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Editor's note: This post mentions referral offers that may or may not be available to you. This post also mentions historical referral offers that are currently unavailable.
American Express offers its cardmembers the ability to refer friends for Amex cards. This refer-a-friend program (plus an equivalent refer-a-business program) is a bit unique, as you can refer friends and family for both the cards you already have and the ones you don't. As long as someone uses your link, you'll earn the bonus points as specified in the offer.
In this post, we dig into everything about Amex referral bonus offers, including how to find and generate referral links, promotional offers, and how many points you can earn from Amex referrals.
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What Is the Amex Refer-A-Friend Program?
The Amex refer-a-friend program is a way for American Express cardmembers to be rewarded for referring friends and family to apply for an Amex card.
But before we dive deeper, here are the key things you need to understand:
- To earn points or miles from a referral, you must send your friend or family member a unique invitation link to apply for one or more cards.
- The person you refer must apply through the link you provided and be approved for you to earn the referral bonus points. If they do not apply through your unique link or aren't approved for the card, you won't earn the referral bonus. Using the unique link is critical.
- They do not have to apply for the exact card you have. The invitation link you provide may allow them to apply for multiple cards. Any card they apply for and are approved for through your link will qualify you for the referral bonus.
- Your specific referral offer may be targeted for both you and the person you send it to. The points or cash you earn and the terms of the welcome offer available to the person you are referring may both be unique to your link.
- The welcome offer available to your friend or family member through your link may not match other public offers available. It could be higher or lower.
- If you earn referral bonuses, Amex may send you a 1099-MISC form, as this is considered taxable income.
Most Amex cards that earn points or cash back are eligible for the refer-a-friend program. That includes both non-co-branded cards and co-branded options from brands like Hilton, Delta, Marriott, and others.
Related: American Express Card Offer History: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
Typical Amex referral offers
Most American Express cards have standard referral offers. In general, cards with lower annual fees offer fewer bonus points per referral. Conversely, cards with higher annual fees can have much better referral offers.
Here is an example referral offer currently available from The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express — a card in my wallet:
And here is another example referral offer on The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, which provides cash back instead of points:
For the Delta credit cards, in particular, it is best to wait for an elevated promotional offer before passing your referral link along. An Amex referral bonus of 7,500 SkyMiles is rather unexciting, which is typical of the standard offer. But here is a current eligible referral offer for 17,500 miles, which is substantially better:
Remember, the bonus you earn is linked to the card account you use to generate the link, not to the card the person gets through your link. So, it's always best to use the card with the highest offer available, as long as you know it'll send a link that allows your friend or family member to apply for the card they want.
Earn more points or miles with special referral offers
Elevated Amex referral bonus offers are relatively routine, but they are targeted. That being said, you can expect to see them on your cards semi-regularly. These elevated offers can occur on any American Express card that you can refer, both Membership Rewards-earning cards and co-branded cards.
Amex will clearly show what the elevated “Special Offer” is compared to the standard offer. You don't need to hunt for these; they'll simply appear in your account, where you usually see the refer-a-friend option.
For example, here's a historical offer that I saw on the American Express® Business Gold Card:
It's also worth noting that a promotional referral offer doesn't always coincide with a higher, limited-time welcome offer for the card. But sometimes these do. Your mileage may vary.
How to Generate an Amex Referral Link or Email
To refer someone to one of your Amex cards, first, log into your account at americanexpress.com, then navigate to the account page for the card in question. You'll see a section under your recent transactions titled “Refer Friends, Get Rewarded.”
One of the toggles will show you how much you can earn when you refer friends, the other will show the offer that the friend will see for that card (but not for other cards they may be able to apply for through your link).
Click the “Refer Now” button to open up a form. You can send an email to the person you are referring to or copy the link and send it to them directly. Below is an example of what you will see if I want to refer from the Blue Business Plus. It should be essentially the same for any Amex card.
Alternatively, you can send a referral email or copy your unique Amex referral link from the dedicated Amex refer-a-friend page. When sending by email, I always alert the person to look for an email from American Express. However, I generally prefer to send links directly alongside my own message.
Here is what the Refer a Friend form looks like from the dedicated page:
Whether they receive the link directly from you or from Amex's email, your friend will need to use it for you to receive a referral bonus. Once they click on the link, they'll be taken to an offer page for the card you referred. However, they may be able to select other cards.
What cards can recipients choose?
The person you refer should see a screen that allows them to select between personal and business cards and filter by type of reward.
This is critical, so let me reiterate: the people you refer do not have to choose the same exact Amex card you have. For example, I hold the Blue Business Plus card as my only Membership Rewards-earning card (at least currently). While I have friends or family who may be interested in this card, this a not appealing to most since it is a business card.
However, they can easily select the Amex Gold instead, which is a personal card with better earning rates (as shown above, generated through my referral link).
In general, American Express sends its referrals by card family. Referring a Delta Amex card allows the referred person to choose from all Delta cards. The same applies to Hilton cards and Marriott cards. It's even possible to choose either a small business or a personal card.
The big exception is the Membership Rewards-earning cards. If you refer one of these cards to someone, they'll be able to choose pretty much any Amex card.
Here's where things get cool. Since the other person doesn't have to choose the exact card you refer, you can send them a referral link for the card that earns you the most. Then, they can pick the card that's best for them. This is how you maximize Amex referral bonus points.
Final Thoughts
I've been an American Express cardmember for roughly a decade at this point, and while I have referred my cards at times, I haven't earned a ton of bonus points this way. That being said, I have friends who have made many hundreds of thousands of Amex referral bonus points. So, referrals can be a great way to increase your rewards balances, whether that is Membership Rewards or another currency.
If you're new to Membership Rewards in general, here is a great overview of the program to help you learn more.
FAQ
Can you send someone the best offers through an Amex referral?
The answer here is "sometimes." Often, the offer your friend will receive will match the publicly available offer. Other times, it won't be as good. Rarely, there will be unique offers that are only available through referral. Some of these have been excellent.
My best practice is to wait until there is a good public offer available before referring a card. Then, as long as my referral link provides someone the same offer, I'll send it. If there is a mismatch, I've sometimes still sent a link but also sent the link to the better public offer.
Consider it from the other side: Is your friend likely to apply through your link if they'll get 10,000 fewer points from the welcome bonus?
How many points can you earn through Amex referrals?
American Express recently increased its Amex referral bonus limit to 100,000 points per card per year, except for Hilton cards. Hilton cards have an annual referral bonus limit of 140,000 points. For cards that earn cash back, the annual referral limit is $1,000.
The limit is individual to each card, not across all cards. The previous limit was 55,000 points per card for most Amex cards. If an authorized user refers another person for a card, the bonus points will be credited to the primary cardmember's account and count toward their annual limit. Authorized users don't earn referral bonuses; these go to the primary cardmember.
If you have several Amex cards and people to refer them to, Amex referrals are a great way to earn a ton of extra points.
How long do Amex referral bonus points take to post?
American Express states that you should allow 8–12 weeks for Amex referral bonus points to post. However, they have been known to post much sooner. Often, you'll receive the bonus points in just a few days after an approval using your link. American Express will send you an email regarding your successful referral as well.
Does American Express consider referrals taxable income?
Amex does consider referral bonuses taxable income, whether it's cash or points. It's unfortunate, but you'll receive a 1099-MISC or for your referrals. For tax purposes, American Express considers Membership Rewards points to be worth 1¢ each. Delta SkyMiles and Marriott Bonvoy points also are pegged at 1¢ apiece.
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