Why referrals are the best way to apply for American Express Cards

Very few credit card issuers in India offer lucrative referral programs. Citi and Amex are the best ones in this area. They have great programs which reward both the referrer and the referee. Amex recently resumed its referral program, with extra benefits on such applications. Here is why you should apply for Amex cards with a referral link rather than direct applications on the website. Let us look into the extra benefits offered by each variant over direct applications.

Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card Referral Benefits

Amex MRCC is the first credit card that you should get if you are new to American Express. It has an easy to meet fee waiver criteria and offers excellent rewards for its segment. MRCC can offer you a return of at least 5.4% on your spending. This is much more than what many premium credit cards offer. It also gives you access to the 18 and 24 Carat Gold Collection for redemption.

Here is a quick comparison of what we get when we apply for MRCC through referrals over direct applications.

Amex MRCC	Referral	Direct
Joining Fee	Zero: Get it free for the first year	Rs 1000+GST
Welcome Benefit	2000 MR points	4000 MR points
Annual Fee	Rs 1500+GST	Rs 4500+GST

We save quite a bit when we apply for MRCC through referrals. We get 2000 MR points worth at least Rs 500 without paying a fee. The second permanent benefit is a reduced annual fee every year if you do not meet the fee waiver spends.

Amex Platinum Travel Referral Benefits

If you had been eyeing the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card but holding off due to the joining fees, then now is the perfect time to get it with a zero joining fees offer. Amex Platinum Travel offers 40000 bonus MR points on spending Rs 4 Lakhs in a membership year. We also get a Rs 10000 worth of Taj gift voucher on meeting this spends.

Here is a quick comparison of what we get when we apply for MRCC through referrals over direct applications.

Amex Platinum Travel	Referral	Direct
Joining Fee	Zero: Get it free for the first year	Rs 3500+GST
Welcome Benefit	2000 MR points	10000 MR points

We get an extra 8K MR points on applying directly for the Plat Travel card. But we pay Rs 4130 for the joining fee. So, we pay 51 paise for each MR point. This is more than we might get a value for.

So, better to instead pay nothing with referral links and get 2000 MR points for free. We can always earn many more MR points through our transactions. 🙂

Amex Gold Charge Referral Benefits

While Amex Plat Travel and MRCC are issued with zero annual fees, Gold Charge does not get that benefit. But, it does get the extra 2000 MR points for referral applications. So, it still an extra 2000 MR points benefit over applying directly.

Amex Gold Charge	Referral	Direct
Welcome Benefit	6000 MR points	4000 MR points

Amex SmartEarn Referral Benefits

The entry-level SmartEarn credit card gets an extra 2000 bonus MR points for referral applications.

Amex SmartEarn	Referral	Direct
Welcome Benefit	2000 MR points + Rs 500 cashback	Rs 500 cashback

Final Thoughts

American Express MGM (Member gets Member) program is not only beneficial for the referrer but also for the referee. For all the above cards, we get extra MR points and also a joining fee waiver in some cases.

If you are new to Amex, getting the Plat Travel/MRCC as FYF will also help you in evaluating if Amex will fit your needs. You can always choose to close the account in the second year if you do not want to pay the annual fee.