Even after a major facelift (including a higher fee and some more money-saving credits) last year, the American Express® Gold Card remains one of the best all-around cards to rack up more points on everyday spending. Travelers finally adding it to their wallet shouldn't settle for anything less than a massive welcome offer.
We're now seeing a welcome offer of 90,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership widely available through personal referral links. While that's not quite the biggest offer we've ever seen, it sure beats the standard offer of 60,000 points with a similar spending requirement that you'll typically see when applying directly with Amex or through links on sites like ours.
Click here to see if you're targeted for this referral offer! (for full disclosure, this is a personal referral)
If you don't see the bigger offer at first, try opening the link in an incognito window, use a different browser, or even a different device.
All information about the American Express® Gold Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Just remember: Credit cards are serious business, and no big welcome offer is worth going into debt. If you're already in debt or can't afford to pay off a new card in full each and every month, this big welcome offer simply isn't worth it.
But if you can spend responsibly, this is a truly fantastic offer. Better yet, it's gotten much easier to share the wealth with friends and family: Many Amex cardholders (including several members of the Thrifty Traveler team) that were previously unable to generate referral links for top Amex cards can send those links again.
And there's even something in it for the person referring the card, too. By having a friend or family member apply for the Gold card through your referral link, you'll get 10,000 Membership Rewards points. Talk about a win, win!
Just know that if you've got a lot of friends, the amount of points you earn through referrals is capped at 100,000 per calendar year.
Related reading: 10 Amazing Ways to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points
How to Check for the 90K Referral Offer
Unfortunately, these referral offers are often targeted – not every current Amex Gold Cardholder will be able to generate this bigger 90,000-point referral offer. Some may see a 75,000-point or even the standard 60,000-point offer instead.
That said, this 90,000-point offer seems to be more widely available than in the past. Every member of the Thrifty Traveler team with a Gold Card was able to generate a new 90,000-point referral link.
If you've already got an Amex Gold Card and want to check, you can head to the American Express Refer a Friend homepage to see if you have the offer. And even if the 90,000-point offer isn't being generated for you, it might still be worth trying it in an incognito window to see if you can pull up a bigger offer.
If you have more than one American Express card, make sure you select your Amex Gold Card. Again, you might need to open your own link in an incognito browser to pull up this 90,000-point offer – and ensure your friend or family member does the same.
Just be warned: In recent years, American Express has been treating points earned from referrals as taxable income. For tax purposes, Amex values each point earned at one cent each. So earning 100,000 points for a referral means you are going to get a 1099 tax form for $1,000 early next year.
Related Reading: Are Credit Card Rewards Taxable? Here's Why You Got a 1099 for Earning Points
Don't have the American Express Gold yet? You can use our personal referral link to try to pull up the 90,000-point offer. This is truly one of the best offers we have ever seen on this card!
Remember: You may need to open the link in an incognito or private web browser or even try different devices.
Bottom Line
American Express has opened the floodgates with a bigger welcome offer on the Gold Card available through personal referral links, offering 90,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership.
If you don't yet have the Amex Gold Card, you can use our personal referral link here to try for a bigger offer. And if you already have the Amex Gold Card and want to spread the love, you'll get 10,000 points for each successful approval (up to 100,000 points per year).
I tried the referral link a few times via incognito web browser and finally got the 90k offer. They offered 75k twice before but I’m glad I tried again for the 90k!
I keep getting 75k when I click on the referral link – do I just need to keep trying? I’m on incognito safari for reference
Keep trying. That 90k offer seems to come and go.
I’m only seeing 60k bonus now when using the link, 90k bonus appears to be dead…
Make sure you are opening the link in an incognito browser window. It should still be there.
Was able to get the 90k bonus, thanks
I opened you referral link several times last Friday–& on another device. Just hope to catch it before expiration. Finally able to get the 90k sign up bonus, & was approved for 20k (far more than I expected)! Thank you very much for your generous offer!
Will Amex give a hard pull for this? I am an Amex cardholders, just not a charge card holder. I’ve never had this card but don’t want an inquiry …. the offer did appear when I clicked your referral link. Will it be hard or soft pull?
Thanks to Amex’s new Apply with Confidence feature, you can see if you will be approved before you actual submit your application. No credit check will be done until you actually hit submit. You can read more about it below:
https://thriftytraveler.com/news/credit-card/american-express-apply-with-confidence/
I tried it. Not eligible and I don’t think I’ve ever had an AMEX Gold before.
Thank you for the referral link Nick.
Do you think the previous offer of both 90,000 mile AND up to $250 for charging at restaurants will come back? Would hate to sign up for just the 90,000 mile and then see the previous better offer show up again. Thanks
I just wanted to say thank you too Nicholas for sharing the invite i was accepted for the 90k point it is a really awesome welcome bonus hope you get your 30k soon again thank you!
I received an offer in June stating if I switched from my Gold card to Platinum & spent $3000 in 3 months I would get 90k. I did this thru the link sent. After spending as required, I received 15k. When I inquired, was asked for promo code, which I did not pay attention to. Am being told there was no such offer, & since I had no “code”, I am out of luck. Moral of my story, CALL & enroll & make certain you have promo code, etc. If too good to be true, be wary. PS I previously worked for another airline in the awards area, so I know “fine print”
I got “you are not eligible to receive the welcome offer.” pop up and it took me to the 60k bonus offer page instead 🙁 I have not had Amex gold card before…
I saw the 90k offer, applied and was accepted (thank you!). That said, I didn’t any email that confirmed that it was the 90k that I signed up for, and I previously was told on the phone that I would only be eligible for 60k (I’m a Platinum card holder and never had the Gold before). Is there a way I can check?
