American Express Canada has made some changes to the cards that can be referred to by the American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express.

Previously, these cards could refer to each other and to the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card. However, with the recent changes, the American Express Cobalt Card and the American Express Gold Rewards Card are now eligible for referrals as well, which opens up some very lucrative opportunities.

New Referral Options for American Express Platinum Cards

American Express Canada has recently made changes to the cards that are available for referral from the American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express.

Previously, either card could refer to each other, as well as the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card.

However, both the personal and business versions of the Platinum Card can now refer to the following cards:

• American Express Platinum Card
• Business Platinum Card from American Express
• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
• American Express Cobalt Card (new)
• American Express Gold Rewards Card (new)

To find these cards for referral, open a referral link sent from an American Express Platinum Card or a Business Platinum Card from American Express, and click on “View our other cards” located in the sidebar.

You should now see a total of five cards that are available through a referral from either Platinum card, compared to the three that were available before. Included in these will be the American Express Gold Rewards Card and the American Express Cobalt Card.

As we’ll explore in detail below, this is a welcome change for both cards, and it has the potential to be quite lucrative on an ongoing basis.

Prior to this, the best card to use for referrals to most of the Membership Rewards family was the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card, since it earns 15,000 points per referral and can refer to almost every Membership Rewards card. 

This change aligns the Platinum cards with the Business Gold Rewards Card in terms of referrals, and provides extra motivation to refer friends and family into the lucrative world of American Express.

Leverage Your Platinum Referrals Every Year

Referrals are a great way to boost your yearly points earnings, and this change from American Express Canada has the potential to be quite valuable.

Each year, you can earn up to 225,000 American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points through referrals on both the American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express.

The American Express Platinum Card earns 10,000 MR points per referral, while the Business Platinum Card from American Express earns 20,000 MR points per referral.

Until now, the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card was the best card to use for referrals to the American Express Cobalt Card and the American Express Gold Rewards Card, since it earns 15,000 MR points per referral, up to 75,000 points each year.

However, the Business Platinum Card from American Express is now the best card to use for referring to almost any card in the Membership Rewards family, since it earns 20,000 points per approved referral, up to 225,000 points per year.

For comparison, if you refer someone to the American Express Cobalt Card from your Cobalt account, you’ll only earn 5,000 MR points per referral (or 7,500 MR points if you have an exclusive offer available).

The same holds true for the Gold Rewards Card, which earns just 7,500 MR points per referral, compared to the 20,000 MR points earned on the Business Platinum.

Plus, since the Cobalt Card is one Canada’s best credit cards for earning points on daily spending, and one that we recommend as an essential credit card for every Canadian traveller, it shouldn’t take much effort to convince others of its many merits.

As a reminder, you can generate a referral link from your American Express account, either online or through the app. 

After sending the referral, the person who receives the link will see the following page after clicking on your link:

They’ll need to click on “View our other cards” button on the lower left-hand side of the page, and then they’ll see a larger list of cards eligible for referral.

In order for you to receive the referral points, the person who received the offer needs to apply and be approved for any card on that page. Following this, the referral points will be credited to your account within six to eight weeks, though it’s typically instant.

Leveraging referrals is one the best ways to rack up points every year.

Therefore, if you’re able to fill up the referral space on your Business Platinum Card from American Express or American Express Platinum Card on an ongoing basis, you’ll have another strong reason to justify paying the hefty $799 (CAD) annual fee year after year (in addition to all the other perks and benefits that also justify being a Platinum cardholder).

Conclusion

American Express Canada recently introduced some changes to their referral program.

The American Express Platinum Card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express can both now refer to the American Express Cobalt Card and the American Express Gold Rewards Card, allowing eligible cardholders to enjoy more lucrative referrals than before.

If you hold either of these cards, you’ll certainly want to keep this option in mind as a way to increase your Membership Rewards balance and introduce your friends and family to highly valuable American Express Membership Rewards program.