The American Express® Gold Card is a powerhouse when it comes to earning valuable Amex Membership Rewards points and offering premium travel benefits.
When comparing the Amex Gold card to The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll see that the Amex Gold card’s annual fee is lower than the American Express Platinum credit card, but it’s still substantial.
The Amex Gold card’s benefits and perks make the annual fee a no-brainer for many travelers. Applying when the welcome bonus is as high as possible is one of the keys to getting the most out of your card and getting the maximum benefit from the annual fee.
American Express only allows you to earn the bonus on a credit card once in your lifetime, so you might as well get the most bang for your buck!
In this post, you’ll find all the information you need to apply for the Amex Gold card with an elevated welcome offer.
Targeted offers are discussed in the article below. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been collected independently and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Gold Card Snapshot
Depending on how and when you apply, you may find a variety of welcome offer bonuses for the Amex Gold card.
The current public offer is: Earn 60,000 points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
Since we value Membership Rewards points at about 2.2 cents per point, this means that an elevated offer of 90,000-point bonus offer is worth ~$1,980, where as a 60,000-point bonus offer is worth ~$1,320.
Here’s a few different methods you can try to maximize your welcome bonus offer.
Step 1: Check the American Express Website (Try This First)
We recommend you check first directly on the American Express websiteif you’re looking to apply for the Amex Gold card.
As mentioned above, the current public offer is: Earn 60,000 points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
Through our research, we’ve seen that American Express will offer an elevated offer directly to targeted applicants. Since these are targeted offers, these offers won’t be available to all applicants.
However, here’s an example of a targeted offer we’ve found by applying directly through American Express.
The CardMatch toolis a web-based form that allows you to quickly see your best credit card offers from partner banks.
Keep in mind theCardMatch tool only shows you offers from banks it’s affiliated with, so you won’t see every credit card offer that’s available to you. American Express offers will show up on the CardMatch tool.
In order to review your matches, you’ll need to fill out some general personal information, such as your name, your address, and your email address.
Personal Amex Gold Referral Offers
If you know a friend or family member with an American Express card, ask them to send you their Amex Gold card referral using the Amex refer-a-friend program. If your friend or family member doesn’t have the Amex Gold card, that is no problem! You can be referred to any card American Express offers from any other card type. Better yet, these targeted referral offers can sometimes include increased welcome offers!
Sending a referral link for your Amex Gold card couldn’t be easier. First, head to the refer-a-friend page on the American Express website. From there, you just need to select the card you are sending a referral for, and American Express will show you the number of points your friend is eligible for, along with how many points you’ll earn if they are approved.
Once you’ve confirmed those details, you can send the referral to their email by entering their name and email address, or you can generate a unique link that you can send to one of their devices.
All that your friend needs to do is apply via the link you’ve shared, be approved for an American Express card, and you’ll receive your bonus points.
History of Referral Offers on the Amex Gold Card
Referral offers for the Amex Gold card have varied quite a bit over the years and continue to do so. Most often, referral offers can be identical to the current public offer, but at times, you can receive elevated targeted offers, allowing you to earn even more points.
In the past, we’ve seen Amex Gold card referral offers ranging from 60,000 points, to 75,000 points, and even 90,000 points. So keep an eye peeled for those increased offers.
Making Amex Gold Card Referrals: Caveats and Considerations
Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when sending your referral link:
- You must use the designated American Express refer-a-friend page to send your referral link.
- The person you refer must be approved for the card in order for you to receive your points.
- Cardholders whose accounts are past due, or who have recently closed their account, are not eligible for welcome bonus offers.
- Referral bonuses can take 8-12 weeks to appear in your account.
Referral Bonus Annual Limits
Note that there is a limit to the number of Amex Membership Rewards points you can earn per calendar year from referrals, usually 100,000 Amex points, so be mindful of this if you’ve already referred multiple people.
How to Accept a Referral for the Amex Gold Card
To accept a referral link from a friend, all you need to do is click on the unique that they’ve sent you. You’ll know for certain that it is the referral link if, when opening the page, a pop up box states:
“(Your friends name) has referred you for the Amex Gold Card. With your new Card, you could earn a welcome bonus and (your friends name) could earn a referral bonus. Terms Apply.”
From there, simply click learn more, and then you’ll be able to apply for the card if you so choose.
Reasons You May Not Get a Targeted Welcome Bonus Offer
Low Credit: If your credit score could use some improvement, you probably won’t get targeted offers. So, the first thing you’ll need to do is make sure your credit score is as high as possible. You should use your current credit responsibly and pay off your bill in full and on time each month. Failure to do this will make it very unlikely you’ll get a bonus offer in the mail.
You Already Have an American Express Card: According to crowdsourced data, you might be less likely to get a targeted offer like this if you already have an American Express credit card.
Final Thoughts
Getting a new credit card is fun and a great way to earn lots of points quickly. But getting that same credit card with a huge welcome bonus is even better! While the welcome bonus for the Amex Gold card historically hovers around 60,000 points, there are welcome bonus offers out there for 75,000 or even 90,000 points! You can read our news story to find out more about the Amex Gold card referral 90k offer.
Once you have your new Amex Gold card, be sure to come back here for lots of tips on how to earn Amex points fast and the best ways to use your Amex points for maximum value.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, clickhere.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
