Amex “Add a Card” Bonus Event: Earn Points for Adding Cards

American Express has relaunched its “Add a Card” bonus event for Canadian cardholders, and this time it comes with a new twist: tiered spending thresholds that let you unlock higher bonuses by spending more.

Both personal and business cards are included in this round, with two new additions to the lineup: the SimplyCash Preferred Card and the American Express Aeroplan Card.

The promotion runs from March 3 through April 30, 2026, giving you nearly two months to add supplementary cardholders and take advantage of the bonus points on offer.

Add Supplementary Cardholders, Get Bonus Points

From March 3–April 30, 2026, select American Express cards are offering bonus points when you add supplementary cardholders.

Unlike previous rounds that offered a flat bonus per cardholder, this round introduces a tiered structure — the more your supplementary cardholder spends, the more bonus points you earn. Each cardholder qualifies for one offer tier based on their spending in the first three months.

Below is the full breakdown of eligible personal cards. You can also review the official terms on the American Express landing page.

In all cases, there is a maximum of two additional cardholders you can add to receive a bonus per personal card. The full scope of the promotion for personal cards is as follows:

• American Express Platinum Card: Add an Additional Platinum Card ($250 annual fee) and earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 15,000 points when spending at least $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 points when spending at least $7,000 in the first 3 months
  • 30,000 points when spending at least $10,000 in the first 3 months

  Alternatively, add an Additional Gold Rewards Card ($0 annual fee for the first two, $50 thereafter) and earn 5,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months.

  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Add an Additional Aeroplan Reserve Card ($199 annual fee) and earn bonus Aeroplan points based on spending:
  • 15,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 points when spending at least $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • 25,000 points when spending at least $10,000 in the first 3 months

  Alternatively, add an Additional Aeroplan Reserve No Fee Card ($0 annual fee) and earn 5,000 points when spending at least $2,000 in the first 3 months.

  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Aeroplan Card: Add an Additional Aeroplan Card ($50 annual fee) and earn bonus Aeroplan points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $1,500 in the first 3 months
  • 7,500 points when spending at least $2,500 in the first 3 months
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $4,500 in the first 3 months

  Alternatively, add an Additional Aeroplan No Fee Card ($0 annual fee) and earn 2,500 points when spending at least $1,000 in the first 3 months.

  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Cobalt Card ($0 annual fee for supplementary cards): Earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 6,500 points when spending at least $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • 8,000 points when spending at least $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Gold Rewards Card ($0 annual fee for the first card, $50 thereafter): Earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 7,500 points when spending at least $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card ($0 annual fee for supplementary cards): Earn bonus Marriott Bonvoy points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $1,500 in the first 3 months
  • 7,500 points when spending at least $2,500 in the first 3 months
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $4,500 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Green Card ($0 annual fee for supplementary cards): Earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 1,000 points when spending at least $1,000 in the first 3 months
  • 2,000 points when spending at least $2,000 in the first 3 months
  • 4,000 points when spending at least $4,500 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• SimplyCash Preferred Card ($0 annual fee for supplementary cards): Earn statement credits based on spending:
  • $40 statement credit when spending at least $1,000 in the first 3 months
  • $60 statement credit when spending at least $2,000 in the first 3 months
  • $80 statement credit when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.

If you were to maximize the above offers at the highest spending tier, and if your additional cardholders complete the spending requirement, you’d stand to earn the following amounts of points with the listed out-of-pocket costs for supplementary cardholders’ annual fees (if any):

• American Express Platinum Card: 60,000 Membership Rewards points for $500, or 10,000 MR points for $0 (Gold Rewards Cards)
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: 50,000 Aeroplan points for $398, or 10,000 Aeroplan points for $0
• American Express Aeroplan Card: 20,000 Aeroplan points for $100, or 5,000 Aeroplan points for $0
• American Express Cobalt Card: 16,000 Membership Rewards points for $0
• American Express Gold Rewards Card: 20,000 Membership Rewards points for $50
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for $0
• American Express Green Card: 8,000 Membership Rewards points for $0
• SimplyCash Preferred Card: $160 in statement credits for $0

If you’ve been thinking about adding a supplementary cardholder to any of your accounts, be sure to take advantage of the promotion before April 30, 2026.

Amex Business Cards Also Included

In addition to the personal cards, this round of the “Add a Card” bonus event also extends to select American Express business cards.

The mechanics are similar: add up to three employee cards, and if the new cardholders complete the minimum spend requirement, you’ll earn bonus points. Business cards also feature the new tiered spending structure.

The eligible business cards and their respective offers are as follows:

• Business Platinum Card from American Express: Add an Employee Business Platinum Card ($250 annual fee) and earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 points when spending at least $6,000 in the first 3 months
  • 40,000 points when spending at least $15,000 in the first 3 months

  Alternatively, add an Employee Business Gold Card ($0 annual fee) and earn 5,000 points when spending at least $1,500 in the first 3 months.

