- American Express now allows only up to five referral bonuses per calendar year per eligible card; limit is card-specific, not per account, and it resets on April 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM ET. - Referrals made 1/1/2026–4/7/2026 count toward the old currency-based annual limit; referrals on/after 4/8/2026 count toward the new five-per-card annual limit. - There’s ambiguity on per-card versus per-account treatment; AmEx has been contacted for confirmation; plan referrals accordingly.

American Express Now Limits You To 5 Referrals Per Year American Express has added a new limit of 5 referrals per year for cardholders. The terms state: As of 4/8/2026 at 12:00 AM (E.T), all eligible Card Members can earn a referral bonus up to a maximum of five (5) times per calendar year. If your friend got a Card from your referral link between 1/1/2026 and 4/7/2026 at 11:59 PM (E.T.), the referral bonus you earned counted towards your previous currency-based annual limit. If your friend got a Card from your referral link after 4/8/2026 at 12:00 AM (E.T.), the referral bonus you earned counted towards your reward limit of five (5) referrals per calendar year. The one upside is that it looks like the referral limit reset on 4/8/26 so if you were already at the limit of points earned (varied by card) you can refer again to earn more points. American Express has confirmed that this limit is per card, not per account. For example if you hold the Platinum card and a Hilton card you could refer 5 people to Platinum AND 5 people to Hilton. . My reading is that the limit of 5 is per card rather than per account as well, others are reading that it’s a limit of 5 per account. I’ve reached out to American Express for confirmation.