Jan 7, 2018, 10:23 am
Last edit by: MasterGeek
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 (2017). All the listed offers below are still valid as of January 2018.
AMEX Business Gold Rewards - $250/year,FYF, 40K MR (by referral, else only 30K) after $5000 spending
(no longer FYF as of Jun 26, 2018)
Updated as of Jan 22, 2018
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 SPG - $120/year, 25K SPG after $1500 spending + $30 GCR cashback
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 thread is a continuation of: Churning Amex in Canada (2017). All the listed offers below are still valid as of January 2018.
AMEX Business Gold Rewards - $250/year,
(no longer FYF as of Jun 26, 2018)
Updated as of Jan 22, 2018
AMEX Gold Rewards - $150/year,
- 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
- Jan 22, 2018, as of Sep 14, 2017 the Amex Gold MR is no longer FYF. $150/yr applies on first statement. Only another Gold or Cobalt card can refer to Gold (and vice versa) for a 5,000 MR bonus. The Personal Gold cannot refer to Business Gold, Personal Platinum nor Business Platinum.
AMEX SPG - $120/year, 25K SPG after $1500 spending + $30 GCR cashback
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)
American Express Canada application and reward strategies
Apr 4, 2018, 5:51 am
#196
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Most card issuers, including Amex, state that the card will take 7-10 business days to arrive, so the 2 weeks is inline with their estimates so it's not really that much longer than average. Many people will get cards such as the Personal Amex MR charge cards within days after an instant online approval, via courier and so it seems 2 weeks is a 'delay', but it's not really so.
These published delivery times are sort of baked into the 90 days time allotment by all card issuers who have a minimum spending requirement. Think of it as being a 60 day timeframe to complete the task, but they give you an extra 30 days as contingency for 'complications' with delivery times. So even if you got a compassionate rep, they might give you another week or two, once you've gone beyond the 90 day mark and make a request, but don't count on it.
I believe it was @margarita girl who had similar woes with an Amex SPG card, but I don't recall if she was allowed an unofficial grace period extension. For myself, I can relate to your story, as one of our family members had a Personal Gold MR card that was 'lost' by FedEx, but by the time Amex was convinced it was the case, after cancelling that card number and reissuing a new one, it arrived over 2 weeks after the approval date.
You just need to pull up your socks and get the spending done in time, and take it out of the hands of whichever rep(s) you end up dealing with, beyond your 90 days. I could give you some out-of-the-box spending suggestions, but I'm hesitant to go down that road in a public forum. Good luck.
Apr 4, 2018, 6:24 am
#197
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: UA 1K, AC MM E75, Marriott LT Ti, IHG Dia Amb, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 15,520
I found my post from 2017!
In the end, I hit my minimum spend in the 2 months so wasn't an issue. And I cancelled the card before the renewal date.
I applied for the SPG Business Amex on Feb 27 and got the "unable to give you instant decision at this time...".
Called on Mar 1 and was approved after answering some security questions.
Called again on Mar 17 since I hadn't received the card yet. Was told it must be lost and they would send another.
Called again on Mar 27. Still no card, but I did get my bill for $150 AF (billing period Feb 21 - Mar 20). This time was told there were some problems at Amex and card was being sent out via Priority Post.
Received the card on Mar 29. Hallelujah!
Since I have 3 months to hit my minimum spend, is that starting on Feb 21? Am I paying $150 for a card that will be valid for less than 11 months? Maybe I should ask for a pro-rated amount.
Called on Mar 1 and was approved after answering some security questions.
Called again on Mar 17 since I hadn't received the card yet. Was told it must be lost and they would send another.
Called again on Mar 27. Still no card, but I did get my bill for $150 AF (billing period Feb 21 - Mar 20). This time was told there were some problems at Amex and card was being sent out via Priority Post.
Received the card on Mar 29. Hallelujah!
Since I have 3 months to hit my minimum spend, is that starting on Feb 21? Am I paying $150 for a card that will be valid for less than 11 months? Maybe I should ask for a pro-rated amount.