  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card: Add an Employee Business Gold Rewards Card ($50 annual fee) and earn bonus Membership Rewards points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $1,500 in the first 3 months
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 15,000 points when spending at least $6,000 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: Add an Employee Aeroplan Business Reserve Card ($199 annual fee) and earn bonus Aeroplan points based on spending:
  • 15,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 points when spending at least $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • 25,000 points when spending at least $10,000 in the first 3 months

  Alternatively, add an Employee Aeroplan Business Reserve No Fee Card ($0 annual fee) and earn 5,000 points when spending at least $2,000 in the first 3 months.

  • Learn more on the Amex website.
• Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card: Add an Employee Marriott Bonvoy Business Card ($50 annual fee) and earn bonus Marriott Bonvoy points based on spending:
  • 5,000 points when spending at least $1,500 in the first 3 months
  • 10,000 points when spending at least $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 15,000 points when spending at least $6,000 in the first 3 months
  • Learn more on the Amex website.

If your employee cardholders can complete the minimum spending requirement at the highest tier, you’d stand to earn the following amounts of points with the listed out-of-pocket costs for employee cardholders’ annual fees (if any):

• Business Platinum Card: 120,000 Membership Rewards points for $750, or 15,000 Membership Rewards points for $0 (Business Gold Cards)
• Business Gold Rewards Card: 45,000 Membership Rewards points for $150
• Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: 75,000 Aeroplan points for $597, or 15,000 Aeroplan points for $0
• Marriott Bonvoy Business Card: 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for $150

As you can see, the Business Platinum and Aeroplan Business Reserve provide the largest upside if you don’t mind paying for premium employee cards.

On the other hand, the Business Gold Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy Business cards are still solid wins with relatively low out-of-pocket costs.

Should You Add Supplementary Cardholders to Your Amex Cards?

Whether or not the extra points are worth it will depend on how much value you can get out of the points when compared to the cost of acquiring them.

The new tiered structure means you can still earn bonus points with more modest spending — but you’ll be rewarded for hitting the higher tiers. It’s a “choose your own adventure” approach that gives cardholders more flexibility than previous rounds.

Of these offers, the most attractive ones with no fees attached are on the American Express Cobalt Card, the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, and the American Express Green Card. As long as your supplementary cardholders can fulfill the minimum spending requirements, you’d have amplified your balance nicely without any added costs.

Plus, if they were to take advantage of the category earning rates on these cards, you’d earn a further boost in points.

For example, if your supplementary cardholders each spend $5,000 on the Cobalt Card at grocery stores, restaurants, or bars, that’d result in 25,000 base points per cardholder from 5x earning categories, on top of the 8,000 bonus points from this offer. With the points earned in 5x categories taken into consideration, you could stand to earn a total of up to 66,000 MR points from the Cobalt Card offer alone:

• 8,000 bonus points per new supplementary cardholder who completes the top spending tier, for a total of up to 16,000 bonus points
• 25,000 base points per new supplementary cardholder who fulfills the $5,000 spending requirement with 5x earning categories, for a total of up to 50,000 points

Note that the American Express Cobalt Card has a $2,500 monthly cap on 5x earning categories. To maximize earning, have each supplementary cardholder spread their spending across at least two months.

The same holds true for supplementary cardholders on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, which earns 5 Bonvoy points per dollar spent at Marriott hotels.

If you wish to further elevate your stay at select Marriott hotels, booking your stays with our in-house travel agency Prince Collection would entitle you to additional benefits for no additional cost.

Since you pay at the property directly, you’ll still be eligible for the bonus points available through this offer.

Additionally, there’s a strong argument for adding supplementary cardholders to the premium personal cards, as this round of offers provides generous bonuses at the highest spending tiers along with valuable perks for additional cardholders.

When it comes to personal cards, the offers on the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card and the American Express Platinum Card are noteworthy, since the bonus points on offer at the highest tiers certainly make it worthwhile.

Keep in mind that supplementary cardholders enjoy additional perks, such as a free checked bag and unlimited Maple Leaf Lounge access in North America with the Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card, and unlimited lounge access with the Platinum Card.

Perks such as these may justify the additional fees alone, and then any bonus points simply come as an added incentive.

Conclusion

American Express is offering bonus points to members who add cardholders to their accounts, on both personal and business cards, with a new tiered spending structure that rewards higher spend.

The current offer runs from March 3 through April 30, 2026, so be sure to take advantage of this offer while it lasts.

Ideally, your additional cardholders will complete the minimum spending requirement at the highest tier possible, and in the best earning categories for each card. This way, you’ll maximize the points earned from the account, which goes to offset any annual fees associated with adding cardholders to your account.

In particular, this is a great offer for the American Express Cobalt Card and the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, since you can add cardholders at no additional cost and still earn meaningful bonuses.

Even if you don’t have any of the above cards currently in your portfolio, you should have plenty of time to apply and add cardholders before the promotion ends on April 30.