Supplemental cards can be great ways to conveniently extend the benefits of your credit card to a spouse or child. Especially when they have no fee it can feel like an easy decision to add one on. For example the Scotia Passport VI has a no fee supplemental card that comes with an additional 6 lounge passes on it. Other times the supplemental cards come with an annual fee but provide more significant benefits. For example the Amex platinum supplemental card grants the supplemental card holder lounge access for them plus a guest regardless of whether the primary card holder is travelling.
Amex Canada periodically offers a promotion that further expands the already strong value proposition of the supplemental cards for its products, including some of my favourites like the Amex Cobalt (for daily point earning) and the Amex Bonvoy (for free hotel stays). These were most recently Aug-Sept 2024 and March 2025.
As always, disclaimers and referrals at the bottom.
Amex Supplemental Card Promo Aug 2024
The promotion from Amex covers essentially its whole suite of non business cash back, MR point, and Aeroplan point cards. In the very least you should consider the benefits of adding no fee supplemental cards, but I've also highlighted some notably generous offers on supp cards with an annual fee that you might want to trial out even if you cancel them subsequently. No fee options include the Cobalt, Bonvoy, Green, Gold, and free versions of the Aeroplan (core) and Aeroplan reserve supplemental cards. The largest returns are on the Aeroplan Reserve paid version and Amex Platinum.
No Fee Supplemental Cards
Cobalt
5k MR points for each supp card that adds $1000 in spending over 3mo (thats an additional 5x return, worth $50 cash back or $100 with a value of 2 cents per point for travel per card addrd)
Bonvoy
5k bonvoy points for each supp card that adds $1000 in spending over 3 mo (5x return, $40 per card at 0.8cpp for hotel redemptions)
Aeroplan Reserve
5k Aeroplan points for $1k spend in 3mo (5x return, $100 per card at 2cpp)
Amex Gold
First supplemental card is free, but subsequent is $50/yr
5k MR for $1k in 3mo (5x return, $100 per card at 2cpp)
Amex Green
2.5k MR for $500 in 3mo (5x return, $50 per card at 2cpp)
Paid Cards
Aeroplan (Core) - paid version
$50/yr Annual fee
7.5k AP for $1k spend in 3mo (7.5x return, $150 per card at 2cpp)
Supp card holder gets free checked bag on AC flights
Note that free version of this supplemental card has no promotion
Aeroplan Reserve - paid version
$199/yr fee
20k AP for $3k spend in 3mo (6.67x return, $400 per card at 2cpp)
Mapleleaf Lounge Access in North America
Free checked bag on AC flights
Priority check in, boarding, baggage handling, upgrades, and airport standby
Amex Platinum
$250/yr for supplemental platinum cards, but can alternatively add up to 2 free gold cards as supplemental cards tied to this account
20k MR for $3k spend in 3mo (6.67x return, $400 per card at 2cpp) for the platinum, or 5K MR for $1K spend on the free golds
Typical platinum card benefits to the supplemental holder, but most notably the Amex global lounge collection
Note that these promotions require the minimum spend to be performed by the supplemental card itself, so make sure you hit the target before the deadline with the new card if you want to get the reward. They are also limited to 2 additional cards per account. These points will be in addition to the base earn rate of the card, so for example if you hit the $1000 minimum on the Cobalt by shopping at grocery stores, you'll get the 5k bonus, as well as the 5k points you'd normally receive from its 5x multiplier.
With previous Amex Supplemental Card promotions it took some people several months to receive their bonus points so don't expect to use these for a last minute redemption.
Conclusion
Supplemental cards can be great for allowing spouses or children to have access to the benefits of your card while funneling the reward points back to your account. When they are available for free and add additional benefits they can be an easy decision to add on. The current Amex supplemental card promotion makes the decision even easier by adding separate rewards for spend targets on these cards. The best value is on the free cards, but some of the paid cards have a strong net positive return so you could consider adding them for a year to get the bonus, then cancelling them if you dont find the added benefits (eg. lounge access) to be sufficiently valuable.
As always, if you're looking for help, reach out for a consult
Referral links
With its best in market 5x multiplier Amex Cobalt is a powerful point earner that can get you on flying for free 5 times faster than much of the competition - sign up here. TIP: Consider waiting until a supplemental card promotion before adding the free supp card for even more points.
To see the access the best offers for different Amex card such as the Business Gold, or Platinum click here. Or to compare all the cards I can refer to, check out my card comparison tool.
You're going to need somewhere to stay after all of these free flights. The Amex Bonvoy or the Business Bonvoy card will earn you free hotel stays and can be combined with the Aeroplan eStore for some incredible double dipped rewards.
If you're on the fence, or wondering about other cards reach out to me for a free consult, and if you sign up for a card through my link, let me know and I will walk you through advanced tricks and personalized advice to help you get the maximum benefit both from earning and redeeming points - getting your travel journey going faster than you ever thought possible.
Check out my Keeper Cards series to see other cards worth exploring
Disclaimer
These posts are all made in good intentions and are to the best of my ability accurate at the time of writing. That said, the official terms and conditions and current sign up bonuses should be verified and interpreted in the context of your personal financial situation.
