517
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
New datapoint: last had AMEX Gold in 2015, cancelled it over a year ago
Just used a family member's AMEX biz Plat referral to refer myself to the card two weeks ago, got the new card in the mail couple days ago,
Family member said he didnt see any referral points. Now, I'm worried maybe I won't get the 25k either. I guess they are starting to clamp down in Canada too?
Just used a family member's AMEX biz Plat referral to refer myself to the card two weeks ago, got the new card in the mail couple days ago,
Family member said he didnt see any referral points. Now, I'm worried maybe I won't get the 25k either. I guess they are starting to clamp down in Canada too?
This may be happening now with the Biz Plat referrals, as a few people on RFD have just this past week reported about delays with the 25K referring points, though the points did appear a few days later (when normally they would post the day after confirmed approvals). We won't know till more datapoints come in to confirm or refute this point.
For your churned Personal Gold, just stay calm and don't ask Amex to look into your past history file. Hopefully the 25K will post at the $1500 spend mark, or within a few weeks after it, automatically without extra effort on your nor Amex's part.
Apr 24, 2017, 3:47 am
#518
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 73
I am 0/4 on immediate decisions on amex refs, all recent - 1 self ref, 3 other. Included refs to current amex cardholder and never amex cardholder.
I self reffed biz plat to biz gold. Applied Friday, called Saturday. Agent said there was no issue with the application and it was approved. Got the card on Tuesday from FedEx. I would wait it out.
I self reffed biz plat to biz gold. Applied Friday, called Saturday. Agent said there was no issue with the application and it was approved. Got the card on Tuesday from FedEx. I would wait it out.
Just tried to self refer from Amex Bus Plat to Bus Gold and got the message that they cannot approve immediately and to wait for 10 business days, does anyone know if this means I'm out of luck for the 40K bonus after the spend? Or is this always the case when you try to get 2 business cards?
Wondering if I should call them to try to expedite the approval, do you guys think this is a good idea or to let them get back to me?
Thank you,
Wondering if I should call them to try to expedite the approval, do you guys think this is a good idea or to let them get back to me?
Thank you,
Apr 24, 2017, 11:56 am
#519
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: AP, AS, BAEC, HH, SPG, FPC, PC
Posts: 282
Bonus MR posting question
I've read somewhere here not to bother Amex when a signup bonus does not automatically post to one's account after hitting the spending threshold, especially if one's MR account is combined with an existing card.
How long should one wait?
My situation is that I have a personal Gold Amex card. Collected my signup bonus in late 2016 and recently got myself the Business Gold card. I hit the spending limit within the first 10 days of activating the card but still have not seen the signup bonus from the Business Gold card post to my MR account. It's been a month since I've hit the threshold and one billing cycle has already passed.
Should I contact them now?
I want to cancel my personal Gold Amex card - will this affect my combined MR account? Will it expedite or delay my Business Gold card signup bonus even more?
TIA
ST_ca
How long should one wait?
My situation is that I have a personal Gold Amex card. Collected my signup bonus in late 2016 and recently got myself the Business Gold card. I hit the spending limit within the first 10 days of activating the card but still have not seen the signup bonus from the Business Gold card post to my MR account. It's been a month since I've hit the threshold and one billing cycle has already passed.
Should I contact them now?
I want to cancel my personal Gold Amex card - will this affect my combined MR account? Will it expedite or delay my Business Gold card signup bonus even more?
TIA
ST_ca
Apr 24, 2017, 12:46 pm
#520
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
I am 0/4 on immediate decisions on amex refs, all recent - 1 self ref, 3 other. Included refs to current amex cardholder and never amex cardholder.
I self reffed biz plat to biz gold. Applied Friday, called Saturday. Agent said there was no issue with the application and it was approved. Got the card on Tuesday from FedEx. I would wait it out.
I self reffed biz plat to biz gold. Applied Friday, called Saturday. Agent said there was no issue with the application and it was approved. Got the card on Tuesday from FedEx. I would wait it out.
Apr 24, 2017, 12:48 pm
#521
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
To call, or not to call. Depends if it's the Business vs Personal card.
I've read somewhere here not to bother Amex when a signup bonus does not automatically post to one's account after hitting the spending threshold, especially if one's MR account is combined with an existing card.
How long should one wait?
My situation is that I have a personal Gold Amex card. Collected my signup bonus in late 2016 and recently got myself the Business Gold card. I hit the spending limit within the first 10 days of activating the card but still have not seen the signup bonus from the Business Gold card post to my MR account. It's been a month since I've hit the threshold and one billing cycle has already passed.
Should I contact them now?
I want to cancel my personal Gold Amex card - will this affect my combined MR account? Will it expedite or delay my Business Gold card signup bonus even more?
TIA
ST_ca
How long should one wait?
My situation is that I have a personal Gold Amex card. Collected my signup bonus in late 2016 and recently got myself the Business Gold card. I hit the spending limit within the first 10 days of activating the card but still have not seen the signup bonus from the Business Gold card post to my MR account. It's been a month since I've hit the threshold and one billing cycle has already passed.
Should I contact them now?
I want to cancel my personal Gold Amex card - will this affect my combined MR account? Will it expedite or delay my Business Gold card signup bonus even more?