If it’s not too late, I would take a screenshot of the offer. If you saw it and applied for that offer, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about though. Should credit as normal.
Hi Nick, I’ve tried using the link with various browsers and even in incognito mode but I get the message below. Do you know if this offer is still valid?
Sorry, it looks like something went wrong. This could be:
A missing character
Incorrect character case
To correct please check the American Express Referral Link before trying again.
Hi Maria, I have updated the link. Please try it again.
I used the referral today and it said 90k offer. Thank you for the referral and enjoy the extra points
Nick, I just read the offer, and although I was not targeted for the Gold 90K offer, it was only 10K for me and 60K for my friend). I did follow the refer a friend link in this article, and I have the Gold card AND the Delta/Amex Platinum card, so while after logging in, “Lo and Behold”, referring the Delta/Amex Platinum offer, I would get 15K, and my friend would get 90K for purchasing $4000.00 in 6 months. A much better offer!! 7/26/2022
The link doesn’t work. If you could provide a 90K referral link I would appreciate it. Thanks
These links are still working for us, David. Try a different browser if it isn’t working for you currently.
Any idea when the Am Ex platinum will offer a generous welcome package? I have the Gold but was thinking of upgrading now that I make more income and travel a bit more. Thank you
Say you do pay over time with your spend requirements, does it have to be completely paid off when the 6 months is up? I can’t seem to find that information anyway – but seems that it is a “spend” requirement, I’m not sure they would care…and would make more money if you were paying any interest.
There would be no requirement to pay off the balance in full over that six-month span … but the cardinal rule of credit cards is that you should pay off your balance in full every single month. Even at 90,000 points (or 490,000, for that matter), it’s not worth accumulating debt or paying interest.
I have this 30K referral, 90K bonus offer on my AmX offers page today.
I got the 30K/90K referral link on my account. If my husband once had an AMEX Gold card, but closed it a few years ago, is he prohibited from getting the 90,000 bonus? I guess we’ll find out if there’s a popup about eligibility, but even if he’s not eligible for the SUB, would he still get the 20% back restaurant benefit and would I still get the +5x points restaurant benefit? Thanks for any guidance anyone can share.
Hi Larry. As long as you don’t get the pop up, you’re eligible for the points and the restaurant credit. Both are part of the welcome offer bonus. Same goes for the +5x at restaurants for you.
I have a platinum but have longed yearned for those 4x gold rewards points. I debated getting a separate gold card under my name and linking both cards under my rewards account to earn points more efficiently, but I wouldn’t be eligible for a gold signup bonus since i already have a platinum. I also debated adding my wife as a second user under my platinum card but as a no-annual fee gold card user, but this setup won’t allow her to earn 4x rewards points on restaurants and groceries. That only works on independent gold card accounts. I also debated getting my wife her own independent gold card account, but the additional $250 on top of the $700 seemed like a lot. However, when I saw this article we used your referral to get her the 90,000 bonus signup points lol. Yeah, we’ll have separate rewards accounts, but we’re married so we’ll both benefit from them. Also, both cards will pay for themselves in rewards alone. In the last 10 years I’ve averaged about 100,000 rewards points a year with my platinum card alone. All the other benefits are the cream on top. We also added her gold card as a payment method to my uber app and now that uber account gets $25 a month instead of only $15.
For what it is worth, you will still be eligible for the bonus on the Gold card even if you have the Platinum. I hold both cards and earned the welcome bonus on both of them.
Wish I had seen this earlier. I just applied and got the 60k. Boo!
+1 on TY for your referral, was just approved with the 90k SUB offer.
Thanks for the referral.
I had been wanting to apply for the Amex gold but the bonus for the platinum was better and I was not wanting to pay the $650+ annual fee. Thanks for the referral link I just got approved with the 90k bonus!
Is this a once-a-lifetime bonus? I had a Gold card for a long time a few years ago and cancelled because I got a Platinum. I honestly don’t remember if I earned a bonus when I got the Gold card over a decade ago.
Hey Tony,
Yes, generally once per lifetime. But there is an easy way to find out if you are eligible before submitting your app. You’ll get a pop-up warning about not earning the welcome bonus if you are not eligible and you can exit the app. More info here:
https://thriftytraveler.com/news/credit-card/amex-welcome-offer-bonus-eligibility/
Interesting. I filled out the application not logged in(is that key factor?) and it never popped up saying anything about not being eligible. I will try it logged in before submitting it.
Logging in shouldn’t matter. If you don’t get the pop-up, you are good!
Just wanted to follow up on this, I can confirm that I was given the welcome bonus after previously having the Gold Card, which was cancelled 2ish years ago. I had the card since 2011, so maybe that was considered a “lifetime” and allowed me to receive a bonus again.
Thanks again for the referral, a bunch of my friends also took advantage of it!
Me and my wife had the Gold in the past, but we both just got approved for the 90K offer with no lifetime restriction pop-up. Maybe this offer link doesn’t have the lifetime bonus restriction? Just to give a data point.