Update 3/3/24: Reader Mark R notes that AmEx now shows clearly on the earning statement which card is getting the referrer bonus. See also this comment.
Original Post 1/9/24:
We received a neat tip from usccstrategy which simplifies figuring out which card you used when referring a friend to an Amex card:
- Look at your rewards transactions showing the referrer bonus. You’ll see there a string of letters/numbers attached to each referral bonus. Example:
- See in the above screenshot one of the referrals is described as “K3QE” and one is described as “K3YC”.
- Next, check your referral link. Look at the full expanded version of the link. Near the end of the long link you’ll see the 4-digit code which represents the card for referrals. That code will correspond to the code you see in the login.
For example, one code I checked ends with “92-201279-K50U%3A9997&v=1&xl=cp10gx”. If that card would refer a friend, they would see “K50U” in their rewards login. Cool.
Here’s a fun related question: on the current referral screen, is there any way to distinguish which card you are referring before you refer it, if you have more than one of the same type? I can’t figure out a way, and I don’t want to refer a card I’m going to close soon.
Funny enough, that’s exactly I was thinking. I have two green cards, and I want to close one of them soon. I have no idea how to distinguish the referral links for these two
If you refer from desktop website, it will be clear. The app makes it unclear.
Data Point 1.12.2024: I’m now seeing the last 5 digits of the referred card. To see it, log in via desktop, click on any card that earns Amex MR points, select ‘Rewards & Benefits’ from the top horizontal menu, then the ‘Rewards’ drop-down menu on the next page, and choose ‘Points Summary’ from that menu. There are now columns for: Date, Card (last 5 digits), Status (earned, pending), Description, Amount (dollar figure, if applicable), and Points (# earned).
If I recall correctly, this feature was available in the past, but then went away for awhile (at least that was the case on my account).
That said, the method mentioned in the post is also valid.
Update 1.22.2024: When referring from 2 different Amex Platinum Cards, the letter/number code in the Description column was identical for both. So, the only way I could distinguish which Platinum Card was used was by looking at the Card column (which shows the last 5 digits of the card account number).
the card column should populate the values for the last 5 of the referral originating card number.
Yep good point. I’m seeing the last 5 digits, too. For the past 1-2 years, the feature wasn’t available (at least not on my account), so I had to ask Amex each time. However, going back even further, I do remember the feature being available at one point. Good to see it again.
I’m seeing associated card number on the left side now a days. Anyone not seeing it?
DATE CARD STATUS DESCRIPTION AMOUNT POINTS
Jan 4 -99002 Earned K5SH:0004 a 15K BNS -15,000
Jan 3 -99113 Earned dell.com +2 2023 Amex Offer –1,557
https://ibb.co/jbjb8KR
Same here, good to see this has returned & thanks for pointing it out. I remember seeing the last 5 digits for referrals some time ago, and then it went away for awhile. I’m now seeing them again.
Cool
Cool
Cool
Cool
Cool
Cool
Kewl
Kool-
cool
cool
Coo
kul
coool