Supplementary cards are often overlooked — but from time to time, American Express is famous for rolling out supplementary card offers that can make them lucrative.
Instead of applying for a new credit card, these offers allow you to earn bonus points simply by adding an additional cardholder and meeting a minimum spending requirement. In each instance, the offer is applicable up to two supplementary cards per account for personal cards and three supplementary cards per account for business cards.
This time around, the offer is quite complicated with multiple different offers within the same product. I am going to break it down for you to identify the best cards and the optimal spending amounts to maximize this promotion.
American Express Personal Cards – Supplementary Card Offers
The following offers are valid for Personal Cards.
American Express Platinum Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 15,000 points after $4,000 in purchases, or,
- 20,000 points after $7,000 in purchases, or,
- 30,000 points after $10,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $250 for an additional Platinum Card.
American Express Aeroplan Reserve
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 15,000 Aeroplan points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 20,000 Aeroplan points after $5,000 in purchases, or,
- 25,000 Aeroplan points after $10,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $199 for each additional card. If you opt for the no-fee card, the offer is 5,000 Aeroplan points after spending $2,000 in the first three months.
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 7,500 points after $4,000 in purchases, or,
- 10,000 points after $5,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is waived for the first additional Gold Card and $50 for the second Gold Card.
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 6,500 points after $4,000 in purchases, or,
- 8,000 points after $5,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is waived for additional cards.
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after $1,500 in purchases, or,
- 7,500 Marriott Bonvoy points after $2,500 in purchases, or,
- 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after $4,500 in purchases.
The annual fee is waived for additional cards.
American Express Aeroplan Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 Aeroplan points after $1,500 in purchases, or,
- 7,500 Aeroplan points after $2,500 in purchases, or,
- 10,000 Aeroplan points after $4,500 in purchases.
The annual fee is $50 for each additional card. If you opt for the no-fee card, the offer is 2,500 Aeroplan points after spending $1,000 in the first three months.
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 1,000 points after $1,000 in purchases, or,
- 2,000 points after $2,000 in purchases, or,
- 4,000 points after $3,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is waived for additional cards.
American Express Business Cards – Supplementary Card Offers
The following offers are valid for Business Cards.
American Express Business Platinum Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 10,000 points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 20,000 points after $6,000 in purchases, or,
- 40,000 points after $15,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $250 for each additional card. If you opt for the no-fee card, the offer is 5,000 Aeroplan points after spending $1,500 in the first three months.
American Express Business Aeroplan Reserve
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 15,000 Aeroplan points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 20,000 Aeroplan points after $5,000 in purchases, or,
- 25,000 Aeroplan points after $10,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $199 for each additional card. If you opt for the no-fee card, the offer is 5,000 Aeroplan points after spending $2,000 in the first three months.
American Express Business Gold Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 points after $1,500 in purchases, or,
- 10,000 points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 15,000 points after $6,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $50 for each additional card.
American Express Business Marriott Bonvoy Card
You will earn the following bonus points when you add a new supplementary card and meet the minimum spending requirements in the first three months:
- 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after $1,500 in purchases, or,
- 10,00 Marriott Bonvoy points after $3,000 in purchases, or,
- 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after $6,000 in purchases.
The annual fee is $50 for each additional card.
The Strategy Matters Here
At first glance, this promotion seems straightforward — add a supplementary card, meet a spending requirement, and earn bonus points.
However, this round of offers is more complicated than usual for a few reasons.
First, the bonuses are tiered, meaning you don’t just earn a single bonus after hitting a minimum spend. Instead, you earn different bonuses depending on how much you spend. That means you need to be intentional about how much you spend and when you stop.
For example, if you spend:
- $4,000 → you earn 15,000 points
- $7,000 → you earn 20,000 points
- $10,000 → you earn 30,000 points
If you accidentally stop at $6,500, you’ll still only receive the 15,000-point tier, which may not be optimal depending on your goals.
Many of you might have multiple supplementary card offers to manage which adds another layer of strategy. You may want to:
- Prioritize higher return offers first
- Spread spending across multiple supplementary cards
- Avoid overspending beyond the next meaningful tier
Finally, timing also matters. Since the spending window is typically three months, you’ll want to carefully plan your spending so you don’t miss thresholds — or overshoot them unnecessarily. Missing thresholds is missed opportunities. Overshooting them, also means, missed opportunities.
Because of these factors, it’s worth mapping out your spending in advance to maximize the total points earned across all available supplementary card offers.
