American Express recently changed the annual referral maximums for cardholders. It used to set a limit on how many points could be earned in a calendar year from referral bonuses; now it has changed that to five referrals per card, per year, regardless of the amount of points earned.
Here are the new terms that Amex posted as of April 8th:
As of 4/8/2026, you can earn a referral bonus up to a maximum of five (5) times per calendar year. If you make more than five (5) eligible referrals in a calendar year, your friend could still earn a welcome offer, but you will not receive a referral bonus. If your friend got a Card from your referral link between 1/1/2026 and 4/7/2026 at 11:59 PM (E.T.), refer to the Referral Program Terms for more information on the cap annual limit that applied.
At first blush, this may seem like a negative change, but for most folks, I think it will be a net positive.
Quick Thoughts
Most people know that Amex offers referral bonuses to most cardholders, incentivizing them to get their friends and family to apply for new credit cards. With most credit cards, you can refer friends only to the same exact card that you have. However, with some Amex Membership Rewards-earning cards, you can refer friends to almost any Amex card.
Membership Rewards are the most valuable and flexible currency that you can earn from an Amex card, so being able to refer to most cards in its portfolio and earn them is a great opportunity. That’s become even better in recent years, as the per-referral bonuses Amex has been offering have frequently been in the 20k-35k range, reaching as high as 45k for some.
However, the previous limit of 100k per year meant many people could earn only 3-4 of those larger bonuses before hitting the annual max. Now, someone targeted for a 30k referral bonus could earn up to 150,000 points per year, a huge improvement.
For those with a card that has a referral bonus under 20k, it’s an overall negative, as they’ll end up with lower annual referring potential than before. That said, for most folks, I think this change will be neutral at worst, lucrative at best.
One positive aspect for everyone is that, as of April 8th, it appears that all cardholders’ annual limits have been completely reset. So, if you’ve already made a referral this year, it won’t count towards the 5-referral limit.
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