Strategic win: 10,000 bonus points for adding my teen as an authorized user

A significant milestone happens when your child turns 13 — sadly, it’s not that they suddenly take the initiative to tidy their room or wake up on their own every morning. But the silver lining is that they can now be an authorized user on your American Express cards.

Here’s my reason for adding my teen as an authorized user on one of my American Express cards, along with a few factors to think about if you’re also thinking of adding an authorized user, like possible bonus points.

Bonus points for a new account

To be honest, it wasn't just one reason that made this the right time to add my teen to my Amex Gold account; there were 10,000 reasons.

Cardholders are frequently offered bonus American Express Membership Rewards points for adding authorized users to specific accounts, contingent on that user spending a set amount within a specified time frame.

With my American Express® Gold Card, I found an enticing offer of 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points if I added an authorized user who spent $2,000 on the card within the first six months. Based on my own point redemption habits and TPG's September 2024 valuations, that's roughly $200 in value that I'll gladly add to my collection.

(My child is using their authorized user card to pay the monthly electric bill along with their regular purchases to make sure we reach the $2,000 threshold in six months to unlock the bonus points.)

You can check this link to see if there are any offers available for your Amex Gold Card account — or while logged into your Amex account, scroll to the bottom of the screen to find your targeted Amex Offers and see if there are any special deals listed for your account.

No fees and bonus points on purchases

The most frequent purchase my teen has made with my Amex Gold is, unsurprisingly, food. There's a Taco Bell right next to their high school, and let's just say the business is thriving with students and their Crunchwrap Supremes.

Adding up to five authorized users on the Amex Gold account incurs no extra fee, making it an easy choice.

This card is ideal for a teen, as you'll earn 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants, on up to $50,000 each year. Even with all the taco transactions piling up on my card, we’ll still comfortably stay under that threshold for bonus points on dining annually.

Teen-friendly statement credits

It's also important to note that this card received an upgrade in July, now providing $84 in annual Dunkin' credits (divided into twelve monthly credits of up to $7 each). Enrollment is necessary. And I can confirm that teens enjoy the fun iced beverages at Dunkin' just as much as tacos and burritos.

Additionally, the card offers up to $10 in monthly dining statement credits when used at select dining partners like Five Guys, which is also ideal for this age group. Enrollment is required.

Exclusive card design

Alright, this may sound a bit trivial, but in my opinion, life’s too short not to have a card that looks nice.

I love my Amex Gold in the rose gold variant, but adding an authorized user right now was a fantastic chance for them to experience the limited-edition white gold option. You can choose your preferred color when requesting the card.

If you’ve been curious about how these color options look side by side, here’s a comparison of the white gold against the rose gold and the classic color of The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Helping my teen build credit

Beyond just choosing between shades of gold, adding my child as an authorized user on my account provides them with an excellent start in building their credit history.

If you don’t have an Amex card or want to add your child to a card account before they turn 13, you can definitely do so with other issuers. For instance, Chase has no specific age limit for being an authorized user. I did need to provide their Social Security number for American Express, which is reasonable since I want this to appear on my child's credit report.

Potential drawbacks

To state the obvious: Even if you and your teen have established a payment agreement, you remain fully responsible for all charges made on your credit account.

If you’re not entirely confident in their ability to make wise purchasing decisions, it might not be the right time for this step. However, you can set a spending limit to prevent purchases from getting out of hand.

Moreover, while maintaining good credit and responsible account usage can positively impact your child's credit score, the opposite is true if you fall behind on payments. In such cases, you would want to remove your child as an authorized user.

Here are some additional factors to think about when adding a child as an authorized user to your credit card accounts.

Key takeaway

The 10,000 bonus Amex Membership Rewards points after meeting the spending requirements, along with no extra annual fee for adding an authorized user to my Amex Gold account, would have likely been sufficient reason for me to add my 14-year-old.

However, it turns out that this card is actually a solid choice for my teen, especially now that they are spending more time away from my wallet.