Adding an authorized user to your Platinum Card from American Express or American Express Gold Card can be a great move. You can share some of the great travel perks and even some Membership Rewards points with friends and family.
But the sharing points part is about to get harder. You can only transfer points to frequent flyer accounts of people who are added as an authorized user on your card. And Doctor of Credit reports that beginning Sept. 1, 2019, Amex will only allow these transfers to authorized users that were added at least 90 days prior.
That builds in some significant lead time in order to transfer Membership Rewards points to friends and family members. Come this fall, any users who aren't already added to your card as an authorized user will need to wait at least three months.
As Doctor of Credit notes, this new restriction could help crack down on users bending the rules to sell points. And you've still got almost three months to send through any transfers easily before this restriction kicks in.
Read our guide on everything you need to know about adding an authorized user to your Amex card.
Our Analysis
This restriction makes sense, but it could still cause some trouble.
Luckily, there's plenty of time to add an authorized user and transfer points to their frequent flyer or hotel accounts. Here's the full list of American Express transfer partners.
| Program | Type | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| AeroMexico | Airline | 1:1.6 | 3-5 days |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air France/KLM | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| ANA | Airline | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Avianca | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| British Airways | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Delta | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Emirates | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Etihad | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Hawaiian | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Iberia | Airline | 1:1 | Up to 24 hours |
| JetBlue | Airline | 1.25:1 | Instant |
| Qantas | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Qatar Airways | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Singapore | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
This ability to transfer points to others' frequent flyer accounts is one of the best reasons to consider adding an authorized user. If you hold the American Express Platinum card, for example, you can add up to three authorized users for $175 per year. And it doesn't matter if you add just one or all three – you'll pay a flat $175 fee.
Considering you can then transfer points to friends and family and allow them to use travel perks like a Global Entry fee credit, it could make sense to add a user to your account. Platinum cardholders can also give an authorized user an American Express Gold Card for free, though that will cut out the travel perks.
Bottom Line
You've still got a few months to transfer Amex points to your authorized user's accounts unhindered. But it will pay to start thinking about who you might want to add to your Amex cards soon rather than later.