TIA
ST_ca
There are no one-welcome notes on the Business card products, so you can contact Amex now if you'd like, to ask where the missing welcome points are. They will likely just tell you to wait 8-10 weeks and the points will eventually post. The advantage of calling them, with a very pouty attitude, is that you might also get some sympathy points while you wait for the 40K welcome points to post.
Personal Gold:
Personal cards DO have the one-welcome notes. Don't call Amex. Preacher7 reported this a year ago. He has an expansive churn team, and noticed that if you do call to ask about the missing points you run the risk of Amex "ruining" your welcome bonus if it's a personal Gold's churn (repeat signup). But if you stay patiently quiet, waiting without contacting them, 6-10 weeks later you may find that the points will post automatically. Even if you don't see the welcome bonus by the 10th week I would just keep waiting a bit more and hope for the best, because once you discuss with Amex there is no recourse if they notice they see you've opened the card once before (within 24 months?). After say 12-14 weeks, it might be a lost cause, so you can just call and hope for the best. Some said they were told in whispering tones, something about the one-welcome rule only being applicable in a 24 months period, and not life-time.
Apr 24, 2017, 4:48 pm
#522
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: 25 million points to burn!
Posts: 1,522
Don't panic. Your family member's missing referral points might be due to a shifting wind in the Amex sails. From Dec to Feb many people reported missing/delayed 15K referring points into their source Personal Platinum card. But eventually datapoints started to come in that they were finally posted weeks/months later, with a description of "Remediation".
This may be happening now with the Biz Plat referrals, as a few people on RFD have just this past week reported about delays with the 25K referring points, though the points did appear a few days later (when normally they would post the day after confirmed approvals). We won't know till more datapoints come in to confirm or refute this point.
For your churned Personal Gold, just stay calm and don't ask Amex to look into your past history file. Hopefully the 25K will post at the $1500 spend mark, or within a few weeks after it, automatically without extra effort on your nor Amex's part.
This may be happening now with the Biz Plat referrals, as a few people on RFD have just this past week reported about delays with the 25K referring points, though the points did appear a few days later (when normally they would post the day after confirmed approvals). We won't know till more datapoints come in to confirm or refute this point.
For your churned Personal Gold, just stay calm and don't ask Amex to look into your past history file. Hopefully the 25K will post at the $1500 spend mark, or within a few weeks after it, automatically without extra effort on your nor Amex's part.
How long to wait before calling in, if you truly don't get your bonus? In our rather extensive experience, do wait beyond the 12 weeks, as JJJ said above. Since you should likely keep the card open for 6 months anyway, I would wait till the 16 week mark. If no bonus, you could call or e-mail. That will give about a month for them to post on your next statement, and then you could go ahead and cancel just after the 6 month mark. Again, we've never missed a bonus yet, and we've gone through a lot of cards. Several, certainly, we've had to wait till the 12 week mark. Not to worry.
Last edited by Preacher7; Apr 24, 2017 at 4:54 pm
Apr 24, 2017, 8:37 pm
#523
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 73
Correct.
Referral application date was late on Apr 15. Ref got email to "add more info to your application" (new cardholder - credit bureau info) on Apr 17. Points posted Apr. 21 as "bonus points" no capitalization. Card + supplementary card arrived today via FedEx.
The 5k gold supplementary card bonus did not post on activation, so will wait to see...
Referral application date was late on Apr 15. Ref got email to "add more info to your application" (new cardholder - credit bureau info) on Apr 17. Points posted Apr. 21 as "bonus points" no capitalization. Card + supplementary card arrived today via FedEx.
The 5k gold supplementary card bonus did not post on activation, so will wait to see...
Apr 24, 2017, 9:27 pm
#524
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BC, Canada
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium Elite, VSE/MVC Chairman's Club
Posts: 546
Business Gold:
There are no one-welcome notes on the Business card products, so you can contact Amex now if you'd like, to ask where the missing welcome points are. They will likely just tell you to wait 8-10 weeks and the points will eventually post. The advantage of calling them, with a very pouty attitude, is that you might also get some sympathy points while you wait for the 40K welcome points to post.
There are no one-welcome notes on the Business card products, so you can contact Amex now if you'd like, to ask where the missing welcome points are. They will likely just tell you to wait 8-10 weeks and the points will eventually post. The advantage of calling them, with a very pouty attitude, is that you might also get some sympathy points while you wait for the 40K welcome points to post.
To qualify for a Welcome Bonus of 75,000 points you must have at least $5,000 in net purchases posted to your account in your first 3 months of Card membership. Account must be in good standing. This offer is not applicable to holders of an existing American Express Small Business Card product. When we stop offering the Welcome Bonus, we reserve the right to accept applications but you will not be eligible for the Welcome Bonus.
In this particular case, the recipient is going to cancel their Business Gold supplementary card, and get their own Business Platinum primary card. Would you interpret this as saying that they will not get the bonus because they were previously holding the supplementary card?
Apr 25, 2017, 8:53 am
#525
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 77
Hello everyone,
Just went through the whole post but couldn't see this question being asked before.
If I refer my spouse for an SPG card, can we pool the welcome points into one SPG account, or they must be separate?
Just went through the whole post but couldn't see this question being asked before.
If I refer my spouse for an SPG card, can we pool the welcome points into one SPG account, or they must be separate?