Apr 5, 2018, 5:18 pm
#199
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
$200 Annual Travel Credit – The $200 CAD Annual Travel Credit can only be redeemed at time of booking through Platinum Card Travel Service or at americanexpress.ca/travel. Travel booking must be charged to The Platinum Card. Account must be in good standing. If you choose to use the Travel Credit, it will be credited to your Card account within 2 business days. Cardmember is entitled to one (1) Annual Travel Credit each calendar year, towards a single travel booking of $200 or more, and will appear on the Platinum Cardmember’s billing statement as “Platinum Annual Travel Credit”. If you cancel your travel booking after redeeming the Annual Travel Credit, you will not be able to use it again in the same calendar year.
Apr 5, 2018, 5:25 pm
#200
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: YVR
Programs: SE 100K
Posts: 934
Gotcha.
I was pleased with how quickly I got approved and physically received the card after self-referring from my Biz Gold so just wanted to double check that.
What are people's experience with the Travel Service? Fairly flexible / easy to use?
I was pleased with how quickly I got approved and physically received the card after self-referring from my Biz Gold so just wanted to double check that.
What are people's experience with the Travel Service? Fairly flexible / easy to use?
Apr 9, 2018, 5:59 am
#201
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Prince Edward Island
Programs: Air Canada P25K, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, MGM Gold
Posts: 1,582
Apr 9, 2018, 7:54 am
#202
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,165
SPG & Marriott are apparently announcing some loyalty program changes on April 16th, the same date mentioned on the SPG referral page: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/29611075-post19.html. Purely speculation, but perhaps they plan to stop accepting applications for the SPG Amex after that date? Thoughts?
However none of the blogs posted anything about the SPG card, at least yet, so I think the card will stay for now, but again, I could be totally off and anything could happen to the card any day.
Apr 9, 2018, 8:05 am
#203
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Prince Edward Island
Programs: Air Canada P25K, Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, MGM Gold
Posts: 1,582
Well, no one can tell for sure, but IMHO if they were actually planning on getting rid of the SPG card entirely, some of the major Canadian credit card blogs should have received some sort of advance notice from AmEx as their affiliated links would be affected by it, and the blogs should have posted about it.
However none of the blogs posted anything about the SPG card, at least yet, so I think the card will stay for now, but again, I could be totally off and anything could happen to the card any day.
However none of the blogs posted anything about the SPG card, at least yet, so I think the card will stay for now, but again, I could be totally off and anything could happen to the card any day.
Apr 11, 2018, 8:13 am
#204
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YQB
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 2,139
Does anyone around here have experience with the AeroplanPlus Platinum Partner Ticket perk? How easy (or impossible) is it to use that benefit? I am trying to determine the actual return on that card and if that benefits ends up adding 15,000 miles in virtual bonus, that may convince me to get the card.
Apr 11, 2018, 4:22 pm
#205
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Canadia
Programs: A loyal Amerisuites customer... oh wait
Posts: 2,033
Nuts.
I can't find that I ever got my bonus MR points on my last Amex Gold signup.
I applied for Amex Gold (personal) in September 2017.
I attained the minimum spend with a huge purchase.
I got a big whack of points for the spend (yay) but can't locate a signup bonus in any of my statements.
Other notes:
I cancelled my previous Amex Gold in January 2017, shortly after the annual fee was billed (and then reversed).
When I was making the large purchase, Amex wouldn't authorize the transaction and required me to make a prepayment first. Several Amex staff would've reviewed my account and my account history while I was trying to get that transaction approved.
My MR accounts have merged under my Amex Platinum.
Minimum spend was attained on my third monthly statement.
Should I phone in and ask?
Did I disqualify myself somehow?
Also, I've gotta go make a $5000 minimum spend on my new Amex Business Gold.
Am I gonna run into trouble with that too?
I can't find that I ever got my bonus MR points on my last Amex Gold signup.
I applied for Amex Gold (personal) in September 2017.
I attained the minimum spend with a huge purchase.
I got a big whack of points for the spend (yay) but can't locate a signup bonus in any of my statements.
Other notes:
I cancelled my previous Amex Gold in January 2017, shortly after the annual fee was billed (and then reversed).
When I was making the large purchase, Amex wouldn't authorize the transaction and required me to make a prepayment first. Several Amex staff would've reviewed my account and my account history while I was trying to get that transaction approved.
My MR accounts have merged under my Amex Platinum.
