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)
Aug 2, 2017, 10:35 am
#856
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,847
Their applications were not instantly approved and they received the usual "your application is being reviewed so please wait for up to 10 days" response after submitting the application.
When this happens one can call the new application department to follow up with the application, and usually AmEx will ask a few questions and then approve the application if there's nothing wrong with your credit.
However, this time when they called in to inquire about their applications status, all of them were told their applications were being reviewed by an "executive team", and the new application department phone reps cannot approve their application before the executive team finishes the review, so they need to wait a few days for a decision to be made by the executive team.
(IIRC the new application department reps used to be able to approve applications themselves.)
So they waited a few days and received phone calls from AmEx and were told their applications could be approved if they wanted but they would not be getting the welcome bonus.
When this happens one can call the new application department to follow up with the application, and usually AmEx will ask a few questions and then approve the application if there's nothing wrong with your credit.
However, this time when they called in to inquire about their applications status, all of them were told their applications were being reviewed by an "executive team", and the new application department phone reps cannot approve their application before the executive team finishes the review, so they need to wait a few days for a decision to be made by the executive team.
(IIRC the new application department reps used to be able to approve applications themselves.)
So they waited a few days and received phone calls from AmEx and were told their applications could be approved if they wanted but they would not be getting the welcome bonus.
If so, what do you think clues them in to hold the app? The date you last applied for the same card, the SPG number you enter to your application, or just your credit bureau citing too many Amex apps?
Data Points:
I just applied for SPG Personal on Monday, and got an instant approval (at least, that's what the message said...I guess I'll find out soon enough if I need to call them to find out where my card is!).
My credit score is Good (high 600s). I did not record my current Amex Gold Business card # in the app. I last applied for this card last in March 2015 (cancelled March 2016) and then in 2013 before that. I used the same SPG# on this app as I did for both previous apps. I've never applied for SPG Business (I planned to self-refer).
I'll be bummed if I don't get the bonus, but I'll likely still keep the card to self-refer to the SPG Business to try to get something out of it!
Aug 2, 2017, 11:30 am
#857
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YQB
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 2,139
Hello M.jasdou,
I thank you for your message and your patience while you are waiting for our responce .We do not tran sfer new promotion on old card .At the time you were applying for the card the promotion was 20000 points and you agree to the terms and conditions .We do appreciate your business and hope to continue with you for more years to come .If you have any question fell free to contact us through this service or you can call us .We are open 24 /7
Cordially,
K....
American express Email servicing team .
I thank you for your message and your patience while you are waiting for our responce .We do not tran sfer new promotion on old card .At the time you were applying for the card the promotion was 20000 points and you agree to the terms and conditions .We do appreciate your business and hope to continue with you for more years to come .If you have any question fell free to contact us through this service or you can call us .We are open 24 /7
Cordially,
K....
American express Email servicing team .
The outcome seems to be widely dependent of the CSR you get. But I am especially puzzled at how long it takes for me to get replies through SM compared to what others have reported here.
Aug 2, 2017, 11:41 am
#858
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Alaska, Marriott
Posts: 435
Personally I would stop after 1 message, even if they did not reply, considering I view it as them doing a favor for you. They have no obligation to treat you the same as others and give you the same favor as they did for others. All you're doing is being greedy, drawing attention to yourself and this practice.
You got something for pretty much nothing, be happy with it. If you missed a promo, so be it. Doing things that are detrimental to the long term viability of the game is way more value destructive than not being able to min/max each round of bonuses.
You got something for pretty much nothing, be happy with it. If you missed a promo, so be it. Doing things that are detrimental to the long term viability of the game is way more value destructive than not being able to min/max each round of bonuses.
Aug 2, 2017, 11:58 am
#859
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AMEX AC CX UA AA DL
Posts: 3,008
Aug 2, 2017, 6:20 pm
#860
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC
Posts: 2,167
Got the 5,000 miles as an exception, but my 20,000 miles have not posted yet.
I reached the threshold in month 2 of the statement. Will it most likely post in my month 3 statement or would it post otherwise? American Express has assured me the 5,000 miles will post within 3-4 days after month 3, so I'm hopeful the signup bonus of 20K SPG miles will post in month 3. Curious what others have seen on here.
I reached the threshold in month 2 of the statement. Will it most likely post in my month 3 statement or would it post otherwise? American Express has assured me the 5,000 miles will post within 3-4 days after month 3, so I'm hopeful the signup bonus of 20K SPG miles will post in month 3. Curious what others have seen on here.
