A few days ago, Doctor of Credit reported that some Amex cardholders are now seeing an increased bonus when referring friends. Some cardholders can earn as many as 45,000 points for a single referral when their friend or family member is approved. The maximum number of points that can be earned is still 100,000 points per year per Amex card, but those targeted will nearly reach that cap with just 2 approved referrals.
The Deal
- Some Amex cardholders have been targeted to earn as many as 45,000 Membership Rewards points when they refer a friend who is approved for a new Amex card [Targeted, YMMV]
Key Terms
- Your friend must apply and be approved for a new card through your link in order to receive the advertised bonus
- You can earn a maximum of 100,000 Membership Rewards points from referrals per eligible Amex card
Quick Thoughts
This is a great deal for those targeted and is the highest referral bonus I ever recall seeing on any card.
Keep in mind that with Amex multi-referrals, if you find this offer on any of your Amex cards, you can refer a friend or family member to almost any other Amex card and receive your 45,000 point bonus (if targeted) when they are approved — even if they ultimately select a Delta card or a Hilton card or Marriott card after clicking through your link.
With a bonus like this, it can make sense to refer a Player 2 even for a card where they may not be eligible for a new welcome bonus — so long as they are approved, you can still get the referral bonus. In the past, my wife and I have taken advantage of an offer like this by referring each other to a card with no annual fee since the referral bonus sweetens the pot considerably.
Keep in mind that you can only earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points per year per eligible Amex card, so you probably wouldn’t want to make more than 2 referrals at 45K each (then you’d probably be better off referring from one of your other Amex cards provided you have one that offers a bonus of more than 10K points per referral).
Neither my wife nor I were targeted for this one, but it’s a terrific deal for those who are.
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My P2 was targeted for 30k but I just used her referral to apply for Hilton honors few days ago .is there a cooling period before I apply for another card with referral?
I was targeted and referred a few people! In 2 days I reached the max referral bonus! Very sweet!
People spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to get out of pop up jail with Amex. Given that Amex does not allow some of us to refer certain cards I wish someone could figure out how get out of can’t create a referral jail.
Reports are you need to report the card as lost/stolen. Once the new card is received and activated the referrals should work again.