Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Get 1,000 Membership Rewards points for adding a Platinum supplementary cardholder

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American Express emailed me last week to offer 1,000 Membership Rewards points (= 1,000 Avios, amongst other things) for each new supplementary cardholder added to my Platinum charge card account.

Full details and the application link can be found here.

It is not clear if this is a new offer or a continuation of the one they were promoting earlier in the year.  Either way, there is no deadline stated for applying.

Each Platinum cardholder can add up to five supplementary cardholders for free.  One of these will receive a Platinum card and will be eligible for their own Priority Pass, can access Eurostar lounges and can claim their own Club Carlson Gold card and other hotel status cards.  A Platinum supplementary cardholders cannot have their own Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Gold card, however.

The other four supplementary cards will be Gold cards.  These four cards still benefit from the Platinum travel insurance but do not receive any of the other benefits.  (It is possible to make these additional cards into Platinum, but there is a £175 charge.  This is not worth the money.)

Remember that the more supplementary cards you have, the more times you will be able to take advantage of any new generous Amex / Foursquare promotions that come along!

Because these are charge cards and not credit cards, Amex undertakes stricter checks when issuing supplementary cards than is usual, so don’t bother trying to get a supplementary card for your dog!  I couldn’t even get one for our nanny last year, as she wasn’t on the electoral register – Amex insisted on receiving copies of her passport and other documents which was simply too much trouble.

Even if you are planning to cancel your Platinum card in the near future, there is no reason why you shouldn’t get it on this deal and earn some extra Membership Rewards points whilst you can!

Bonus points will added within 30 days of the new card being approved.


Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review

Comments (18)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Martin says:

    Just a small bit of pedantry – the supplementary cards can optionally be a green Amex card – handy, perhaps, if the person it’s for already has a gold card in their wallet.

  • Johnny5a says:

    Do they have to live at the same address? I’m thinking of getting one for my mum.

  • Johnson says:

    Is this not a way for Amex to head off people who may be inclined to cancel their platinum card and then get their spouse to then sign up to take advantage of the big initial sign up bonuses?

    This way- you get 1000 points, but the wife will never be eligible for the big 30k or 50k bonuses??

  • xcalx says:

    Having the Platinum supplementary card does not stop you from receiving the large sign up bonus. As long as you have not applied for an Amex issued card in the last 6 months.

  • Schnuzz says:

    Are supplementary card holders entitled to the free night at Melia hotels offer?

  • gnarlyoldgoatdude says:

    I’ve just revisited the BA Amex supplementary card post on HFP, for which extra cards were meant to yield 500 bonus Avios. My points, coincidentally, for our nanny’s card, never arrived, so I am chasing Amex.
    Any other experiences?

    • jonny says:

      I was offered some points last time I phoned up, if I added a card holder, forget how many and haven’t done it yet. but there is definitely a bonus for BA card holders too.

  • xcalx says:

    Has anyone been getting 3 points per £1 spend on the Plat . My last 3 transactions have all received 3 points per £1 all were in the Small Shop promo at restaurants

    • Rob says:

      Yes, this seems to be happening! Double on travel, triple on dining. Post on its way.

  • Rich says:

    I know I’m posting slightly off topic (again) but does anyone know how often the MR to Avios bonuses generally appear?
    I need to move a pile across/out and have had the Gold Card for a year but not received the offer- I’m signed up to marketing mails but from reading other comments it seems like some people get the offers regularly??

    • Rob says:

      Seems to be every 8 months or so. Last one finished in February.

      • Johnny5a says:

        we never seem to be targetted or ever received any emails about these bonuses

        • Rob says:

          Are you opted in? Check online. You need to change settings for EVERY Amex you have – opting in for BA Amex email does not get you Plat email by default

          • Johnny5a says:

            just checked under “Marketing Preferences” for my card and Mrs J5a’s cards – we’ve checked Yes to everything

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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