Aug 2, 2017, 7:31 pm
#861
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2
Quick question, I had two amex cards open (personal gold and biz gold) my personal gold reward bonus posted, so tried to secure message and have them cancel my personal but no response. I called in and they cancelled it, no questions asked, but now it is still showing on my online account and showing that the points are attached to the personal gold card.
Do I need to do anything for the points to show under the biz gold or will that happen automatically?
Thanks!
Do I need to do anything for the points to show under the biz gold or will that happen automatically?
Thanks!
Aug 3, 2017, 8:14 am
#862
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: Aeroplan, Air Miles, Amex, Hilton Honors, VIA Preference,
Posts: 8
Two questions..
should I keep Amex Personal Gold now that I have Amex Personal Platinum? I'm torn about keeping gold for 2x points on certain purchases (travel), but then I don't get all the travel benefits of Amex Platinum.
Also on international travel .. do you find that the points for Amex Platinum (or Gold for that matter) are worth the currency conversion and other fees? I haven't traveled extensively enough with Amex yet to know if it's worth it.
should I keep Amex Personal Gold now that I have Amex Personal Platinum? I'm torn about keeping gold for 2x points on certain purchases (travel), but then I don't get all the travel benefits of Amex Platinum.
Also on international travel .. do you find that the points for Amex Platinum (or Gold for that matter) are worth the currency conversion and other fees? I haven't traveled extensively enough with Amex yet to know if it's worth it.
Aug 3, 2017, 9:35 am
#863
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 128
if you are talking about foreign currency transactions. Amex charges 2.5% currency markup which negates any value the points bring. I would personally stick to 0 markup cards or cards that give extra benefit on such transactions (Rogers/fido cards)
Aug 3, 2017, 11:24 am
#864
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Canadia
Programs: A loyal Amerisuites customer... oh wait
Posts: 2,033
If your source of US dollars is typically cash / debit from your bank, then you're going to pay the 2.5-3% fee anyway, so yes, to me it's good enough.
Aug 3, 2017, 1:24 pm
#865
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: Aeroplan, Air Miles, Amex, Hilton Honors, VIA Preference,
Posts: 8
If you're comparing against the few credit cards that don't charge a foreign currency conversion fee, then, no, it's not worth it.
If your source of US dollars is typically cash / debit from your bank, then you're going to pay the 2.5-3% fee anyway, so yes, to me it's good enough.
If your source of US dollars is typically cash / debit from your bank, then you're going to pay the 2.5-3% fee anyway, so yes, to me it's good enough.
Aug 3, 2017, 6:55 pm
#866
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: YUL
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 107
Quick question, I had two amex cards open (personal gold and biz gold) my personal gold reward bonus posted, so tried to secure message and have them cancel my personal but no response. I called in and they cancelled it, no questions asked, but now it is still showing on my online account and showing that the points are attached to the personal gold card.
Do I need to do anything for the points to show under the biz gold or will that happen automatically?
Thanks!
Do I need to do anything for the points to show under the biz gold or will that happen automatically?
Thanks!
Aug 6, 2017, 4:42 am
#867
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2
Are both card under the same online account ? If so then you don't need to do anything. But if not... then you should have asked to merge both accounts before cancelling the card. If your personal card is cancelled they are going to send you a cheque at the (poor) cash back redemption value (1000 MR points = 10$). Maybe you should call to try to merge the accounts.
Right now when I click on the gold business it says "please see points balance under card # XXX" referring to the personal.
Thanks again
Aug 6, 2017, 7:08 am
#868
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: YUL
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 107
They are under the same account. So will the gold personal eventually just disappear and the total points be shown as collected under the gold business?
Right now when I click on the gold business it says "please see points balance under card # XXX" referring to the personal.
Thanks again
Right now when I click on the gold business it says "please see points balance under card # XXX" referring to the personal.
Thanks again
Aug 6, 2017, 7:09 am
#869
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
They are under the same account. So will the gold personal eventually just disappear and the total points be shown as collected under the gold business?
Right now when I click on the gold business it says "please see points balance under card # XXX" referring to the personal.
Thanks again
Right now when I click on the gold business it says "please see points balance under card # XXX" referring to the personal.
Thanks again
Aug 7, 2017, 8:46 am
#870
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Prince Edward Island
Programs: Air Canada P25K, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, MGM Gold
Posts: 1,582
Has anyone received the 5K bonus for adding a supplemental cardholder to the personal gold card? If so, did you get it at the same time as the 25K sign-up bonus or was it credited separately? I just got my 25K when I hit the minimum spend, but no sign of the extra 5K yet.