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This article was originally published on KUKU’s personal WeChat public account.

[2021.5 Update] Don’t forget that this ends on May 5. Applying for the cards below through a referral link comes with an extra $200 home furnishings credit. If you don’t have an immediate need, in-store (note: in-store) purchases of physical third-party gift cards, such as Amazon gift cards, or Visa gift cards can trigger it. The spending requirement window for the Platinum/Gold/Green/BCP offers is 6 months.

Here are the current offers for all cards:

[The following was originally posted on March 12, 2021]

What Happened

This AMEX promo came a bit out of nowhere. As long as you apply for a personal credit card through a referral link, you can get this benefit: an extra $200 reimbursement at home furnishing stores as part of the welcome offer (must be completed within 3 months of account opening). You need to apply by May 5, 2021. Referrers of eligible cards also receive a bonus: 4x on home furnishing purchases, on up to the first $25,000. HT: WeChat readers Muzhi and Tiangua

Offer Details

Basics

The specifics are as follows:

  • Personal cards referring personal cards
  • Business cards referring personal cards
  • Eligible personal cards include AMEX’s own cashback and MR cards, plus Delta co-branded cards, but not Hilton or Marriott co-branded cards!
  • You may still be able to get the all-time-high offer and this credit at the same time, YMMV

Referrer bonus: in addition to the regular referral bonus, you can also get:

  • If you use a non-co-branded MR personal card, after a successful referral you can earn 4x MR at home furnishing stores within 3 months, up to 100,000 MR total (on the first $25,000 in spend).
  • If you use a cashback personal card, after a successful referral you can earn 4% cashback at home furnishing stores within 3 months, up to $1,000 back (on the first $25,000 in spend).

If you use an AMEX co-branded MR card to refer, you cannot get the 4x bonus. Also, this 4x is not as good as the previous uncapped everything-4x offer. In addition, the author speculates that if you use these personal cards to refer someone for a business card, you may also receive this benefit after the applicant is approved.

Business card welcome offers and public AMEX website offers do not include this benefit. There are also all-time-high offers available.

Examples of Welcome Offers

For example, on the AMEX Gold, using incognito mode or a VPN may bring up 75,000 + $200. If you can’t get it, you can try scanning via WeChat, opening it in an in-app browser, or using a less frequently used iPad or other device:

There is also a targeted Platinum offer with a 100% chance of 100,000 + 10x at supermarkets, which effectively becomes 100,000 + 10x at supermarkets/gas stations + $200 reimbursement. HT: WeChat reader Tiangua. The 100% AMEX Platinum killer offer links are as follows:

For the AMEX Green card, all referral links show 50,000 + $200 home furnishings credit for everyone.

$200 Credit and 4x Details

For the referred applicant:

  • This counts as part of the welcome offer, so the reimbursement must be completed within 3 months of account opening
  • Only valid for purchases made within the U.S.
  • Both online and in-store purchases can trigger it, up to a total of $200 back

For the referrer:

  • You get 4x for 3 months after a successful referral
  • The author guesses, as before, that you will receive an email after a successful referral
  • If you have a very large spending need, you can spread referrals across multiple cards so each card gets this benefit, though $25,000 is enough for most people

As for home furnishing merchants, AMEX gave a few examples (be sure to check the Excludes). These merchants include:

  • The Home Depot
  • Lowe's
  • The Container Store
  • Bed Bath & Beyond
  • Crate and Barrel, Crate and Kids and CB2
  • Anthropologie and Terrain

For the referred applicant, since this is part of the welcome offer, buying gift cards is not recommended; online gift card sales are generally outsourced. It’s better to use it for actual home goods or electronics purchases if you have a real need.

For the referrer’s 4x bonus, you can try to generate some in-store spend, such as buying some gift cards. Small amounts are usually fine, but if your volume is large, be careful—AMEX may claw it back later.