How to Earn the Amex Cobalt Referral Bonus

Introduction

This post is updated as of April 5, 2024.

American Express Canada offers a referral program for its Cardmembers, so existing Cardmembers can refer a friend to sign up for a Card, and both people get rewarded.

If you’re applying for your first Amex Cobalt Card you can earn a welcome bonus by using an existing cardmembers referral link.

And if you’re an existing Cobalt Cardmember, you can share your referral link with friends and family and when they get approved, you will earn referral points.

Let’s take a look at how it works.

The Amex Cobalt Referral Bonus

Share Your Referral Link and Get Rewarded

Limited Time Offer: As of April 5, 2024, the increased referral bonus is 7,500 Amex points! 

As an Amex Cobalt Cardmember, you can refer a friend and earn a bonus of 5,000 7,500 Membership Rewards points for each approved referral, up to a maximum annual bonus of 75,000 points. That’s up to 15 referrals per year with the standard offer.

New Cobalt Cardmember Benefits

Currently, in their first year, your friend could earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which they spend $750 on their Card, totaling up to 15,000 points in a year.

They can earn an additional 7,000 points after spending $2,500 in the first 3 months of Cardmembership.

Limited Time Offer: That’s up to 22,000 Amex points with the increased referral offer!

Key Referral Program Terms

• Maximum annual referral bonus limit is 75,000 Membership Rewards points per calendar year. (5,000 points x 15 referrals with the standard offer.)
• Referral bonuses are subject to your creditworthiness and account history with American Express.
• Allow up to 8 to 10 weeks for the referral bonus to post to your account. (Points are usually posted much sooner, in most cases, a few days to a week).

Important Considerations

• You will only earn referral points when a new Cardmember applies for an American Express Cobalt Card. Current or previous Cardmembers are ineligible.
• American Express reserves the right to limit, cancel, or revoke referrals or welcome bonuses for violations of terms.

How to Get Your Amex Cobalt Referral Link

1. Make sure you’re already an Amex Cobalt Cardmember. If not, apply now for the Amex Cobalt Card.
2. Login to your online account and from your Dashboard click the “Refer Now” button and accept the terms and conditions.
3. Copy and share your personalized referral link.
4. That’s it! Once your friend applies through your link and gets approved for their Cobalt Card, you should see your referral points posted to your account within a few days.
5. To view your points, from your American Express online dashboard click “View and Redeem Points > My Points Account > View Points” to see a breakdown of the points you’ve earned from daily purchases and referrals. The referral bonus will show up there.

Conclusion: How to Maximize Your Referral Bonus Points

From time to time, American Express may increase the referral bonus. That’s when it really pays to share your personal link and refer a friend!

Sometimes the Amex referral welcome bonus can be a higher welcome bonus than the standard offer, but it may also come with a higher minimum spend requirement.

You will know if there is a special deal happening by logging into your American Express online account and checking your current offers.

Some travel bloggers post their referral links on their blog, or on forums like Reddit or Facebook.

You might be questioning whether Amex enforces restrictions on this practice, considering that you’re ideally expected to share your referral link solely with family and friends. The truth is, a lot of bloggers share their referral links with their readers, and that’s how they earn more points to continue traveling and blogging.

Amex’s guidelines for sharing your referral link are pretty vague:

• You should only send your link to friends and family who genuinely want to receive it.
• Ask their permission first.

Learn More: Amex Canada Referral Program Terms

As long as you aren’t spamming people with your link, and take a reasonable approach to sharing your link, you should be ok.

In my personal experience, Amex doesn’t seem to mind that travel bloggers share their referral links.

When I first started PointsWise, I would share referral links on this blog, and you would be surprised at how many people used the links!

It was exhilarating seeing my points balance climb quickly. I would literally max out the number of people I could refer in a matter of weeks. Then I would sign up for another Card and repeat the process!

It really did allow me to travel for free and write about my experiences.

If you’re looking to travel for free on credit Card points, the secret is to refer other people to sign up for an Amex Card.

Looking for more ways to earn Amex Cobalt points?

• Earn 5x points on food and drinks.
• BONUS Travel Hack: Earn 5x points on gas
• Earn 3x points on streaming services.
• Earn 2x points on travel.
• Earn 1x points on everything else.
• Earn the Amex Cobalt welcome bonus.