Some links to products and partners on this website will earn an affiliate commission.

Although the changes Amex made to sign up bonus eligibility undoubtedly impacted many readers, it is still possible to earn a healthy amount of points/miles each year – all you need is a friend (or family member)! I’ve written about the bonuses that Amex offers for referring friends and family before, but I don’t think I’ve ever explained how to practically refer people. I recently had a few emails and comments from readers who have struggled a bit with the process, so this post is designed to show you exactly how to refer your friends and family for any Amex card.

The first thing to do is simply log into your Amex account. Scroll down a little bit and you should see something that says “Refer Friends. Get Rewarded” (highlighted below):

I’m using screenshots from my Amex Platinum account here, but it’s the same process for all cards – the only thing that changes is the number/type of points/miles that you will receive for doing the referring. Click “Refer Now”, then tick the confirmation box and click “Get Your Referral Link”:

You’ll then be given a personalised referral link that you can either copy and share yourself, or email directly to the person you want to refer:

It’s all quite straightforward up until this point.

The bit that some people get confused by is how to refer people for a particular card (eg. how to refer someone for an Amex BA card if you are generating your referral link from an Amex Gold), so here’s how to refer your friends and family for any Amex card.

When the recipient clicks on the link you send them, they’ll see a screen that looks something like this:

On the face of it, it looks like they can only apply for the same type of card that you generated the referral link from (in this example Platinum). But, to apply for any other card, all they need to do is scroll to the bottom of the page to the “Not the right Card for you?” section:

The options that they will initially see there will depend on the type of card (charge, credit, business) that you generated the referral link from, but they can see the full range of options simply by clicking on each of the small “Charge Cards”, “Credit Cards”, “Business Cards” headings:

Note that they will need to scroll down to see all the Credit Card options as there are quite a few to choose from.

The crucial thing from the point of view of the person providing the referral link, is that the referral bonus you receive depends entirely on the card you used to generate the link – not the card the person you referred applies for.

So, for example, if you have an Amex Platinum card, you will receive 18,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points as a referral bonus, regardless of whether you refer someone for the free BA card, the BA Premium Plus, The SPG/Marriott card, the Nectar card, or whatever.

Here is what you can expect as a referral bonus when you generate a referral link from the main travel-related Amex cards:

• British Airways: 4,000 Avios
• British Airways Premium Plus: 9,000 Avios
• SPG/Marriott: 9,000 Marriott Points
• Gold: 9,000 Membership Reward Points
• Platinum: 18,000 Membership Reward Points

These referral bonuses get paid as long as the person you refer has their application approved. It is not contingent on them hitting a minimum spend target, or even being eligible for a sign up bonus themselves.

Bottom line

The changes Amex made to sign up bonus eligibility were definitely a big blow to many points/miles collectors in the UK, but hopefully, with some well planned referrals, you can at least still earn a good amount of points throughout the year.