Minimum spend was attained on my third monthly statement.
Should I phone in and ask?
Did I disqualify myself somehow?
Also, I've gotta go make a $5000 minimum spend on my new Amex Business Gold.
Am I gonna run into trouble with that too?
Last edited by jerry305; Apr 12, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Apr 13, 2018, 9:48 am
#206
Formerly known as newbie elite
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: YUL
Programs: IHG Diamond Ambassador, Accor Platinum, AC50K
Posts: 2,923
Does anyone around here have experience with the AeroplanPlus Platinum Partner Ticket perk? How easy (or impossible) is it to use that benefit? I am trying to determine the actual return on that card and if that benefits ends up adding 15,000 miles in virtual bonus, that may convince me to get the card.
But once you have found the availability it is just like any other AE transaction.
Apr 16, 2018, 5:02 pm
#207
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: YVR
Programs: SE 100K
Posts: 934
With the announcement today re: SPG / Marriott, what are everyone's strategies with the AMEX SPG cards?
My situation is just cancelled my personal card 2 weeks ago. Still hold the Biz SPG.
Best to just wait it out and see what the new co-branded cards offer?
Should I hold the Biz SPG to see if they have an offer for a switch to the new one or better to just cancel?
My situation is just cancelled my personal card 2 weeks ago. Still hold the Biz SPG.
Best to just wait it out and see what the new co-branded cards offer?
Should I hold the Biz SPG to see if they have an offer for a switch to the new one or better to just cancel?
Last edited by CanadianMike; Apr 16, 2018 at 11:27 pm
Apr 16, 2018, 6:20 pm
#208
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,397
With the announcement today re: SPG / Marriott, what are everyone's strategies with the AMEX SPG cards?
My situation is just cancelled my personal card 2 weeks ago. Still hold the Biz SPG. Best to just wait it out and see what the new co-branded cards offer?
Should I hold the Biz SPG to see if they have an offer for a switch to the new one or better to just cancel?
My situation is just cancelled my personal card 2 weeks ago. Still hold the Biz SPG. Best to just wait it out and see what the new co-branded cards offer?
Should I hold the Biz SPG to see if they have an offer for a switch to the new one or better to just cancel?
Marriott Rewards Credit Cards
New cards coming but no mention of what benefits (yet)
Apr 17, 2018, 6:31 am
#209
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: yyz
Posts: 1,611
Thanks for the link...I'm due for a SPG Biz application. Might just go for that and cancel the personal card.
Keeping my expectations in check, though. Card spend won't be as lucrative, if the US program is any indication.
Keeping my expectations in check, though. Card spend won't be as lucrative, if the US program is any indication.
Apr 17, 2018, 8:44 am
#210
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Vancouver, BC
Programs: Aeroplan, Fairmont Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 99
New referral info on the SPG cards as of this morning.... 
You could earn a $25 Statement Credit for each approved referral˛.
Your friend could earn a $100 Statement Credit after they charge $1,500 in purchases to their Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembershipł. Your friend could also earn a $150 Statement Credit after they charge $200 or more in purchases to their Card at participating Starwood or Marriott properties in their first 6 months of Cardmembershipł
Hopefully this is temporary while they revamp the product. Here's hoping we see some new benefits or a new card later in the year with a juicy welcome bonus.
It does seem Amex has yet to make the changes to the application landing page, which still shows 20,000 SPG points as the welcome bonus. Anyone looking to apply should do it ASAP and maybe take a screenshot for any disputes.
You could earn a $25 Statement Credit for each approved referral˛.
Your friend could earn a $100 Statement Credit after they charge $1,500 in purchases to their Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembershipł. Your friend could also earn a $150 Statement Credit after they charge $200 or more in purchases to their Card at participating Starwood or Marriott properties in their first 6 months of Cardmembershipł
Hopefully this is temporary while they revamp the product. Here's hoping we see some new benefits or a new card later in the year with a juicy welcome bonus.
It does seem Amex has yet to make the changes to the application landing page, which still shows 20,000 SPG points as the welcome bonus. Anyone looking to apply should do it ASAP and maybe take a screenshot for any disputes.
Last edited by SOWK; Apr 17, 2018 at 9:32 am