Amex 3X Referral Bonus Points Are Posting Immediately
My buddy Stephen let me know some good news about the Amex 3X referral bonus points. He let me know that the points are posting immediately, as soon as the charges clear. If you remember a few weeks ago American Express launched a pretty compelling referral bonus offer on some accounts. People would be able to refer friends or family members and would get the normal bonus of points plus a spending offer. They could earn an additional 3X points in whatever currency the card earns. That presents a great opportunity for racking up points.
Referral Offer Details
For anyone that missed the news when we posted it here is a quick rundown of the Amex 3X referral bonus offer:
If a consumer Card Member refers a friend for any consumer or business Card product between October 1 – October 28, and their friend gets approved, Card Members will earn 3x more points (or 3% more cash back) per dollar they spend for the next three months, while their friend receives one of the most rewarding welcome offers available.
Key Terms
Qualifying Card Members will receive an additional three (3) rewards per eligible dollar spent on their Card account (for the Card referred) for three (3) months, starting from the date the referral results in an approved account. The additional three (3) rewards will be applied to rewards categories for which eligible purchases are rewarded with cash back, Membership Rewards® Points, Delta Bonus Miles®, Hilton Honors Bonus Points or Marriott Bonvoy Points. The following are some examples of how qualifying Card Members will earn additional rewards during the 3-month offer period:
- A Blue Cash Everyday® Card Member who typically earns, among other rewards, 2% cash back at U.S. Gas Stations and 1% cash back on other purchases will earn 5% cash back at U.S. Gas Stations (2% + additional 3%) and 4% cash back on other purchases (1% + additional 3%) during the 3-month offer period.
- A Green Card Member who typically earns, among other rewards, 3X Membership Rewards® Points on Restaurants will earn 6X (3X + additional 3 Points) during the 3-month offer period
For qualifying Amex EveryDay® Card Members, points awarded under this offer will not be included when we calculate Extra Points.
Referral Bonus Points Posting Immediately
Stephen sent me a screen shot of his activity this morning. As you can see the points from the referral offer are posting right away and not pending like they are for normal charges. For Membership Rewards, usually the statement has to cut and you have to pay your bill before you get the points. For co-branded cards the points normally post a few days after the statement cuts. But with this offer you are getting them in a few days. That somewhat makes sense since the big chunk referral bonuses normally post a few days after the referred person is approved.
He also said the charges from the day before the referral earned points as well. Maybe because the charge was pending until after the referral offer was added? That would be my best guess at least.
Final Thoughts
If you were considering taking advantage of the Amex 3X referral bonus points offer this is a nice little perk to it. With Amex’s long string of clawbacks and shutdowns people had wondered if they would hold these points to check them first. It is the reason I have told people to be cautious with this offer. This doesn’t mean that all activity will be safe since the points are posting right away, they could claw them back later, but it does alleviate some of my concerns. American Express may be focusing on other shutdowns for the time being.
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I don’t see it addressed in the terms (and actually the Amex chat team said it didn’t seem to be capped) but does anyone know if you’d get multiple for more than one referral? Like if I referred four people would I get 12X? Feels impossible, but maybe someone has a data point. Thanks!
Tread lightly. One week into my promo I got hit with a financial review requesting tax documents. I’ve done no NLLs, haven’t had any SUBs lately and promo spend was all organic. Did have a bit higher spend than usual due to some remodelling costs, but nothing too crazy.
I started spending swiftly after getting 3x on my gold card and a few days later got hit with an FR. It could be coincidence but the timing is very odd!
Just be careful! All my accounts were shutdown couple of days back and the only thing I did was to refer someone from card which has an offer of 3x. All my MRs are gone.
Tread very carefully!