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

American Express has once again launched the “Add a Card” promotion for Canadian cardholders, through which 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 around. As a reminder, the promotion runs through to March 31, 2025, so you’ll need to act soon.

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 winter. The promotion runs until March 31, 2025, 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 Aeroplan Card: Earn 10,000 Aeroplan points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards. For no-fee supplementary cards, you can earn 2,500 Aeroplan points when up to two additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Earn 25,000 Aeroplan points when additional cardholders spend at least $3,000 in the first three months, up to two additional paid cards. For no-fee supplementary cards, you can earn 5,000 Aeroplan points when up to two additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months.
• American Express Cobalt Card: Earn 7,500 Membership Rewards points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.
• American Express Gold Rewards Card: Earn 7,500 MR points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional Gold cards.
• American Express Platinum Card: Earn 25,000 MR points when additional cardholders spend at least $3,000 in the first three months, up to two additional Platinum cards. Additional Gold cards can earn 7,500 MR points upon spending at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two cards.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: Earn 7,500 Marriott Bonvoy points when additional cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first three months, up to two additional cards.

Unlike the promotion that ran last year, the bonus offer is not available on business cards this time.

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 Aeroplan Card: Additional cards have a $50 annual fee.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Additional cards have a $199 annual fee.
• American Express Cobalt Card: Additional cards have no annual fee.
• American Express Gold Rewards Card: The first additional card has no fee, and subsequent cards have a $50 annual fee.
• American Express Platinum Card: Additional cards have a $250 annual fee.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: Additional cards have no 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 Aeroplan Card: 20,000 Aeroplan points for $100, or 5,000 Aeroplan points for $0.
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: 50,000 Aeroplan points for $398, or 10,000 Aeroplan points for $0.
• American Express Cobalt Card: 15,000 Membership Rewards points for $0.
• American Express Gold Rewards Card: 15,000 MR points for $50.
• American Express Platinum Card: 50,000 Membership Rewards points for $500, or 10,000 MR points for $0.
• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card: 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points 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 March 31, 2025.

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 amplified 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 25,000 MR points from this offer:

• 7,500 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.

Additionally, 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.

Conclusion

American Express is offering bonus points to members who add cardholders to their accounts. The current offer is valid until March 31, 2025, 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.

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.