[Dead] Amex Business Gold $295 Annual Fee Waived First Year via Referral

[Update 1/7/19: Deal appears dead now. Those applying now are seeing the regular $295 fee. Those who got in beforehand will hopefully retain the $0 fee for first year.]

The American Express Business Gold card comes with an annual fee of $295, no mention of it being waived the first year. However, multiple r/churning members note that the cardmember agreement showing after card approval shows the annual fee waived the first year. In the Amex online login, go to Account Services > Request Cardmember Agreement to see the terms on your card.

From the data points on Reddit and in the comments here, it looks like all of those seeing the fee waived are those who applied through referral links, while using an ordinary link does not result in the fee waiver. Regardless, it could just be a mistake, but so far data points indicate the fee hasn’t been charged, even after two billing periods, for those who used a referral link.

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Aloha808
Aloha808 (@guest_731666)
March 7, 2019 04:27

Awesome. Both my P2 and I got the new biz gold off each other’s referral this past December and expected an AF. Still hadn’t seen any AF hit, then i saw this post just now. Lucked out! Thanks for the info.

Vincent
Vincent (@guest_703166)
January 9, 2019 13:34

Self-referral points have posted, can confirm it is valid using self-referral links.

JL
JL (@guest_703017)
January 9, 2019 02:46

hmm… i applied using my own referral (i didn’t get the sign-up bonus because i already have an amex biz gold card), and after my online application, I was in pending status. They wanted me to call amex to verify some info, so i called them, and it got approved over the phone, expedited shipping. anyways, i just checked i got the $0 fee for first year… agreement date 1/8/19 http://i.imgur.com/3S7uSGx.png

CMB
CMB (@guest_703047)
January 9, 2019 09:28
  JL

When did you apply?

Tom
Tom (@guest_702059)
January 7, 2019 20:40

Grrr…just as I was preparing to apply. Is it definitely dead, or are there just a couple of negative dp?

Gcuser
Gcuser (@guest_702109)
January 7, 2019 22:02

Lol, me too, just unlocked my credit report then saw this marked as dead

Ethan
Ethan (@guest_701870)
January 7, 2019 17:25

God fuck. Tried to apply through a self-referral twice last night and both times got the pop-up saying I wasn’t eligible for the bonus, even though I have only one Amex charge card and two credit cards (opened 8–9 months ago). Possibly it was because I had racked up an $8,000+ balance on my Biz Platinum card (for which I had already scheduled a payment to post today). The payment is processing now; I was going to wait for my balance to update to $0 and then try again. Goddamnit.

Nick
Nick (@guest_702103)
January 7, 2019 21:59

Calm down Ethan.

Dan - Legal Bank Robber
Dan - Legal Bank Robber (@guest_701848)
January 7, 2019 16:52

Welp

Raj
Raj (@guest_701845)
January 7, 2019 16:50

I or my wife do not have any Amex MR card. I have Blue Cash and wife has SPG card. If I refer her for Biz Gold card, will that waive the fee for her, and will I get any referral bonus?

Vic
Vic (@guest_701817)
January 7, 2019 16:18

1/7/19 11:48am PST deal seems dead.
https://imgur.com/a/YcFnVke

CMB
CMB (@guest_701831)
January 7, 2019 16:35

I can confirm deal appears dead.

A.J
A.J (@guest_701864)
January 7, 2019 17:14

I still have $0 first year and $295 afterward. Does it mean I am good? (I applied last night.)

Dan - Legal Bank Robber
Dan - Legal Bank Robber (@guest_701877)
January 7, 2019 17:40

ya

AB
AB (@guest_701630)
January 7, 2019 13:13

Just applied and god approved via referral link. $0 annual fees for first year.

AP
AP (@guest_703022)
January 9, 2019 03:49
  AB

Thank God.

meed18
meed18 (@guest_701600)
January 7, 2019 12:50

What specific card holders can refer to this card and have the 1st year AF waived for the new card? I see some posts saying that referrals originating from Amex personal cards aren’t working? Which ones are the ones that are working?

Yet Another Redditor
Yet Another Redditor (@guest_701688)
January 7, 2019 14:02

Referrals from personal cards work. Referred myself from SO’s personal Plat or Gold (cant remm) and got the $0 in the 1st year.

Given that AmEx has universal referrals now, any AmEx card holder can refer to any other AmEx card. See this http://travelinpoints.com/one-amex-card-generates-all-american-express-referrals-huge-if-it-works/.

Also be aware that if possible, use a referral from SO / P2. Use self-referral only as the last resort.

meed18
meed18 (@guest_701783)
January 7, 2019 15:52

Thank you for the clarification. I think the posts that were saying the referrals from personal cards weren’t working were people saying they didn’t see a reference to the $0 annual fee BEFORE applying. But from what I can tell, no one, regardless of where the referral is coming from is getting that. They are only seeing $0 AF after getting approval.