The best referral offers, welcome deals and extra savings.
Here are some of the special deals running right now.
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There are loads of ways you can get more from an American Express credit card other than the ongoing cashback rewards. And they start when you first apply.
First is either a referral bonus or cashback site bonus. These generally are worth between £10 and £25, depending on the card and where you get the link.
Next is the welcome bonus for those who haven’t had an Amex in 24 months. These come with cashback, reward and points based cards. These can easily be worth £100 or more, depending on the card.
Finally there are extra offers available every month on the card, with the Shop Small promotion among my favourites.
Standard welcome offers
If you’ve not had an American Express card in your name in 24 months you’ll be eligible for a welcome bonus when you sign up and meet specific spending thresholds.
You might be eligible for a bonus from the Platinum card and British Airways cards as an existing cardholder – it depends on which card or cards you have. I’ve explained more in this article.
The highest paying standard welcome promotions are:
| Card | Bonus | Value | Fee |
| American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card | 20,000 Amex Membership points + 3,000 points for spending | £115 | £0 (£195 in year two) |
| American Express Cashback credit card | 5% on first £2,500 spent | Up to £125 | £25 |
| Nectar American Express credit card | 20,000 Nectar points + 2,000 points for spending | £110 in Nectar points | £0 (£30 in year two) |
Boosted welcome offers
These offers are sometimes boosted and it’s often worth waiting for these deals to come along. Once to look out for include:
- Up to 25,000 rather than 20,000 for the Amex Preferred Reward Gold (usually spring and winter each year. Last ran March to May 2025)
- 80,000 rather than 50,000 for the Amex Platinum (usually spring and winter each year. Last ran March to May 2025
- 60,000 rather than 30,000 for the BA Amex Premium Plus (usually late winter and early autumn each year. Ran January to February 2025)
- £25 off the Amex Cashback card
When these and other deals are running we’ll share the basics below, with links to more detailed articles explaining the offer in full.
Current boosted offers
American Express has ditched the word “Platinum” from its cashback cards, but they work the same as before. However, there’s now an extra cashback bonus for new customers worth up to £25.
As usual, the welcome offer and additional bonus are only for people who’ve not had an Amex in their name in the last 24 months.
| Card | Standard bonus | Extra bonus | Fee | Ends? | Cashback site bonus? |
| Amex Cashback Everyday | 5% cashback in first three months, capped at £100 | 5% increased to first £125 for first five months | None | Unknown | None |
Amex Cashback card: no fee for one year
New applicants to the Amex Cashback card will avoid the £25 annual fee in year one.. You’ll then also earn 5% cashback in the first three months on the first £2,500 you spend.
However both parts require you to not have had any Amex in your name in the last 24 months.
| Card | Standard bonus | Extra bonus | Fee | Ends? | Cashback site bonus? |
| Amex Cashback | 5% cashback in first three months, capped at £125 | £25 | £25 | 15 July 2025 | None |
Previous boosted offers
These are the most recent offers on other cards, to give you an idea of what could be coming.
British Airways Amex Premium Plus: 60,000 bonus Avios (ended)
Until 25 February 2025 you can get 60,000 Avios rather than the standard 30,000 if you apply via the British Airways Executive Club. We’ve got a separate deals page explaining exactly how to take advantage of the BA Amex Premium Plus offer.
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Whether you’re eligible for a welcome bonus or not you should always apply for an Amex via a refer-a-friend link or cashback site. These can be worth anything from a fiver to more than £100, depending on the card.
It’s impossible to say which is best as the rates change per card and can sometimes be increased. So I’d check both options and go for the one that pays the most.
Refer-a-friend offers
Most Amex cards will give an extra bonus for signing up via a referral link. Now that you can’t get extra bonuses via cashback sites (at least for the moment), referrals are worth a look – especially if they are boosted.
You’ll need to ask your friends and family if they have a link they can share with you, which you can use for any Amex you like – not just the one they have. They’ll also get a kickback for sharing their link.
To see all the different referral options click the “see all cards with a referral offer” button at the top of the page when it opens. You’ll get the rate shown for the card you select.
Boosted refer-a-friend offers
Until 15 July 2025 you can get increased welcome offers and points if you go via a refer a friend link.
Each still have their own spending requirements to trigger the bonuses, so make sure you can achieve these. Some also have fees you need to take into account.
Also you won’t be eligible for most of the welcome offers if you’ve had a card in your name in the last two years. The exceptions to allow multiple Amex welcome offers are explained here.
