Amex Authorized User Bonus
One of my favorite emails or mailer to get is an Amex authorized user bonus offer. These are like mini welcome offers, but on accounts you already have. The only thing that comes close is an upgrade bonus offer, but that usually comes with an annual fee increase. Most of the time you get your cake and you get to eat it too with American Express AU bonuses.
What Are Authorized User Bonuses?
An Amex authorized user bonus is like a welcome offer for adding a new cardholder. Except you are adding an authorized user to an account you already have. This does require the main cardholder (YOU) guaranteeing any spend the newly added authorized user does, so be careful on who you add. On the other side of things, the AU gets a bump off of your credit score and on time payments. That is what makes them great for your (13 & over) kids!
Anyway, when you are targeted for one of these offers from American Express they give you bonus points if the authorized user spends X amount of dollars. You are really cooking with gas if you get one of these authorized user offers on a card with a welcome offer attached, because spend on all cards counts towards that. Same can be said for spending bonuses, like the Hilton free night certificates. On the other hand, the authorized user bonus offers require the spend to be done on the authorized user’s card.
Where Can You Find These Offers?
Getting an Amex authorized user bonus sounds awesome, but where do you find them? They can come in a few different ways:
- You may receive an email about it
- They can be found down in the Amex Offers section of your card
- You may be sent a mailer on these authorized user bonuses in your mailbox
Most people will see them via email or down in the Amex Offers section though. Usually, if you get them via email you can find them down in your Amex Offers section too.
Do Authorized User Cards Cost More Money?
These may sound great, but what if they end up costing me more money? You can avoid paying an additional annual fee on your authorized user card addition 99% of the time. There is usually a no fee option to be added to your accounts, so just be sure to look closely when applying.
The lone stand out here is some of the Amex Platinum authorized user bonuses require you to add a paid authorized user card. That does come with perks for the authorized user, which may make it worth it to you. If you select the no fee option, then no additional perks are offered to the authorized user – like lounge access etc.
The authorized user card will still earn at the normal rates that the account holder earns though. That is true even if the color doesn’t match. The authorized user gets a white card for no fee, even when the main cardholder has an Amex Gold card for instance. The white card still earns 4x in all of the same categories of the main cardholders Amex Gold card. For all intents and purposes, the authorized user card is whatever the main cardholder has for earning rates.
Some Things To Be Aware Of Amex Authorized User Cards
The last thing I will point out is that adding someone as an authorized user will hurt their Chase 5/24 count if it is a personal card. If you get the authorized user card removed a little while before the Chase application you should be able to get around that. If not, then it will count against them. Business authorized user cards do not count. They work the same way American Express business cards work for the main cardholder when it comes to Chase 5/24.
Recent Amex Authorized User Bonus Offers
Let’s get into some of the recent Amex authorized user bonus offers we have seen on accounts recently. These can be treated like mini welcome offers that can juice your everyday earnings. All spending needs to be done on the authorized user cards.
Personal Card Offers
- Amex Platinum Card
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 6 months
- This one does require adding the authorized user with a $195 a year Platinum card
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 6 months
- Amex Gold Card
- 10,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 6 months
- Hilton Cards
- 10,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 within 6 months
- Can do this up to 2x for up to 20K points
- 5,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 within 6 months
- Can do this up to 4x for up to 20K points
- 10,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 within 6 months
- Delta Cards
- Earn 20,000 / 10,000 / 2,500 Skymiles after spending $500 within 6 months
- Can do this 4x for up to 80K / 40K / 10K miles
- Earn 20,000 / 10,000 / 2,500 Skymiles after spending $500 within 6 months
Business Cards
- Amex Business Platinum
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 / $4,000 within 6 months
- Some offers allow you to do this 5x for up to 100K Membership Rewards points
- 5,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 6 months
- Can do this 5x for up to 25K Membership Rewards points
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 / $4,000 within 6 months
- Amex Business Gold
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 / $4,000 within 6 months
- Some offers allow you to do this 5x for up to 100K Membership Rewards points
- 5,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 6 months
- Can do this 5x for up to 25K Membership Rewards points
- 20,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 / $4,000 within 6 months
- Hilton Business
- 5,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 within 6 months
- Can do this up to 4x for up to 20K points
- 5,000 Hilton Honors points after spending $1,000 within 6 months
- Blue Business Plus
- 5,000 Membership Rewards / $50 after spending $2,000 within 6 months.
- Can do this 5x for up to 25K Membership Rewards points
- 5,000 Membership Rewards / $50 after spending $2,000 within 6 months.
All of these bonuses are in addition to the normal earning the card gets. That includes bonus earning categories!
Amex Authorized User Bonus Recent Offers: Final Thoughts
Hopefully many of you are seeing these offers on your accounts. I know the Amex Gold and Amex Platinum offers just went out to a bunch of people over the last week or so. Just be aware of the potential downsides. Also, be careful when selecting the card option so you don’t pick one with an additional fee (unless the offer requires that).
I like adding my parents and friends to these offers (with their permission), since they don’t care about Chase 5/24. For my buddy who never has had his own credit card it gave him a great score for his last car loan. I also add my kids once they hit 13. That gives me another option for these bonuses, and it starts building their credit profile.
Let me know any new offers you see down below, or over in the MTM Facebook Group.
