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

American Express has launched a promotion for Canadian cardholders, whereby you can earn extra points for adding additional cardholders to select accounts.

There aren’t any fees for adding cardholders to some cards, while others come with an annual fee. In some cases, the current offer can be quite lucrative, especially if the additional cardholders complete the spending requirement with maximum-earning multipliers. 

Some of these offers fall squarely in the “low-hanging fruit” category, so let’s take a look at what’s on the table this time.

Add Supplementary Cardholders, Get Bonus Points

There’s a new offer available on some American Express cards, and you can earn bonus points by adding additional cardholders to your account this spring. The promotion runs until April 10, 2024, so be sure to take advantage of it before then if you have any cards that it’s valid for.

The full details for personal cards can be found on the American Express landing page, while the offers for business cards are on individual pages, as we’ll link to below.

The amount of bonus points available depends on the card, and in all cases, there’s a maximum amount of two additional cardholders you can add to receive a bonus. The full scope of the promotion for personal cards is as follows:

• American Express Cobalt Card: Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.
• American Express Aeroplan Card: Earn 5,000 Aeroplan points when additional cardholders spend at least $500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards. Note that only paid supplementary cards are eligible for the offer.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Earn 15,000 Aeroplan points when additional cardholders spend at least $2,500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards. Note that only paid supplementary cards are eligible for the offer.
• American Express Platinum Card: Earn 15,000 MR points when additional cardholders spend at least $2,500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: Earn 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when additional cardholders spend at least $500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.

Unlike the same promotion from last year, the bonus offer is also available on small business cards, with details as follows:

• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card: Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards. 
• Business Platinum Card from American Express: Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards points when additional cardholders spend at least $2,500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards. 
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: Earn 20,000 Aeroplan points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,500 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.
• Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card: Earn 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.

It’s important to note that there is an annual fee for adding cardholders to some of these cards, which is outlined as follows:

• American Express Cobalt Card: Additional cards have no annual fee.
• American Express Aeroplan Card:Additional cards have a $50 annual fee.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Additional cards have a $199 annual fee.
• American Express Platinum Card: Additional cards have a $250 annual fee.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: Additional cards have no annual fee.
• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card: Additional cards have a $50 annual fee.
• Business Platinum Card from American Express: Additional cards have a $250 annual fee.
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: Additional cards have a $199 annual fee.
• Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card: Additional cards have a $50 annual fee.

If you were to maximize the above offers, 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 the supplementary cardholders’ annual fees (if any):

• American Express Cobalt Card: 10,000 Membership Rewards points for $0.
• American Express Aeroplan Card: 10,000 Aeroplan points for $100.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: 30,000 Aeroplan points for $398.
• American Express Platinum Card: 30,000 Membership Rewards points for $500.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for $0.
• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card: 10,000 Membership Rewards points for $100.
• Business Platinum Card from American Express: 50,000 Membership Rewards points for $500.
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: 40,000 Aeroplan points for $398.
• Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card: 20,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for $100.

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 10, 2024. 

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.

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

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

For example, if your supplementary cardholders each fulfill the $1,000 minimum spending requirement on the Cobalt card at grocery stores, restaurants, or bars, that’d result in an extra 5,000 points per cardholder, since the card earns 5x points at these establishments.

With the points earned in 5x categories taken into consideration, you could stand to earn a total of 20,000 MR points from this offer:

• 5,000 MR points per new supplementary cardholder who completes the minimum spending requirement from this offer, for a total of up to 10,000 points
• 5,000 MR points per new supplementary cardholder who fulfills the $1,000 minimum spending requirement with 5x earning categories, for a total of up to 10,000 points 

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.

On the other hand, there’s also a strong argument to be made for adding supplementary cardholders to the other personal and business cards, as the offers this time around are quite lucrative and because additional cardholders can get extra perks.

When it comes to personal cards, the offers on the American Express Aeroplan Card and the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card are noteworthy, since the costs for adding supplementary cardholders are lower than the American Express Platinum Card, and the bonus points certainly make it worthwhile.

Keep in mind that supplementary cardholders enjoy additional perks, such as a free checked bag on Air Canada flights with the Amex Aeroplan Card, 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.

However, the most intriguing offer is available on the Business Platinum Card from American Express, as you can earn 50,000 points (or more).

Adding two supplementary cardholders will cost $500 ($250 apiece); however, keep in mind that both cardholders will receive unlimited lounge access through the American Express Global Lounge Collection.

Then, if they’re able to each fulfill the $2,500 minimum spending requirement, you’d wind up with a total of 56,250 MR points with this offer, broken down as follows:

• 25,000 MR points per new supplementary cardholder who completes the minimum spending requirement with this offer, for a total of 50,000 points
• 3,125 MR points per new supplementary cardholder who fulfills the $2,500 minimum spending requirement with the baseline 1.25x earning rate, for a total of 6,250 points

We value American Express Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents per point (CAD). Using this value, we’d estimate that 56,250 points is worth at least $1,237 (CAD), although you can certainly get more value (or less) depending on how you redeem points.

If you redeem them for a statement credit at 1 cent per point, they’d be worth $562 (CAD), while if you were to transfer them to an airline loyalty program and book flights, you could wind up with much greater value.

If you stand to benefit from any of the above offers, take a moment to crunch the numbers to see if the benefits outweigh the costs in your unique circumstance. 

Conclusion

American Express is offering bonus points to members who add cardholders to their accounts. The current offer is valid until April 10, 2024, so be sure to take advantage of this before then if you can squeeze the most value out of the promotion.

Ideally, your additional cardholders will complete the minimum spending requirement with 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, as well as the Business Platinum Card from American Express, which comes with a nice bonus of points.

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.