Remember, you’ll need to find an existing Amex card holder to refer you, though it doesn’t matter if they have a different card to the one you’re after as you can select to see all cards.
| Card | Normal referral bonus | Boosted referral bonus |
| Amex Reward | 12,000 Amex Reward points | 20,000 Amex Reward points |
| Amex Rewards Gold | 22,000 Amex Reward points | 35,000 Amex Reward points |
| Amex Cashback | £25 | £40 |
| Amex Cashback | £10 | £20 |
| Amex Platinum | 55,000 Amex Reward points | 80,000 Amex Reward points |
| BA Amex | 6,000 Avios points | 15,000 Avios |
| BA Amex Premium Plus | 31,000 Avios points | 33,000 Avios |
| Amex Nectar | 21,000 Nectar points | 23,000 Nectar points |
| Amex Marriott Bonvoy | 23,000 Marriot Bonvoy points | 63,000 Marriot Bonvoy points |
Cashback site welcome bonuses (expired)
Amex used to offer cashback on many cards if you applied via Quidco or TopCashback.
However since mid-May 2025 we’ve notice they’re not longer showing. We’ll keep checking and update here if they return.
In the meantime, if you’re not with either cashback site then you can also nab an extra welcome bonus on those too!
Supplementary card offers
If you’ve got a partner who’s spending will contribute to achieving a welcome offer, then a supplementary card is well worth adding on. Just be aware that the main cardholder is responsible for all spending on that card!
With most Amex cards, when you add your first supplementary card you’ll get a bonus. The standard offers are as follows:
- Amex Platinum: 5,000 Amex points
- Amex Preferred Rewards Gold: 3,000 Amex points
- Amex Reward: 2,000 Amex points
- Amex Cashback: £5
- Amex Cashback Everyday: £5
- Amex Nectar: 3,000 Nectar points
- British Airways Amex Premium Plus: 13000 Avios
- British Airways Amex: 1,000 Avios
Do not add this during your application as you won’t get the bonus points. You’ll need to wait until you’ve been accepted, then go via the American Express supplementary card webpage.
Amex Gold: double supplementary card bonus (expired)
Until 21 May 2025, Amex Gold card holders who add their first supplementary card will get double the Amex Reward points added to their account – a total of 6,000. That’s worth £30 rather than £15 if converted into a gift card or Nectar points.
Upgrade offers
Very rarely there are promotions to get you to upgrade your card. The bonus won’t be as good as the welcome deals for newbies, but it’s worth taking a look. You’ll see if you’re eligible in your Amex account.
Upgrade Gold credit to Platinum: boosted 40,000 points
If you have the Preferred Rewards Golf card then you won’t qualify for the welcome bonus on the Platinum card, so this upgrade offer is worth a look.
You can get normally get 20,000 Amex Reward Points if you upgrade from the Preferred Rewards Gold credit card to the Platinum credit card. You’ll need to spend £4,000 in three months, so this is only for big spenders.
You’ll earn 1 point per £1 spent, so in total you’ll get 24,000 points if you achieve this. That’s worth £192 if converted to Avios, and then to Nectar points.
But right now you’ll be able to get double. So thats 40,000 points but you spend £6,000 in three months.
You’ll also get the additional credits and benefits from the Platinum card.
Bear in mind you’ll need to pay £650 as an annual fee.
Upgrade Gold charge to Platinum: 20,000 points
If you have the older Preferred Rewards Gold charge card (this is slightly different from the credit card) you can get 20,000 Amex Reward Points if you upgrade to the Platinum credit card. You’ll need to spend £4,000 in three months, so this is only for big spenders.
You’ll earn 1 point per £1 spent, so in total you’ll get 24,000 points if you achieve this. That’s worth £192 if converted to Avios, and then to Nectar points.
Don’t forget that £650 annual fee that comes with the Platinum
Most cards: 10% off dining
Check your Amex offers to see if you can activate 10% cashback as credit at participating restaurants until 30 June 2025.
Sadly, it won’t be on every Amex card, but should at least be on the Gold, Reward, Cashback and Platinum cards.
The list of locations is London heavy, but there are places across the UK as well as chains like Honest Burger, Pure Comptoir and Gaucho.
Deliveroo: 2 x £5 credit each month with Amex Gold
If you hold the Preferred Rewards Gold Amex then every month you can get £5 back on up to two Deliveroo orders. Make sure you save the offer to your card. There’s also a £5 minimum spend per order.
Harvey Nichols: £50 free credit a year with Amex Platinum card
If you have the Platinum American Express card (which comes with a huge £650 annual fee) you can now get £50 until the end of June 2025 from spending at Harvey Nichols.
The spend can be cumulative and there’s no minimum spend. So buy something for a tenner and you’ll get £10 back to your card.
Dining: Up to £400 free credit a year with Amex Platinum card
This offer is for people with the full Platinum Amex. Every six months until 31 December 2025 you’ll get £100 dining credit to use at some top restaurants. Most do seem to be in London but there are a few around the country (mainly the Ivy chain) so you should be able to redeem the offer.
There’s also the same amount available overseas, though the locations are very limited. So I’d treat this as an extra rather than a certainty.
As with most Amex offers, you’ll need to add it to your card. It’s limited to the main cardholder only so can’t be added to supplementary cards.
The card comes with a massive £650 annual fee so I wouldn’t apply just for this offer (indeed there’s no guarantee it’ll be available to newbies) – but if you do go for it, the fee will be prorated if you cancel.
